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LYN'S JOURNALS

SEPTEMBER, 2003

v. 2/08/04


September 1, 2003-Monday-Labor Day - 12.2 + 1042.8 = 1055.0 Total Miles to Date

                                                                                573.6 Total MT Miles to Date

Today we headed out with all 7 of us in the van - Sam, Joni, Russ, and Lyn with Cassie, Journey and Loki. We drove to our start point via Pryor so we could get pictures of Memorial stone 16 that we forgot to take Saturday. Also we got pictures of the Chief Plenty Coups sign and checked our mileage for Saturday. Finally we got started walking - all 7 of us. Russ and Loki walked a couple of miles or so with us. We spent some time with Russ taking pictures of us that the Paso Robles Gazette wants to use. He got several really good shots of us close up in our team shirts with lots of good road behind us. Of course in these pictures we have Loki as well since I was holding his leash while Russ took pictures. Later we got some without Loki. Either way I think will be fine. It was kind of fun for us to each have a dog (however 2 dogs is definitely enough on a full time basis, thank you).

 

 

This was a great day for walking - a nice breeze part of the day, rolling hills, and really fun scenery - tho' there were basically no trees. We did have a stream or two that Cassie and Journey got to play in. Journey loves the water and swims quite easily. (By the way, I've reverted to Journey here for our new pup because we haven't settled on a definite final name for him - we really want a Crow Indian name that indicates a dog on a journey, so we've decided to wait until we get out of the Crow Reservation in case we meet more Crow Indians with ideas for his name.)



On today's route we got into a portion that has a lot of multi-colored rock and dirt ranging from a very black lava-like rock to the reds, greens, and purples. The shapes look a lot like the rock in Yellowstone in parts. It was very pretty and we took lots of pictures. When we start walking on Wednesday we'll be just around the bend from the most beautiful mixture of colors of the whole area. (Tomorrow we are taking a day away from our regular route to walk through the town of Hardin and pray for the people and businesses there. We'll possibly be sharing with a 5th grade school class for a bit as well. Hardin is where our KOA is located that we've been staying in for 2 weeks. Our plan is to stop in at many of the businesses and introduce ourselves. Some people are expecting us already, so we're looking forward to this time.)

Russ did a great job of driving for us, and Joni enjoyed walking all day with us. At day's end we drove back to Hardin via St. Xavier. That reminds me, this morning a father and son stopped to ask us if we were alright, or needed a ride anyplace. Of course we told them what we were doing, gave them our card, took their pictures and got their names. They are Dick and Travis Kehler from St. Xavier. They are both adults - not a father and child. Having a notebook along to take down names of people we meet really helps.

Back at the camp we got things in and put away, then we decided on a dinner menu. The receptionist from the vet's office had dropped some fresh veggies off for us today while we were gone. It included red potatoes, cucumbers, squash, bell peppers, an onion - I think that was all. So we got busy putting that into a nice meal - I prepared the eye of round steaks, Sam prepared the potatoes, and Joni prepared the grilled veggies. Russ provided the tablecloth and we enjoyed the meal at our picnic table with all 3 dogs outside with us. It was a really comfortable evening outside. Journey broke her collar attached to a rope so he could go greet a couple of dogs out for a walk with their masters. We had to put his harness back on him for the rest of the evening. I think we'll try to get a choke collar for him tomorrow, but I hope that doesn't scare him since we found him chained VERY TIGHTLY to a fence with a too tight choke collar in the first place. He seems to be quite sensitive to anything too tight around his neck. Poor little guy. He is SO sweet, and is really a great walker. He doesn't want to quit walking when we are out, but today he got so tired that he would stop and lean up against us and close his eyes for a bit. Sam ended up carrying him for a bit over her shoulders like she did when we first found him.

When the mosquitoes started to come out we gathered everything up, said good night to Russ, cleaned up our dishes, did our journaling and other stuff and went to bed.


 

September 2, 2003 -Tuesday - 1055.0 Total Miles to Date

                                                            573.6 Total MT Miles to Date


Today I was up at about 6 AM, dressed, and did my Bible study while the others slept in a bit. I took Journey over to the vet at 7:30 for his appointment to be neutered, then came back and soon got the others up. We got ourselves ready, had breakfast, then headed into Hardin. We first went to the "Entering Hardin" sign out by the museum, but there were no rocks there to use as a memorial stone, so we went to the post office next. We had mail to send and mail to pick up. We've gotten to know the postal clerks here quite well and they always ask how we're doing. They even ask about the dogs.

From there we went to the Middle School to talk with the principal, Don Gilbertson. Tim, our KOA manager, had talked with him about having us come to share with the school about our walk. I went in to talk with the principal while the others stayed in the car. He was very nice and arranged with us to speak to one class at 12:50. This is a Health class with a substitute teacher who happens to be the pastor of the church we attended 2 Sundays ago. He's filling in for the regular teacher long term while she's out on maternity leave.

From there we went downtown to walk around Hardin. We went to the Chamber of Commerce and talked a bit with the lady there, then we walked around town going into shops and looking around and visiting with shop keepers.

When it was time we went out to the school, but the 12:50 class wasn't in the room they were supposed to be in. I went into the room next door to ask a teacher in there. There were two teachers in that class, so one went to find out where the other class was. Meanwhile the 2nd teacher in the class that was in the other room asked what we were all about. When I told her she was quite interested and asked if we would mind sharing with her class - it is an alternative studies class. We said we'd love to share with them. It turned out that the original class we were supposed to be in wasn't going to be there until 1:15, so we shared with the other class first.

First we introduced ourselves, then shared a bit about what we were doing, then we went around to the 3 tables of students and shared individually with some of the students. That was a real eye opener as these students are feeling a bit hopeless about their situation and feel there's no reason to get an education since they'll just end up in the same place doing the same thing that their families have been doing for generations. We had a really fun time talking with them. Most of them were really interested in what we were doing, and wanted to know more. They had some good questions. We showed them maps and other things. It was good.

When the other class came we had to say good bye and go over there. That was good too, but they didn't have nearly as many questions. We also had only about 10 minutes in this class. Then as we left we stopped and talked with the principal again. He walked out with us and we got his picture (we also got pictures of the students in the classes and got all their names). This was our first school experience, but we all felt it was a good experience and one we'd like to do at other places along the way. We really felt like we got more of the heartbeat of the area from these kids than we do from the adults.

Next we went out to a different "Entering Hardin" sign to set up a memorial stone and pray. We went back downtown to a couple more places (the Little Horn Bank where a lady from our church on Sunday works - ouch, bad sentence structure). Then we went to eat at KFC. After we ate we headed to the vet's office to pick up Journey. We got all the meds we need for fleas and ticks and heart worms, etc. Now we're pretty well set with his stuff. We also got Cassie's flea and tick stuff.

Then we went on back to the castle, sorted out things and got stuff ready for tomorrow. I worked on figuring out dates that we might actually reach certain destinations, and where we would ask people to send mail for the next month.

I went over to Russ' tent and talked with him a bit. He got a lot of studying done, and did some stuff for us on or in the castle. Tomorrow he'll be going in to the car dealer again to hopefully work out a final deal on something he can drive home.

Back to the castle to finish up stuff and to journal and call Dave. Then finally I cleaned up the stuff I had out and headed for bed.


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September 3, 2003 - Wednesday - 13.8 + 1055.0 = 1068.8 Total Miles to Date

                                                                    587.4 Total MT Miles to Date

Today we headed off to our start point where we began our walking at 9 AM. Sam and I walked with Waliluke (Journey) while Joni and Cassie went back to Chief Plenty Coups State Park for a bit. We've still not settled totally on a name for Journey, but we're leaning toward "Chief Owashta Bishke Waliluke" which translated means - Chief Traveling Dog Walking. Sam will be the one to settle on the final name and nickname. At this point she's thinking of the full name just mentioned and calling him Waliluke. We called him Waliluke all day today and that seemed to fit pretty good. Sam doesn't want to make the final decision until we are out of the Crow Reservation in case another one comes along and gives us a better name for him. I like Waliluke also.

As we walked the first stretch two men stopped to see if we needed a ride - they were Crow Indians, and we talked with them a bit telling them what we were doing. Of course we took their pictures and got their names -- the driver was Oliver Costa, and the passenger was Gilford Sesthejorond. They suggested a shortcut that sounded real tempting. In fact at 6.5 miles we came to the turnoff for this shortcut and decided to wait for Joni so we could look at the maps. As we waited a man and his young son came up in their truck. After talking a bit we took their pictures and asked their names -- Aaron (the dad) and Eric (6) Waddington. We asked him about the road. He said that it was indeed a shortcut to WY. Joni came while we talked.

After they left we looked at the maps and couldn't really tell what was what, but we decided to drive it and find out. So we took off down the gravel road. It wound around to the west to begin with - not good since we are going east and south, but it eventually turned back to the south more. After awhile it got really beautiful with lots of red rock and trees that grew only on the rock. We were in a canyon like area for awhile. Eventually we came out at the Yellowtail Dam where we crossed the Bighorn River. Once across we took the next road to the left, and stopped at what we thought would be our turnoff to ask a phone repairman about the road and the area. He actually called a buddy and co-worker to find out since he had not lived here that long. He got the info for us, and we said good bye and headed out on this other dirt road. It went through cattle that roamed freely, past ranches where a man on a tractor stopped to assure us we were going the right way and that there was indeed a gas station in Lodge Grass. We continued up and over the hills until we came out to the junction. Eventually we got to Lodge Grass and got our gas, then headed back to St. X, as the locals call St. Xavier.

We decided it was much too long to do the alternate route, so we headed back to where we had stopped earlier, and picked up our walking from there. Joni and Cassie met us two times, and waited at the car one time. Cassie went after a bunch of cows one time scaring them into a stampede. Just before that a single cow was out on the road side of the fence and decided to follow us mooing along the way until we got too far away. We quit at mile marker 30 which is about 14.5 miles from St. X. Then we drove back to Hardin to get onions and bananas, and on back to our castle. We unloaded everything, then got clothes ready for Joni to take down to wash. While she did laundry Sam and I fixed the veggies and potatoes for our dinner while Russ barbecued the Polish Sausages. We ate at our picnic table and had a good visit. Joni then headed back to finish laundry, Russ went off to soak in the hot tub, Sam and I cleared up and did dishes, then Sam went to the Quest phone to talk to Chip.

When Joni came back we finished folding our clothes, then did journaling and Bible study and to bed. It was a fun and interesting day.



