Clouds are awesome. They are the invisible ocean above, made visible. They are the mood ring of the sky. How dull the sky would be without ever having clouds.
Today held many examples of cloud shapes and colors. There was a huge storm way ahead of me that caused 54 mph wind gusts, lightning, and flash floods. I was never close to the extreme weather and only got a couple of sprinkles and a good cloud show. Towards the end of daylight there was yellow, gold, and pink; a sherbet sky, pushed up against a black and grey with white highlights. Then a purple grey screen like a thin curtain with gold behind it sat still, a last effort of the storm for me to ride through. When I rode through those sprinkles, there were layered clouds above with so many shades of color. And that smell. One of my favorite nature combinations is rain in the desert. Any time will do. Today I got the sunset flavor, delicious.
Today I also ate at a proper Texas road-side restaurant. The menu was equally divided between steak, Mexican, and breakfast served all day. My server was among my favorite archetypes. Her cigarettes mingled perfectly with the smell of coffee, her name for customers is honey, and her wrinkles look great on her. She asked if I had seen rain and wished me luck getting the rest of the day dry. I love riding in the rain, but I love it more when people appear to genuinely care about strangers. When I left, she asked if I had rain gear just in case and wished me well. She made the food taste better.
Here is a numerical coincidence. This is the 22nd day of the ride and I have entered the 22nd state on the ride. For the rest, I'll be going through states I have already ridden through as part of the ride. The states have been: California, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, Virgina, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, and as a special bonus beyond the 22 states, the District of Columbia.