July 31, 2014

Its been an interesting past couple of days.

When I arrived in Greeley, CO I figured it was time to start spreading the message of the walk and raising awareness. Luckily, The Greeley Tribune was more than happy to help me out. We had a quick interview, and they released the story on Sunday. Here's the link for that.

Veteran Stops in Greeley during walk across country

When I started walking again on Sunday morning (After Couchsurfing at Dean and Kim's place), the road felt different. It felt like people were actually paying attention to my presence. I soon discovered that a big majority of passerby thought I had a baby in the stroller, and had called the police station to report a man pushing a stroller on the highway. A squad car came out, and I showed him that I in fact, did not have a child with me. We talked for a bit, and he left. Aside from that issue, it seems that plenty of people had seen the article, and had come out to show their support. 

I reached Fort Morgan on Monday night, and was told that there was free camping at the Riverside park. Sure enough, there was a tent area, which had a 5 day limit for tents. I'm extremely grateful, because Tuesday and Wednesday was nothing but storm after storm. I think I spent a good 40 hours in the tent between those two days. It was a great time to rest, and catch up on some reading; but mostly just rest.

Today, the sky was clear and so I continued east on the 34. You can say i was channeling my inner Forrest Gump, because I decided to run for a good 5-6 miles.

Container full of corn.

The craziest thing happened though, I see someone pushing a very similar looking cart, with a shaggy beard and a Boonie cover style hat. Turns out his name is Kenyon, and he is also walking across the country from New Jersey to California.

Kenyons Coast to Coast Walk

We talked for about an hour, exchanging information, as well as advice for what to expect on our next half of the walk. Very cool guy, you should definitely check out his page.

Well, I'm gonna head back out to the road. Thank you again to everyone who has been keeping up with the adventure, and those of you who have donated to the walk "THANK YOU". 

July 24, 2014

The Colorado section of the walk is coming to a close.
I'm kind of bummed about the incoming heat/humidity I'll be faced with in the Midwest/Northern part of the USA, but I'm excited to see friends in Nebraska, so I guess it balances itself out. This past Sunday I stayed in Aurora CO, after meeting Ben and his family on Couchsurfing. Very nice people, and extremely knowledgeable. I traveled north of Denver on Wednesday, arriving in Brighton CO around dusk, and setting up camp at Veterans park. I had forgotten about exchanging my tent at REI, so it took me about an hour to figure out how to put the new one together. I plan to make it to Greeley by tomorrow, and start this second half of the walk.

Here's the most recent pictures I've taken. Sorry they're not in order.


Downtown Pueblo, CO

Downtown Denver

Monument, CO

Capital Building

On the way to Colorado Springs

Horses

Heading to CO Springs. Storm forming.

Sedalia, CO

Watermelon House in Pueblo?

Downtown Denver

Shelter I made during a storm, heading to CO Springs.

Heading to Denver

Monument, CO

Cloud Change

Denver Public Library

Windmills between Walsenberg and Pueblo

side view of shelter

Monument trailhead

 

Another storm, Another shelter

Pueblo to CO Springs

July 19, 2014

It's hard to find a balance. 

As the days go on, I've realized my entries have become less and less frequent. 

With every step I take, I experience more and more of what America has to offer. Whether its the weather or people with distorted perceptions of reality, there's been this process on how to best present it to you, and not allow myself to fall into a bias. 

Though there are struggles to this walk, I'd like to focus more on the positive. 

The walk from Walsenburg to Pueblo was the first time I'd been on the road in ten days, and I felt it. My feet were killing me by the time I made it to Colorado city, but I kept going, knowing it was all temporary. I happened to stop at a local pizza place, and was immediately greeted by one of the cooks. He asked what I was walking for, and when I said it was for veteran welfare, he informed me of his active duty status in the Army, and how awesome he thought the cause was. The entire staff was bubbling with excitement that I had stopped by, and made me feel more than at home. When I left, it looked like it was getting ready to storm, so I stopped at the KOA campground and went to sleep. 

The next day, I got up and headed towards Pueblo. It's a strange feeling you get when trying to outrun an approaching storm. Seeing the dark black clouds forming over the mountain and begin producing lightning is a bit unnerving. I made it to the shelter downtown, and though I was late, they found me a spot and let me stay for a couple nights. 

Monday morning I headed out from Pueblo, towards Colorado Springs. The route I took, happened to be home to some type of biting fly that seemed to be unaffected by big repellent. With every step I took, one fly would land on the back of my leg, and bite until I swatted it away. When I'd move my hand back, another would land on a different location and repeat the process. This went on for a good hour, before I lucked out and it started to rain. I hastily built a shelter with the tarp, by tying the ends to someone's fence, and took cover. The rain quickly passed, and I continued walking. 