September 4, 2003 - Thursday - Moving Day - 1068.8 Total Miles to Date

                                                                                    587.4 Total MT Miles to Date

Today we all slept in a little bit (I slept until almost 6:30!), and the others a bit later (8 or 9). Then we got busy cleaning up, packing up, and disconnecting. Joni and I went into Hardin to get our mail and turn in our change of address forms. One of the clerks we had gotten to know asked how far we were now and how it was going. It's so nice when we get to know people in a town. We also stopped at True Value to get Joni a new watchband and to take something back. The clerk there told us her son had come home from school the other day all excited about these women and their dog that had come to their class to talk about walking across the USA.

We loaded up some of Russ' stuff into the castle after we were ready. He was almost ready to leave also, tho' it would be quite awhile before he could leave Hardin since he had to wait until the car he was trading his truck for was ready. We said good bye and headed out.

Our drive to Sheridan, WY was uneventful as we drove freeway all the way. It was an interesting drive actually since the freeway goes up through mountains of pretty good size, while our walk route stays down fairly low. We could frequently look down into the valley where we'll be walking.

It was early afternoon when we arrived in Sheridan. We stopped to get gas, then parked the castle at the K-Mart while we went to look at the campground. The KOA seems pretty nice so we settled on that. We got the castle back there and hooked it up and set up our stuff for the duration.

Then Sam got busy printing out pictures for us that we wanted on the back of our stationery and for other things. I called Dave to let him know where we were so he could tell Russ if he called there. I also called Meredith to let her know where we were since she leaves in two days to head this way - she'll be arriving here on the 10th of Sept.

Then Joni and I took the "furry people" over to the pet run. We came back to begin writing letters. I thought I might get two or three written, but I only got one done, and that took a long time. The pups were all excited about a rabbit and a squirrel playing outside the castle, so we kept having to stop them from running over cords draped across the room while Sam had the computer and the printer running.

Russ showed up at about 7 PM I think. He went out to set up his campsite (he'll be here for 2 nights). We also gave him a coupon for one free night, so he went over to see if he could still use it. They refunded one night very nicely for him. That was great. After he got his camp set up he came back over with the car and picked up the stuff we had brought with us of his. His "new" car will be packed to the gills when he heads home on Saturday.

Finally I called Dave and talked for a short while, then I journaled and headed to bed.


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September 5, 2003 - Friday - 14.7 + 1068.8 = 1083.5 Total Miles to Date

                                                            602.1 Total MT Miles to Date

Today was a fun day with some really neat experiences. We had a long drive to our start point, but still managed to get started walking at about 9 AM. Soon after we started walking Oliver Costa drove up, pulled over and stopped, turning off his engine so he could talk to us. He was the man we had met a couple of days before on this road with his grandson, Gilford Sesthegrond. Oliver told us he was on his way to Crow Agency for a meeting with the legislature - he is one of the legislators. They have a big election coming up in November and are working on balloting procedures and laws. He told us there are 11, 000 Crow Indians on the Reservation and 6,000 of them are 18 or over (voting age). He told us about their drug problems and how they are trying to take care of that. He also told us that evangelists frequently come and hold meetings and many of the young people have become Christians. We talked with him for 20 to 30 minutes, then he needed to get going to his meeting. But before he left he gave us a gift - it was a beautiful wood carving of a buffalo that his grandson had done. That was really nice.

Not too long after he left a red car drove by with bumper stickers on the back. I recognized the car by the bumper stickers, and knew they had passed us at other times. They stopped and backed up and asked us if we were walking across America. Wow! How did they know? Then they told us that their nephews had told them about us after we had visited their classroom. That was pretty good. We talked with them for quite awhile also - Lawryn Flat Lip was the driver, and Jennifer Flat Lip was the passenger. I asked them if they were related to Jerry Flat Lip whom we met a few days before. He was Jennifer's brother-in-law. They also told us about the drug problems of the Reservation, and were very grateful for our prayers. We talked for quite awhile. They mentioned the bear problem in the area, which really surprised us since it's so open. These are black bears, not grizzlies. Many people in this area have told us about them, but we haven't seen any yet. However, Joni thinks she may have seen one the other day, but wasn't sure.

Joni and Cassie joined us for a bit to walk. She was wondering what had happened to us when we didn't show up for so long. This was when we were talking to Oliver, and then to Jennifer and Lawryn. When we got back to the car she and Cassie got in and drove ahead again. Soon a car going toward Pryor drove up and stopped to see if we needed help. His name was Woodrow Brien, and he lives in Crow Agency. He didn't talk long, and was soon on his way. One other man stopped to ask us if we were okay. His name was Leny Bauman, and after hearing what we were doing he asked if he could give us a donation, and proceeded to pull out some cash for us. I am amazed at how many do give us little donations that we know are a lot to them. That means a lot to us.

We continued on walking another time or two with Joni and Cassie. When we crossed over the Bighorn River we let the dogs take a swim. Waliluke really is a good swimmer. Finally we arrived at St. Xavier where we left Memorial Stone #17 after we prayed. Then we headed back to Sheridan, WY. We went to the post office first to get our mail. That took a little while to find, then we went to the Visitor's Center. It was almost closing time there, so we didn't get a lot of information.


Then we went back to the castle. Russ had moved his campsite to a quieter spot away from the freeway. He came over and told us not to fix dinner because he wanted to take us out for dinner. Joni had a headache, so she begged off. She stayed with the pups while Sam and I went with Russ. We ended up at the Sheridan Inn. The food was delicious! I had a fillet mignons that melted in my mouth. The other two said theirs was the same way - Russ had ribs, and Sam had a steak. Back to the castle and to bed, after saying good bye to Russ. He leaves in the morning, but won't be up when we leave.

September 6, 2003 - Saturday - 16.6 + 1083.5 = 1100.1 Total Miles to Date

                                                        618.7 Total MT Miles to Date

Today we headed out to our start point a bit after 7 AM. It was kind of a weepy day for me. I kept thinking about Russ leaving, and how we still have so much more time on the road before we go home, and the tears just came. I sang a lot as I drove, but every song brought me back to the commitment to GOD for this walk. I thought a lot about the people we had met as we've walked through the Crow Reservation and how grateful they were for our prayers - of the school kids we had talked to and how they were impressed enough to tell their families - and of people we had met who believed in what we are doing enough that they gladly gave us donations. The tears kept flowing, but they weren't necessarily sad tears. It was just one of those days for the emotions to pour out. This happens every so often.


We got to our start point and began walking from St. Xavier at about 8:45 AM. We had 2 miles on this road, then turned onto a 19 mile road heading for Lodge Grass. It was a good walking day - not as hot, and even a breeze some of the time. Along this second road we saw lots of cows close to the road, or on the road. Joni and Cassie walked quite a bit with us today. We had mostly flat ground with one section of up hill where we got a beautiful view. A man in a big truck stopped to ask if we were okay. He was really amazed that we were walking to Florida, and wished us well. Once when we were taking a break a man drove up in a pick up truck and asked if we needed help. He, too, was amazed at what we were doing. I talked with him for a bit. His name was Scott Pease, and he told me he owned the ranch across the street. I asked him about his cattle, and if the dead one we were coming to was one of his. He said his cousin had hit it a week ago. It totaled his car, but he was okay. He also told us he loses about one cow a month. That was pretty amazing.

Continuing on we walked up the hill and turned to take pictures of the valley below. It was beautiful. Then we walked on to get our mileage up over 16 miles today. Now we have 3 miles left on this road, and 6 on the road to Lodge Grass, then we head down the frontage road.

We got in the car and drove to Lodge Grass, then down the frontage road to Sheridan. Once there we unloaded things, put them away, and fixed a quick dinner. I took the time to call Cornerstone Church to see what time their church started. I introduced myself, and told the pastor that Red and Barbara Hill had referred us to their church. I also told him what we were doing and he was quite delighted. If they have time tomorrow they will have us share a bit. Sam and I went to Wal-Mart. We did the shopping, then home to put things away, journal, and finally talk with Dave, then get to bed.


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September 7, 2003 - Sunday - 1100.1 Total Miles to Date

                                                            618.7 Total MT Miles to Date

Today we had our usual light Sunday breakfast, then soon headed for church in downtown Sheridan, WY. Red and Barbara Hill from Arlee of the Alliance Church several weeks ago had given us the name of Cornerstone Community Church in Sheridan. The church service was held in an old theater which is now used for live theater. It is a very beautiful building inside. Outside it is an old architectural style and is quite nice looking. We went early for the coffee time and because we had to have time to dog proof the van before we went in. We also gave them each a new chew bone, and some new toys. Then we left the car and the dogs in God's hands while we went in for the worship service.

We got to talk to a few people before the service, and we had donuts and water or coffee. Then we headed in to get our seats. We sat near the front. The music was nice, tho' only a couple that I knew. During the greeting time the pastor, Tony Forman, came down to greet us (he knew we were coming, so looked for us). Soon they had a prayer time, and he had the three of us stand and he told the congregation about our Journey, then prayed for us. Soon after that they had communion, then his sermon.

Following the service we stopped to talk with a few people. Anna Flint, whom we had met briefly during the pre-service time, came to us and invited us to go to lunch with her as her guests. We were delighted to accept. She said her husband had died several years ago and she was very lonely. Anna was a very sweet lady and we loved her right away. She had been a very good friend of Barbara Hill. Anna took us to Wendy's where we ate and visited for quite awhile. We asked a lot of questions about her life - she was born in Rhode Island and grew up there, moving to WY in 1949. She has 6 children, 23 grandchildren, and 8 great-grandchildren. They all live not too far away. Anna lives in a retirement apartment with 75 residents. She is a very shy person, but is trying to have the courage to be a friend to her neighbors and share the love of God with them. I think she is doing a good job of it. Anna also asked questions about us and our Journey.

After lunch we headed back to the castle, and soon after that we went around the campground to take our camp pictures. We met Steve and Gail, the owners of this KOA, and took their pictures with their dog, Buddy, and visited with them for quite awhile. Gail had to go take care of some things, but we enjoyed talking some more with Steve.

Back in our castle we were all quite hungry, so I fixed corned beef hash with fried eggs - something the three of us have been looking forward to for several weeks now. Ummmmm, it turned out real good, and we were all quite satisfied.

Then we worked on pictures. Sam downloaded them, then Joni and I watched our slide show while Sam went to make phone calls. The pups played and bounced all over the place, and kept us laughing - especially when Waliluke hit his head then lay down in his bed only to have it flip over on him and cause him to bounce back against the cupboard causing a few things to topple. He is so funny. Then Joni noticed that his bed squeaked when she pushed down on it. After a few seconds we realized they had gotten the squeaker out of a toy and it had ended up under Waliluke's bed. What an afternoon.

