Day 25

Sioux Falls, SD ➡️ Sioux City, IA

Today we crossed another state line and made it into Iowa! Some of us found a trail along part of our route for the day and had a nice little trail run for part of the day, which was a nice change from the flat roads we've been running on for the past few weeks. When we got to the host, I wanted to add on a few extra miles, so my total mileage for the day was 14.

We are staying at Briar Cliff University for night, which means BEDS! We get to stay in dorms for the next couple of nights since we have a couple of universities as our host sites, which is super nice. There may not be any air conditioning, but having beds to sleep on makes it worth a little extra heat. Although I'm used to sleeping on my sleeping pad at this point (it's actually pretty comfy), it will be nice to avoid sleeping on the ground for a night. It's the small things (like being able to skip rolling up my sleeping pad in the morning) that we really learn to appreciate with 4K! However, it also makes me realize my privilege even when the 4K living is not so glamorous; we have all been able to make a conscious decision to dedicate our summers to this cause. We've chosen to spend our summers eating based on food donations, and we will all be able to go back to our comfortable lives after 4K. I am so grateful to have the opportunity to give up a summer that many may not have the ability to take off from work or school, and I am definitely trying to appreciate the little things and be conscious of this privilege even as we spread peanut butter onto bread using a carrot or potato chip instead of a knife (we tend to be utensil-less a lot of the time in the vans).

I can't believe we are over HALF WAY through this 49-day journey. I am so excited to get to Boston, but I already don't want to have to leave these awesome people and have to go back to real life. We're all trying to savor the moment and enjoy every minute that we have with each other!