Close to Mary's Heart

THE END (Long Beach, WA)

2005-08-09T14:30:00.000-05:00

No crowd gathered as I walked the final mile. No reporters asked for an interview after I dove into the ocean. Even the guy I asked to take my picture didn't seem to care much when I told him that I had just finished a year long trek across America. But that's just how I'd want it to be. This journey hasn't been about reaching a final destination... it's been about living a dream that's been on my heart for years.

In this last email I'm NOT going to get all philosophical or sentimental. I really only have 2 things to say:

The first is THANK YOU. Really, thank you. If you're getting this email it means you've been part of this journey in one way or another. Can you imagine how empty it would've been without you? So, thanks.

The second thing I want to say is LIVE YOUR DREAMS. This has undoubtedly been the best year of my life, but it was such a scary step to take because it was "different" and risky. What a fool I would've been to give up on it! Some of you have dreams that are a lot more "different" and meaningful than walking across America, and I'd love to see you live them.

Well, that's it for now. I fly back to NY on August 9th which will leave me a little time to prepare for going back to teach in September, and to readjust to living in society again, I HOPE!

I've taken all my photos on disposable 35mm cameras but when I get a chance to scan them in I'll send you some via email.

One last thing LOTS of people have suggested I write a book about this journey. In case you haven't noticed, I already have. These emails I've been sending out every few weeks are the closest thing I think I'll do to writing a book. If I've met you along the way and you'd like to read the emails from the whole journey let me know and I'll forward you a copy. Free of charge too!

Until then, I'll end with the lyrics to one of the MANY songs I've been singing to pass those MANY solitary hours of walking each day...

"Runaway Boy" -James Taylor

Now I've been all the places that I ever wanna be
Seen all the people that I ever wanna see
I'm sick and tired of bein' lonely and free
Ready today for what's waitin' on me
I'm gonna give up believin' I was born to run
Stop actin' like a man that gets shot from a gun
Settin' down roots I wanna soak up sun
Stay right here till my days are done

My friend Matt

2005-07-30T09:44:00.000-05:00

Matt is a very nice young man from New York. He is a high school physics teacher in New York and one day he decided to walk across the USA and one day arrived at Suires. We were able to convince him to spend time with my family.

He spend time with Bobby and Dot at their catering business and a beautiful bonding of friendship developed with the family.

It is wonderful as he keeps me in touch with his travels via e-mail.

How it began

2005-07-29T22:26:00.000-05:00

Mary sent me an email about a fellow who writes her and was so touched it made me wish there was a way to help her share those sort of stories with the Suire's site directly. The good folks at blogger.com have provided this tool and I think it will delight her.