Finally we finished watching our pictures, and we took the pups out to the pet area for a quick run. After journaling and calling Dave I headed for bed


September 8, 2003 - Monday - 23.0 + 1100.1 = 1123.1 Total Miles to Date

                                                            641.7 Total MT Miles to Date


Today we got off to a good start, heading out from the castle in time to start walking at 9 AM. Weather was nice with beautiful puffy clouds in the sky. The mountains had clear edges and looked so beautiful. As we began walking the breezes came and went. The temperatures were quite comfortable.

Soon after we started a guy stopped to ask us if we needed help. We told him our story and gave him a card. He wished us well and headed off to get his water tank filled. The water tanks are huge plastic tanks that the people all seem to have if they are away from a town. They take these in the back of their trucks to wherever it is they get them filled, then back to their house or ranch to use for however long it lasts. Even the KOA in Hardin hauled their water from town (they are a mile outside of town). Soon Joni and Cassie came and we walked to the end of the connecting street between St. Xavier and Lodge Grass.

As we started on the street into Lodge Grass the guy with the water tank came back by, pulled up beside us and stopped, and held out two ice cold bottles of water that he bought for us. That was really sweet. We thanked him and he headed on. We never got his name or his picture. Soon after that another car heading into Lodge Grass pulled up beside us and asked if we needed help. We assured him we were fine, and explained what we were doing. He told us there was a storm coming and we should take a break until spring. :-) He did wish us well and was grateful we were praying for them. He was one of the Crow Indians. When we asked if we could take his picture, he said "No" and that it was against his religion, so we didn't take it. He was very nice tho', and waved at us a little bit later when he went back the other way.

Soon we entered Lodge Grass and spent some time praying for these people who are very poor. We noticed among other things that they have a Head Start program there, and a Senior Center, as well as a nice Health Care Center. The housing is really run down in most cases. As we went through town we stopped at the Post Office to mail a couple of letters and the CD to Dave. I talked with the postman for a bit and told him what we were doing. He held out his hand as we finished our postal business and shook my hand with a firm shake and a thank you. We placed our Memorial Stone number 19 (the one at St. X should have been #18, but we forgot, so there are two #17's out there) at the Lodge Grass sign on the east side of town.

Heading on down the frontage road toward Wyola, MT now we soon had another car drive up and the people asked us how far we were going. We told them "To Florida", then explained. They were really excited and thought that was wonderful. We did take their pictures and got their names - Irvin and Carla Jefferson - both looked like they were at least part Crow Indian. We saw Joni and Cassie coming toward us, so we told them to be sure to honk and wave at them. They did.

We walked a bit with Joni and Cassie (When Cassie and Waliluke see each other they get so excited and run to each other and play - it's really cute!), then they got into the car to go to the next spot. Just as she drove off, a couple stopped as they came out of a driveway to ask if all was well with us. Again we explained what we were doing, and the man, Ron, told us several things we should be praying for such as the many young people turning to drink instead of to GOD. He said their youth really need our prayers. Then he told us that there are many accidents on this road, and many people killed by drunk drivers. He continued to tell us how America needs to turn back to GOD. All that he said was very good and very true. Truly a godly man and his wife. Their names were Ron and Clarisse Medicine Crow. We also got their pictures.

Soon after we left Ron and Clarisse it began to rain. Then it began to sleet and Waliluke didn't exactly like that. He tried to walk in the high grasses, then even lay down to show us his displeasure at walking in this weather. "Crazy people don't even know enough to get in out of the rain". He was so cute.

We continued walking with Joni and Cassie with us quite a bit of the day. We walked all the way to Wyola (23 miles) the furthest we've gone yet. The rain didn't last too long, and it seemed to actually refresh Waliluke even tho' he fought the rain for a bit. Joni and Cass did about 15 of that.

When we reached Wyola a bit before 6 PM, we stopped to pray and leave our Memorial Stone #20. Wyola is not big at all - maybe 100 people, if that many. They live in very small houses, but these homes seem to be fairly new. There is a flour mill there, and the railroad runs through. After prayer and marking the Memorial Stone we headed back to camp via the freeway. It rained most of the way back.

Back at the castle we got things in and put away, then Sam fixed dinner, we ate and talked. Chip called and she went to the pay phone to talk to him while I journaled and Joni washed dishes. We were all tired and headed to bed fairly soon. It was a very good day, and we were all in good spirits all day. Tomorrow we expect to walk into Wyoming!!! We are really excited about that. It's been a long, long time in Montana. It is with mixed feelings that we leave the Crow Indian Reservation - we all agree this has been the best part of the walk so far. We've had so many of them stop to talk with us - sometimes handing us water, or $5, or soft drinks, but mostly just talking with us, telling us about their people and the Reservation. They have been extremely friendly and kind. We will continue to pray for them across America.

Then as we walk into Wyoming we look forward to meeting more people, having new experiences, and seeing how GOD will work in and through our lives here.


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September 9, 2003 - Tuesday - 17.4 + 1123.1 = 1140.5 Total Miles to Date

                                                            651.1 Total MT Miles to Date

                                                             8.0 Total WY Miles to Date - Day 1 Walking

Today we got started at 9 AM with our walking at Wyola, MT. It was an exciting morning as we knew we would soon be coming into WY. As we walked we had a man stop to see if we needed help. We explained our walk and gave him a card, then asked if we could take his picture. He asked what we would use it for, so we told him he might end up in our book. He said that would be okay. :-) He told us his pick up had broken down and he was on his way to get his son to come back and help him with it. His name was Keith Blackhawk.

A bit later we saw 5 men get out of 3 cars and head across the street in front of us toward the RR track. The one vehicle was a BNSF RR vehicle (Burlington North Santa Fe). We asked about what they were doing (they were preparing to replace a train bridge next year). Two of the men - Mark Chandler and Tom Kane were with the highway department. The other 3, Kent Roberts, Darrell Marchiando and Larry Legorski, were with BNSF. Basically the RR men had to get highway accessability rights from the highway dept. Anyway we told them what we were doing and talked with them a bit before heading on down the road.

At about 1 PM we came to the border between MT and WY. This was a time of real celebration for us as we have been in MT for 2 months or 9 weeks or 63 days - instead of the 56 days originally estimated. We brought a bottle of water with us today especially for this purpose, so that when we got to the border we would pour the water over each other (instead of champaign) :-). It was cold water and the weather had cooled down a lot. But it was great fun, and well worth it. We spent about an hour there taking pictures and celebrating. Then we prayed for the state of MT and left Memorial Stone #21, and the state of WY and left Memorial Stone # 22. From there we walked on into Parkman, WY where we left Memorial Stone #23.

Next we walked on to the Dayton, WY turnoff and headed towards Dayton. We did only about 2.2 miles on that road before calling it a day. Then we drove to Dayton trying to find our route to Sheradin. We were never able to find the road we wanted. Instead we will drive out on the road tomorrow morning. We also checked out another possibility that involves walking on the freeway for about a mile. We'll see what we think when we drive out this other route tomorrow.

When we got back to the castle Sam got dinner started while Joni and I took laundry over. While Joni started that I went into the office to register for another week, and to get Meredith registered. Then we went back and ate. Sam took her dinner over to the pay phone to eat while she talked with Alyce-Kay. After I ate I started my journal and called Dave with my update. We talked for quite awhile. Then Chip called to ask me some questions and tell me about his statistics project. He's planning to use our walk for his project which he'll publish and send to us and quite a few others. It will include a financial report of sorts which I think could be very beneficial to all who are interested in coming to join us at any time, plus for those who make donations, or who may make donations. Finally I finished my journal and headed for bed.


September 10, 2003 - Wednesday -- 19.2 + 1140.5 = 1159.7 Total Miles to Date

                                                                        27.2 Total WY Miles to Date - Day 2 Walking

Today we got started walking at about 8:45 AM at the Dayton turnoff. We had decided to go a different direction than we started out from yesterday. So, even tho' we had already done some on the other road we started back at that corner and went down Hwy. 345 through Ranchester. There we left Memorial Stone #24 for Ranchester and Dayton.

The day was rainy - in fact it was raining pretty good when I got up, but it slowed down to just a nice soft rain for most of the day. I decided it was time to get new rain gear since it is colder than it's been. It seems that we are getting into cool fall weather. Today I made do with my warm up suit and rain poncho, plus my rain cover on my flag cowboy hat. That worked really well for today since it was not too cold or windy. It was a little breezy at times, but I was quite comfortable.



Waliluke walked most of the day with us. He was really nervous of the cars in the rain because they were much more noisy on the wet pavement. In fact he wanted to chase them. Finally we came to a small section of freeway that we had to walk. There we put Waliluke in the car with Cassie and Joni drove them over the freeway portion. Sam and I walked the freeway for this 1 or 2 mile portion. That was fun. It's not a busy freeway so we had fun waving to the trucks and cars as we walked. We stopped and took pictures several times. At one turnout we stopped and talked with some people whose car had California license plates. I asked them where they were from in California, and in a thick accent they told me they weren't from California and that it was just a rental. They were from Switzerland.

Right after that turnout we turned off of the freeway and headed down to Decker Mont Rd. where we were to meet Joni. She was parked just on the other side of the railroad tracks. As we neared the tracks a long coal train came along. We had a lot of fun taking pictures of that. Every time he tooted his horn it echoed back a couple of times. When it got past we walked on over to Joni to find out how far we had gone. We decided to go on another 2 miles. During this time a red car came by facing us, then soon came back the other way. They pulled up across the road from us and called across to ask if we were the people walking across America. We told them we were, and they asked if they could make a donation. We said they could and held out a handful of money. They said it wasn't much, but it was all they had. We talked with them for awhile and they kept digging around and finding more money -- tho' it was just dollar bills and coins it meant a lot to us for it was obvious that it was all they had. They were so sweet. We got their picture and their names. The driver and the guy with her were Darrell and Ferel Little. In the back seat were Pam and Pete Vega Cheavez, and Ruthie Virnay who is 84 years old and a real cutie. We were now at 19 plus. It was a bit after 3 PM and we headed back to camp - only 2 miles down the road.

We stopped at the castle and Meredith was waiting in the car for us. We all went in and got things in and somewhat put away. Then Meredith, Sam and I went down to the post office and to the school. We had lots of mail at the post office and a good greeting from the clerks who were very enthusiastic about what we were doing. After we left there we went to the Middle School to see about speaking to a class or two. The principal wasn't in, but the secretary took the card to give him, then gave me his name and number so I could call him in the morning.

Next we went to Wal-Mart to look at jackets and pick up a couple other things. They didn't have jackets that would work, but we got everything else we needed, and a clerk told us where the Sport Stop was. Next we went there and I asked the clerk about a water proof jacket. He took me upstairs and showed me some wind and water proof jackets. I told him what I needed it for and he was very interested. He asked if we ever spoke to youth groups. I told him we hadn't yet, but we were always open to the idea. A youth pastor had just been in and needed something for tonight. I told him we would be willing to do it. His wife was working downstairs so he told her and she called him to see if he would like us to come. He had just gotten something, so didn't need us tonight. They have our phone number in case they want us another time. I ended up getting both a jacket and pants of the wind and water proof. I'm very pleased with it and with the shop.

