Day 134, August 15, 2012

I woke up around 7:30 am under a bridge about 10 miles or so east of Grants NM. I was pretty tired when I woke up and my neck was hurting worse than it had yet. I took my time getting ready and packing up.
        I hit the road around 8 or so. It was going to be a pretty easy day as I was just gonna walk the 10 miles to get to grants, and then take a half day to rest. I was ready for a little break and to let my legs heal a little.
        I got up to speed and was walking a good pace down the 40. I was making good time and I finally made it to Grants without stopping at around 11.   I was so exited to sit and rest for the rest of the day.
        I went to taco bell and sat down. I ordered some cheap food there and ended up spending about $5 for two meals through the day. I mostly wrote journals and just was goofing off on the Internet for the day. I also was looking at the route ahead and thinking of the stretch to get to Gallup NM, about 70 miles away.
          So I rested all day until about 7 when I wanted to find a spot before it was dark. I ended up walking over to the dollar tree to see what snacks I might be able to grab for cheap. I spent $4 there and got 3 cracker and tuna combos, and a canned spaghetti also.
          After that I went behind the dollar store and saw a dumpster coral that had no dumpsters in it and it looked fairly clean and hidden. So I ended up making my bed in the coral. There was just fields behind there so I felt it was an ok spot.
          I crashed out at around 9 that night and rested pretty good. I wanted to get a good jump the next morning so I was out early.

       

Day 133, August 14, 2012

 I woke up around 8am. I had slept pretty heavy that night compared to usual. I felt pretty rested. My feet, although, we're pretty beat and sore. I had a little blister on my big toe. I used my knife to pop it and then bandaged it up.
        After bandaging my foot I packed all my stuff. As I was packing up I saw some people walking on the track. They didn't look to see me and I wondered how long they were there for. Oh well. I was all packed and ready to roll.
         I got back onto the frontage road and slowly started walking as my feet and ankles were stiff. I walked to the end of the village there and then the frontage road dropped down into a little valley around mountains. It was really pretty!
         I walked about 5 miles when I saw an exit off the 40 with some stuff. As I got close I saw there was a McDonald. I wanted to stop there to charge my things and write some journals. It's been challenging to write these when I don't have a good spot to do it. Even though McDonald isn't great, it's better than under a loud bridge.
       I got close to the exit when I saw a chord on the road. When I got close it was the same chord I use to charge my Internet device. I picked it up and plugged it into the solar panel and it worked! So I packed it for a spare.
       I got to the McDonalds and there was another surprise. There was a laundromat right next to it! So I decided to take a long break for the day. I could bathe in the laundromat bathroom, do my laundry, and write.
        First thing I did was go to the laundromat. I used the bathroom and stripped naked and bathed. I put my spare shorts on and my reflective vest since I didn't have a clean spare shirt. It felt amazing and was the first time I bathed (aside from wet wipes) in 39 days!
      I sat there and did my laundry while I plugged in to charge up and write. After the laundry was done I switched my clothes back. I felt so good and now my sleeping bag was clean, my jacket was clean (which is my pillow at night). It was a great feeling. I needed that.
      I sat in McDonald's and ordered some dollar menu stuff and a drink that came to $4 and some change. The laundry was a bit pricy also, about $6. So spending $10 out of the $38 I had now left me with $28 total.
       I stayed there for a while until about 5pm. I got there around 12, so about 5 hours. I was about 8 miles on at that point for the day and wanted to get a little further before dark. So I got on the road again after a productive break.
        I headed back onto the 40 since the frontage road veered north from there a ways. I walked the 40 until about 8pm when the sun was setting. I didn't find a great spot to sleep but there was a train bridge I came to where it was clear and clean.
      I made my bed under the bridge and on the shoulder of the 40 right on the outside of a barrier. It was so loud that it was a big challenge to relax. The big rigs shook the ground and were only about 6 feet from where I laid on the concrete. Also the train went by every 20 minutes and that was really loud.
        I tried sleeping for a while but couldn't because of the noise. So eventually I got up and needed to make some kind of ear cover for the noise. I took some socks in my back pack and cut little pieces off with my knife. I rolled them up tight and shoved them in my ears. Then I took small squares of duct tape and tapes them over it also. It actually worked pretty good! I fell asleep around 11pm.
        I woke up hearing loud yelling and cussing. There were no houses or anything around the area so it was a little out of place?  I was awake and then heard cussing and what sounded like a drunk person or people arguing.. Then they got closer! Really close! And then I heard yelling again. I was wondering if they were gonna try and sleep where I was or something. It had to be travelers? Who else would be here? And what time is it? It seems late? Then again I heard yelling and it was VERY close. I popped up on my knees while drawing my knife just incase. I didn't open it but it was clinched in my hand tight. Then finally I saw two men walking down the hill side from the railroad. They walked down the hill and into the shoulder of the 40 going east. They must have walked on the train tracks a ways and then dropped down there. I was happy they passed. They sounded like it might have been an uncomfortable encounter.
        I laid there a while awake thinking they might come back and decide to sleep there. I looked at my iPod and it was 3:45am. Very unexpected little surprise that got my heart going. I laid there about an hour before I felt ok to go back to sleep.