Steamboat Springs, CO to Pinedale, WY

2005-06-07T14:26:00.000-05:00

Hi,Feels like a lot has happened since I last wrote.Let's see how much I can write before I get kicked offthis computer.Right after leaving Steamboat Springs I called theschool where I had taught in NY and asked if I couldcome back to teach in September. The principal told methat I could have the position only if I promised toshower and shave before I got back. I had been prayingand thinking for a while about what to do after Ireach the west coast... this felt like the right thingto do... it just made sense. So, I've got a deadlinenow: reach the west coast by the end of August or abunch of kids won't have a science teacher.Crossing the border from CO to WY (again, hopping overa barber wire fence) brought me down from themountains of snow, evergreen and aspen into an endlesssemi-desert of grass and sagebrush. The vastness of itwas daunting. Looking all around me, looking hard andfar too, I couldn't see a single building or even hearthe rumble of an engine; no roads, no rivers orcreeks, not even the ubiquitous barbed-wire fenceacross the prairie, not a single hint that man hadbeen there before. I don't know of many places likethat in the US.I moved pretty quickly across this section, not somuch because I like walking 35 miles a day, butbecause if I didn't then I wouldn't reach the nextwater source or grocery store. Wyoming is REALLYspread out. The whole state only has 500,000 people...the lowest population of any state in the US. Can youbelieve that little Rhode Island has twice as manypeople as big old Wyoming? A town with a grocerystores is a rare oasis in this landscape of sagebrushdesert and snow covered mountain ranges.One day I did run out of water. It wasn't fun. All ofthe water sources shown on my maps turned out to bedried up and there were no houses or stores aroundwhere I could ask for a fill-up. I made it some 10miles in the intense mid-day sun and was gettingdesperate. "Eight mile lake" was ahead on my map. Awhole lake couldn't have dried up. And, there it wasin the distance.... thank God! It was half evaporatedaway and the banks were dusted baby-powder-white, butit was water. The white powder should've been a clue,but I didn't realize till I spat it out in disgustthat this was an alkali lake concentrated with mineralsalts. No choice: keep going till you find water. Afew miles later I came to a beautiful blue reservoirbut it was bordered by razor-wire, signs that read "Itis a federal offense to tamper with this reservoir",and a thick cloud of mosquitoes that drove me awayrunning. The only water I got to drink that day wasfrom a muddy sump filled with insect larvae... kids,don't try this at home.Rawlins was the first town I reached in Wyoming. Amberand a bunch of friends didn't hesitate to call me overto their table at the restaurant and then out to agame of disc-golf. We left the park strewn with fallenlimbs and bark chips from all the trees we hit. Theyjoked about, "How do we know you're not some randomaxe-murderer?", and I asked, "How do I know you guysaren't a GANG of axe-murderers?" Pretty cool how theyjust invited me along like an old friend.The snow covered mountain range I saw far in thedistance while crossing the desert is finally at myfeet Nearly all of this enormous Wind River range isprotected as National Forest, Park, or WildernessArea. I've seen more wildlife in this area than anyother part of the country: badgers, marmots, weasels,beaver, eagles, herds of elk, pronghorn antelope, muledeer, and wild horses, coyotes, desert hares, foxes,sage grouse, gopher, and all kinds of hawks and birdsthat I can't identify.... and there's still so much Ihaven't seen yet. Mountain lion and bear tracks are acommon sight but I haven't come face to face witheither. Since I entered Wyoming people have beenwarning me about grizzly bears. The owner of a littlestore in Atlantic City (pop 57) went out and bought mea can of "bear-power pepper spray". Haven't had to useit yet, but if anyone tries to mug me now you can betI'll give 'em a blast of that stuff.While I was in Lander it rained pretty hard for a fewdays so I camped under an awning in the town's park.As I walked back to my tent one evening I saw a bunchof guys with axes swinging wildly at plywood boardsand others blasting targets with fire-hoses. This was,of course, the local firemen practicing their skills.I watched and talked with the fire chief for a while.Firemen are so cool. I remember seeing how much of afamily they were to my grandpa who served most of hislife as a fireman... it's more than just fightingfires. Eventually the fire chief concluded that Ineeded a steak dinner so out we went. I ate till ithurt and we spent most of the time debating about Godand the Bible which is odd because we had just met. Hewas sure that he was right, and I was sure that I wasright and that's how we left it.Not sure if this next story is appropriate for a massemail but it cracks me up so I'm putting it in. Kids,scroll down and don't read this paragraph. (Likethat's gonna happen.) Since I've gotten up in themountains I've had to cross a lot of creeks andrivers. They're all running pretty high and fast soyou can't just rock-hop across... you've got to get inthere and fight the current. They're also freezingcold from all the melting snow up here. Anyway, Idon't carry an extra change of clothes with me so I'vegot to cross these things buck naked carrying mybackpack above my head. Now, would you rather walkaround in cold, wet clothes all day or grin and bareit for a few minutes? The antelope look at me like,"What's the story with this fruit cake?" But that'sthe great part about Wyoming: there's nobody else outhere that knows or even cares that I'm walking aroundwith no clothes on.Awkward change of gears here, but I wanted to mentionhow God has answered prayer in some neat ways lately.Following a road up into the mountains, it got to theelevation where there was still snow all over theplace and the trail I was supposed to follow furtherup was totally covered. So, I sat there for a whilewondering what to do next. "God, where should I gofrom here?", I asked. A few minutes later I looked upand saw this big, slobbering, ball of white furrunning at me. "Blizzard", the St. Bernard, wasappropriately named. His owner came up soon after, aguy who knows these mountains like his backyard. Hepointed me to a route through a canyon that wasbeautiful and totally clear of snow. Thanks for thedirections, God!Another time I was on one of those infamous"shortcuts" making up my own route and wasn't sure howI was going to get out to the next road with a cliffand river in my way. "God, please help me get out ofhere okay." After wandering around a bit I found a fewtrails intersecting and just "had a feeling" that Ishould follow this one in particular. And, yeah, itwas the one that led straight out of the woods andonto the road. I love it!This one happened today. Tendinitis in my ankle hasbeen hurting really bad for a few days and I've beenlimping in pain as I walk. I need to rest it for a fewdays. I was headed into town this morning on a dirtroad that was closed to all traffic. I prayed anyway,"God, please send someone to give me a ride intotown." Pretty soon a jeep comes bouncing down thehill, plows across the creek and pulls over next tome. It was Lee, a wildlife biologist who isresearching sage grouse nesting in this area (which iswhy the road was closed). He does a quick check on thebirds and then comes back and drives me into town. Howcool is that? Tell me God doesn't answer prayer andI'll come blast you with that bear-power pepper spray.I'll be following this mountain range northwest fromhere to Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. Shouldbe some of the most awesome country I'll ever see. I'dlove to hear from you so let me know how you're doingand I'll reply when I get to another town, which mightbe a while.Matt