We went on back to the castle, then Meredith started on dinner. We had salmon, red potatoes, fresh corn, and strawberry shortcake. It was all delicious! I even liked the salmon. We had used my George Foreman lean mean grilling machine for the salmon.

After we ate I finished my journal and we chatted, then we headed for bed.




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September 11, 2003 - Thursday - 14.5 + 1159.7 = 1174.2 Total Miles to Date

                                                                41.7 Total WY Miles to Date - Day 3 Walking

Today we got started at about 8:30. There were only 2 miles to go to our KOA so we walked right into the KOA for our first pit stop. After stopping there we continued on into Sheridan. Our route took us down Main St. for awhile, then we went over to Broadway and down to Grinnel where the Sheridan Press was. We were to go there to meet with Pat Blair, a reporter, for an interview. On the corner across from the Press was a sculpture of a jockey on a horse that was fascinating. As we crossed the street toward it Waliluke suddenly began to bark like crazy. He was afraid of the sculpture, but barked and growled at it. There was another one down the street that he didn't like any better. I went into the Press, and Pat and the photographer, Anna, came outside to interview and photograph us. Then they went back inside and we went around to all the statues on that street and took pictures of them. The two that we really liked were made by a local artist out of barbed wire. They were absolutely fascinating. The other statues were some metal by another artist and really quite good. Waliluke was very much afraid of all of them and barked at each of them.

Finally we walked back to the van stopping at one place while Joni went into a store. Sam and I stopped and talked with a young family, letting the little 2 year old girl, Taylor, pet the doggies. We enjoyed talking with them for awhile. I took their pictures and got their names - Fauna and Taylor. They were from Gillette, so I asked them about roads between Gillette and South Dakota. She didn't know them too well, but thought we would find something. We then stopped for some lunch and to check our maps to choose the route for WY, since we had decided we needed to change the route because of the weather changes. Dave called to read an e-mail from Mirek. Basically he said that he was thinking back to two years ago to our 9 11 terrorist attacks, and thinking about our walk. He asked if we would allow him to walk with us in spirit for today in memory of 9 11. (I later called Pat Blair to tell her about that, and she will probably put a note into our story about that.) Then we drove back to Grinnel to begin walking again. Our new route took us past Wal-Mart and the Firestone store. We stopped at the Firestone to see about getting a time for Lady Van Go to be serviced. They gave us a time of noon tomorrow.

Continuing on we left Sheridan via Hwy 14 toward Gillette. This has turned out to be a beautiful route! The hills are turning green and the distant mountains are covered with snow since yesterday's rain where we are. This route is over rolling hills - nice comfortable walking. When we quit for the day we drove back on the route to get the mileage. Then stopped while I talked with Russ. He had gotten home and told me a bit about his trip. I told him about our day and some of the days getting here.

Then back to the castle where we enjoyed a delicious stew prepared by Meredith. We opened our mail (Sam and I had stopped to pick it up as we walked past) and enjoyed going through it. Then we did journaling and Bible study and headed for bed.


September 12, 2003 - Friday - 17.3 + 1174.2 = 1191.5 Total Miles to Date

                                                            59.0 Total WY Miles to Date - Day 4 Walking

Today we headed out with the 5 of us plus Meredith. At our start place Meredith, Joni and Cassie went ahead to walk back to meet us. It was fun walking together. The weather was just comfortable - I was in shorts with long sleeves on my arms. Then the second time they met us it was beginning to sprinkle. The clouds coming in were looking pretty black, so we decided it was time to put on the rain gear. I put on my new rain set, and Sam put on her rain jacket. Then we headed out while Joni and Meredith drove on ahead with both the dogs. They waited for us for awhile, then drove to meet us before heading back to Sheridan to get the car serviced. The rain was coming down pretty good by now and it was getting colder so we asked Joni if she could handle both dogs at the car place. She agreed to it since we really thought it was too cold for Waliluke. Meredith had her car parked at Wal-Mart so she could go home to the castle and do other things.

Sam and I continued walking while Joni got the van serviced. It really came down for awhile, and we had wind as well. My rain set did a great job, tho' I needed some better gloves and rain sox. Sam's coat is fine for light rain, but not like today, nor for the wind. Without rain pants her regular pants got soaked. Joni had left us at about 11:30 AM and didn't return until about 2 PM. She had both dogs in the waiting room at the car place. She said that Waliluke kept looking to find out who was talking (Joni was watching the news on TV). They finally finished with the van and she came back to get us.

In the meantime Sam and I were enjoying the rain and watching the animals and birds - the cattle, the white-tailed deer, a beautiful great blue heron, lots of grouse, and some of the large birds we've seen several times but haven't been able to find anyone who can tell us what they are. The only car that stopped for us all day was a highway department vehicle with 2 men inside. The driver was Jim and his passenger was Larry Mitchell. They were really nice. We told them we were walking across America praying for the nation no matter what the weather. After I took their picture they left. We had a good grade to climb, but not real hard. Then we started down the other side. By the time Joni came we were both pretty cold - at least our hands were. They were almost numb.

We drove straight back to the castle, then Sam and I changed clothes and headed to downtown Sheridan. We went to the post office, then to Sport Stop to buy Sam a rain set like mine. Next we got gloves, but they only had one set like we wanted, so we got those, then went to other stores looking for more. We didn't find gloves, but we did find the neoprene sox to put over regular sox to keep our feet warm and dry. We got two pair and tried to find more, but that was all they had in our size. Then we went to Wal-Mart to get a few things before heading back to the castle to enjoy Meredith's roast beef and veggies. That was delicious.

Sam went down to the office to get a newspaper while I called Dave. Our article was in it, and we had a good laugh at some of the mistakes they made. Overall it was a good article, but like most news stories it had mistakes. Dave will be here in 5 more days!

Finally it was time to head for bed. It was a good day, and we had lots of fun in the rain. Now we'll see how the new sock covers do and the gloves.


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September 13, 2003 - Saturday - 16.5 + 1191.5 = 1208.0 Total Miles to Date

                                                            75.5 Total WY Miles to Date Day 5 Walking

Today as we drove to our start point I stopped at the top of the pass that we drove over (that we had walked over the day before) and we prayed for the valleys below us on every side. Then we left Memorial Stone #26.

We started hiking at about 9 AM. It was supposed to be real stormy today, but I think we only had a couple of showers in the afternoon. Both were short, but windy and icy with sleet or hail both times. The morning part of our walk was windy at times, but no rain. The scenery was beautiful. We arrived at Ucross with a population of 25 and an elevation of just over 4000 feet. There we had prayer for the area and left Memorial Stone #27. A man stopped to talk with us at the entrance to Ucross and told us that the population really wasn't even 25. His name was Jack Cooksley and he had his dog, Zoro, with him. He was very nice and we enjoyed talking with him for a bit. Then we continued on through the town. At the junction where Hwy 14 and 16 split there is a big junk yard. It really looked awful. We also saw an emu in the yard next to the junk yard. Sam and I walked across the bridge over Piney Creek. It was a beautiful creek. We're not sure if the people of Wyoming say "crik" or "creek" yet. Montanans always said "crik". As we went through the town we saw the Art place where they have a big artists gathering every summer, and an old log cabin. A bit later we saw a herd of mountain goats going down to a pond for water, then up over a hill and out of sight.

A few miles down the road we stopped for a bite to eat at the van. While we were there two women came up on horses from the ranch we were parked beside. We talked with them a bit and told them what we were doing. They were real nice. They invited us to attend their church on Sunday, but it starts at 9 AM and is 40 miles from where we're parked, so not too practical. They said they would have their church pray for us this Sunday. We took their pictures and got their names. They are Connie and Misty Moore - Connie is Misty's mother. Their two dogs are Grace and Baily. The horses names I don't remember.

A bit further down the road we arrived at Clearmont where they had a really nice sign. We had prayer for the community and the area, then left our Memorial Stone #28. We walked through the town and on through for another mile. Then we called it a day, and drove back through the town to see some of the historic sites such as their original jail, the church that Connie and Misty attend, and the original schoolhouse. Then we headed back to the castle.

When we arrived the aroma of turkey dinner wafted through the air. Meredith was preparing a delectable dinner for us weary walkers. It was not ready yet, nor would it be for awhile, so we got busy with getting things in, preparing laundry, doing journals and Bible studies. Joni took laundry over and took her shower while that was going. Then we had dinner when she came back. Finally we cleaned up, took care of a few phone calls, and headed for bed.



September 14, 2003 - Sunday - 1208.0 Miles to Date

                                                            75.5 Total WY Miles to Date Day 6 - Rest Day 1


Today we went to Grace Baptist Church in Sheridan. A few people recognized us from the article in the Sheridan Press. They didn't give us an opportunity to share particularly, but when they had prayer requests a lady named Dixie asked prayer for us. The pastor introduced us and gave the info from our card. The man who said the closing prayer also prayed for us. After church we talked with a few people, then headed for the car where we discovered the dogs (led by Waliluke I'm sure) had gotten into a bag of candy and quite a few other things.


We headed back to the castle, and Sam and Joni decided they would do a thorough cleaning of the car since the dogs had made a thorough mess of it. While they went to work emptying the van, I went to work cleaning the dishes and getting the kitchen area cleaned up so that Meredith could prepare our brunch. Joni and Sam took the empty van to get it washed and Meredith started on our brunch. We had eggs benedict after the gals got home with the van. They were really good. Then I set to work cleaning up the kitchen.

But before I cleaned up the kitchen I went over to the KOA office to see if they had a recommendation for someone to repair our refrigerator which decided to quit working this morning. They did, and I called him and he said he could come out in half an hour. His name is Roger Snell, and his business is Summertime R.V. Service. He said it was a default in the computerized board (I forget the name for it) and he suggested we write the company and request a refund on the part. He replaced the part, and then gave us a reduced rate on his labor. He had read about us in the paper, and had even seen us walking the other day and waved to us. He was very nice and helpful. I asked him about the microwave being connected to the generator, and he suggested we could get a short heavy duty extension cord and just plug it in below the sink. We'll try that.

As Roger was leaving a man came up looking for us. He talked to Meredith for awhile while I finished up with Roger. The man's name is Brad Kremensek and he is the principal of a Christian School. He wondered if we would be able to come share in their devotion time one morning this week. It is a school of grades 8 through 12, 29 students. I talked with him for awhile, and made arrangements to be at their school Tuesday morning at 8:15. What a delightful time of sharing with him.

