Day 167
I slept in! I checked out of the motel and entered out into the sun.

I met Howard and Ana! I offered them some food but they had enough. They asked me a few questions about my travels. Ana just wanted to talk to someone. She told me on the street, most of the homeless are hard to converse with. She thought I was a journalist! We parted ways.
I made it to a little spanish market, and bought a 3 gallon container of water! 
Roger had emailed me a military study on hydration and I learned a few things. In hot environments, I would have to drink nearly 3 gallons a day to maintain hydration! Wow!

With the buggy loaded, I made my way north.

On a little detour! To Our Lady Queen of Peace cemetery in Mess, AZ. A good friend on mine named Dan’s grandparents were buried there:

And then a crazy dust storm blew in! I actually had to seek shelter in a little alcove near the mausoleums. It was crazy, wind blowing, dust kicking, and a brown sky. 

And then it passed.
And the sky cleared.

I started moving west.

Along Baseline road. Through the outskirts of Phoenix and along the mountains:

I met Daniel! He was heading to the bus stop. He looked beat! I offered him a powerade and the rest of the snacks Kevin had given me back in the reservation. He accepted! I hope he made it to his bus.
I made it to Laveen just as the sun set. It was beautiful all around, even in the city:

I decided to start heading north. I had hoped to find somewhere safe to sleep until morning. Only thing is, after a few miles, I found myself in another rough area. I kept moving.

I stopped at a little church I had stumbled upon. Their service was just getting out. I spoke with the Pastor asking for permission to maybe stay in the church. He was a really nice man, but he only rented the building. He and a lot of the congregation said a prayer for me. I kept moving.

It was a long night. I never really found anywhere safe to sleep. I ended up circumnavigating the downtown area, and made my way all the way to the Cathedral, 7 miles outside Phoenix.

It was a rough area. Especially by the highway. There were lots of people just roaming around, or hanging out. I was one of them. 
I had thought about all kinds of ways to sleep somewhere safe. The only way to do would be to sleep somewhere no one else could. I thought about climbing a tree and hanging my hammock way up in the branches. I really liked the idea, but I didn’t want to risk leaving the buggy down below unattended.

I found a dumpster by a bible church in the corner of the parking lot. It was by no means a stealthy spot, but I was so tired, I decided to risk it. It was well past midnight. I broke down the buggy and kept everything low to the ground behind a guardrail. I dozed off in my sleeping bag on the ground.

At some point in the early a.m., a garbage truck came and scooped up the dumpster! It was hard to process what was going on. I was half asleep! The driver clearly saw me, but went on about his way. I fell back asleep.