     

Day 132, August 13, 2012

 I woke up at around 7:30am. I was so tired and hardly slept. The trucks zooming by were loud so I just got up. I had a bad kink in my neck and a headache.
       I packed up and put all my stuff away. I was so beat and for sure did not feel like walking far. There was nothing around at all and for a while. I headed out to the 40 and started walking.
       I walked about 7 miles up and down rolling hills. The weather was nice and everything was pretty smooth. I stopped under a bridge and took a break. I made a peanut butter sandwich and drank some water.
       I continued and hit a good stretch. I walked until about 2 when it was really warming up. I was maybe another 7 miles in. I was ready for a break but there was nothing at all around with shade. No exits, and there were fences all along the highway so I couldn't even really walk off.
        I ended up just sitting on the center divide right next to the road on the other side of a railing. I was planning to take at least an hour break, but about 10 minutes in it began to sprinkle. I checked the weather and the rain was on the way. So I got up and wanted to try and find somewhere better to cover possibly. I kept walking west.
        I came to a downhill stretch where I spotted a car and trailer pulled over. I walked down towards it. As I was walking down I could see off in the distance it was nasty clouds and I could see the rain. It was moving my way.
        When I came to the car it was an el camino pulling an old trailer. The trailer had a flat. I asked them if they needed a hand and they said a buddy was on the way with a spare. They asked how long I was walking. I told them and they were tripping out. It was funny. They said they had cold sodas and the guy went and got me one. They were headed a couple hours away. I told them I was gonna try and get to cover before the rain came. They told me there was an exit around the corner a few miles ahead of me. I shook their hands and said thanks for the soda. I was on my way again.
        I walked about a mile when the rain cloud was just about over me. I knew it was about to rain, so I pulled off into the dirt and rolled my cart up against the fence. Suddenly the wind picked up. I was having a hard time getting the tarp over me and my stuff from the wind. I finally got it over my cart and I bungeed it to secure it there. It was big enough where I was able to stay covered while sitting next to my cart on my sleeping bag. It was perfect timing. Just then it began to pour!!
       I sat there and heard the drops crashing inches above my ears on the tarp that lay over my head and shoulders. I was staying dry and it was actually pretty cool. It had rained about 10 minutes when I was a little hungry. I decided to eat one of the MRE meals I had been packing since Mississippi. It was meatloaf and gravy, and it was damn good. But I'm not picky and like just about everything except pickles and olives.
         After a half hour or so of rain it stopped and I packed up to move on. It still didn't look all the way clear and like there was a chance of more rainfall, but the bad part was past for now at least.
          I finally came to the exit. There was nothing there but a few houses. They were mostly trailer homes or very old houses. I felt ok, so I just decided to keep moving.
        I started climbing and came into a really cool section that went through a mountain. The rocks were really pretty and tall on both sides of the highway. I was enjoying the scenery. It was a pretty steep climb and out of nowhere the wind picked up again and was gusting. Again I felt sprinkles. With nowhere to stop and railings on the side of the shoulder all the way up the hill, I had to continue. I dug out a rain pancho someone had given me in Texas. I threw that on and kept at it.
           I reached the top of the hill and the wind had died down, and the rain stopped. Another mile up was an exit. It was a little town called Laguna. These towns don't show up on my GPS for some reason. Maybe they are Indian Reservations? Not sure.
        I exited there and walked through the town on a frontage road. There was a gas station where I stopped to get a drink. I sat there for about 15 minutes relaxing. I was gonna stay there since I had gone about 20 miles now, but I randomly had the urge to keep going. It was about 6:30pm. I figured I would walk until dark, and then find a random spot and rough it.
         I walked on the frontage (which went all the way to Grants from here) and watched an awesome sunset. Just after the sun went down a truck pulled over and offered me a ride. I told them no thanks and I was only walking. Then they asked if I needed anything and if I was ok? I said yes and thanks. They were nice guys.
         I walked past dark and still didn't see a good spot. I was walking through an area now with nothing really there but desert. A truck pulled over in front of me in the dark and someone got out. I was on guard a bit and had my hand on my knife. Then as the guy came near me I could see it was a security officer. He asked where I was going? I told him I was just walking until I saw a place to sleep. He seemed a little uneasy about that, but then told me there was a camp ground 7 miles up. I knew I wasn't walking that much further, but I told him thanks and I would keep my eye out for it.
        After he left I walked up to another small area of a handful of houses. The only thing there to possibly sleep was an old souvenir shop that was closed. I went behind it but it seemed to be part of a driveway to a house down the dirt road. It wasn't hidden really either. So I continued.
        I walked another 3 miles when I saw something ahead that looked to be public or a business. As I approached it, i saw it was a high school. It was a week night and it's now the school year, so I was skeptical. But I got close and saw a parking lot to the football field on the other side of the school. It was hidden decently and would have to do. I made my bed in the flat asphalt parking lot behind the bleachers and laid down. I then looked at the GPS and I had walked 29 miles that day! After a horrible night of rest and feeling tired and beat up too! My neck was still stiff. I fell asleep around 10pm and was beat!