He left and we continued with our work - Joni and Sam cleaning/repairing the RV and van, and me working on files so they could put the one back in the van. The dogs were going crazy much of the day (probably hyper from the junk they ate in the car earlier) and by day's end we were all exhausted. Joni went to bed a bit after 8 PM, Sam went out to talk with Chip, and at this point I don't know if I'll get to talk with Dave tonight or not, but maybe I can talk with him tomorrow afternoon when we finish walking if it is early enough before he has to go to chorus practice - actually I don't think he's going to chorus tomorrow night because he won't be there for the program they are practicing for anyway. I need to figure out where we are going to move to on Wednesday so that I can tell him. It will be either Gillette or Moorecroft, WY, but I'm not certain yet. Anyway I'm going to stop now and get a bite to eat, and then get ready for bed.


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September 15, 2003 - Monday - 17.8 + 1208.0 = 1223.8 Total Miles to Date

                                                                91.3 Total WY Miles to Date - Walking Day 6

Today we headed out to our start point with all 6 of us - Joni, Sam and me, the two dogs and also Meredith. It was a bit before 9 when we started, doing our usual thing of Sam and me and Waliluke walking while Joni, Meredith and Cassie drove ahead and walked back. We did this a couple of times, then Meredith sat in the car while Joni walked to meet us a couple more times. The last time they both sat in the car.



We had beautiful scenery all day today with the snow on the distant mountains, and the sheep, cows, and horses in the fields, plus we saw several pronghorn antelope and some deer today. It was a good day of walking, tho' my legs were tired. Waliluke walked nicely most of the day, staying in the car the last 4 or 5 miles. We passed through Leiter, stopping to visit a bit in the Leiterville Country Club. This is actually the one business building in town which houses the post office, café, bar, and gift shop. The population, they tell us, is all of 5. There we met Jill, the waitress, and two customers, Bruce and Jason. Jason gave us a $10.00 bill, and all three thanked us for doing this. We went out to the car then (after taking pictures of all of them) and prayed for the town, the ranches, and the whole area, then did our Memorial Stone # 29, and left it by the tree in front of the "country club".

When we got to the next junction, a bit over 8 miles down the road from Leiter, we called it a day since we needed to get back to Sheridan to check our mail and to do some other errands. We stopped a couple of times on the return trip to take pictures of things. Then we got back to Sheridan and went to the post office where we had only one piece of mail. It was a UPS notice for Sam. We went next to the Salvation Army to donate a few items. Their donation station was closed, but I went in and talked to the lady explaining what we were doing and she got me a cart to bring it in and leave with her. She was really nice about it, and wished us well.

Next we went to the pet store by Albertsons to see if they had a sweater and rain gear for the pups. They had several sweaters, and one nice waterproof sweater/slicker, but the hood didn't fit right. The gal there called a store in Gillette, but they weren't sure what they had other than some left over stuff from last year like the store here. She told us how to get to the store, so we'll try when we get to Gillette. Also the gal at this store said she would be able to order stuff for us if we couldn't find it anyplace. After we got back to the castle she called to say she had printed out a list of things we could get through her and would have it there for us to pick up if we wanted, so we'll get that list tomorrow on our way home.

At home we had bean soup waiting for us, and ate a couple of helpings each. It was delicious, and we topped it off with the last of the berry cobbler. Then I called Dave and talked with him for quite awhile. He had several things he needed to tell me, and I told him about our circus of a day yesterday. He was real pleased to hear about our speaking engagement for tomorrow.

Finally I did my journal and my Bible Study and headed for bed.



September 16, 2003 - Tuesday - 15.5 + 1223.8 = 1239.3 Total Miles to Date

                                                                106.8 Total WY Miles to Date - Walking Day 7

Today was an early start since we needed to be at Three Peaks Christian School at 8:15. We arrived right around 8 AM. As we got out some of the students were arriving, and soon the principal, Brad K, came out and said the students were coming in telling him that "those ladies are here". We had to leave the dogs outside, so we left Cass in the car and Waliluke tied up to the post by the car so he could be outside with his food and a toy. He did pretty well. We went inside with Brad to the library where they had donuts and tea and coffee waiting for us. They also had a gift package for us. Brad gave us a summary of what to expect and then prayed with us.

We then went to room 106 where we would meet with the students in an informal setting. Brad introduced us, and I started out with some background and a bit about the walk so far, then we went into telling them about the Crow Indian Reservation and how people kept telling us not to walk there. We chose to listen to GOD rather than man, and found that to be the best part of our journey. We challenged them to think about those they had prejudices against and to ask GOD to give them a loving heart toward those people.


Sam shared about the walk from her perspective, telling about the times of being tired and still having to do stuff, or about having to do things or give up things that were hard. Joni shared about the memorial stones. Then we had picture time, question and answer time and had them put their names on a paper for me. We also told them about the rescue of Waliluke and then took them out to visit the dogs. Waliluke loved all the attention, while Cassie kept looking around for her mommy who had stayed inside talking to the teachers.

Finally we went back to the library with the principal, got our stuff, said good byes and headed out. But first one of the teachers came back in to ask the principal if her class could go out to see the Sheridan memorial stone and pray for us there (her class happens to be studying memorial stones right now). Brad gave his permission and they headed out. We weren't too far behind them, and stopped across from them as they were walking back to it. We thanked them again and drove on. Then I remembered that we needed gas before going out to start walking since there is no gas along the way, so we turned around and went back. They had just finished praying for us and wanted a picture, so Joni and Sam got out. Sam posed with the class by the sign while Joni took the picture. I stayed in the van with the pups. What a nice group of young people - the whole school was really great! We continued on to get gas at the Texaco station.

Once we had gas and used bathrooms we got on our way. It was a long way to our start point so it took us awhile, but once there it didn't take us long to start walking. We did have a good discussion in the car as we went too. Our walking took us through more beautiful country where we continued in the rolling prairies. A lot of trucks passed us all day today - many were carrying water out to the fields it looked like, but we were never quite sure. They were going back and forth for quite awhile, so they got to know us.

Finally a bit after 5 PM we came to Spotted Horse (the name of the town) with an unknown population (we figured 1 or 2), but lots of cars were sitting in front of the bar - the only building in "town". We took pictures and prayed, but we didn't leave a memorial stone because we lost our marking pen. However we know we'll be back to Spotted Horse on Thursday, so we'll bring the stone back with us then and leave it.

Then it was time for the drive back to the castle. We had hoped to be back in time to get to the UPS, but not to be, so we went to the pet store where the gal had an envelope waiting for me with a list of the various rain items and sweaters for dogs that we could order if we can't find the things we need.

Then we headed home where Meredith began to get our dinner ready for us. It was after 7:30 by the time we had dinner. We also watched slides of the time Meredith was with us. Then Joni and I took the dogs out to the pet area, then came back to get ready for bed, pray and get to sleep.


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September 17, 2003 - Wednesday - Moving Day - 1239.3 Total Miles to Date

                                                                    106.8 Total WY Miles to Date - Rest Day 2

Today I got up soon after 5 AM, got myself ready then sat down with a cup of tea to have my Bible study. Meredith soon came out and did her Bible study also. Then she told me she was going to get going soon since she had realized that she was going to have about an 8 hour day of driving. She and I had our breakfast then Joni got up and helped me get stuff into Meredith's car that we were sending back with her. Then we said good bye and Meredith was on her way.

Joni and I went in and sat and talked and ate and waited for Sam to wake up. We did a little cleaning up and then Sam got up. Joni and I went down to the Post Office to get our mail and leave the forwarding addresses. Back at the castle we started getting things unhooked, but then the dogs escaped and we went after them. They just went two doors down to the RV that had the nice dog cage outside - Joni and I had looked at it a bit last night. Their dog wasn't in it, but two men were in it. We thought that was rather interesting, so we started talking with them. Cassie, Waliluke and their dog seemed to get along pretty well, but soon Cassie got a bit rough, so Joni put her in the car. Then Waliluke and their dog played together really well for quite awhile as we talked with the two men, Lance and Barry. They work for the pipe line, and are just here for a few days. We told them what we were doing and they were really impressed. Lance has an RV park in Gillette. He said he had just winterized it yesterday before he came to Sheridan. He said if it were still open he would let us stay there for free as long as we needed to. He was really serious. We took their pictures, then we said good bye and went back to unplugging everything.

The RV started a little hard, but Sam sprayed in the starter fluid and we got her going. We headed out to Hwy 90 and we were off to Gillette. We made a short stop in Buffalo to get gas after driving through the snow for a bit. It was a soft slushy snow that didn't stick, but it was cold. The heater in the RV doesn't work with the engine, so my feet were freezing. I put on extra socks, and we kept going. It rained with some slush, but pretty much rain the rest of the way. Finally we arrived at Gillette. I had decided we better find a place to get the RV winterized for driving in cold weather, as well as to get it serviced. I asked at the service station where we got gas in Gillette, and she sent me to the U-Haul place that has RV servicing. That turned out to be only for the home part of the RV. They sent me to the Chrysler dealer who sent me to Goodyear. At last Goodyear said they could do it tomorrow. So we left the RV there taking out what we needed for tonight and tomorrow.


Now we headed out to find a motel. I called Super 8 - they had room so we went on down. When I got there I was the only one at the reception area, but soon there were a lot more lining up behind me. We got two rooms only to discover that one room had not been cleaned or made up. They changed that to another room. Dave called to say he was nearby and wanted to know where to find us. I told him where we were and that we were just taking the dogs downstairs for a quick run. Joni and I took the dogs down, and as I glanced back I noticed Dave right behind me. It was SO good to see him after 4 months.

Soon we went back to the rooms to visit. Sam was on the phone with Chip in our room, so Joni and Dave and I visited in the girl's room for awhile. Cassie and Waliluke were playing all over the place. Every once in awhile Waliluke would go to the dresser and stand up at the mirror to see himself. He seemed to be quite taken with himself. It was really funny.

Leanne was the clerk at the desk at the Super 8. She was really frustrated about all the things that were going crazy. When I went down to change our keys that didn't work I told her about our walk and that we were praying for her. She was really pleased and quite excited about our walk. I took some cards and other info to her, and got her picture.

After visiting with the others a bit we said good night and headed for our rooms.



September 18, 2003 - Thursday - 10.0 + 1239.3 = 1249.3 Total Miles to Date

                                                                116.8 Total WY Miles to Date - Walking Day 8

Today we got a late start because we wanted to get our campground paid for before we headed out. Joni said that every time she woke up in the night Waliluke was sitting up looking at himself in the mirror. Like I said before, Waliluke is quite taken with himself. As we left the motel Joni ran in to the office to leave her key. When she finally came out she had coffee and a bagel, so the rest of us went in to get a bite to eat also. Then we drove down to the first campground and looked it over, but didn't like some of the things about it. We decided to go out to the High Plains campground and take a look. It looked much better and was about half the price. We registered then headed out to get gas, and go to the castle to pick up some things.