Montrose, CO to Steamboat Springs ,CO

2005-05-18T14:28:00.000-05:00

Hi again,

I'm stuck in Steamboat Springs for a few days waiting for a package to arrive this leaves me with some time to write to you all. Great town to be stuck in though: free bus service, parks and natural hot springs all over town, and, of course, plenty of places to eat.

I've been taking a bunch of "shortcuts" as I come North across Colorado. For me, a shortcut means if the trail or road I'm following turns to curve around a mountain range, a canyon, or some other obstacle then I'll opt for the "shortcut" by bushwhacking over the mountain, across the canyon, or wade through the river. "Hmmm.... I could save a few miles if I just go straight across instead of following this road all the way around." Simple logic, right?

One of these days, I'll learn that the exhaustion, bruises, and getting lost from my shortcut isn't worth the few miles it supposedly saved. Until then I'll keep doing things like..

SHORTCUT 1: "The Grand Mesa Shortcut"
Grand Mesa is a Rhode-Island-sized plateau 10,000ft high that sat right in the way of my northward progress. Mike, a guy I met who worked for the National Forest Service, told me that all the roads and trails across the plateau were still covered in several feet of snow and I'd have no choice but to follow the highway around it. I hate walking on highways. I found a dirt road that crossed the plateau at around 9,000ft so I figured I'd give that a try. Mike was right, of course... the snow was deep. Every step I sunk thigh-deep, every step the puddles of icy water underneath filled my shoes, and every step I told myself "No more shortcuts.... no more shortcuts..." Eventually the roads cleared up, I forgot all about the trauma of the last few miles, and I was ready for the adventure of another shortcut.

SHORTCUT 2: "The Little Muddy Gulch Shortcut"
Coming down from Grand Mesa, the road turned West to skirt around a hill. My map said that if I went over the hill I'd find a trail along "Little Muddy Creek" which would lead straight into the next town. "Wow, that would save me 6 miles of walking... Let's go!" Got over the hill with no problems and was feeling pretty smart. The creek flowed through a deep gulch and the only trail I found at the bottom was a deer trail that crossed back and forth across the creek every mile or so. Instead of taking off my shoes and wading across the creek I decided to attempt a running leap to the other bank. Deep breath... okay, count 1...2...3...go! On my last step, the bank crumbles beneath me, I go tumbling face first into the water, gash my knee open, and sit there in the creek laughing out loud. One of those moments you wished you'd caught on video. Another successful shortcut.

SHORTCUT 3: "The Black Canyon of the Gunnison Shortcut"
Sounds ominous. No, I didn't make up that name. The Black Canyon of the Gunnison is where the Gunnison River has cut a deep gorge vertically through black rock and is so narrow that little sunlight ever reaches the bottom. If you've ever looked up at an avenue of Manhattan skyscrapers, or if you remember the scene from Lord of the Rings where Gandalf and the Balrog fall into the chasm then you'll have an idea what this place looked like. I was at the top edge of this chasm. There was a road that followed the canyon a few miles away, but I walked right at the lip of it for about 15 miles. This turned out to be a good shortcut because I didn't fall off the edge along the way.

There are a bunch of other scattered experiences and stories running through my head right now. Don't know how to put them in coherent paragraphs so I'll just outline a bit.

THE "CASH"IER
At the grocery store in Glenwood Springs, the cashier saw the "Jesus Saves" sign on my backpack. She came around the counter, gave me a warm hug, and handed me $20!

SHE'S GOT A TICKET TO RIDE
That same day I went to the town's community center where they have a pool, hot tub, water slide, rock climbing wall, basketball courts, etc.. I just went to use a computer. The secretary there heard that I'm walking across the country. She found me at the computer and handed me a free all-day pass to use any of the facilities there! Had a lot of fun but wished I'd had a friend with me to play basketball and swim with.

LDS
Went for the first time to a church of Latter Day Saints, or Mormons. I'd never known much about what they believe or if there was any difference between LDS and what the Bible says. Couldn't tell much from one visit to the church so I've done a little research since then. It's pretty complicated but seems like there's more of an emphasis on certain do's and dont's and living morally to work your way up in Heaven. Paul emphasizes over and over that we can't earn God's favor through good works, that it's only by faith in Jesus that we're saved. I can tell you that regardless of beliefs, Mike and Kathy welcomed me into their home for 2 days and treated me like their own son, so thank God for that.

