day 195: 红城 (hongcheng) – 永登 (yongdeng) = 37,2km

From what I could see on the map, 永登 (yongdeng) seemed to be the only larger settlement around.

I figured it might be a good idea to get there before nightfall and then take a full day off tomorrow, staying in a hotel with a proper loo and a hot shower for a change.

So this meant some extra mileage to be done today:

The valley was all quiet and warm:

…there were no worries…

Once I passed by an elementary school, and the kids got really excited, waving and hollering, some even climbing over the wall:

“新人” – “new people” is what it said on that wall.

And that’s just what all kids are:

I’ve come to think: it’s probably not that easy to realize that one is only part of the old.

…

I had to walk well into the night today:

There were some regrets about this at first, because I had to pass out on a lot of possibly amazing landscapes, but then I found other stuff to play with:

By the way, I have never shown you my dorky headlight before:

“安全第一” – “safety first”

…

At some point it started raining.

I put my jacket on and some old mellow tunes in my earphones, then I slowly made my way through the watery darkness:

Same old story: a hurting body harboring a joyful mind.

I was loving it.

Soundtrack: The Mamas & The Papas – “Dream A Little Dream Of Me”

—total: 2415,1km