Finally we drove on out to our start point at Spotted Horse. Joni took the first shift of driving so that Dave could walk for a bit. He walked for about a mile and a half. Joni and Cassie came back to meet us, then they continued on while Dave took over the driving. We had a lot of fun with watching the dogs and seeing lots of pronghorn antelope today. When we stopped at the car one of the times we saw a large pronghorn approaching the area where we were at the car. Joni and I both got our cameras ready, and I was holding on to Cassie's leash. Just as the pronghorn got close enough to snap a picture Cassie and Waliluke took off after the pronghorn. I went flying through the air and Cassie pulled loose from me and ran off after the pronghorn. I was okay, but Joni was very worried about me. I got up with her help and had only a sore pinkey as a result. Then we laughed a lot about how I looked flying through the air. That kept us laughing for awhile as we walked on.

We had two cars stop to see what we were doing today. One carload drove off quickly after being assured we were okay. The other guy that stopped was really excited. His name was Jake And he was just real delighted about our Journey. He lives in Gillette, and we asked what church he went to. He said it was Calvary Community Church, so we will probably attend there this Sunday. Jake also gave us his phone number and told us if there is anything we need to be sure to let him know. He assured us that he and his church would be happy to help if we need anything. Right after we talked with him we came to the top of the hill where Dave was waiting for us. We got in and headed back to Gillette. All of a sudden as we were going I remembered that I hadn't left the key to the door of the castle for the servicing. I was so upset with myself.

When we got to the Goodyear place I went in and we were able to set it up for tomorrow morning if I could get it there by 8 AM. That's our normal time for leaving the castle, so we set it up. We worked it so that we could take the castle out to the campground for the night, then get it over to Goodyear first thing in the morning. At the RV Park we only hooked up electricity and water for the night. Sam fixed a quick dinner, then we visited for awhile and finally headed back to our motel leaving Sam and Joni there for the night.

Back at the motel we got everything upstairs only to find that our keys weren't working. A man came by that we started talking with about motorcycle and truck drivers. He was a truck driver wearing a motorcycle shirt. He was quite excited about what we were doing. After a bit I ran downstairs to get them rekeyed. I talked to Leanne. She told me that one lady was very interested in what we were doing and was hoping to see us this morning. However she checked out today, but took our card and other info with her. She also left info with us about her, but she couldn't find it right then. She said she'll find it and get it to us later.

We got into our room, then did the journal and other things.


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September 19, 2003 - Friday - 12.7 + 1249.3 = 1262.0Total Miles to Date

                                                            129.5 Total WY Miles to Date - Walking Day 9

Today I got up and ready and headed out to the campground to take the castle back to Goodyear. I made a wrong turn and then had a hard time getting back to where I needed to go. Finally I got there. We quickly got the electric cord put away and disconnected the water hose. Then I drove the castle to Goodyear with Sam while Joni drove the van over. We told them they didn't have to get it done first thing since we would be walking all day anyway.

Then we went back to the motel to pick up Dave and get some breakfast at the motel. Then we headed out to our start point. It was a gorgeous day for walking. Joni walked with us the whole day since Dave was driving and didn't want to walk. Cassie was limping a bit from a cactus thorn she got in her foot, so Joni had her ride after a few miles, then walk again the next time we met Dave in the car. We didn't have anyone today that stopped and talked with us, but lots of people waved. Finally we called it a day, mainly because I had pulled a muscle and was having trouble walking.

We quit at about 3 PM more or less. Then we drove in to get the castle. They had finished with the servicing, we paid the bill, and then Joni and I took the castle back to the campground while Dave and Sam went to the store. Joni and I got the castle hooked up and then Dave and Sam came back. Joni and Sam sent Dave and I off to eat out together while they set up inside and had their dinner. Joni and I had talked while we were walking and she had encouraged me to take a day off from walking to spend some time with Dave. I asked him what he thought, and we decided to take one day to go see Mt. Rushmore together. After we finished eating we went back to the castle to get a few more things and let Joni and Sam know what we decided to do. We asked which day they would prefer we took off. They both preferred Saturday so that is what we decided to do. After getting the things we needed we left and went back to the motel.

There we worked on journals and the team accounts, and watched some TV.



September 20, 2003 - Saturday - 1262.0 Total Miles to Date

                                                                129.5 Total WY Miles to Date - Rest Day 3

Today we took a day off since the others thought I should take a day with Dave while he is here. That was nice of them and I do appreciate it. We got up fairly early and after a quick breakfast we headed for the campground to leave the van. Then we headed out in Dave's rental car. We went east on the road (Hwy 51) that we'll be walking on next week into South Dakota. The first part takes us past another coal mine (we will be walking past a coal mine on Monday also), then on into Moorcroft. At Moorcroft we continued driving on Hwy 16 into SD and to Custer.

At Custer we stopped long enough to find the post office and find out if we had any mail yet. We did have one package from Alyce-Kay for Sam. From there we went to Crazy Horse and saw the introductory movie, then looked around and took lots of pictures. When we finished there we headed a bit further north to Mt. Rushmore. Just before Mt. Rushmore we saw several mountain goats right beside the road. Unfortunately I didn't have the camera handy and we weren't in a spot where we could stop.

We had our lunch at Rushmore, then went out and looked around and took pictures. We got some things in the gift shop then it was time to head back to Gillette. The day had been nice and sunny and warm, but as we left we noticed the storm clouds gathering. Driving off we watched for the mountain goats again, but they weren't out now. Soon it began to rain as we continued to Custer. We stopped at three campgrounds to get info. All but one close on Sept. 30 for the season. After collecting info on the campgrounds we continued back west to Gillette. As we left the Custer area it began to hail and soon the hail stones became larger (probably about the size of a marble) and really pelted the car and covered the road. Then all of a sudden it stopped.

Back in Wyoming the sun came out and the clouds scattered out and blew away. Finally we got back to Gillette and went to the campground to see Sam and Joni. I had bought hat pins for Joni and me at Rushmore, so I gave hers to her. Then I remembered that I had also picked up a rock for her and for me at Crazy Horse. I went out to the car to get it and put them in the castle. We visited a bit and told them about our day, then we went back to the motel. It was a real good day, and we topped it off with hot fudge sundaes at McDonald's.

 

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September 21, 2003 - Sunday - 1262.0 Total Miles to Date

                                                            129.5 Total WY Miles to Date - Rest Day 4

Today we got up slowly, had a leisurely time of getting ready then went over to pick up the others at the castle. Once everyone was in the car we went over to Grace Bible Church. After trying to dog proof the car we went in and began meeting people. Soon the service began. They sang a few praise songs and a few hymns. One of the men of the church - Brad Brose - had been killed in a motorcycle accident last weekend. The weekend before that another church member had died. Then the daughter of another had just been diagnosed as terminally ill. The church is being hit pretty hard, so today was a pretty tough day for them. The family of Brad Brose was all in the back couple of rows. We will add this church to our list in our prayer book. Also I told the pastor that when I wave to motorcyclists I will be waving a prayer for Brad's family and for this church as well.

After the service we went to Pizza Hut to enjoy a nice pizza together. Then we went to the castle and spent some time while Dave worked with Sam on the computer. Joni and I went to our rooms in the back and I worked on writing letters while we talked.

Finally we left to go back to our room. We drove through Burger King to get a bite to eat before we went up to our room. Then we ate and watched some TV, and talked before bedtime.



September 22, 2003 - Monday - 14.7 + 1262.0 = 1276.7 Total Miles to Date

                                                                144.2 Total WY Miles to Date -- Walking Day 10

Today we waited here at the motel until Joni and Sam came. Then we loaded up the van and I went with Dave in his car while Sam and Joni went in the van. We all went over to the motel 6 across the way to get Nancy and Ingeborg who had arrived in the area last night. Dave and I drove down to check the RV place to see about getting our leak fixed in the castle. The guy we needed to see wasn't in yet, so Dave said he would go back later. We went back to get the others and then out to our start point.

We began with Nancy walking with Sam and me, and Joni and Ingeborg drove ahead to walk back to meet us. It was a good time with Nancy, then a good time with Ingeborg and Joni when they joined us. For the next section Sam and I walked alone to meet the other three.



We continued on, then the next time it was Sam and me and we met the others at the lookout over the Eagle Butte Coal Mine. That was interesting. After spending awhile there, the three of them drove on to the sign for Gillette. We met by the sign, wrote Memorial Stone #30, and then prayed at the sign. We took lots of pictures, then walked on (Sam and I) while the others went on to take Inge back to the motel, and then on to the sport store where Sam and I would walk to meet them. Dave met us at a point along the way, then he drove on to the sport store to meet us there as well. Joni and Nancy were already there, and Joni had found a good pair of hiking sandals.



From there we all drove to the vet's office that the pastor's wife told us about. There we got Waliluke's booster shot, then to the castle for a bit to pick up a few things. Joni and Nancy and Inge went to dinner together and Dave, Sam and I went to dinner together. After dinner we went to the library to see the web site, then to the Flying J to see if they had earrings - they didn't. We went back to the castle to take Sam, then Dave and I went back to the motel. We took care of journaling and getting ready for tomorrow, then to bed.


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September 23, 2003 - Tuesday - 20.3 + 1276.7 = 1297.0 Total Miles to Date

                                                                164.5 = Total WY Miles to Date - Walking Day 11

Today we got up and on our way by about 7:50. We picked up Sam (Joni went with Nancy and Inge to Crazy Horse and Mt. Rushmore) and headed for our start point down by Spoke and Edge Sports in Gillette. We started out with Waliluke and Cassie, but Cass kept stopping to look for her mama. When Dave came to meet us for the first time at about 2 or 3 miles we let Cassie get back in the van. She seemed to be happier with that - maybe she felt closer to her mama in the van. Anyway, Sam and Waliluke and I continued walking while Dave and Cassie went back to Gillette to do some errands. When they returned we were well past the coal mine out east of Gillette.

We had 2 or 3 people stop to ask what we were doing or if we needed a ride. Most didn't have time to get more than a quick explanation and a card because of traffic, but one man stopped and talked for quite awhile. His name is John Wondercheck, and he lives in Moorcroft. He works at the Eagle Butte Coal Mine and was on his way home from work. He told us he runs a stage coach once a year from Cheyenne, WY to Deadwood, SD, then showed us some pictures of some of his trips. It was very interesting. We took a picture of him and promised we'd send him a copy if he gave us his address - which he did.

