LYN'S JOURNALS

January, 2004

Through January 31, 2004 - Saturday - 2,505 Total Miles to Date

January 1, 2004 - Thursday - 2287.1 Total Miles to Date

81.8 Total MO Miles - Day 20 - Christmas Break

Week Before Last Total Miles - 77.4

Today I got up at about 6 AM and sat in the jacuzzi for awhile and got myself ready for the day. Then I worked on getting stuff cleaned up and ready to take back to the castle. Dave got up and we ate breakfast and continued packing up and cleaning up. Finally we loaded the car and checked out at the office and went back to the castle. Then we spent a couple of hours putting stuff away and sorting things out so that Dave and Lois could take a lot of stuff back to Alyce-Kay's with them for us to pick up at the end of the Journey. I reorganized a lot of my stuff.

We made some phone calls - one to Russ to wish him a Happy New Year and find out how things were going at home. He tells us that the library is still closed since the earthquake because the parking lot has a sink hole. The quake released the hot springs flowing under the area. They are trying to find out how deep it runs. Russ said that the hole in the parking lot grows each day. He also tells us that the area around the square just isn't the same. Also there are detours all over the place and traffic gets really backed up.

After a bit we went to dinner together - Dave wanted to take us all out for our last night together. We went to a place called BBQ and Burgers. Kim waited on us. Dave told her what we were doing and I gave her a card and a magnet. She was really nice. The food was excellent. The restrooms were decorated really cute. Outside the restrooms is a display of pictures and a news article telling about a fire on September 25, 2002 that pretty much destroyed this place. They rebuilt and reopened and have done very well since.

After we ate we went to get gas in Lady Van Go, then back to the castle to do a few things, get ready for bed and watch a DVD together. It was a funny movie on jousting - mixing times of the knights with music and things of our day. I slept through some of it, but I think I saw most of it.

After the movie we all headed for bed - it was about midnight.

*GAJ BIT = Great American Journey Bible Inspiration Time

January 2, 2004 - Friday - 2287.1 Total Miles to Date 81.8 Total MO Miles - Day 21 - Christmas Break

Week Before Last Total Miles - 77.4

Today I got up around 6 AM. I did my *GAJ BIT and waited for the others to get up. Dave got up at about 8:15. We ate breakfast and then Dave and I took Waliluke out for a walk to have some last minute time together. Then it was time for Dave and Lois to head out. We said our good byes and took pictures. I kept reminding myself it is only 5 months until the finish of the walk when we will see each other again and be together. This separation is hard, but we both still feel firmly that this walk, this Journey, is from GOD, and is something we are supposed to do. So, for now, the separation is necessary, but the rewards will be worth it - not financial rewards, but spiritual rewards.

After they left Sam and I got ourselves ready and went to the post office and Wal-Mart. We didn't have much mail. We got just a few things at Wal-Mart that we needed right away, with plans to go back later in the day to do the main shopping.

Back at the castle I worked on my "Christmas" letters, getting them all ready to send. Sam vacuumed and worked on other things. Then at about 4 PM or so we went back to Wal-Mart and Jubilee Mart to do our main shopping. Back at the castle we put things away, had dinner, and watched a DVD movie. We did some packing, then we headed to bed.

January 3, 2004 - Saturday - 2287.1 Total Miles to Date 81.8 Total MO Miles - Day 22 - Christmas Break

Week Before Last Total Miles - 77.4

Today I was up at about 6:30 and did my *GAJ BIT. Sam got up soon after, and by 10 AM we were ready to head out for Lee's Summit near Kansas City. We have to pick Joni up at the Kansas City Airport tomorrow so we decided to go a day early and do some scouting of our route.

We headed out from Branson going east on Hwy 76 several miles until we met up with Hwy 160. Then we headed west on 160 to 176. North on 176 to 65/176, then left off of 65 staying with 176 to 160 going north all the way into Springfield. It is a really good route. We'll do this in reverse of what we drove it to the 160/76 junction. There we'll continue on 160 all the way to Hwy 5 near Gainesville, MO where we head south into Arkansas. It is a beautiful route with rolling ups and downs and lots of trees and table rock.

We continued driving the route through Stockton, MO and on into El Dorado Springs where we stopped for lunch at Sonic. Waliluke slept most of the time in the car until after El Dorado Springs. After that he seemed a bit restless. He threw his rope toy back and forth from back seat to the luggage area, bouncing over the seat to retrieve it all the time. Then all of a sudden he appeared in the seat behind us and right on up onto Sam's lap. Maybe he was just lonely for people and tired of being in the back seat by himself. I've no doubt he'll be very happy to see Cassie and Joni again. He rode up front with Sam most of the way from about Butler on.

The drive went really well and we arrived in Lee's Summit before 5 PM. After driving around a bit we found the Super 8 but this one doesn't allow dogs, so we tried the Comfort Inn just down from it. They do allow dogs and the price was very good. We also reserved the room for Sunday night adding Joni and Cassie.

Once we were checked in we went out to find a supermarket to purchase some noodle soups that you just add water to for our dinner. We got that and went on back to our motel. I called Joni and left a message. Then I called the pastor of the church we want to attend tomorrow. He is a friend of one of Dave's clients and was hoping we would be able to come sometime. This really works perfect. His name is Dave Moore. He gave me directions to the church from the motel and is delighted we will be able to come.

Joni called back after a bit and we were able to make arrangements for meeting tomorrow. It is supposed to snow tomorrow, so hopefully all will go well and they won't have to divert her plane elsewhere and we won't have a problem getting to the airport. I'm sure it will all work out. After I talked with Joni I fixed my soup, ate, and then worked on the Christmas letters, and then went to bed.

January 4, 2004 - Sunday - 2287.1 Total Miles to Date 81.8 Total MO Miles - Day 23 - Christmas Break

This Week's Total Miles -

Today Sam and I got up and went to a 9:30 service at the New Summit Presbyterian Church. When we were still getting up and ready I had taken Waliluke out for a walk and found it to be very icy and slippery. So when we did get ready I went out to start the car about 15 minutes ahead to allow it to heat up good in hopes that it would be easier to scrape the ice off. We didn't have an ice scrapper so I asked at the office to see if they had something. The gal there told me she sometimes uses the lid to the ice buckets in the rooms. She got me an extra one and Sam and I headed out with Waliluke. Sam was able to get the windshield scrapped off enough for me and also my side window.

The roads were pretty icy so I kept it at a very slow pace. We found the church fairly easy thanks to Sam's navigational expertise. This church is pastored by Dave Moore who is a friend of a missionary client of Dave's. I had talked to him last night so he was expecting us. Because of having to scrape ice off and so forth we got there just as the service was starting. After the singing they had their greeting time, so I asked the lady next to me which one was the pastor. She told me and I went over to introduce myself and Sam. Then a bit later in the service he introduced us and told them what we were doing. He gave a pretty good view of the Journey. The service was very good. It was their annual state of the church Sunday. They showed a short slide presentation of how the church started 10 years ago, and the finding of the present site and the building of the present church. The first service in this building was held on Christmas Eve of 1998 I think. It was very interesting.

In his message the pastor spoke from Jeremiah 29 and 31. He talked of how a book starts out with a dream, how that dream is lost or shattered, then comes back and takes hold, and how the actual writing has a cost and a reward. He compared this to the church and to individuals. His description sounded very much like the Great American Journey - the dream and the loss and the coming back and the actual doing of it. The service ended with communion. Afterwards several came and talked with us about the walk. One lady came way out of her way to talk with us. Her name was Maggie and she is in charge of the Perspectives Class. They meet tomorrow night and she was wondering if we would still be around. She would like us to come to the class and perhaps share a bit. I told her we were planning to return to Branson Monday, but I got her phone number just in case we sensed that GOD wanted us to be there or if something came up that we couldn't leave the city - such as a blizzard - I hope no blizzard.

Sam and I went to KFC on our way back to the motel. We bought chicken and stuff to take to the room with us and eat there. That was good. Then we watched the weather channel to see if we could find out any more about what it might do. We watched a few short programs and talked with Dave and Georgia and Chip on the phone, then we decided it was time to get going to the airport. It was just a bit after 4 PM when we left. It was snowing slightly. The roads were ok, but not as good as I would have liked them to be. It took us a good hour and a half to get there, then when we got on the road to the airport itself we were turned back by an accident. Thanks to Sam's navigating again we found a second way to get into the airport. Once we got into the parking garage and parked I went inside to see how the timing was. The arrival time was delayed from 7:30 to 8:06. I found where her baggage area is and everything else I needed to know. Then I went back to the car and worked on cleaning a little more ice off the car. Then I walked Waliluke for a bit, even finding a grassy area for him to do his stuff.

I got back into the car for awhile and worked on my journal. I was able to get it done to the point just before Joni arrived. Then it was time to go in and see if Joni's plane was about ready to come in. Sam stayed in the car with Waliluke. I went in and as I came up the stairs and headed down toward the baggage area I saw Joni coming toward me. We got down to the baggage area and got Cassie - poor thing had pooped in her kennel while she was on the plane. She's pretty drugged still. Joni and I sat down with Cassie and a packet of wet ones and tried to clean her up. Then I stayed with Cassie while Joni went into the ladies room with the kennel to clean it up a bit. Then we went out to the car and got out of the terminal and headed on to Lee's Summit. It took us just over an hour to get there and into our motel. Joni gave Cassie a bath and cleaned up.

Finally we talked about what all had happened while we were apart, then headed for bed.

Today was the first time I've had to drive on such icy roads - scary - but I did it. The drive up to the airport was so much worse - it was snowing then, and coming back it was pretty clear. I breathed a lot easier once we were all back safely at the motel.

January 5, 2004 - Monday - 2287.1 Total Miles to Date 81.8 Total MO Miles - Day 24 - Christmas Break

This Week's Total Miles -

Today I got up at about 7 AM and showered and had my *GAJ BIT. I let the others sleep in as long as possible since our vacation time is about over. Finally I had to wake them up since our check out time was 11 AM and they each needed time to get ready. We left right about 11 and headed south. It was snowing some, but at least it wasn't as iced up as it was yesterday.

We didn't stop until we reached Butler. There we stopped at Sonic for brunch - we slept in too late at the motel to get to breakfast. It was a good brunch. Then we drove on down Hwy 71 as far as Lamar. There we drove into the town to see if we could locate a dentist who is a cousin of Joan Moore's (Joni's good friend from San Jose). With a little help from people we did find his office. There the receptionist told us he was off today. Then when we told her why we were there and what our group was doing, she told us where he lived. We left a card with her in case we didn't get to see him. Then we found his house - quite beautiful - but he wasn't home. We then went back to the dentist office to let the receptionist know a little more info to share with the dentist when he returned.

After that we decided to continue on Hwy 160 rather than go back to 71. That proved to be a good idea. The roads were very nice, and I think it saved a bit of time. We worked our way over to Hwy 65 to go on into Branson. Finally we arrived at the castle, unloaded our stuff, and tried to connect the water for the evening - we couldn't even get the lid off of the faucet - I think it froze. So we just made do with the pump for now. Next we tried to light the water heater pilot. That took a lot of doing, but we finally got it lit. Then we ate dinner, and I took Joni for a drive downtown to see if there were still any Christmas lights on. Many were down, but it was still pretty. I'll show her different parts as we stay in the area over the next two weeks or so.

