#AtoZchallenge: Jornada or Journey

Jornada (Spanish) or Journey (English)

[courtesy of DB McNicol]

He pulled off his battered hat and wiped the sweat off his face with the threadbare bandana from his back pocket before looking at his pocket watch.

"Miles to go before I sleep," he chuckled and wondered why that old poem came to him now.

He looked to the West, shading his eyes as he studied the unforgiving landscape surrounding him on all sides; glittering red clay roads dotted with scruffy cacti on the sides of the highway that seemed to stretch on forever before terminating in the formidable mountains ahead.

The howl of several coyotes echoed but he knew they weren't as close as they sounded thanks to the mountains.

It would be dark soon and he needed to find some shelter for the night; a place to hide away from the coyotes, snakes and other deadly creatures, some of whom would be seeking their own shelter.

He spotted an outcropping that looked promising, put his hat back on and started off in that direction.

Another hour of walking and exhaustion was setting in just as he saw the indentation high up in the rocks.

"That'll be perfect if'n I'm the first to grab it," he mumbled out loud as he pulled his knife out the sheath, wiping it on his pants.

Soon he was nestled in the entrance of the tiny cave for the night, a small fire crackling outside to warm off other critters, a can of beans in his belly and his backpack under his head while he watching the stars overhead.

Today was almost gone, chalk up another notch in his never-ending journey for...for what, he still wasn't sure but he knew he would recognize it when he found it.

My theme is 10x10.
A maximum of ten sentences, a minimum of 100 words.

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