We continued walking stopping at Rozet to pray. We didn't have a rock and there were none around, so we figured we'd leave one at the end of the day when Dave returned with the car and the extra rocks we've picked up for that purpose. Our route continued alongside the railroad tracks most of the day. These tracks were very busy with coal trains and other cargo trains. One freight train had 2 or 3 passenger cars tacked on at the end of the train.

At one point Dave went to the museum in Gillette to see the film on coal mining. He brought some papers with info in them about the coal, but I haven't had a chance to look at them yet.

When Dave finally returned he told us we had done 19 miles and asked if we wanted to do one more. We said we did, but first wanted to put Waliluke in the car - he was tired and hot. Dave found a good spot to park where we could start our day easily tomorrow. We had 20.3 miles now. On the way back we made 4 stops - 3 to pick up rocks that I had picked out for memorial stones, and one to leave Memorial Stone # 31 at Rozet.

Then we drove on back to the campground and left Sam there. Dave told her good bye, then he took the rental car and I took the van back to the motel where he got his stuff together. We said good bye for now, and we're looking forward to seeing each other for Christmas in 3 months. After he left I went back upstairs and washed up, then I went back to the campground. Sam had dinner ready and we ate. Then I did dishes while she worked on some of her stuff. I did my journal, then went to Wal-Mart to do a little shopping. Then I went back to the motel which we had reserved for one more night, and stayed there by myself. That was good - I needed some time alone at this point, but I will also be happy to be back in the castle with my GAJ Team. .



September 24, 2003 - Wednesday - 16.5 + 1297.0 = 1313.5 Total Miles to Date

                                                                    181.0 Total WY Miles to Date - Walking Day 12

Today I got up and ready and checked out of the motel and went to McD's to get my free McGriddle sandwich, then over to the campground to get the gals. After prayers and unloading all the stuff I brought back from the motel we headed out. We drove to our start point and got fixed up and set out on our walk. It was a nice cool morning, brisk and breezy. We stopped for a few pictures and other things. Then Joni and Cassie came walking toward us, and we walked on to the van together. She moved on ahead to another spot and called Beth before coming to meet us, but by the time she finished talking she saw us coming so didn't bother walking toward us.

Then, as Sam and I continued walking, we wondered why Joni hadn't driven by us yet. As we looked around we saw that Nancy and Ingeborg had driven up and were with Joni. Joni had several things we were sending home with Nancy, so they transferred them as we walked. Later they drove by us and honked and Joni drove into a side road to park. Soon they turned around and came back and parked behind Joni. Ingeborg wanted to say good bye to us since she wouldn't be seeing us again. That was good. We all visited for a bit, then said good byes and they drove off and Sam and I began walking again.

Joni drove ahead to Moorcroft where we prayed and took pictures and wrote out our Memorial Stone # 32 and placed it by the sign. As we walked through we kept looking for shops where I might look for earrings. We came to the Conoco station and went in to use restrooms and look at their souvenir area. I found some pretty earrings of leaves from different trees and asked what the WY state tree was. Three people agreed it was the Cottonwood Tree, so I hope they are right, since I ended up getting a beautiful pair of cottonwood leaves with the gold leaf covering. Sam got some really neat postcards, and Joni and I each got a York Mint. That was good.

Finally we started out again. As we walked a highway patrolman passed us, and soon we saw that he had made a u-turn and pulled a car over that was coming our way. He finished with that person before we got up there, then he was on his way again. A bit later he came back our way and waved to us as he went by - of course we waved to him first. Right after he passed us he flipped around to stop another car going the other direction. He was a busy highway patrolman. Finally we met Joni walking toward us and then we walked on to the car together. Time wise we needed to call it a day. Energy wise we could have continued awhile longer and gotten another 20 mile day in.

It was a good day. Then we drove back to the castle stopping a couple of places to take pictures. Oh, yes, we were able to see Devil's Tower pretty clearly from where we were walking and took some pictures of that. It was quite a distance away, so not sure how well the pictures will turn out. Another picture we took as we drove back was of a young boy herding sheep on his ATV. That was really cute.

We drove on into Gillette to the Spoke and Edge Sports Store to see if they had any long sleeve bicycle shirts - I seem to have lost mine and I love it. Unfortunately they had none. Bicycling in this area is not a winter sport so they have no need to carry such items. I hadn't thought about such a thing. I'm used to California where people do bike in all types of weather and bicycling isn't limited to summer. Oh well.

Then we went to our campground, had dinner, then worked on our finances. We needed to cut to the bone for the rest of the month since we've had some unexpected expenses for the castle this last week - winterizing it and repairing a leak. Well, we've pared as much as we can for now, so we'll see what happens. GOD will supply - He always seems to come through when we need it. One thing we want to do is add to the list of "care items" that people can buy us - things such as our neoprene socks, and Thorlo's, and ink cartridges (numbers 27 and 28) for the printer, plus meal packets, and other things. Then if people want to help out with an item here and there they can mail those either to our General Delivery address or to Dave, and he can mail them on to us.

Sam went out to talk with Chip and walk Waliluke, and Joni and I journaled and cleaned up. Then we all headed for bed. Tomorrow is moving day - we'll be moving to Custer.

.

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September 25, 2003 - Thursday - Moving Day 1313.5 = Total Miles to Date

                                                                181.0 Total WY Miles to Date - Rest Day 5

Today I stayed in bed a bit later (about 6 AM), then got up and dressed, had my Quiet Time and wrote letters. The others got up at around 9 or 10 AM, then we began to hustle around to get things put away and packed up ready to move. It was a bit after 11 AM when we pulled out, but we drove over to the Wal-Mart first to park the castle there while we ran some errands. We went to the Hallmark shop so Joni and Sam could get some things, then we went looking for the pet store - "All GOD's Creatures". We finally found it with the help of a gal in a gas station. There we ended up getting a chain leash for Waliluke, and also a waterproof jacket with hood for him. We tried it on him and he looks like a motorcycle dog in it. It is really cute. They didn't have any rain gear for Cassie in her size.

Then we headed back to Wal-Mart. Sam and I went in while Joni went to get gas. We got our shopping done there, then headed out to find Joni in the parking lot. She was at the entrance to the store with both dogs and talking with two ladies. She was telling them all about what we were doing, so I whipped out some cards and handed them each one.

We took the stuff out to the castle and put it in. Then Joni stayed in the castle with the furry people while Sam and I went to Albertsons to get groceries. We got that done and then we loaded them into the castle. Joni and I made sandwiches while Sam put things in the fridge. Then we ate lunch and cleaned up and headed out for the freeway. We drove to Moorcroft on the freeway, then we turned onto Hwy 16 and on to Upton and Newcastle.

We stopped for gas in Newcastle. The first place we stopped the gas pump didn't work, so I went to another place. There it worked okay, but their gas pumps are set up so it is quite a trick to get the big RV out. It's really not too bad - just have to do a forward/backward maneuver.

Then we headed on into South Dakota and to our campground. When we arrived I went in to check in and Joni came up to tell me the owner had just told her he's been reading about us in the newspapers. I got checked into Space 35. While I was checking in Nancy drove up. She asked what kind of pizza we would like, then went into Custer to get it for us. What a sweet thing to do. We really enjoyed it. She also gave us a big zip loc dish of fresh veggies - ummmmmm!

Nancy said good bye and headed back to Custer where she is spending the night. She'll be heading back to San Jose tomorrow morning. We took the dogs out and then came in and journaled and got ready for tomorrow, and went to bed..


September 26, 2003 - Friday - 16.0 + 1313.5 = 1329.5 Total Miles to Date

                                                            197 Total WY Miles to Date - Walking Day 13

Today Sam and I got up early and got ready, then we did our Bible studies. We woke Joni up a bit later and then we prepared our Herbal Life Shakes. I had fun doing that. Soon we were all ready and heading out to our start point. It took a long time to reach the start, but we finally did get there. It was raining so we put on our rain gear. Moving things from the pack to the rain jacket pocket took time, but at last we were on our way. It was a cold rain and I didn't have my long sleeve shirt with me (sure wish I could find another long sleeve bicycle shirt). I was only cold for a little while then the walking warmed me up.

We did a lot of waving, but only one person stopped to see if we needed a ride. Cars were coming so we didn't get to do much more than tell him that we were walking across America praying for the nation, then he had to drive on. Joni had forgotten to bring her rain pants today, so she only walked a little bit. At one of the stops where we met Joni we stopped to eat some cheese and crackers. I saw a car signaling to turn into where we were and couldn't imagine where anyone would be going at this spot. Then we realized it was Nancy again. She had come down to find us one more time before heading back to San Jose. She got in and we all talked for awhile as we ate, then Sam and I headed out again.

A bit later we met again at the Rest Stop just past Upton - actually at the entering Upton sign on the east side. We were going to pray and leave our Memorial stone after we used the restrooms, but we came out and completely forgot. When we realized it later we decided to go there first thing in the morning before walking to pray and leave our stone. Joni met us at the 224 mile post, and we called it quits for the day.

On our way home to the castle we stopped in Newcastle to make phone calls (we have good phone service there, but not in Custer). I wanted to call Ernest and Bernice to see if they were still thinking of coming to visit us sometime. We talked for a few minutes - he had misplaced our schedule and had been wondering about us and how we were doing. I told him to e-mail Dave to have him send regular updates.

Then we headed on to Custer to check at the post office to find out their times. They are only open from 10 to noon on Saturday, and 9 to 5 on weekdays. Hopefully we'll get back in time Monday to get the mail. If not it will be Tuesday.

Back at camp we changed out of wet clothes and Sam prepared dinner. We ate, walked the dogs and did journaling. Finally I headed for bed after helping Joni catch up on her journal (I just gave her info.)


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September 27, 2003 - Saturday - 20.2.+ 1329.5 = 1349.7Total Miles to Date

                                                                217.2 Total WY Miles to Date - Walking Day 14

Today we headed out for our start point at about 8:30 AM and still had quite a distance to go so it took us awhile to get there. We drove into Upton to the rest stop where the big Upton sign is so we could pray there and leave our memorial stone #33 (we forgot to do it yesterday after getting sidetracked). Then we drove on to our start point about 4 miles further. The sky was beautiful - blue with lots of fluffy clouds. There was a pretty good wind most of the day. Waliluke enjoys the cool weather and the wind. He is all perky and prancy.

I had a bit of an upset stomach today, so just took the mileage a bit at a time and waited to see how it went for each section. I did okay, tho' I was very sluggish all morning. By afternoon I was doing better and in the end I said let's go for 20 so we can finish Wyoming on Monday. That was great. Waliluke did all 20.2 miles with us and still had energy to spare - in fact when we got back to the castle he wanted to play with Cassie all evening running up and down the length of the castle. Where he gets so much energy I don't know.