Back at the castle we looked at Joni's pictures that she took while she was in San Jose. It was SO good to see pictures of our Y friends, and of Earline, Dellie, MJ, Meredith, and Judi, and of the whole Anacker family. I felt like I could just reach out and touch them. It brought tears to my eyes. Then we watched my last pictures from my new camera. It was fun being back together watching pictures and laughing together. I got my camera out to show Joni, and we did some experimenting with it. Then Joni went back to unpacking and arranging her stuff.

I did my Journal then. Dave called while I was doing that to let me know he was stuck in Phoenix. His Cincinnati flight was late causing him to miss his Phoenix flight. So now they will put him up someplace and he'll fly on to SLO tomorrow.

I'm really sleepy so I think I'll head for bed - it is 10 PM already. It's been snowing lightly, so we'll see what tomorrow holds. Maybe we'll walk - maybe we won't. If the weather is too cold we can't walk in it because it is too hard on the lungs. We especially need to keep that in mind for Joni with her cough. If we don't get to walk tomorrow we'll work on our letters to see if we can get them finished up and on their way. Then maybe we'll run a few errands or show Joni the town. There is a lot to Branson, and she's never seen it. Whatever happens tomorrow we're ready for it - we think. It really is good to have Joni back!

January 6, 2004 - Tuesday - 6.0 + 2287.1 = 2293.1 Total Miles to Date 87.8 Total MO Miles - Day 25

This Week's Total Miles - 6.0

Today I got up at about 6 AM, dressed and had my *GAJ BIT. The temperature was 9 degrees when I got up and went down to 8.0 degrees before it headed back up. We couldn't get any water at all. Our hose was disconnected, of course, and the pump doesn't work when it gets that cold, so all of our water usage had to be from our supply of bottled water. With it being this cold I wasn't sure if we would walk or not. But the sun came out and the skies were clear and the temperature soared - well, by day's end it had reached 25 degrees.

So everyone got up and got ready to go. In the meantime I had been busy writing a letter to President Bush. I had Sam print it out for me as well as some more return address labels. We had to work a bit to get the letter to fit the GAJ paper, but finally got it just about ready. When we were all ready to go we loaded the car and headed out for the post office. Sam and I went in and took all my Christmas letters that I had ready. I bought more stamps and we checked about our General Delivery mail. This time we had none. People probably aren't sure about our address right now. Also it is just after Christmas and people have sent so much stuff out that they are just taking it easy for awhile. That's fine.

From the post office we headed on out toward Springfield. Then we continued on to Hwy 44 and up north on Hwy 13. I missed the turn to Stockton, so we ended clear up at Collins. That meant going across on Hwy 54. From there we saw that J Rd. would take us to Stockton in 17 miles, so we took it. It was windy, but a good road. Finally we got to our start point. It was about 2:45 when we started walking. We walked to and through Stockton, getting in a whole 6 miles. It was getting very cold again, so we called it quits for the day. We've heard so much about it not being good for our lungs to be out in this extremely cold weather, so we are trying to be very careful. Anyway we called it a day and headed back to the castle.

We still had a 2 hour drive to get back. While Joni drove I talked a bit with Dave - he had called and left a message earlier. He was at the airport in Phoenix where he had been all day trying to get on a flight back to SLO. They were finally able to schedule him for the 8:30 (more or less) flight when they had a cancellation.

I had to be sure to keep an eye on the highway signs since I was giving directions to Joni at the same time I was talking with Dave. Joni is not as familiar with this area yet since she just got back to us, and we've been here for a couple of weeks. At the castle we took stuff in. Joni got started on laundering the dog blankets from the car since Waliluke had gotten sick on them today. He seems to be okay, so I don't think it was anything serious. I went to see if I could get the water connected for awhile, but everything was so frozen up it was impossible. The temperature was 16 degrees when we got home, and it was at 14 when I was finishing up this Journal entry.

We ate dinner - Sam fixed spaghetti tonight - then Sam went to talk to Chip while I did the Journal and Joni washed dishes. Soon after we all headed for bed. We didn't walk a great distance, but we're all just plain tired these days.

January 7, 2004 - Wednesday - + 2293.1 = Total Miles to Date 87.8 Total MO Miles - Day 26

This Week's Total Miles - 6.0

Today we headed out a bit after 9 AM via the post office and the video drop. I got gas in the van between the post office and video place, then we parked at the video store to leave the DVD's that Sam and Lois had rented last week. When we got ready to leave I turned on the key and nothing happened. I tried again, and still nothing happened. I checked to make sure I had it in park - and all the other things I needed to check. Everything was okay. Then I noticed the red light on the alarm system blinking. We haven't been able to use the door clicker for several weeks because the system wasn't working, so why it suddenly started blinking I surely don't know. I do know that when the light is blinking we can't turn the ignition on since that is part of the anti-theft system. Nothing worked to turn it off, so we finally ended up calling AAA. They were very helpful and said they would have someone out within 45 minutes.

A few minutes later I had a call back from AAA saying that Crawford Motors was sending someone out and that they would arrive within 40 minutes. About 10 minutes later, or less, Joe from Crawford Motors had come. He was very nice and helpful. He made a couple of calls and found someone who could take care of the alarm system today for us. So Joni and Sam walked the dogs back to the castle while I went with Joe in the tow truck to Hollister a few miles away. He towed the van to "The Rolling Sounds" shop there where I met Jason and his co-worker, Michael. Jason ended up just taking out the whole anti-theft system, which cost us $22.50, versus about $150.00 it would cost to put in a new system. Since most of the doors haven't worked properly for a long time anyway it seemed pointless to replace it.

Joe and Jason and Michael were all so nice. I did get pictures of them as they worked, and of each of them individually. I talked to each of them about what we were doing and they were all very interested, asking a lot of questions. Jason and Michael said they felt embarrassed about the amount of exercise they do. I shared a story or two about how GOD has worked in this Journey, and prayed in my heart that GOD would use these stories to bless them in some way.

Finally I headed back to the castle arriving just after Sam and Joni had arrived. We spent the rest of the day working on various projects around the castle since it was too late to go as far as we had to go to walk. Joni was coughing a lot so she ended up sleeping a lot today. That's definitely what she needed. I spent quite a bit of time entering addresses from business cards we've collected over the months of this Journey. There are still many more to do. I want to send most of them a copy of our Christmas letter and update along with a note bringing them up to date on mileages and where we are, etc.

At about 4 PM I drove out to the Wal-Mart Superstore to do some shopping. That took me about 2 hours total. Then back to the castle to eat dinner and do my journal and some other odds and ends before heading to bed.

January 8, 2004 - Thursday - 15.5 + 2293.1 = 2308.6 Total Miles to Date 103.3 Total MO Miles - Day 27

This Week's Total Miles - 21.3

Today we left the castle about 9 AM, more or less. We made a stop at the post office, then headed north on Hwy 65. It was about noon when we finally got to our start point at Stockton. Our goal today was Fair Play, about 15 miles away.

The walk was nice. The weather cool, but comfortable. It began at 30 degrees this morning, and reached a high of 40 degrees. There was a cloud covering most of the day, but the sun did peak through for awhile. Joni walked some even though I discouraged her from doing so. She has an awful cough and is really not feeling well. Yet she insisted she would feel better if she did some walking. I left it up to her.

Waliluke walked with us until about 4:30 PM when it began to get dark. Then we put him in the car while Sam and I walked on the last 4 or 5 miles into Fair Play. I took some pictures today, but not a lot. Mostly we just walked.

At the end I drove back to the castle stopping in Springfield at the Wal-Mart to get an ankle brace and a knee brace. Back at the castle I connected the water to see if it was working. Our first reaction was jubilant as the water did come through, but then we found water on the bathroom floor and pouring out under the castle. A pipe or tank or something has burst, so tomorrow we'll stay home and call Randy the "fix-it" man. I disconnected everything right away, and we mopped up and set things outside.

Finally we ate dinner and made phone calls and went to bed.

As I was finishing writing my journals, I began to feel real weird - I could tell I was about to pass out, so I quickly began closing the computer down so I could go lie down. Just then Joni came over and said, "Lyn, let me take the computer so you can get some food down you. You don't look good." She helped me get to the bed to lie down, and after a few minutes brought my dinner to me. Later she told me she had just happened to look over at me and noticed the color drain from my face. That's when she came over and began ordering me around. Joni, who was already quite sick herself began helping me. We both got into bed and Sam, the only well person around, cleaned up the dinner stuff, quite cheerfully I might add, in spite of the fact that she was also tired after a full day of walking, etc. Meanwhile Joni ordered me to stay in bed. I laughed and asked her, "How come when you're sick and I give you orders you pay no attention to me, yet when I'm not well you give me orders and expect me to obey you?" I'm fine this morning. I think it is just the weight of all that is "going wrong" and knowing it is my responsibility, plus being tired, eating my dinner so late, etc.

January 9, 2004 - Friday - 2308.6 Total Miles to Date 103.3 Total MO Miles - Day 28

This Week's Total Miles - 21.3

Today we slept in a bit since we had to get a repairman out. I got up a bit after 7 AM! After doing my *GAJ BIT I got the phone number for Randy's RV Repair and called him. He can't come out until tomorrow. It was too late to get ready and drive the long distance to our walk start, so we have to take another day off. Well, maybe Joni and I both need it (Joni especially with her cough). Anyway we are trusting GOD that it is what has to be right now. I must say that I go back and forth between discouragement and leaving it all in GOD's hands.

We have plenty we need to do around the castle, so we won't lack for things to do. I spent the rest of the morning entering info from business cards we have received along the way. I'm hoping to keep that up at least weekly now. It will be a lot easier if done that way.

Joni worked on her Christmas Report letters, and Sam made phone calls. Later Joni and I went out to scout out Branson (Joni hasn't really had a chance to see much of it). We also wanted to see about getting tickets for a show (we feel it would be a shame for Joni to be here in Branson and not see any of the shows).

When Joni and I went out we decided to go to KFC first for some lunch/dinner since we were both hungry. Sam had decided to stay at the castle with Waliluke and talk on the phone. We had Cassie with us. After enjoying the buffet at KFC we went to the bank to cash a check for the GAJ given to Joni when she was in San Jose. The clerk was real friendly. At one point she mentioned that she was a new grandma and that the baby was born in Germany where her son was stationed. However, her son was now deployed in Iraq, so the daughter in law was in Germany without him when she gave birth to the baby. Joni and I both grasped onto her words right away and had our card and a magnet out. We told her what we were doing, and she immediately went to get pictures. In the end she gave us a copy of an e-picture of the new baby, Brooke, and of her son, James. The clerk's name is Cheryl, and she was showing some emotion about all of this (not surprising). We really felt like GOD had us there at just the time Cheryl needed us. Had we been out walking today we would still be finishing up for the day and not be back in time to get to the bank.

Next Joni and I went to find one of the many Information Centers in Branson to see about tickets to one of the shows. We ended up with tickets to the Grand Country Music Hall Grand Jubilee for Saturday night, January 10. Joni and I went on back to the castle where we worked on letters and things. Sam spent some more time on the phone, and I gave Dave a call to see how he had done with his oral surgery yesterday. That had gone better than expected, and he was doing fine in a short time.

Then finally I headed to bed.