     

Day 131, August 12, 2012

        I woke up hearing someone walking on the rocks. I looked out from under my tarp and saw two feet stop about 5 feet from me. A guy bent down and asked if I stayed dry last night. I was so discombobulated and sleepy still that when I said yes it barely came out with sound. Then he laughed a little. He said he used cardboard to stay dry. It was weird because he didn't look homeless. Then he said he slept behind the dollar tree down the road. He said sorry to bother me and he was just checking what was under the tarp. He left.
        I laid there a while before getting up. Finally I got up around 9 and was ready to get all my things prepared to hit the road.
        I packed all my stuff, brushed my teeth, took my supplements, and filled my water jugs there behind the auto zone. There was actually a water spicket right next to where I slept. When I was all packed up I made a peanut butter and banana chip sandwich and stretched while I ate it.
        I left there and hit a gas station on the corner. I went in and bought a gallon jug of water to replace the one I gave away. I still couldn't believe I found the $20. So much so that the thought of it being counterfeit actually crossed my mind. But it was real.
        I left there and hit the 66 west. After the gas station there was literally nothing but open road. The first mile was a steep hill I climbed. It wore me out a bit. When I got to the top, looking back at Albeqeurque was cool and I could see it all. I continued up to where the 66 went back into the 40. It was another half mile or so.
        I jumped on the 40 and was off. I walked about 7 miles of flat when suddenly it was a big drop down a hill. I stopped for a break right before the drop since I found the only spot of shade I had seen in miles. After a quick 15 minutes I continued.
         My GPS didn't show much ahead of me for the next 140 miles or so. Just a couple gas stations. But as I was dropping the downhill part I saw something busy far ahead. It was a ways off and I couldn't tell what it was so I just kept walking.
        I walked another 7 miles or so when I got close to the exit. Then I could see it was a casino! A large exit with a bunch of stuff. It was called the Oasis casino. So I came up and had a nice place to stop. I stopped at the Dairy Queen right off the exit.
       I ordered a drink and hungout there. Someone on my Facebook asked where I was and said they were on their way. That was a surprise. When they got there it was a couple from Albeqeurque. They were following my story and wanted to come help out. They brought me a bag of snacks, some drinks, and $20! That was a nice and unexpected surprise. They hungout and talked a while. Very nice people!
         I stayed there until 7. When I left it was really windy! Like so windy I couldn't walk at times and my stuff was close to blowing away. I fought that and sprinkling here and there. It just quickly rolled in and there were dark clouds above.
        I walked until dark and for about 30 minutes past dark. It was a lot of uphill and tough walking in the wind. I got about 19 miles for the day when I stopped at a dirt road that went right off the 40. It was all that was around so I had to settle. I made my bed right under a gate and next to a cattle guard. It wasn't the most comfortable spot away from wild life. But I had to take any rest I could get.
         I made my bed in the dirt and rocks there. It said it may rain through the night so my tarp was ready. I didn't fall asleep until about 2am! I couldn't sleep and didn't like that the wind blocked me being able to hear what was around. Plus the interstate was loud being about 30 feet away.
        It started raining at about 2:30am. It was coming down pretty hard and I had got my tarp over me and my stuff right on time! I put the tarp over the gate to stay up. Due to the wind I had to lay in part of the tarp too. I had to be really snugged up to my cart and could only be in the fetal position to stay dry. It rained most of the night from there. I got maybe 2-3 hours of very sketchy rest that night.