Three cars stopped to see if we needed help today. The first was a man named Dan Duvall and he told us his daughter was in the hospital in Custer. Her name is Stacy and she is 17 years old. Her problems may be an chemical imbalance from what he told us. We promised to add them to our prayer list. We took his picture and we talked some more. He seemed pretty down on life. - The second one who stopped was a sheriff deputy, but only to make sure we were alright. He didn't stick around to find out what we were doing. Much later in the day he drove by again and waved to us - we had gone about 18 miles further than when we first saw him. - The third person to stop was a lady who called back to us to find out if we were okay. She didn't want to talk or find out anything even tho' I called to her as I headed toward her car that we were walking across America praying for the nation. She was probably in a hurry to get home, but her conscience wouldn't let her leave us stranded, so once she knew we were okay she just took off.

One stretch when Joni had driven ahead to walk back, she got Cassie out of the car and started walking only to have Cassie suddenly pull her all the way back to the car. Coming toward us they were walking into the wind, and Cassie evidently didn't like the wind and refused to go. Joni said that when Cassie got back in the car that time she jumped into the back seat and immediately closed her eyes pretending to be asleep. When Joni talked to her she opened her eyes to look at Joni, but immediately closed them again. :-)

Chip called for Sam once and they had a long conversation. While they were talking Dave called on my phone. We also talked for quite awhile. Joni came and saw us both on our phones and thought that was pretty funny. We were both surprised that we had such good phone service for so long a time. I was able to give Dave most of our update on time and places and miles so he could get it written up. Then I called him when we finished walking to let him know our exact mileage and how far we were from Newcastle, and that barring any unforseen circumstances we should make it to the South Dakota border on Monday!! We expect to be in South Dakota for only a week to a week and a half! After that - Nebraska!

We drove through Newcastle on the way back to our castle since that is the way we'll be walking rather than on the bypass. Back at the castle I went into the office to see about a listing of churches and their times. I picked out three that start at 10:45; 10:50; and 11:00. The gal in the office also gave me a map of Custer.

We had a dinner of soup and sandwiches - ummm- umm, good! Then Sam went to make phone calls, and I journaled while the pups played and Joni and I just about died laughing at them. Finally we headed for bed tired and happy.



September 28, 2003 - Sunday - 1349.7 = Total Miles to Date

                                                            217.2 Total WY Miles to Date -- Rest Day 6

Today we went to Berean Bible Church in Custer, SD. It was a very nice church. We were given the opportunity to share about our Journey. The pastor spoke on Grace - a very good message. After church people seemed to ignore us at first, but then as we were about ready to exit one couple stopped to talk with us. They were really excited that we would be in the Custer area for awhile, and asked if we could come to dinner some night this week. We said we'd be delighted. They are going to call us and leave a message if they don't get through to us. When we went out to the car and opened the doors to see what the dogs (Waliluke) had done both dogs jumped out. Waliluke ran over to where two couples were talking and started nudging them for a petting. They happened to love dogs, so were more than willing to pet him. We went over and talked with them for awhile.

Finally we headed out for Rapid City. We went past Crazy Horse on the way, so Sam got to see that, then we took the turnoff for Mt. Rushmore and decided to eat our lunch there. We paid the $8.00 parking fee which will get us in for the rest of the year. We are tentatively planning to go back to see the light show the night before we move since moving day is usually a sleep-in day.

We all had the spaghetti lunch at Rushmore, then did some shopping in the gift shop - their gift shop items are really quite reasonably priced. I got a pair of rose quartz earrings (SD state mineral), and two very inexpensive U.S. flag necklaces which I will turn into earrings with my french hooks. Joni did some Christmas shopping there, and Sam got several things as well.


Next we headed on to Rapid City. Once there we found the mall after a few wrong turns. The store we wanted was Scheels All Sports. That was really a fun store. We found more rain-proof socks, plus the waterproof gloves that Joni and Sam needed. Then I found a replacement for my bicycle shirt that disappeared. We also went to Target, but didn't find what we wanted there. Joni found another store where she did the rest of her Christmas shopping. (I'm not planning on doing any Christmas shopping this year - there just isn't enough time or money - mostly a lack of time.) Last of all we went to a pet store in the mall and Joni found a rain coat for Cassie.

 

Finally we headed back to the castle. There was a beautiful sunset on our way back, so we stopped and took pictures. Though the drive wasn't long, it seemed long because it got dark and we went back on the main road instead of past Mt. Rushmore, so it was mostly unfamiliar to us. Finally we arrived at the castle, got our stuff in, the dogs out for a walk, and things ready for tomorrow, and then to bed.







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September 29, 2003 - Monday - 16.2 + 1349.7 = 1365.9Total Miles to Date

                                                                233.4 Total WY Miles to Date - Walking Day 15

Today was another exciting day on the Great American Journey. We headed out to our start point when Sam asked if we should go back to Custer to get mail at the post office before we started walking. It had been awhile since we had been able to get mail so we all agreed we should indeed go get it then rather than wait till we finished (too much of a possibility of it being closed at the day's end). So we turned around and headed to Custer - not too far. Sure enough we had mail! - Lots of it! What fun! Oh we do love mail days! There were 3 care packages today with lots of goodies, and quite a bunch of letters. There were even Beggin' Strips for the "furry people". But still the two pair of shoes I had ordered weren't there. So we stopped by the camp again and picked up the phone number of the store where I ordered the shoes.

Finally we got to our start point and I listened to my phone messages. One was from Dave asking about the rocks we had said we were sending home with Meredith (we didn't get them sent, so I called him to let him know). The other message was from Joyce Pilgrim to see if we could come for dinner Thursday. I called her back first and told her we'd love to come for dinner. She gave me directions to their place - it sounds real easy since it is just off of Hwy 16 that we are walking on and driving on each day. I recognized all the landmarks she mentioned since we've been seeing them every day. Next I called the store in Billings to see about my shoes. I talked with the manager of the shoe dept. and he took my number, then went to check on them and call me back. He called me right back to say that the shoes were there in the store - someone had neglected to send them as they had promised to do. They had tried to call me and got a wrong number (I just noticed that I had written down the wrong number on the receipt - I had put a 9 instead of a 7 in one spot). We both apologized for our mistakes. He was really very nice. Anyway I asked him to send the shoes to me at the home address, then when Dave gets them he'll talk to me to make sure he sends them to the right place.

The last call I made was the one to Dave, and I got ready to walk before doing that so that I could talk while we walked. This was our last day in Wyoming and we were anxious to get it done. We had a bit over two miles to Newcastle, so I talked with Dave while we walked there. He had several questions for me, and I had several things I needed to tell him. I also talked to Russ briefly -- he needed to know what day we were walking through Custer since he was hoping to contact a school or two for us, and maybe the news media. Dave and I talked a bit more, then he had to get back to work, and we had to stop at Newcastle to pray and leave our memorial stone # 35.

After praying we continued on through Newcastle enjoying the different little shops (we didn't go in any, in fact an awful lot of them were closed up and boarded over). It's very sad to see so many shops out of business. The town is really cute. It has a beautiful city hall/courthouse and a nice looking post office. We took lots of pictures. Finally we reached the east side of Newcastle and headed on east toward the border. We had a bike path for awhile, then a sort-of dirt path for awhile. Joni and Cassie walked with us off and on throughout the day, as usual. They got in quite a bit today, which made Joni very happy. There were several Wyoming History signs to stop and read and photograph today. Joni stopped at the Accidental Oil Well to find out about it.

Then we came to the border of Wyoming and South Dakota at last. What fun. We took pictures - no pouring of water over each other this time, too cold - but we celebrated with yells and hugs (we sometimes get a little weird when we're on the road all day). Joni gave me a beautiful piece of rose quartz that she bought at the oil well place as a memory of the WY/SD border crossing. It is really beautiful! She gave Sam a little piece of rose quartz also (Sam doesn't collect things). After celebrating with pictures, etc., we prayed for both Wyoming and South Dakota, then left Memorial stones #36 and #37 at the border signs.

Then we drove back to the castle where I prepared corned beef hash with fried eggs for a celebration dinner. Now some may not think that is a very exciting dinner, but it just so happens that it is really a very special meal for the three of us - how nice that we each like that so much.

We read letters, did journals, and other things, then headed for bed. A great day! Thank you LORD! To GOD be the glory!


September 30, 2003 - Tuesday - 16.3 + 1365.9 = 1382.2 Total Miles to Date

                                                                16.3 Total SD Miles to Date - Day 1 - Walking


Today was our first day to walk in South Dakota! It's a beautiful state with much to see. Our first 10 or 11 miles were pretty easy with lots of red hills - some climbing, but easy stuff. Joni and Cassie walked a couple of times with us in this portion. Then she and Cassie drove on to the end of the section that is very narrow road to wait for us.

This narrow road section is about 5 miles long, and is windy and tight. We've had to drive this every day for the last several days. It's really not too bad, but we have to watch for cars and get off the road for them - especially if there are cars in both directions at the same time as us. Once trucks were meeting right beside us with not much room for us to get off. I leaned up against the mountain somewhat and was fine. Waliluke did great the whole day.

This section had lots of beautiful rocks along the road. Joni had asked me to look for one for her while I was picking mine. I was expecting to get some red rock since there is so much of it there, but then I came to a section with lots of white rock. I ended up with a very white one for me with some pink undertones streaked through it. For Joni I got one that is also white, but with purple lines. They are both quite nice. I had to carry them about 3 miles, and though they are fairly small, they were quite heavy after a bit - especially since we were going uphill most of the way. There were lots of nice things to take pictures of including some foliage with beautiful reds, yellows and greens. There was the Jasper fire area - a fire that raged through the area in August of 2000 - that made many interesting pictures as well.

We walked through the Jewel Caves National Monument area. As we went through this area we came to a turnout just as a couple in a car coming toward us pulled into it. They "just had to know" what we were doing. They had seen us in Newcastle yesterday, and were hoping they would see us again today on their way back so they could ask us. Their names are Randy and Gail, and they live in Newcastle. We really enjoyed talking with them. I told them about the memorial stones and where we had put the Newcastle one. I took their pictures, then they said good bye and headed off while we continued walking. They said they had seen the green van just up the hill.

Soon we arrived at the van, and then we headed on into Custer to the post office (no mail today

:-( ) but we did pick up our forwarding forms to fill out for later. We also asked about a grocery store since we hadn't seen one. He told us where two were. We headed off to the grocery store to get some bread and zip loc sandwich bags. Then back to the castle to get the laundry ready for Joni to take over. Sam got started on dinner while I dumped the black water and went to the office to register for 4 more nights. After we ate dinner we packed up all our summer clothes, Sam vacuumed, we folded laundry, did our journals, and went to bed. It was a great day.

 

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