January 10, 2004 - Saturday - 2308.6 Total Miles to Date 103.3 Total MO Miles - Day 29

This Week's Total Miles - 21.3

Today was another no-walk day. Randy the RV man came soon after 10 AM to tell us what we would need to make it so we could again use the water in the RV. It was, as I expected, bad news. Most of the pipes will need to be replaced or we'll just have the problem again. I asked him if he had any idea how much, and he said he couldn't really say without getting into it all to see just what would be needed. I asked,"Are we talking about hundreds?" He said, "Yes". Then I asked, "Are we talking about thousands?" And he said, "No". So at least we narrowed it down some. Finally I told him we needed some time to think about it, talk about it, and pray about it. He said, "okay" and then left. We talked a bit, then prayed. Then I went out for a walk to think about it and pray about it alone. I'm really struggling with this one.

After going down into the ravine for awhile I walked up to the restroom where the heater is and where Sam always goes to talk on the phone. I called Dave and talked to him about it for a bit. Then Sam came in and we talked a bit, then I sat on the bench and prayed some more. Finally I went to get Randy's number and call him back. When I finally got in touch with him I told him we would be waiting a week to see what GOD would do, then we'd let him know.

I then worked on New Year's letters (these are the Christmas letters that I'm sending for New Year's ). I went through the addresses that I added in my list of ones we've met along the way. Then I typed and printed a cover letter on GAJ paper to these people, and got several of them ready to go. Later I sorted out all my bulletins from the various files and put them all into one file. I want to send our New Year's letter to all the churches we've visited.

I called Marilyn one time while I was out. We talked briefly, but she had company (Jerry Claassen), and a computer man was coming to do something. She said she would call me back, but I think she got busy and wasn't able to get back to me. Well, maybe another day.

Finally we had dinner and got ready to go to the Grand Jubilee at the Grand Country Music Hall. It was pretty good - especially the last half which was songs from the 40's to the present. But I really like the show that Dave and I went to in 1995 best that was something like American country music. This was good, just not the best. Oh, well.

Finally it was over and we headed back to the castle and to bed.

January 11, 2004 - Sunday - 2308.6 Total Miles to Date 103.3 Total MO Miles - Day 30

Last Week's Total Miles - 21.3

Today we went to the Grand Old Gospel Hour. We thought this was a morning of gospel music and inspiration, but were surprised to find out it really was a church. They were supposed to be at the Remington Theater, but when we got there a man was giving directions to a different place - The Chateau by the Lake Hotel. It was a very nice place, and the service was wonderful, just what we (I) needed today. The music was great, then Ginger, an assoc. pastor who works with the youth, gave the message. What a message she gave. It touched on our needs SO much! Afterwards we met a few people, and we stayed to talk with Ginger for a bit. She prayed with us for our Journey, and was just such a blessing!

We left church and I drove back to the castle via the Table Lake Dam so the other two could see it (Dave and I had driven across it when he was here). Then we went to Sonic for lunch and on back to the castle.

Joni and I went out soon after to go to Wal-Mart to get a few things. I got a plastic narrow stand with drawers to organize Sam's and my sox. It really works neat. I also got a large covered trash basket to replace the little one we have. Then the little one I put over by the chair where I do my *GAJ BIT each morning. That'll be to put things in like my tea bag in the morning and other little things that the dogs won't go after. I also got some hair things at the store.

Back at the castle I spent the rest of the afternoon entering information from church bulletins into the computer so Dave can make up mailing labels for us. Joni and I ate popcorn and pudding cups for our dinner while we worked. Sam spent a lot of time on the phone after she downloaded both of our cameras, etc. I called Dave, and I called Georgia. Dave and I talked for quite awhile. Georgia wasn't home, so I left her a long message. Marilyn called and we talked for awhile. It was SO good to talk with her. We didn't have nearly enough time, but she had to go since the others were waiting for her.

Then I got my stuff put away, and we soon headed for bed.

January 12, 2004 - Monday - 2308.6 Total Miles to Date 103.3 Total MO Miles - Day 31

Last Week's Total Miles - 21.3

Today was one more day of no walking due to some very necessary team business. It was a difficult day, but we ended up getting some things done that we wouldn't be able to get done otherwise. One thing we very much needed to do was get propane, and since we can't get it delivered here we have to disconnect everything and take the whole RV. Of course, that also means taking things down inside quite a bit as well - not as much as when we move to a new place, but still plenty.

When we got to the propane place there was no one around. I waited and waited. Finally someone else came in who knew the people and he went and rounded someone up for us. She said that no one was in to fill the propane right now, but they would be in later. Sam and I ended up leaving the RV parked out of the way and left our card for her to call when they came back. Then Sam and I walked around down town. We were really amazed as we went into shop after shop that was owned or run by Christians. It is really amazing. What a beautiful time we had of sharing with people all up and down the street. At the Chocolate place the man took two cards so he could put them up on a world map he has of missionaries from around the world who have visited his place. Wow! What a delight. Finally we got the call that the propane guy was in, so we headed back. Getting the tank filled didn't take long at all, and then we were on our way. We got back and got the castle in place again.

After a bit of lunch and taking the time to hang a few hooks we've been wishing we had up, Sam and I went to the post office. Joni chose to stay at the castle to do things both this morning and this afternoon. At the post office we had to wait in line quite awhile. As we waited I overheard the two ladies in front of me talking about the churches they go to in Branson. One mentioned the Grand Old Gospel Hour where we had gone yesterday. I then had to ask if she had been there yesterday, and she said they hadn't. I then told the two ladies what we were doing and gave them each a card. One said, "Now I know why I had to be here at the post office today with this line." They both said they would put our card up and be praying for us. We didn't get to talk anymore because they got to the front of the line and then got taken care of and left - I would have loved to have gotten their names and pictures. Oh well.

On the way back to the castle Sam and I stopped at McD's for hot fudge sundaes and a time to talk. Then back to the castle to work out some things in the team. I then went through my mail that had come. Dave had sent a package with GAJ stationery and Christmas mail that had come to Dave. He had marked it all down, and wanted me to be able to see it all as well. It included two letters with pictures and notes from people we've met on this Journey - Chris and Mary Ellen Thompson from Helena, MT, and Jim and Connie Poitra from Chadron, NE.

The other package was to Sam from Alyce-Kay. It had a blue head and scarf that she had crocheted. Also a hanging candle holder from Chip. Then a package of Jambalaya mix was in it as well. We decided to have that for our dinner tonight. It really was very good. After we ate we all did our own thing, then headed for bed with high hopes of walking tomorrow. It's been a difficult last several days with the bursting of the water pipes in the castle, the cost it will take to fix it, the frustrations within the team, etc. Yesterday Ginger told us in her message of an incident when she was in India with a ministry team, and as she was in her hotel room one morning praying she was suddenly sidetracked by a face - she perceived that it was the face of a demon. As she looked at it she asked GOD if she should speak to it or what, and GOD told her to ignore it because she was in conversation with Him right now and He wanted her undivided attention. She did so and continued talking with GOD. Soon the "demon" went away. She also said that we as Christians have no right to be offended by others, only the right to forgive each other. I see that becoming offended is a demon who wants to get our attention off of Christ and the Journey. We as a team must ignore the "demon" and keep on looking at Christ, focusing all our attention on Him for the whole of this Journey. We MUST NOT be sidetracked by anything that the enemy wants to do. I know this GAJ is important - otherwise why would the enemy continue to attack us so much?

There is an old hymn that says, "Turn your eyes upon Jesus; Look full in His wonderful face; And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace." This is my prayer - that we will keep our eyes on Jesus and not allow the enemy to draw our attention away from Christ and the focus of this Great American Journey that He is leading us on.

January 13, 2004 - Tuesday - 19.2 + 2308.6 = 2327.8 Total Miles to Date 122.5 Total MO Miles - Day 32

This Week's Total Miles - 19.2

Today I woke up at 5:30 and got myself ready. When I started to put my watch on I noticed it said 5 AM. I finally figured out that the time button on the clock radio had gotten pushed and moved ahead one hour. Oh well. I went ahead and did my *GAJ BIT then got the others up and we got ourselves ready to head out.

After morning prayers we got started. We stopped at K-Mart so that Joni could get a new leash for Cassie - her other one has disappeared who knows where. Then we drove on to Springfield and made our usual pit stop at the Hardee's before heading into Fair Play to begin walking. We prayed and left Memorial Stone #112. Then we walked on. Joni walked to meet us all but the last time today, so she got quite a bit of walking in. There were some good spots for her to park at churches and such today. It was a beautiful day today with a high of 55 and a low of 35 and plenty of sunshine. It would be nice to have weather like this the whole time.

Our route took us to Aldrich next where we left Memorial Stone # 113. We took a manna break at a Methodist Church parking lot. Many of these large churches are out in the middle of nowhere seemingly. But I think they get a lot of the farm people from all around, so probably they have a pretty good size congregation.

Our walking today was mostly on a narrow road (Hwy 123) with no shoulders, but not too much traffic until "rush hour". After Aldrich our next town was Eudora where we prayed and left Memorial Stone # 114. About 3 miles past Eudora we put Waliluke in the car and got our flashlights. We try not to walk with Waliluke after the sun goes down - it's just too hard to handle him and watch out for traffic and have our flashlights on. He would prefer to walk, but it's not that much that he is missing and it's easier for us all.

We finally arrived in Walnut Grove - our final destination for today - where we met Joni in a bank parking lot. She said that when she parked there the lot was empty, but then all of a sudden it just filled up, and everyone just sat there. She was really wondering what was going on - figured maybe a drug raid or something. Soon after that the Bookmobile drove up and everyone jumped out of their cars to go get some books. We came along while the Bookmobile was still there. Then we drove back to the castle, fixed dinner, talked with Dave, and did journaling. Then to bed.

January 14, 2004 - Wednesday - 17.1 + 2327.8 = 2344.9 Total Miles to Date 139.6 Total MO Miles - Day 33

This Week's Total Miles - 36.3

Today I got up at about 6 AM - better than yesterday. After my *GAJ BIT I got the others up and we got ourselves ready and ate breakfast and had morning prayers, then soon headed out - about 9:30. We drove into Springfield - the last time we'll go in this route - and went out to find the Springfield trailhead for the Frisco Highline Trail. Then we continued to Walnut Grove where we stopped at the City Limit sign and prayed and left Memorial Stone #115. Then we drove on into town to the bank parking lot where we stopped last night. There we quickly got ready and took off.

Joni drove on back to Springfield to the trailhead there, and Sam and I walked down Main St. of Walnut Grove to the trailhead at our end. Then we walked south on the trail while Joni and Cassie walked north. It was SO nice to be on a nice trail all day! This was the Frisco Highline Trail - a part of the Rails to Trails system. It was a nice flat trail with plenty of room to walk. Waliluke really enjoyed it. There were squirrels and rabbits and birds. It was also a very scenic walk for us, and all along the trail were little signs with information about the part of the trail we were on. I took pictures of all the signs, and of lots of other things as well. One of the signs was about the Wetlands - there are permanent wetlands (there was one by the sign), and there are temporary ones (also one by the sign). Then there was a sign that told about the sink holes. It had an interesting name that I can't think of right now, but it is on my camera. One sign told about the birds that could be seen along this trail. It told about the calls each one makes - the description of the bird calls was really kind of funny. Hopefully we'll be able to read the signs pretty well in the pictures I took.