Day 130, August 11, 2012

      I woke up early. I opened my eyes and saw someone across from me sitting behind a bush stretching out. I rubbed my eyes as it was a little blurry. Then I could see that there was a bed and some gear. The guy was homeless and had slept right across from me and I didn't know.
       I watched as he packed his things and eventually took off walking. After he left I closed my eyes for another short 20 minutes or so. When I woke up I was tired but wanted to try and hit some thrift stores ahead of me early to have a better selection.
      I got up and did my morning routine. I strolled out of the park at about 8am. I walked through a neighborhood going west and then tied back in to the 66. I walked down the 66 west and things quickly got rough! It was a sketchy area and the people looked to be on drugs.
       I walked to an indoor flea market and the sign said they opened at 12! So I needed to kill time. There was nowhere around to hangout so I just walked west another half mile until I saw a Starbucks. I stopped there and was just gonna wait until 12. I really hoped there were shoes there and that I wasn't wasting my time.
       So I sat there using the Internet until 11:45am. Then I headed out back east to the thrift store. I really hated backtracking but I needed shoes. I ended up leaving my cart at starbucks. It was outside in the fenced in patio and people were sitting there. I took a chance and hoped nobody would mess with it. I took all my valuable stuff in my backpack and left. It was really weird walking with my backpack, and it really made me realize how crazy it was that I started only with a backpack and no money or food. I had that feeling again like I had when I walked away from the beach in Florida. It made me realize how thankful I am that I have made it this far. With no preparation, training, or planning, I made it over 1800 miles on basically just a splint of hope and a bitter prayer.
        So I walked back to the indoor flea market. When I went in and asked where the shoes were, they said they didn't really have any shoes. My stomach dropped a little. He said if there were any shoes, they would be mixed in hidden and the workers hadn't seen any.
       So I walked around and scrummaged the whole building! And nothing. A few pairs of dress shoes here and there and that's it. I had a few more lots to check in the far back corner. I walked into one of the last lots and on the bottom shelf of a structure, I saw some brown shoes. I grabbed them and set them next to my shoes, and they looked close in size. So I tried them on and they fit!! Just my size. They were brown boots and the soles were fairly fresh. I couldn't believe it! The price tag was 18$ and I had about 23 left. After they rung up it was $21. I had $2 left in my name. And I knew what I was going to do with it.
         I swapped my inserts and put my new shoes on. They felt awkward at fist, but felt much more secure and fresh (as far as the soles and support). I walked back to the Starbucks and hoped my cart was there and hadn't been messed with. When I got there it was all good and some of the people outside were still there.
       So I packed up and left walking. I went west again on the 66. The area from there just got rougher and rougher. It was so bad that I was getting asked if I had drugs every mile at least. That and for cigarettes.
       It upsets me because drug addicts give homeless such a bad wrap. There are so many good homeless people who really do need food. But the drug addicts give them a bad name and cause people to accociate homeless with losers. I have been homless for close to 2 years and I have met some really cool homeless with stories that blew me away. Great people who have very legitiment reasons for being homeless.
         I walked 5 miles and stopped at another McDonald's across from the college. I got a burger there with a coupon I had. I sat there a little while but the people roaming around outside by my cart worried me, and I decided to get out of the area especially before dark. So I left walking west again. When I went outside, next to my cart was an old man with a shopping cart picking from the dumpster. I talked to him a little and he couldn't even talk. He was shaking and seemed helpless in a sense. I ended up giving him every last penny I had. After I gave it to him he couldn't even say thank you. He tried but couldn't get the words out. He was really struggling.
