Volstate wrapup 2018

I’ve been trying to write a final update and farewell for a few days, but my brain’s been operating at about 8% capacity since I got home. Last night was the first time I didn’t fall asleep at 8pm with the kids…..here goes. Where to begin? First, thank you to all the entrants. Volstate wouldn’t be anything without the special group of crazies that show up to run. We appreciate your enthusiasm, and truly hope Read more…

a war of attrition

july 26 day 78 27 miles total 2,031 it will go down as a narrow win over the “marathon” a day average i am now striving to beat. it felt like a miraculous salvation of a day that teetered on the brink of disaster. it started out as just another day in nebraska. clouds obscured the sky when we arrived at the starting point, and lightning lit up the skies to the south, revealing a Read more…

landmark

76 days 7 hours 27 minutes and 30 seconds after wetting my feet in the atlantic ocean at brenton point in newport rhode island i reached 2,000 miles just west of rushville nebraska. if it weren’t for the 5 hour delay this morning for the biggest electrical storm i ever saw, i think i would have virtually identical thousands. if not for a week of electrical storm delays in rainy nebraska i would have negative Read more…

the endless land

july 25 day 77 22 miles total 2,004 the mileage was disappointing. but we spent 5 hours huddled in the car during the most impressive electrical storm i have ever watched. staying in the car was not a matter of not getting wet. it was about survival. everything in nebraska is endless. the horizon the sand hills the kindness the state the storms. the day was further complicated by no fewer than 5 law enforcement Read more…

electrical storms

we have been eking out miles between storms  but this has been a wild ride tonight. we have been watching as many as 4 big electrical storms at a time all around us. at one point a storm was rolling towards us with a ground strike every 5 seconds. we have walked in freezing wind and rain  and we have walked in hot wind… even a stretch of dead calm and hot air. right now Read more…

rainmaker

i have been sitting here for over an hour now. the rain just keeps pouring down. i have to say this is not funny anymore. this radar stuff is really cool. we were able to walk right up to the last second before the deluge hit. but it has become a daily torment to see that it is not raining ANYWHERE ELSE! seriously. if we were a few miles north or a few miles south Read more…

some day i won’t be in nebraska!

july 24 day 76 24 miles total 1,982 typical nebraska. we left the room under clear skies. an hour later we hit the road with thunderstorms raging all around. miraculously i got one raindrop all night but it wasn’t for lack of visible plumes of rain keeping us on our toes. we got no rain but starting in the notorious nebraska sand marshes we encountered clouds of mosquitoes like i have never seen. the whine Read more…