We had all taken water and food with us today since we wouldn't have the car nearby. Sam and Wali and I had hiked about 10 miles when we finally saw Joni and Cassie coming our way. We were just coming into Willard, so got to walk together most of the way through this cute little town of over 3,000 people. All along the trail there had been benches from time to time. But when we spotted picnic tables in a small park alongside our trail we decided to stop and eat lunch there. It was really nice. I had some radishes that I brought with me that were SO good. I've decided I need to bring radishes more often.

Leaving our lunch spot we came to a really nice sign for the town of Willard and the Frisco Highline Trail. We found a rock to use for our Memorial Stone #116, and prayed and left the stone at this sign We had a lot of fun as we continued walking on together. It was really nice having the 3 of us and the 2 dogs all together the rest of the way. It was about 5:30 when we reached the Springfield trailhead where the van was waiting for us.

We headed out for Branson again in our trusty Lady Van Go. Joni drove all the way without any direction from me on the route and only made one mistake. I was quite proud of her. Back in Branson I had her stop at the Staples so I could make a copy of our map for walking through Springfield tomorrow. That took a little bit of doing because of the unique size and shape of the map. The gal there had to help me, and she couldn't quite figure it out, so she called another girl over to help. Together they got it all figured out. I got my one oversized copy for 11 cents. Then we went on back to the castle, had dinner, filled water bottles, and got things ready for the night and for tomorrow.

I talked with Dave earlier today. He told me that my driver's license renewal had come, and that I needed to go in this time. He called them for me, and after about 4 transfers got to someone who looked at it and said it was a mistake - I really didn't need to go in. They told Dave how to download a form from the Internet that he could send to me to fill out, sign and include a check in, and mail to the DMV in California. Dave said he has already dropped it in the mail to me, so I should get it in a day or two. He was leaving for San Jose soon after he finished talking with me. He'll be speaking at the Christian Management meeting tomorrow. Tonight he stays with Rich and Eileen Brown, and he said the Derksens will also be there. How fun. I told him to tell everyone hello for me.

Well, finally I called it a day and headed for bed relatively early - about 9 PM.

January 15, 2004 - Thursday - 7.5 + 2344.9 = 2352.4 Total Miles to Date 147.1 Total MO Miles - Day 34

This Week's Total Miles -43.8

Today we got started from the castle at about 9:30, stopped at Wal-Mart to get more elastic braces for Sam and me. We got an ankle brace for Sam and I got another knee brace. I feel like a bionic woman now since I'm wearing an ankle brace, a knee brace and a thigh brace on my left leg, and a knee brace on my right leg. Yesterday I had only the ankle brace and the one knee brace. That helped a lot, but my thigh area was really painful. I didn't know they had thigh braces until I went in to get the other braces today and saw them there. It really does make a difference. I do think that my aches are from the narrow roads and having to always step down into a ditch area or walk on very uneven grassy areas. My right knee pain seems to have come after I got the one brace, so I think it is from favoring the one side. Sam's ankle pain seems to be from the way Waliluke pulls on her. We both think the braces are very helpful, and are only sorry we didn't think about them sooner.

We then drove the route from Hwy 65/176 to the trailhead where we finished yesterday. That took a little extra time before we could walk, but helps to save time when we're actually walking. When we started out Sam and I both thought it looked like the trail would eventually continue on the other side of the road. We even debated trying it to see if we could get through a ways, but decided against it because we thought it might come to an abrupt end and we'd be stuck. Well, as it turned out we should have gone on it. Instead we walked to the 160 West Bypass Rd. and down it. It was fine except for three underpasses that got very narrow. On one we waited for the light to turn red down the street so we could get through a bit easier. Then at the third one we saw Joni and Cassie on the other side of the street. We called to them to see if that side was easier to get through the last underpass, and she said it was. So we crossed over, and then she told us we could get over it real easy. Sure enough when we got to it and went up over it we saw it was the extension-to-be of the trail. If we had crossed over at the beginning and gone down it we no doubt could have gotten through. The train tracks were all pulled out and it was filled in with pebbly sand. We could see it continued on for a bit, and looking at the map we figured it at least went as far as the one street that would take us through to our next street. So, on we went.

I made a short stop on the trail while the other two carried on, and when I went ahead I heard a noise on the south side of the path. When I looked I saw a beautiful red fox run out of the bushes and down the field. I knew I couldn't get my camera out in time to get him, so I just stopped and watched him until he was out of sight. How special. I caught up to the others at the street we needed to go down. There Joni turned back to get the car while we carried on down the small street. Then we discovered we could stay off the busy streets a bit longer if we went straight across Chestnut to Mt. Vernon. At Mt. Vernon we went over to Scenic Ave. which is what we stay on for several miles. Joni met us again part way and we walked together, then she went on to another park to leave the car and walk back to us once again.

On the way to meet Joni, Sam and I went by a school where we noticed that way out in the corner of their parking lot by where we were passing, there was a map of the U. S. with all the states outlined. It was painted onto the asphalt - probably about 12 x 20 feet. We stopped and took pictures of each of us standing in the outline of Missouri. Then we thought it would be fun to take a movie of us walking our route all the way to Florida. So we did that of both Sam and me. Then we were wishing Joni was with us so we could get her as well. But she wasn't. We continued on and soon saw Joni. We walked on to the park where she had the van, stopped and ate lunch and talked. Then we drove back to the school where the map was and got both still shots and a movie of Joni walking across. It was funny, because we were saying all the states names that she was supposed to be walking through and she was up north of most of them in completely different states. We said that no one would notice, but, of course they will now that I've written it in here.

Next we went to find my step-great-nephew's place (David and Melissa Black). They live on Lone Pine Ave., and I found it on the map, so we drove right to it - well, at least to Lone Pine. However, it was N. Lone Pine, and we needed S. Lone Pine. I found more Lone Pines on the map south of where we were. We drove to both of them and found that their house number fit in between both of the other sections. So I gave in and called them again. Now I found out that we never would have found it for their section was new and not on the map. We could get to it only from one way which we never would have found without calling. At last we arrived, and had a good visit. This was really fun since I had never met them before. It really was a delightful time. They have two children, Tahlia and Sylvie (I think I spelled those right). Melissa also takes care of three other children (though she only had two today). We found out that they are expecting a third child of their own in eight more months. David works part time at a local hospital, and full time on an ambulance crew. It was really interesting finding out about them.

As we talked we found out that one of the places they might someday be interested in moving to is Republic, WA. Our faces brightened as we said that we had walked through there, and had, in fact, bought the shirts we were wearing now in Republic. A bit later we were telling them something about Big Timber, MT, and their faces lit up. It seems that when they were dating they would often go to Prospectors Pizza. Our faces now lit up, and we told them that we ate there while we were in Big Timber. Wow! What a small world!

Finally we said our good byes and headed back to Branson. When we got there we took things in from the car and left Sam with the dogs while Joni and I went to the grocery store to get a few things we were out of. We decided to buy TV dinners for tonight and one more night. Back with the groceries we ate dinner and did our journals and went to bed.

Tomorrow Randy the RV repairman comes to start work on replacing the broken pipes from the freeze. For over a week now we have been using bottles from our drinking water to fill with tap water from outside to use for regular use. For drinking or cooking purposes we've been using our bottled drinking water. The water here is full of minerals - it looks awful in the bottles we put it in, so we never drink it. It will be good to get our pipes fixed so that we can at least wash dishes without having to boil water, or go to the restroom to cart hot water back to the castle.

January 16, 2004 - Friday - 20.4 + 2352.4 = 2372.8 Total Miles to Date 167.5 Total MO Miles - Day 35

This Week's Total Miles -64.2

Today was a rather fun day. Though early in the day when we stopped at the post office it was a bit frustrating. Sam and I went in to get the mail and ended up with my least favorite clerk. For some reason she thinks she has to lecture us every time we come in. I have really tried to be nice to her, but it is hard. Today she, as usual, had to look at my I.D. even before she would go look for our mail. Then when she brought it back there were two pieces for Joni. Now Joni had stayed out in the car with the dogs. At first she commented about Joni's being the only ones that didn't have all three names on them. (As you folks out there read this remember that it does indeed help to put all three names on everything you mail us -- it only needs to be our last names, but it does make it easier for us.) Then the gal said, "I let it slide once, now she thinks she doesn't have to come in at all." I immediately said, "That's not true. One of us has to stay in the car with the dogs." I had already told her she would come in if needed. It's really weird, because we are always prepared to show our I.D. if needed. We do all we can to comply with the rules. The rest of the clerks just say when I start to show them my I. D., "Oh, I know who you are by now, you don't need to show me." In fact, most post offices never ask us for I.D. when we show them our GAJ card. Instead they usually say something like, "Oh, we've been wondering who all this mail is for and what kind of a group it is." They're all excited about finding out what we're doing and seldom bother with more I.D. other than our card. Well, the incident this morning left me feeling very frustrated. Maybe from now on I'll just send Joni and Sam in to get the mail while we're at Branson. It wouldn't be quite so bad if she didn't feel she had to lecture us all the time.

Finally we got to our start point at Nathaniel Greene Memorial Park. It was raining, so we had to put on all our rain gear, plus our braces. All this has to go on in a certain order, and it takes time to do it all, but finally we were ready. The rain was off and on all day, and never too hard. It was actually kind of nice. We were comfortable and dry inside of our rain gear. Our walk took us on a short trail through the park, then out to Scenic Ave. and south on that for a few miles before turning east onto Farm Road 182. This road had a sidewalk all the way to Hwy 160. It was also up and down the whole way. I got a picture of it from the east end showing how it goes up and down several times. Then we turned south onto 160 - a divided highway at this point, with WIDE shoulders. Oh, how we love those wide shoulders - even if we did have a lot of traffic. Sam and I don't really mind the traffic - it's just more people to wave to and send our prayers up for them. A lot of people on this highway got real enthusiastic when they saw us waving, and they waved back real hard - sometimes with both hands. It was really fun. We stopped at Wal-Mart to get reflective tape, but all we could find was white duck tape, so we got that. I made little duck tape letters then to put onto my rain jacket which was now dry. The letters said simply, "WA to FL". I put these on the front of my jacket and off we went. A few people got even more excited than before. But it was raining now and soon the "F" from "FL" came off. Then I took the rest of them off since "WA to L" didn't really mean anything.

We met Joni at McD's for a pit stop, then again in about 4 miles, and yet again in another 4 miles, more or less. In this last section of walking we had two people stop to talk to us. The first was a guy who gave us each a tract and began preaching to us. We just smiled until he let us say something. I don't think he really approved of what we were doing - he seemed to think we were trying to earn our way to heaven. He did make it clear that "the one true church" was the Baptist Church. I'm afraid only certain Baptists would agree with that. It was really sad, because he seemed more intent on handing out his quota of tracts per day than on finding out what we believed. As Sam noticed, he didn't really listen to anything I said - until I said I went to a non-denominational church. He then gave a quick run down on all the wrongs of all churches other that Baptist.

The second person to stop was a policeman from the Highlandville, MO Police Department. Matthew (Matt) Sanders stopped to see if we were okay. We told him what we were doing and he was really excited. I took his picture, and he asked if we would be writing a book afterward. I told him we sure plan to. He didn't have a card on him, so I just got his name. He asked about our shuttle car and where it was. I told him we knew she was probably only a mile or less away from us, but not sure just where yet. He wished us well and we went on our way. A few minutes later he drove up again - he had found one of his cards and wanted to give it to us. He asked us to please send him a copy of the book when we wrote it and he would gladly pay us for it. How nice that he was that interested. He also told us that he was pretty sure he had spotted our shuttle van across the highway at the next street. Sure enough that is where Joni was waiting.