       So here I am again in New Mexico, Penniless for the third time across the country. I walked away with not a worry this time. I knew I was going to be ok. I didn't tell anyone on Facebook or twitter that I gave away all my money. I don't need to tell anyone and have them worry. I know I will be fine. And this blog is posted about 2 weeks behind so by the time this journal is online I will be hundreds of miles away.
         I walked through downtown. It was a really cool downtown with neat bistros and shops all around. It was really pretty and there were cool people walking all around. Still a lot of tweaks, in fact more tweaks here than any other city I have EVER gone through. Weird.
        I was walking behind a couple that came out of a building. The guy had a pizza box. He passed a garbage can and threw it in. They were about 50 yards ahead of me. When I came to the garbage can, I picked out the box. I opened it up and it was fairly fresh chicken and pepperoni pizza from red brick oven. I munched that pizza down like the gift from god that it was! It was delicious. And I will do what it takes to survive. I trust god will make it possible. Maybe not easy, but possible.
        I passed some other homeless people after that and felt so giving. After the pizza I just felt like things are gonna come to me as long as I give along the way. So I passed out snacks I had to a few other homeless.
         I crossed a river and came into a part of town that was a bit ghetto. It suddenly was dark clouds above rolling in. I kept walking and then the wind picked up out of nowhere, heavily. Then it suddenly began to pour hard right away! Not even a sprinkle, just sudden hard rain.
      I jogged to a shopping center ahead and took cover under an overhang next to a little Caesars pizza. I sat outside of there staying dry and it was really coming down. A guy came out of little Caesars and said "sorry sir but we are gonna have to ask you to move on". I flipped out on him! It was absolutely pouring and there was no cover around besides that. I was asking him if he's telling me I have to go into the rain!? He kept saying sorry, but I told him there was no way I'm moving until the rain let up. That's rediculous to kick a pedestrian out into a storm to get soaked. He said "I'm sorry but we have to ask you to move on, customers are saying you are making them uncomfortable". He walked back inside and I stayed there. I was really frustrated from this. But either way I was going into the rain. I felt I had the right to stay dry there for the downpour.
          So as I stood there in frustration, a guy walked up and sat next to me. He asked if I had a cigarette. I told him no and that I've never smoked one. I was still a little angry. He said he was lost and had fell asleep on the bus. He needed to get home but had no money. He was telling me he had a long way to walk but was looking for an empty water bottle he could use to get water for his walk. I was still not 100% focused on him and still angry from the other issue.
       The rain was coming down, it was dark and gloomy, the wind pushed trash all around. And suddenly my entire field of vision was all dark and negative. The things I saw were dark and ugly. My thoughts were negative too. It was an all around bad moment. Then it hit me, what if this is a test? I'm about as upset as I've been this whole journey. This is about as ugly of scenery in a moment of being in an ugly ghetto with trash and drug addicts all around. What if this is testing the person in me?