The day produced more rain/flash floods, and I grew more and more impatient with my progression. Finally as the night began approaching I knocked on the door of someone's house and asked if I could set my tent up on their yard. He introduced himself as Randy, and after we talked for a while he allowed me to sleep in his garage, on a cot no less. I thanked him, and I'm the morning he sent me on my way with coffee and a dozen hard boiled eggs from his chicken coop. 

In Colorado Speings I stayed with Kyle and Jacki, friends of my Uncle Marcus and Aunt Jana. They made me feel right at home, and in the morning, Kyle dropped me off in Monument to help me beat the approaching storm and actually make some progress. By the end of that day, I had 3 storms pass over before I stopped and set up camp. I will admit, being in my tent and seeing the flash of lightning and sound of thunder happen simultaneously scarred the crap out of me. Eventually I relaxed, probably from sheer exhaustion, and fell asleep. 

Thursday was awesome. I met up with my parents in Sedalia CO, as they were in town on their way to Iowa to cycle across the state. 

It was awesome to see them, considering we hadn't been together since April when I was in Blythe. The day was spent exploring downtown, updating eachother on what has happened in our lives, and trying different styles of drink at World of Beer. I also received a jogging stroller that they had bought off craigslist, and yes it has 3 wheels. I'm already enjoying it way to much. Since they left Friday morning, I've been enjoying downtown Denver. I've been staying at some of their hostels, and just taking in the sights. I plan to head out Monday morning, and start actually walking the American Disvovery Trail. 

It's amazing to think that we're almost at the end of July, and I'm almost halfway done with the walk. There's still so much more ahead, and I can't wait to share. 

July 13, 2014

Quick update. 

Not much happening on this front. Currently in Pueblo CO, planning to take off to Colorado Springs tomorrow. It's about 45 miles away, so I should arrive sometime on Wednesday. 

To get here from Walsenburg, I've been walking on Frontage roads alongside the I-25, and to save time, on the shoulder of the highway. Luckily I wasn't stopped. It was a chance worth taking, considering the alternate path added an extra 9 miles. 

The route to Colorado Springs is a bit more straight forward, so that should not be a problem, weather permitting. There have been flash flood, tornado, and thunder storm warnings ever since I started heading north. Lets hope that I continue to walk undeterred and arrive safely at my destinations. 

July 4, 2014

Happy 4th of July. 

It's been a while since I last updated the page, so let me fill you in. After leaving South Fork, I continued on Hw 160 east, and passed through the towns of Del Norte and Monte Vista. The area is known for their sand dunes, and maybe not so famous for the insects that stay on the border of the town. Walking into Monte Vista, I had a swarm of Mosquitos following me. Luckily I had sprayed myself with what seemed like the entire canister of Off. I tried swatting them away, yet more would fly into the cloud and hover around me. I tried to run, they kept up with me, and became even more agitated. I finally set up my tent behind their parks and rec building and went to sleep.

From there, I arrived in the city of Alamosa. The stretch of road between the two towns was flat farm land, something I was not expecting while going through CO. The shoulder padding on my pack was wearing thin, so I stopped by the Wal-Mart in town to see if they had a jogging stroller or bike trailer I could switch out with. There was nothing available at that place or the sporting goods store, but I was referred to the thrift store past the campus. I got to rainbow thrift store, where Rich, Lacey, Stephanie, Kate, helped me out with a bike trailer that was in the basement, some clothing and food items. I could not thank them enough, and to top it off, Rich told me about the homeless shelter in town called "La Puente" that I would be able to stay at. I headed over there, and met Michelle. She is an Americorps volunteer who was from Pomona, CA. She informed me about the house, the residents, and assigned me a bed. I was planning to stay for a day or two, but it turned into a week. During this time, I talked with numerous veterans, who have their stories and challenges they're facing against the VA. 

On Saturday the 28th, I headed out towards Fort Garland, and then through the La Veta pass. The bike trailer I got from the Rainbow thrift only has two back wheels, so I attached a set of crutches to create handles, and push it like an old lawn mower. It's a definite improvement from the pack I was using, though a front third wheel would be ideal. It's allowed me to not only carry more essentials such as water and food, but it's also taken the weight off my back and allowed me to enjoy more of the walk, instead of constantly shifting the weight around in my shoulders. 

This past Monday, I arrived at Rio Cucharas Inn, in Walsenburg. I walked up to refill some water bottles, and met the managers Leroy and Darrel. In order to help me out, they've let me stay here for a couple days in exchange for me helping with jobs around the hotel. I was even more appreciative the next night, when a huge lightning storm came through and poured rain like I'd never seen. I was extremely grateful to not be in a tent that night. Since then, I've been resting and helping out around the hotel. I plan on getting back on the road on Monday, and head towards Pueblo, Colorado Springs, Denver, and then on to Nebraska. 

I'll upload some pictures when I have a chance, and hope you all have a great 4th of July. 

Also, I'm still taking donations at crowdrise.com/natewalks  in effort to raise enough for a trailer that has three wheels and a bit more steering control. This will help me out in so many ways, and I thank you for continued support of me on this journey.