Once we got in and settled we headed down 160. Instead of turning off on 176 I had her continue on 160 to 13 to 76 since I figured that might be easier at night. I think it was since 176 is quite windy. For the first time we had some pretty thick fog as we drove along, but Joni did a good job. The fog came and went as we rode along. Finally we got back to the castle, unloaded things, hung rain gear to dry, and had dinner, journaled, and went to bed. A great day!

January 17, 2004 - Saturday - 14.2 + 2372.8 = 2387.0 Total Miles to Date 181.7 Total MO Miles - Day 36

This Week's Total Miles -78.4

Today I was up and had my *GAJ BIT, then we all got ready and headed out. We had to stop at the post office and get our mail. I had my drivers license renewal form to sign and take care of, so I got that done. We had some other things as well. Then we went to get gas, and headed north to our start point. We had to put our Memorial Stones for two towns we had prayed for, but didn't have any dry stones with us. So we placed Memorial Stone #118 at Nixa and #119 at Highlandville. We began walking on Hwy 160 where we left off yesterday, and continued to Hwy 176. It was foggy and drizzly all day, but so beautiful. We got some pictures of the road going down through the fog, as well as the trees along 176 in the fog.

Hwy 176 is more of a country road with quite a few homes and small farms. At one home there was a man sitting on the porch. Joni had come to meet us and told us she had been talking to this man and that she had promised him that I would come talk to him. When we got there she sent me up. I could see him sitting on the porch kind of staring into space. He looked like he had only one arm and he was sitting on a nice porch swing. As I got to the porch I realized he also had no legs - and I also realized he wasn't real. I took some pictures of him, and Joni took one of me with him using her camera. He was very realistic, and the pictures we took of him look pretty real.

In the front yard of this same house was a huge tree. Its trunk was gigantic, and some of the branches were huge as well. We got pictures of that as well. Then we continued walking. There were quite a few horses along our way, and always the fog drifting in and out of the trees and homes. It was really beautiful. Just before we got to Hwy 65 we saw the entrance to the Stonegate Glass Chapel. I took pictures of the gate and the name on the wall with the Scripture reference on it.

When we met Joni at the 176/65 junction the fog was very thick out on the highway, and the roads were slick. It was about 5 PM when things suddenly get dark and we decided not to push it, so we called it a day. It really would have been nice to get in a bit more mileage, but we do try to use some common sense as well - at least once in awhile.

We drove on back to the castle, and I fixed corned beef hash with eggs and toast. Sam downloaded our pictures while I got dinner, then we watched a slide show of all the pictures we hadn't looked at yet, as well as some from the beginning of the Journey. What fun! I talked to Dave for awhile and finally headed for bed. It was a truly fun day.

January 18, 2004 - Sunday - 2387.0 Total Miles to Date 181.7 Total MO Miles - Day 37

Last Week's Total Miles -78.4

Today I was up at 6 AM and showered and had my *GAJ BIT and ate breakfast. The others got up at about 8:30. We got ready and headed out for the Cowboy Church. I took the scenic route to get there and we arrived about 15 minutes early - our usual timing. That gives us time to meet people ahead of time and talk to a few. We met the pastor and Norma Jean and a few others. Then the service began. It was good ole country gospel music with some very talented singers. We really enjoyed it. The music was good toe-tapping music. The harmonica player was excellent, and this one guy, Johnnie Long, sang 3 songs. His first was How Great Thou Art, then a bit later he sang The Old Rugged Cross. Then he sang a duet with Mary Lou Turner - I Come To The Garden Alone. Wow!

Then a gal, whose name I don't remember, sang a couple of songs - these were old familiar tunes that she had written new words to. Another gal named Tina McKinney sang a song or two. Tina is known as Rhinestone, and GOD has put it on her heart to start up Rhinestone Glory Ranch - a ministry to youth. She shared a lot of her testimony with us in the parking lot after church. The pastor, Al Barton (or Martin - Joni and I heard the last name differently, so not sure which it is) then read from James 1 and gave some thoughts on it. It was really a good service. Both the pastor and Norma Jean had introduced us during the service, and afterwards we were able to meet quite a few of the people there. I bought a couple of CD's. One was of Norma Jean's that she did about 20 or 30 years ago I would guess. The other is Leroy New, who was one of her band members, Touch His Hands. Both are good ole country gospel.

We ate lunch at Sonic again, then went back to the castle and Joni got laundry going. I did a few things on the computer, then Joni and I went to Wal-Mart to get a few things. Back at the castle I set to work on a surprise project while Joni worked on laundry. Sam was on the phone. Finally I had it pretty well finished and put together. It is a lite-weight "sandwich board" sign that says "Walking to Florida". It was SO simple to do, and turned out quite good. It slips over my head and is held together on the sides with velcro strips. The front and back are made of white copy paper with the writing on them, and these are slipped into clear plastic page guards. It really turned out quite good, and I'm very pleased with the results.

That project took a long time, but now I know how to do it. When I finished it I was ready to get to bed. Joni was already in bed, and Sam was still on the phone, but came in and went to bed shortly after I did.

January 19, 2004 - Monday - 16.5 + 2387.0 = 2403.5 Total Miles to Date 198.2 Total MO Miles - Day 38

This Week's Total Miles - 16.5

Today I woke up at about 5:15, turned up the heat and opened the bathroom door to let the heat in for a bit. Then I lay back down for a few minutes. The next thing I knew it was 6:15. I jumped up and got dressed, then did my *GAJ BIT. Sam got up and did hers at the same time. Joni woke up and wondered if I had forgotten to call her, or if I had called her and she had gone back to sleep. I assured her she was okay, but that I was about to wake her. So she got up then.

We seemed to have lots of things to take care of this morning, so we didn't get away until fairly late. We didn't have far to go, but it was still 11 o'clock before we got started. I put on my new sandwich board sign and we took pictures of it on me, then finally started walking. While Sam and I started, Joni drove back up 176 West a bit to place our Spokane (pronounced Spo-cane in this neck of the woods) Memorial Stone #120. She also stopped in to see the Stonegate Glass Chapel. She said it was closed, but she could look around the outside and in through the windows. She picked up a brochure on it as well. Then when she caught up with us she tried to convince Sam that she and Chip should come back there to get married.

On our way to the start point we had also stopped in Branson to leave a Special Memorial Stone #C. Lettered stones are for towns we don't actually walk through, but camp in or do something else special there. We left this stone at the Veteran's Memorial gazebo dedicated in 1995 by Bob Hope.

Our walk began this morning along Hwy 65. It really wasn't too busy today - perhaps a lot of people had the day off because it is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We only had about one mile to do along this part anyway, then we turned onto 176 East and headed toward Forsyth. This road was a bit narrower with basically no shoulders, but it was not busy at all. Joni was able to walk a few times with us.

We took pictures of icicles and the cemetery at Walnut Shade where we left Memorial Stone #121. This was a cute little town (no population listed) with no stores or anything like that. Our next town was Merriam Woods - a town of over 1,000 people. This one we couldn't find on the map, but it was pretty good size. Makes one wonder. When we prayed for Merriam Woods we stopped at a church where Joni was parked. She took us over to see a stone table in front of the church filled with stones. On the front of the table were written the words, "What mean these stones?" This is a quote from Scripture about Israel expecting the future generations to ask about the memorial stones they left all over. That is the basis for the memorial stones we leave as well.

The church office was closed, so we wrote them a note and left both a card and a magnet in the door. Then we prayed for Merriam Woods and wrote Memorial Stone # 122 and left it among the stones on their memorial stone table. We continued walking from there and went on to Forsyth. Before Forsyth we stopped and had our 10 mile manna break, and took some pictures of the lake, then continued on a few more miles. As we walked through Forsyth a man asked if we needed a ride anyplace. We talked with him a bit and I got his picture with is little son in the back seat. His name was Tony (?) Evans, and the boy was Toby James Evans. He was really nice. A lot of people waved and honked at us today. After leaving Forsyth we continued on to just past the 160/76 junction. Our route today was on 65 to 176 East, to 160/176 to the junction at 160 and 76. We had a bridge to cross just before we got to the end, then we called it quits (too dark for a narrow road with no shoulders). We drove back to Branson via Hwy 76 from the south, stopped at Wal-Mart to get more velcro straps to make more sandwich board signs, then to the castle. There we had dinner, and I made a sign for Sam to wear - another evening I'll make one for Joni. Then we headed for bed - tired, but happy - a very good day.

January 20, 2004 - Tuesday - 20.0 + 2403.5 = 2423.5 Total Miles to Date 218.2 Total MO Miles - Day 39

This Week's Total Miles - 36.5

Today we got up and had our *GAJ BIT, then breakfast, and finally headed out to Forsyth and our starting point. We stopped at the post office first to mail the CD to Dave. Once we arrived at our start point we first placed our Memorial Stone #123. Our walk went well with good opportunity for taking photos and for Joni to join us several times throughout the day. We had quite a few people stop for us today - a few we weren't able to get names or pictures because of narrow roads or traffic.

Along the road soon after we started we saw a beautiful table rock wall covered with icicles. We see this many places, but usually when we're driving and can't stop, so it was good to get some pictures today and yesterday.

We arrived at Kissee Mills and prayed for the town and left Memorial Stone #124. Then we continued on to the town of Hilda. Before getting to Hilda we had to cross a large bridge over Beaver Creek. The creeks of the last couple of days have been incredibly clear - something we have not seen for quite awhile. At Hilda we prayed and left Memorial Stone # 125. At the end of the day we also went through Reuter, but did not pray or leave a Memorial Stone yet. It was dark by the time we got there and we just wanted to get to the van which was only a bit over a mile away.

Some of the ones that stopped for us today were Ron -- we actually met him as he drove into his yard. When he got out he asked if we were really going to Florida? We said we were and stopped to talk with him a bit. He was delightful. Then just before Hilda, Amber, Mike and David stopped in their little red car. They had seen us yesterday at Forsyth and were quite interested in what we were doing. They gave us a much appreciated donation. There were a mother and her little girl that turned around to see if we needed a ride - they were Renee and Baby Faye. Early in the day we had one man stop to see if we wanted a ride, but it was pretty busy and no place to pull off, so we didn't get his name or picture. Also, quite a bit later, a couple stopped to see if we needed help, but again it was a very bad spot, so no picture or name. Finally, just before we got to the van at the end of the day a man went by, turned around and slowed down, then went up and turned around again. This last time he stopped and asked if we needed anything. When he went by and slowed down he was able to read our sign, so knew we were walking intentionally. He wished us well and told us to be careful. A lot of people tell us that.

The weather was cold all day, and we walked on rolling hills most of the day. Our route took us through some of the Mark Twain Forest. It was quite beautifully and we really enjoyed it. Our 10 mile manna break came a few miles before Reuter. I called Tri-Lakes Ford during our break to make an appointment for the car to be serviced and get a tune-up.

At day's end we headed back to Branson, stopping at the Jubilee Market on the way for a few things. Then to the castle just in time to catch most of President Bushes State of the Union address. We ate silently while we listened. Then took care of the things we needed to do before going to bed. I called Dave to give him our update. And finally to bed.