      That thought really captured me and I was focused on that so much that the anger was conpartmentalized. I looked at this guy and then felt I could finally 100% engage in him. Before this he was talking to a zombie. Now he had my attention. I said "where are you going?" he said "trying to go home but I need water". He was calm but seemed sincere on needing a water bottle to have water to carry for the walk home. Then I realized, I really only have enough jugs for me to survive through long desert stretches. I gave him a cracker snack thinking maybe just giving him something would be enough. Money or food I don't mind giving away, but this was something I acquired for surviving. Something I needed. All the money or things I have given away were not things I really needed to survive. They are things I could do without for now. But the water jugs were my saving grace in the desert. So I was reluctant to give him one. I kept questioning him hoping he would have an idea to figure something out. But it came to the point where I was ready to go as the rain stopped, and I had a decision to make. All my survivor instincts said not to spare a water jug. I don't have money to replace that now. I'm penniless. I can't afford to let this tool to survive slip away. It seems too careless and rediculous. I felt that this was the line where I say no, and just leave.
      But something pulled me in. I had a moment where I just felt I needed to make the selfless choice. How have I come this far with nothing, and now I can't give away a water bottle? So I made the choice and didn't like it. I gave him a gallon jug. It was a partially bitter gesture as I gave it to him. I said good luck to him as nice as I could in the frustration and walked away.
         I was immediately in the next 10 steps questioning that decision. Was this stupid? Am I getting to the point where I'm crossing into stupidity being so selfless? What if I run out of water and that gallon jug I gave away was what killed me? I have already come to a point of being close to running out in the desert. And it is no joke. It's not to be taken lightly. Did I just make the wrong choice....?.....
         I walked another 10 steps and got onto the sidewalk. I was holding my head down in this battle going on in my mind, really thinking I'm losing and that it was for sure rediculous.
     Then as I was looking down, I saw something on the ground as I rolled by the dirty wet sidewalk. I stopped and stared down at a wet, folded, dirty twenty dollar bill.
       No way this just happened. I just looked at it and put my hands on my hips. I felt chills and goosebumps come over me. I looked around and nobody was even close. I stared at it for about a minute and then finally felt a small grin on my face. I was shocked and felt like screaming it out, like someone who won the lotto. But I held it in. I bent down and picked it up. It had dirt and little leaves on it. I grabbed it and just looked at it.
        When I looked up as I smiled I saw the sun blinding my eyes! It had been dark for the past 10 minutes at least, and just now the sun shined through a little hole just the size of the sun. It was so bright I was suprised by it and put my hand in front of me to block it.
        Then thinking about the series of events that just took place sounded rediculous. It was so cliche and like a story made up. What was going on?
       I'm not religious and have nothing against anyones beliefs, but these are just facts of what just went down. Pretty wild!!! Now I could buy 20 gallons of water by the way.
      I walked about 4 more miles to a taco bell. I stopped there for a break. It started raining again so I covered my cart with my tarp while I went in and plugged in at an outlet. I ordered a water and just hungout.
       I left there around 9pm and walked another 2 miles. I came to the very west edge of town. There was a burger king, McDonald's, and autozone. I went behind the auto zone and made my bed on some rocks behind the dumpster corral. It was very hidden so I felt comfortable mentally there. The rocks were a bit jagged and big, but it would do. Just after I laid down a rat darted by about 10ft away from me. I had my tarp ready incase the rain came back. I fell asleep around 10:30. I wanted to get back onto a roll the next morning as I would enter into many miles of desert. I wanted to get back to 20 miles a day and get through it fluidly, especially now with better soles under my feet.
       It started raining in the middle of the night. I woke up and grabbed my tarp. I draped the tarp over my cart and over me. It was just enough to keep me and my things dry. I slept decent that night.