August 4, 2014

First I'd like to say Happy Birthday to my brother Jacob Petrovick. You're doing amazing things, and it's awesome to see you set and accomplish your career goals. I'm extremely proud of you. 

These past couple days have been truly incredible. After meeting Kenyon, he reminded me that I needed to put a sign on my cart to let people know what I'm walking for. Throughout the walk I've had various placards and the "walking cards" I hand out, but always wanted to find an alternative method to communicating with people driving by on the highway. When I finally arrived in Sterling, I decided to get a dry erase board, with a couple markers to help me get the message out. 

It's funny how such a simple addition can have such a huge impact. 

Upon leaving Sterling, people were honking, waving, switching lanes to allow  me more room on the shoulder, and some pulled over to personally ask exactly what it is I was doing. 

I was about 5-10 miles outside of Fleming, when a car pulled over and a Woman stepped out of the vehicle. 

"I read about you" she exclaimed. 

Apparently she (Kate) had seen me walking in Greeley sometime last week, and again while on her way to Fort Morgan to drop her daughter's (Lauren) friend off. 

When talked for a bit, and I explained exactly why I was on the road. She handed me a hamburger from McDonald's, and told me when I got to Holyoke, I had a place to stay. 

The day continued to get better, with "Road Angels" showing their support through donations, or kind words. In fact, after stopping in at a restaurant named "Bully's" to fill up my water jugs, I had gotten 5 miles down the road when the couple I was talking to outside pulled up and game me a burger, fries, and a beer courtesy of everyone at the restaurant. 

As the day was drawing to a close and I arrived in Haxtun CO, I noticed a truck pulling over and a couple guys getting out. They informed me that they had read my blog, and if I needed a place to stay for the night, the Haxtun fire department had a bed and a place to shower for me. 

I was speechless, but was able to muster up "sure, that'd be great". 

The next day, I headed out around 7am, knowing the temperature was going to be in the 90's again. The day was much like the last; tons of support, curious people, and kind angels who wanted to see me succeed in meeting the goal. It was pretty emotional. That, and uncomfortably hot. Thanks to my sunglasses, I now have raccoon eyes. 

Arriving in Holyoke was a bittersweet feeling. I made it through the days sun, but when I got to the gas station, the city's power went out. Gas pumps stopped working while people were filling up, and others were waiting. 

Luckily I was able to get in contact with Kate, and she picked me up from the gas station and brought me to her home. There I met her son Ben, his girlfriend, and Kate's boyfriend. Once the power was back on we had an awesome Sunday dinner, and played Cards against Humanity. 

This morning, I was lucky enough to get an interview with the town newspaper. I'll post a link when the story is printed, and by then, I'll have more information to share regarding the walk. 

Thank you again to everyone that has shown their support, through sharing my stories, donating, cheering me on, or by reading the blog. I couldn't have made it this far without you. 

It's been real Colorado, but now it's time to head on to Nebraska.

Foersch family, here I come. Haha.