January 21, 2004 - Wednesday - 16.5 + 2423.5 = 2440.0 Total Miles to Date 234.7 Total MO Miles - Day 40

This Week's Total Miles - 53.0

Today was a really fun and exciting day. It began with us waking up to find snow on the ground - actually the snow was only in a few spots, and very dry and granular, so not enough to hamper our walking in any way. After *GAJ BIT and breakfast we loaded the van and headed out. First stop at the office to pay the bill and talk to K. about our leaving time and all. This morning during my *GAJ BIT I had asked GOD to really give me some good opportunities to minister to someone today. Little did I know it was going to be at this first stop at the office. K. was going through some struggles in her family, and she just opened up and told me a lot. In the end I prayed with her, then she started talking about reading her Bible and how she didn't really enjoy dissecting Scripture, so she just never bothered. I shared with her some ideas, and how I do it, and really encouraged her to get into the Scriptures. She brought out her mother's Bible to show me, and also her own very first Bible from when she was a child. She showed me some pictures of her parents. Finally I said good bye and headed out.

Our next stop was to get gas, then on we went to our start point. We stopped first at Rueter to leave Memorial Stone # 126. Then at the start point we got ourselves ready and began walking. The sun was shining brightly and it was beautiful. There was just a little bit of wind, but not bad. Joni was able to walk quite a bit today as well. It got warm enough that we were able to strip off some of our layers. This is a part of America that is SO beautiful - the hills and forests and the sweeping valleys - it's just incredible. We walked past giant icicles hanging from the rocks along the highway. There Joni and Sam had an "icicle fight". Waliluke ate icicles - which he loves, and we collected quite a few rocks to use as Memorial Stones. It was interesting to see the water running down the rocks underneath the ice.

Continuing on we got pictures of some green valleys, of Big Creek, and churches and a strange structure that I think might be a "Welcome to Ocie" sign when it is finished. Ocie is a very small town. After praying and leaving Memorial Stone # 127 we stopped in the little store at the gas station and bought a few things for our lunch, then ate in the car because it was too chilly to eat at the picnic table. A bit later we met Randy, Justin, and Kevin when they made a U-turn to come talk to us. They had seen us yesterday and tried to read the sign on me. They thought at first it said something about walking our dogs, but looking more carefully Randy was able to decipher that it said we were walking to Florida and they just had to find out about it. That was really cool. We talked for awhile and had a neat time with them. These are the kind of people I really want to meet on this Journey - real down-home type people from the country. Finally they left and we headed on down the road, or a lot of times UP the road. It was a lot of rolling hills again today, but that is part of what makes it so beautiful I think.

We came to Theodosia with its population of only 200 and some people, but it was a really nice little town with lots of churches, even a small high school, and a Village Hall. They had a big beautiful sign at their entrance and we prayed there and left Memorial Stone #128. While we were in Theodosia one car drove by us 3 or 4 times. The last time by they all shouted something to us about Florida -- not sure what, but they had obviously read the sign. After this it began to get dark, but we continued on for another 4 miles plus. Joni took the dogs and drove ahead to a good stopping place and waited for us. It got dark quite quickly so we couldn't see the scenery as well. Our route took us across the Jarrett Robertson Memorial Bridge - a large beautiful bridge over a large lake. What we could see of it looked really nice. Just after this we came to the community (?) of Sundown. There were signs to tell us this was Sundown, but not a thing in sight to make us think it was a town. After the second sign there was a church, and then several businesses. It was really weird because it made it look like the town was one place where there was nothing, but then the town was someplace else, but without a name there. Confusing? It was to us too.

We came to the car and got in and headed back to Branson. It was over an hour drive, then we had to stop at Wal-Mart for a few things, and then head home. Randy had been here and left a bill, but to our disappointment he had only replaced one thing and not bothered calling me (tho' he had assured me he had my phone number) to ask about anything else. Most of the stuff wasn't even touched. The water still pours out from underneath, and the hot water doesn't work. All this he had indicated he would check for us. I tried to get in touch with him, but both phone numbers are just business numbers, and he doesn't have an answering machine or voice mail. Very disappointing since we were hoping to move from Branson tomorrow. Well, I'll just have to call him in the morning, and remember that this Journey is in GOD's hands.

After dinner and doing my journal I headed for bed.

January 22, 2004 - Thursday - 2440.0 Total Miles to Date 234.7 Total MO Miles - Day 41

This Week's Total Miles - 53.0

Today I got up at 5 AM, showered, did my *GAJ BIT, then took Lady Van Go down to Tri-Lakes Ford for servicing and tune up. I took things with me to work on and to read since I knew it would take awhile. It was 8 AM when I got there and they took it right in. During the first part of the time I finished up the lettering on our new sandwich board signs.

I got a phone call while I was doing this from the White Buffalo Resort outside of Mountain Home, AR. They had gotten a message from Alyce-Kay when she was checking out possible camps for us, but hadn't been able to get their messages for a few days, so were just returning the call. I kept losing the gal on my phone, so I went outside to talk where I got much better reception. Of all the campgrounds A-K had called they seem to be the only ones that fit our needs fully. So, tho' it's a bit closer than we wanted, we will probably end up there.

I also called Randy, the RV man, and asked him about the work he had done, and told him it didn't do the job. I told him what was still happening and he said he'd get out there soon. I tried to call Joni and Sam, but neither of them had turned on their phones yet. I kept trying, but finally figured they'd find out Randy was coming when he got there. About an hour later I did get in touch with them and they said he had already come and would be back in the afternoon to do the work.

I read a bit after I finished the lettering and the phone calls, then they called my name and I went to pay the bill. Then I headed back to the castle. Randy came soon after I got there and we went over things, then he went to work on the pipes - many had burst and he replaced them. It took him about an hour. During that time we got out of his way and went to McD's to get hot fudge sundaes. Then we went to Buster's Video and rented 2 DVD's to watch - it was time to have some down time after all the water and car problems. Interesting note: Last week some unexpected money came in from two different sources, and it turned out that the amount that came in was exactly what we needed to pay for the van work and the water pipes today - isn't GOD cool? ! We were really excited about that. I shared that with Randy - how GOD had supplied just what we needed for the work that was needed.

It was so much fun to once again have "indoor plumbing" after over two weeks of going to the shower house for all our needs! It makes us appreciate those little things so much more. I called Dave to let him know what happened. He was delighted for us. Then he told me that he had received a response to the Almaden newspaper article from a freelance writer who wants to do an article for a national newspaper. He gave me her phone number and read a list of questions she had sent. He responded to them as best he could and mailed them to her, but thought we might want to call her.

We watched our movies, and ate and took the dogs out. It's very cold already tonight - 27 at 9:30, so once we were all ready for bed I went out and disconnected our water for the night. Then we all headed to bed - well, Sam was up a bit later talking to Chip.

It was a good day - an exciting day in some ways, especially seeing GOD work in such a neat way. We had planned to move today, but with the repairs that was not to be. However, barring anything unexpected now we do plan to move tomorrow. I must remember to get to the office in the morning to pay for an extra day though.

January 23, 2004 - Friday - 2440.0 Total Miles to Date 234.7 Total MO Miles - Day 42

This Week's Total Miles - 53.0

Today we moved out of Branson and out of Missouri! Well, we still have about 20 miles to walk in Missouri, but then we'll be into Arkansas! This morning I let Joni and Sam sleep a bit. I was able to do my *GAJ BIT and get some more updates ready to mail. I went over to the office to pay for the extra day. Barry was in and he told me not to worry about it. He was really nice about the extra day. After the others got up we went to Sonic for breakfast, then dropped Sam off at the castle while Joni and I continued into Branson to run some errands.

Our first stop was at the Christian Book Store - I wanted to find a large cross for a visual reminder to us as a team. We each seem to struggle from time to time with our rights, our expectations, our desires, our hopes, our dreams, etc., etc. So I've had this idea for awhile, but haven't had the chance to do anything with it. I found the perfect cross at the store. At the campground I had already found three small stones. My idea is to set the cross up in the castle when we're camped, and each put our names on one of the rocks along with the words "expectations", "rights", "desires", etc. Then lay these stones/rocks at the foot of the cross as a visual symbol of giving them to GOD. When we find ourselves taking any of these things back we need to remove our stone/rock until we are ready to give it back to GOD. The idea being that we don't want to take our rock back, and that seeing the stone at the foot of the cross will regularly be a reminder to us so that we can put aside our own expectations and desires for GOD's.

I also found a pair of Messianic earrings at the Christian Book Store, and Joni found a Messianic necklace. Hers is a bit different than the usual ones, but very nice. We've seen a few people here in Branson with the Messianic necklaces on, and Joni and I have been wanting a necklace or earrings for ourselves like these. We spent quite a bit of time talking with Anna, the owner, and she was very helpful. She remembered me from when Sam and I were in there last week. Anna also told me about a book that told the history of the Messianic symbol. She had one copy of that book, so I bought it, then she gave us a book of her life story that she had written. I got her card and told her we would send a note at the end of the Journey.

Next we went to the post office to pick up mail, leave some, and turn in our change of addresses. We said good bye to the clerks, and the one guy who had given me the name of his friend in the military told us that he had heard from Ryan, and that he is in Iraq now and doing fine. However, with all that is happening over there you just never know. I assured him that Ryan was down in our book of military personnel and we were praying for him.

Next stop - Buster's Video to return the DVD's we watched yesterday. Then back to the castle to finish getting ready to leave. We unhooked and loaded stuff up, then took off. We went to get propane first since we know right where to go for it here in Branson. After we filled up with propane we got onto Hwy 65 and headed south. I stopped and got gas in the RV, then on we went into Arkansas. Eventually we turned to head east going through such towns as Harrison, Bellefonte, Snow, Harmon, Yellville, Flippin, Cotter, Gassville, etc. After Gassville we turned south onto 126 and went about 11 miles through Buffalo City and to our new campground, The White Buffalo Resort. They have several cabins that are presently inhabited by fishermen, and we are the only RV'ers. The lady at the office is really nice (I must remember to get her name and a card). She and I talked for awhile when I went in to register. We may go to her church this Sunday (the First Christian Church). Her husband was a pastor, but he died 5 years ago. Now she and her brother co-own this campground.

We got the castle hooked up, set up nice and cozy like, then sorted through some papers, ate dinner, and talked and laughed. We really do enjoy sharing together so much, and the majority of the time we get along just fine - in case some of you think we fight a lot.

Well, it's off to bed for me - tomorrow is a walking day, and a 50% chance of rain. Today and yesterday were beautiful and sunny. Oh well.

January 24, 2004 - Saturday - 12.8 + 2440.0 = 2452.8 Total Miles to Date 247.5 Total MO Miles - Day 43

This Week's Total Miles - 65.8

Today we left the castle after checking in at the office with a few questions. We wanted to know such things as where to put our garbage, what the trees in the area were, and could we possibly get a river boat ride (weather permitting) sometime. Nancy responded by sending James out to set up a garbage can for us. She didn't know what the trees were, but she would find out. And she was sure that either James or her brother would be happy to take us out on the river. Then she told me that she had talked to some friends of hers, and they wanted to prepare a dinner for us some night if it would be okay with us. I told her we would love it. They'll have it in the rec. room at the campground. I told her to just find a night that worked with them and let us know. We could plan our walking around it that day. Tomorrow we plan to go to Nancy's church in Mountain Home (the First Christian Church) tomorrow so I got directions to that.

We then got the car loaded and headed out. Nancy had told us we could avoid going through Mountain Home to get to our start point, but we chose to go through it anyway this time because we wanted to find the church - it's easier to find it when we're not in a hurry. Then we went on into Missouri, back to Sundown to leave Memorial Stone #129. Then we went on to our start point and walked into Isabella where we prayed and left Memorial Stone #130. A few minutes later we noticed a lot of driftwood around a house. One piece especially intrigued us, so we went closer to take a picture. A lady was on her porch talking on her phone. She later told us that she told her friend on the phone, "There are some people walking in front of my house with dogs. I have to go see what this is all about." The lady's name is Eva Horvath, and she told us that the driftwood piece that we were admiring is named "Mazusa".

We took pictures of Eva with Mazusa, and talked with her a bit. She went in and got a photo album that she brought out to show us. They showed what their place looks like in the spring. Wow! It is beautiful! With gladiolas and tulips and many other flowers and plants. They grew tomato plants taller than her 6 foot husband, and sunflowers at least twice as tall as Eva. Then Eva invited us in for tea. We accepted, and sat out in the enclosed porch with the dogs. She brought the tea out there, because we didn't trust Waliluke out there without a watchful eye. We told her he is still a pup and loves to chew things. She loves animals, so didn't mind being there with them or even having Waliluke jump on her once. She served a delicious tea. Her husband, Robert came home while we were there and we visited some with him. Then his 92 year old mother, Genevieve, came to talk with us some as well. They all came from Hungary originally, but have been in the U. S. for many years. Robert worked in the movie industry for many years. Finally we needed to get on our way. After taking more pictures we headed out again.

We continued on over hill and dale, hitting the dusty trail - oops, I'm getting carried away again. A bit further a car pulled into a driveway ahead of us and wanted to know about what we were doing. It was two mothers with their two daughters. The mothers were both named Deborah. The daughters were Marian and Chantel. They were out as witnesses of Jehovah they told us, and asked many questions about our walk which we gladly answered. They invited us to attend their Kingdom Hall meeting on Sunday at 10 AM. We told them we were staying too far away, but thanked them. Deborah had asked some very pointed questions which gave me a chance to really share my beliefs and some of the details of why we are doing this walk. She was curious about the patriotic symbols I wore and wondered if that wasn't sending a message that we worshiped certain symbols in place of GOD. I assured her that I do indeed believe I can be both a Christian and patriotic. It was really kind of fun talking with her. A little later as we passed by the Kingdom Hall, I prayed for all these people who have been caught up in the lies of Satan. Then a bit later when we arrived at Gainesville and prayed for the town, we again prayed for the Kingdom Hall people.

As we finished talking to the two Deborah's and their daughters another car drove up and stopped. The Deborah's left and we talked to Peggy and her daughter, Tabitha. They live in Isabella, and Peggy works in Branson. She had seen us a couple of times, I think, as she was going to and from work. Now she just had to find out what we were doing. We were happy to tell her. What a delightful day.

At Gainesville we stopped at the service station for restrooms, and Joni got gas in Lady Van Go. Then she went on into Gainesville to O'Reilley's to see about getting a new headlight (we noticed yesterday that one of ours is burnt out), while Sam and I went south on Hwy. 5. Joni soon passed us, and when we came to where she was waiting for us we called it a day. It was 5:30, and we didn't want to have to put on extra layers for just half an hour or so.

We drove back to our castle with a stop to get milk. Sam downloaded our pictures, and while we had dinner we watched a slide show of Joni's pictures. We'll watch mine tomorrow. After I journaled I headed for bed - very tired.

January 25, 2004 - Sunday - 2452.8 = Total Miles to Date 247.5 Total MO Miles - Day 44

Last Week's Total Miles - 65.8

Today we went into Mountain Home for church at the First Christian Church where Nancy Dame Moore, the Resort owner, attends. It was a fun service with some of the good old hymns - a very traditional service. They even had a choir - I think this is only the second or third church we've attended on this Journey that had a choir. We sat with Nancy, and when they had guests stand she introduced me, and I introduced the others and shared just a bit about our Great American Journey. A man in the choir, Bill Self, sang Holy Ground as a solo. He had a beautiful baritone voice, and I haven't heard that song in ages, so it was great to hear since it is one I really love. In fact Joni told me later that she remembers when we sang it on the Colorado Prayer Adventure when our team had a church service with communion up on a mountain top with the sun breaking through the cloud to shine right where we were. Pastor Lee Nirschl gave a message on Matthew 21:28-32.

After church we got to meet several people, then we headed out to get some lunch. We ended up at Andy's, "Arkansas' favorite eating place" according to their slogan. It's much like a Wendy's. While we stood in line Pastor Nirschl and his wife came in, so we got to talk with them a bit. After lunch we went to find a Wal-Mart. It is at the east end of Mountain Home. We had a few things we really needed, so took turns going in so that we wouldn't have to muzzle Waliluke. He is really good about the muzzle, but we hate to do it if we don't have to. However, we really can't take a chance on him eating up anymore of our car. Anyway, we got what we needed, then sat in the parking lot and made a few phone calls (no cell service at camp, so we have to do it where there is - even then it wasn't the best). Then we went back to camp, changed our clothes and took care of some odds and ends. We watched a slide show of some of the pictures we hadn't yet seen, and we walked the dogs. I did my journaling, then read in bed for awhile after getting my things ready for tomorrow.

As I'm writing this Waliluke is going crazy. He has a plastic gallon size water bottle that he has flattened and chewed and is throwing it around like it was alive. Oops, he just threw it in the corner, grabbed another toy, tossed it aside and went to the food dish to eat, then to the water dish for a drink. He's like a hyper-active child. And now he's climbed up on Joni's bed to sleep.

January 26, 2004 - Monday - 10.8 + 2452.8 = 2463.6 Total Miles to Date 253.5 Total MO Miles - Day 45

4.8 Total AR Miles - Day 1

This Week's Total Miles - 10.8

Today we left here at about 9 AM and headed into Mountain Home to find a place to put in our new headlight for us. I stopped first at Napa. They said they didn't do things like that, so I asked where I might find someone who could. He gave me a couple of places, one being the Goodyear place in the direction we were headed. They were happy to do it (for a price, of course). Well, I think they earned their pay on this one. To get to the headlamp they had to take the battery out and work in a very tight place. The Ford Aerostar has all the engine stuff very compact so that it is hard to get to anything. I've found that out on this trip more and more.

When the Goodyear man finally finished and I paid the bill we headed on up Hwy 5 to where we had stopped Saturday night. It was a very foggy day, so we stayed down in the grasses quite a bit as we walked at first. The fog cleared a bit and we felt more comfortable walking on the road again as long as we knew we could be easily seen. As it turned out the fog came and went, so we were up on the road some and down in the grasses some causing us to get our pant legs quite wet - guess we should have put on our rain pants.

Soon a man stopped beside us in his truck and told us we needed to get someplace soon for shelter because we were walking right into a snow and ice storm. Now we had been listening to weather reports as we drove this morning and things were sounding pretty good for today, but this was a local and we try to take them seriously. The next time we met up with Joni we asked her to keep tabs on the weather reports for us and explained what the man had said. It was getting colder and we don't like taking chances on things like this. But the next weather report was the same as we had heard earlier, and it was a local station we were listening to. A little later they were telling us we have a 60% chance of snow tonight with about an inch sticking. We decided to continue walking with Joni parking fairly close each time, so she walked in short spurts all day. The weather did turn colder and from time to time we had ice pellets and a few snow flakes.

Another man stopped, Bill Fletcher, who had seen us a couple of days ago. He wanted to know what we were doing. When I told him what we were doing he was quite pleased - especially when I said we were praying for military personnel. He said his grandson had just been killed in Iraq ten days ago, and got quite choked up. I told him we would be praying for him and the family. - Later two boys (high school age ?) stopped to ask if we really had walked all the way from Washington and were we really walking all the way to Florida. Unfortunately I didn't get their pictures or names because they were stopped at a bad place. But they were quite amazed.

I had some phone calls today that made it really hard for me to concentrate on the walk. In fact they really frustrated me. I finally called the walk a bit earlier than necessary to get to where I had phone service in a warm place so I could return the calls and respond to a request. I felt very uncomfortable with the whole thing. We went to Andy's to get hot chocolate while I made my phone call. Sam and Joni waited inside Andy's while I talked in the car, then I went inside when I finished.

After we finished our hot chocolate we left and went back to the castle. I took off my wet clothes and put on my jammies for the evening. As I write this it is only 6:45 and the outside temperature is 31, but there is a wind chill factor that is certainly making it much colder. I plan to disconnect the water tonight for sure.

During and after dinner we watched some of our GAJ slides. Then we got things ready for tomorrow and headed to bed.

January 27, 2004 - Tuesday - + 2463.6 = Total Miles to Date 4.8 Total AR Miles - Day 2

This Week's Total Miles - 10.8

Today we expected to wake up to snow, but there were just a few flurries with a temperature of 18 and a wind chill that brought it almost to 0 degrees. I went over to the office and talked to Nancy. She printed out an updated weather report for me and it didn't look at all hopeful that the day would get a lot warmer. This is not good for being out in for long periods, so we regretfully called off walking today. It was sunny with scattered clouds, but much too cold. Every time we had to go outside we dressed up very warm and still felt it all the way through.

We spent much of our day looking at our slide shows from early in the walk. That was good as it gave us much laughter and good memories. Then for another part of the day I addressed envelopes to send out info to people we've met along the way while Joni wrote letters and fell asleep. Sam read her biology book.

We had our dinner and went to bed. Not a really exciting day, but tomorrow is supposed to be warmer, as is the rest of the week, so hopefully we won't have to miss anymore walking this week.

January 28, 2004 - Wednesday - 15.5 + 2463.6 = 2479.1 Total Miles to Date 20.3 Total AR Miles - Day 3

This Week's Total Miles - 26.3

Today was an incredible day! It began with a 12 degree temperature at about 6:30 AM, but when the sun began to rise in the eastern sky the temperature began to rise. We still got up and going rather slowly, taking time to share from our *GAJ BIT's, and have our prayer time. It was a really good and an important time for us this morning. It was 11 AM when we finally left camp, and about 12 noon when we began walking, but the weather had warmed up and we were ready to go. We started out leaving Three Brothers and heading for Midway, AR. Part way there a couple of guys pulled up into a driveway and called to us. We went over and talked to them for a bit. They could hardly believe what they were reading on our signs - "You're walking from Washington to Florida?" they asked. We assured them we were, and we talked a bit with them telling them what we are doing. They gave us some nice cold water from their large thermos and wished us well. We did get pictures and names - Nace and David.

Driving out to our start point we had noticed an RV that looked almost identical to ours at Midway. So when we arrived in Midway as we were walking we watched for it. Joni had found it and parked there to meet us. It may have been a bit smaller than ours, and we could see that their kitchen area was on the opposite side, but it was a Diplomat II like ours, same color with pealing trim (ours is pealing more) - wow! Incredible! We took pictures and asked the owner of the service station about it. He told us it belonged to a customer and he was working on it so the guy could sell it. The owner is Bob of Bob's Midway 66 station in AR.

A little bit further we met two more men getting out of their truck - They were Harold and Jamie, just outside Mountain Home a bit. Then we arrived at the Mountain Home City Limit sign. Joni was with us here, but she had left Cassie in the car because Cass was being a real pill. As we crossed the street to the sign we noticed a car turning around and two men getting out and coming our way. Then I noticed they had a big camera and notepad. They told us they were from the Baxter Bulletin and someone had called to tell them there were some women walking to Florida and they should get out there and check it out. So here they were. We answered their questions, and told them we were stopping here to pray for the city of Mountain Home and leave a Memorial Stone. They asked if we had prayed already and we told them we were just getting ready to when they came. So the photographer asked us to go ahead and pray as we would normally and he would take pictures if we didn't mind. So we went ahead and said our prayers for Mtn. Home while the photographer snapped away. The reporter then asked some more questions, and then they left us to continue our Journey. Their names were Kevin Pieper (the photographer) and Frank Wallis (the reporter). They told us it will be in tomorrow's paper, so we'll be able to get this one ourselves.

After we wrote our Memorial Stone #136 we crossed back over to our walking side of the highway. Just a bit further we met a lady who offered us a ride. Her name was Christina, and she is from Mountain Home. She was really sweet. After talking a bit we got her picture and then she headed off. Then as we walked past Dean's Auto Service two more men called to us with questions. We talked to them a bit and got a picture of the one, who was Dean of Dean's Auto Service. The other one was his father and he had already gone inside. Now we came into the town of Mountain Home with a population of over 11,000 - this is a big city in these parts. We walked along the main street, which is Hwy 62, on through town. As we passed the Wendy's restaurant a young man came running out and called to us. We stopped to see what he wanted and he told us that his manager wanted him to come see if we would like something to eat "on the house". We went in to talk to her, and explained that we just had a bit further to go before we quit for the day, then we would be meeting our driver, and would she mind if we waited and came back in a few minutes. She said that would be fine. As we left Sam asked if that wasn't the gal we had met along the highway earlier. I agreed that she looked very familiar and we figured out that she was Christina who had offered us a ride earlier.

Right after Wendy's we were stopped by a lady in a driveway who wanted to know more about what we were doing. When we told her we were praying she asked us to pray for her grandson in the hospital. He is 20 months old and has been having seizures. We assured her we would keep him and the family in our prayers. Her name is Roxie and her grandson is Cameron. Now it wasn't long until we found Joni and hopped in the van and drove back to Wendy's.

What an experience that was! When we got up to order Christina told the young man that this was on her. We all ordered chili and hot chocolate, and one large order of fries between us. It was SO good! While we waited for our food she asked if it would be okay if her staff came out and asked us questions after we finished eating. We said sure, we'd love it. She came out at one point and talked with us, then the staff came out and asked us questions - some really good questions! Things like "Why walk across the nation to pray for our country when you could pray while sitting at home?" "Why do you think America needs prayer?""Do you have significant others at home, and why aren't they with you?" As we shared others in the room came over and joined in. There were John and Alyssa Self (father and daughter). He is a local real estate agent and she is a student heading back to college in Florida. John said he would be putting us on his prayer list. Then there was Charles Oxford from Mtn. Home now, but has lived all over. He also had a lot of good questions. There were others who came over as well, but we didn't get all their pictures unfortunately - or their names.

Before we left Wendy's the whole staff came out for us to take their picture - their names are: Ken, Josh, Steven, Nathan, Thea, & Christina. What a great bunch, and what a great manager! We said good bye and headed out. We drove back to the castle where we unloaded stuff and I hooked up our water since it looks like it won't be freezing again for a few days, at least. After journaling I had a letter I needed to write, then I headed for bed.

January 29, 2004 - Thursday - 10.0 + 2479.1 = 2489.1Total Miles to Date 30.3 Total AR Miles - Day 4

This Week's Total Miles - 36.3

Today we did a *GAJ BIT sharing time before we left to walk. It was a good sharing time. Then we headed into Mountain Home to the post office to leave mail and see if anything had been forwarded - nothing there. It's really a nice post office here - we were amazed. Next we went to the vet's office to get some more Revolution and tick collars for the dogs. Then we went to our start point where we used restrooms, and picked up copies of the Baxter Bulletin (the local newspaper). Our story was on the front page in full color. It was a good write up.

After we started walking Joni drove back to check the mileage from a section of our route yesterday. When she came back she told us it ended up being half a mile less than what we thought. We decided that rather than change things in yesterday's accounting, we would deduct it from today's.

Joni also told us she had the radio on while she was driving and the lady at the local station read the article about us. Then a few minutes later a man at the station came on and said that those ladies walking across America were going by the station right now walking toward Wal-Mart. We had noticed the station there as we were walking by.

A lot of people waved and honked at us, and several stopped and talked to us. One lady who owned a liquor store came out when she saw us and gave us each a bottle of water. She also got some water for Waliluke. Today the people who stopped to talk with us were: James from Fort Smith and Eric from Mountain Home; Dana, Grayson and Scarlett at Mountain Home; Sheryl Ozols; Laura Rowden at the Coastal Service Station; and Judy at the Colonial Liquor Store. There were others who called out to us from across the road and wished us well, but we weren't able to get their pictures or names.

We stopped walking early (4 PM) because we were having dinner at the home of our campground owner with several of her friends. It took awhile to get back to the castle, then we changed into our flag shirts and headed over to Nancy's place. Her friends, Kay, Norma, and another Nancy were all there. We had appetizers, then stew, salad and two wonderful breads. The one bread was absolutely heavenly. We had a great visit. They were a delightful group of ladies. We took pictures and then said good night at about 8:30 and headed back over to our castle for the night. I finished my journal and headed for bed.

January 30, 2004 - Friday - 16.2 + 2489.1 = 2505.3 Total Miles to Date 46.5 Total AR Miles - Day 5

This Week's Total Miles - 52.5

Today we were surprised with a little colder weather than we had expected. It was 18 when I got up before 6 AM, and went down to 14 before it began going up at about 7:15 AM. The high got up to 32 today. The sun was shining and it wasn't windy most of the time, so we weren't too cold. Of course, we were dressed for it. We ran a few errands first thing - stopped to see Nancy about doing laundry tonight, and she said she would leave it unlocked for us. Then we went to the Visitor's Information in Mountain Home. The guy there had read about us in the paper and was very helpful. He wanted to be sure we signed the guest book. We also got gas before we headed out of town. Then we headed to our start point.

On the way we stopped in Henderson to pray and leave Memorial Stone # 138. Once we got walking we saw a cute dog in a pen. The black dog came running over to the side we were going by and started barking. I noticed a man at the door of the house, and we started talking. His name was David Comstock and his dog's name was Chico. David was very interested in what we were doing. When we finished talking with him we saw another man get out of his truck across the street and head toward us. His name was Terry Morse or Morris. He also was very interested and gave us a small donation. We had two more people stop later in the day - they were Ann Tronsor who pulled into a driveway and made her way to where we were to talk with us. She also loves dogs and carries dog treats in her car, so gave a few to Waliluke. He was delighted to say the least. Ann is a Field Representative for the U.S. Bureau of the Census. While we talked with her a young man drove up to see if we were for real. He said he had seen us about 20 times today - probably a bit of an exaggeration, but who knows. Anyway he was a very nice young man and told us his name was Derek Huber from Viola, AR. The signs are what attract people more than anything these days. It's been good.

As we walked we enjoyed the scenery. Our road today was a constant up and down, rolling hills sort of thing. The shoulders were pretty good most of the day. We had several snack stops at the van. Otherwise it really was a pretty uneventful day. Joni and Cassie walked quite a bit with us. Cassie and Waliluke like to greet each other with wild excitement as though they hadn't seen each other in months or years.

Finally we got in the car and headed back to our castle. I talked with Dave on the phone part of the way to the castle. He told me the house is really starting to look like a bachelor pad. Then he said they do have a path through the living room that's kind of narrow if a dog is beside him. I think he's kidding.

Back at the castle I unhooked the water since it was still too frozen to get any. At least we can use the pump. We got all our stuff in and changed clothes so Joni could get the wash started. Then I journaled and Sam fixed our dinner. After eating we didn't stay up too much longer. Tomorrow is a moving day.

January 31, 2004 - Saturday - Moving Day - 2505.3 = Total Miles to Date 46.5 Total AR Miles - Day 6

This Week's Total Miles - 52.5

Today I slept a little bit later (6:30) then got up and showered (it's SO nice to have a GOOD shower - and we never know what we'll have next) before doing my *GAJ BIT. The others slept in quite late. When we were finally all up and through with breakfast, Joni and I went into town (Mountain Home) to the post office to get our mail and turn in forwarding addresses. We had a long line to wait in, but we finally got through there and headed back. We stopped at the Town Memorial Plaza to take a few pictures, then back to the castle.

Sam had the inside all packed up, and I went out to dump and disconnect. Unfortunately the valve for the black water was frozen and I couldn't get it thawed, so we figured it would probably thaw while we drove to our next place and we could dump when we got there. Our water hose (which had been under the RV by the heater exhaust since it had been too cold to leave it connected for the last couple of days) was frozen pretty much, and had to be put into storage very carefully. Finally we got things ready enough to leave. Joni and I walked down to the office to pay the bill and say good bye to Nancy. Then we started the RV engine and let it warm up as we did our last minute check.

We drove through town on our way east rather than take the bypass to see the memories one last time. Mountain Home has been a great town! People here have been incredibly kind and friendly. Now we were off to Hardy. On the way Joni stopped to get a coffee (we knew she was going to do it sometime) and we continued on keeping an eye out for her to catch up. She didn't show up for quite awhile, so I slowed down even more when there weren't cars coming up behind me. Finally we arrived in Salem where I pulled over at the Dairy Queen to wait for Joni. Sam had been talking to Chip, and he mentioned he was going to have a hot dog. That sounded so good to both of us, so while we waited at Dairy Queen I went in and got two hot chocolates and two chili cheese dogs with onions - hmmmmmm, hmmmmm, hmmmmmm. We ate those while Joni sat in the van with Cassie (she didn't want anything since she had just eaten a sandwich herself). Then we headed on again. Soon after we started we lost Joni again. I just continued on slowly until we got to Highland where we stopped for gas. Joni came while we were at the gas station. She said Cassie had an urgent need to get out, so she had to pull over for her.

Now we continued on to Hardy, found the RV Park and quickly decided against it. The place was not at all well cared for. Joni went in to check out the bath house and came back to say it was the worst we've seen. We looked in the Wheeler's Camping directory and found one in Walnut Ridge. This is off of our route, but at this point we needed to get somewhere before it got too late, so we called. Yes, they had full hook ups and a bath house and laundry, and they had space. So I told her where we were and that we were on our way.

It had just gotten dark when we got there, but the owner came out to guide us in. He said we could check in the next morning, but told us they leave for church at about 9:40. Quickly I asked where they went to church. He told me it was the White Oak Baptist Church (Southern Baptist) and they would love to have us join them. He said He would give us directions the next morning (they were going to the 10 AM Bible Study, and we just planned to go to the 11 AM service).

He went on back in and we got busy hooking up (it was cold!). I got the electricity hooked up, then started to hook up Slinky and Slunky (our sewage hook up). Only one problem - I couldn't find anything to hook Slinky up to. I kept shining my flashlight all around and thinking, "I know this is where I hook it up, now where is it?" Finally it dawned on me that someplace on our way today we had lost the two large pipes that drain our gray water and our black water. I went in and broke the news to the girls that we were back to outdoor plumbing again. How good of GOD to bring us to this place where they placed us right by the bath house, and in a good RV Park where we can get help.

We found out where to walk the dogs, and Joni and I took them out -- to the vacant lot next door. We got into bed fairly quick after getting everything set up.