AARON
I mentioned the free buses here in Steamboat Springs. I met Aaron yesterday at the bus stop and we small-talked for a half hour while we waited. Met him on the bus again today and after one of those long, awkward pauses in conversation it came up that he's at a crisis right now. He's at the point where alcoholism is about to rob him of his wife and kids. I told him the only way he's gonna truly be free from it is through Jesus, that Satan is the one who would have him keep getting drunk. I'm not usually this direct with people and could hardly believe I'd said it. He told me that he'd asked God to help him get over it before but didn't see any answers to that prayer. We got off at the same stop and prayed together for a while. "I think God just answered my prayers.", he said. He was crying.

Alright, I've got to hurry up and wait some more for this package to come so I'd better get going. I'll be in touch again soon.

Love Matt

Albuquerque, NM to Montrose, CO

2005-05-04T14:17:00.000-05:00

Hi,

Left off the last email torn over which route to take from Albuquerque. Got some good advice from a friend, "You should give it a go. If it turns out that the Rockies are too deep in snow then at least you'll know for yourself and won't be kicking yourself later for not even trying."

So, I did a test run. From Albuquerque I headed up into the San Juan Mountains following an old forest road. Sharp, snow capped mountains stood on both sides of the river valley I was ascending. These were by far the tallest peaks I'd come across on this trip. Further up and further in... by 8000 feet (elevation) the road had turned to quick-mud from all the snow melt so I walked my bike along the edge. Hmmm... this might be harder than I thought. At 9000 feet I was dragging my bike like a dead body over 2 feet of snow, trudging along at 1 mph crawl, completely exhausted, frostbitten, and wet from the knees down. This went on for hours and I was seriously considering turning back. But, wait... what's that in the distance? A lone barbed wire fence across a mountain pass. And what does that sign say? "Welcome to Colorado". Someone has a sense of humor. That fence marked the NM/CO border as well as the Continental Divide. Looking over the crest of that pass all of Western Colorado spread out below me. Theoretically, it's all down hill from the Continental Divide to the Pacific Ocean. Again, theoretically. After heaving the bike and myself over the fence I made my way down the other face of the range and set up my tent when I got below snow-level.

Now, after all this, what do you think I decided from my "test run"? I decided, of course, to give my bike away and continue north on foot along the Rockies, proving once again that men are perfectly logical. =)

I make this sound like it was an easy decision. It wasn't. I agonized over it for days. "Wouldn't it be better not to freeze and just go West across Arizona?" "But, I've been looking forward to the Rockies for so long." "And why walk when you've got a perfectly good bike?" "But off-road walking is much more of an adventure." In my heart I knew it was time to start walking again and I knew I needed to be in the mountains, so I finally settled the matter: I gave the bike to a Salvation Army store and headed North on foot. (The ladies at the Salvation Army didn't know what to make of me. I pull up on a bike and tell them I'm donating the bike because I'd rather walk.)

Since I left the bike in Dolores, CO, yes, it's been cold; and yes, I've been snowed/hailed on for the past week straight; and yes, my legs are sore again... but God, I love walking! Getting off the roads and bushwhacking over a mountain, stumbling upon a herd of elk grazing in an open valley, climbing down and up the face of a ravine... you can only do that on foot. The other thing I love about walking is that it forces me to NEED people. Coming across one stretch of National Forest I passed by a hunter's lodge and since I was out of water I knocked on the door to ask for a refill. The woman who answered the door had hiked all over the world, run marathons, and taught high school. She invited me in for oatmeal and coffee as we traded sstoriesabout teaching and hiking. That meeting turned a cold rainy day into a good one. Back in NY, I hardly know my nnext doorneighbors, mostly because it's just too easy to get by without other people's help.

Had a surprising time in the little town of Norwood, CO. Finding a place to camp in towns and cities is a lot harder than in the country where I can just step a few yards from the trail or road and find a sheltered spot in the woods. TTheonly spot I found in Norwood was in the dug-out of the high school baseball field. As I was sitting in my tent that evening I heard a group of kids outside. DOH! I'd been spotted. I think I freaked them out at first. They jumped back when I got out of the tent I was a little freaked out too because they were all dressed up in costumes. We all had to explain ourselves a bit. They were acting in a school play and had just come out for a walk before the play started. Cool kids They invited me to their performance of "I Shot My Rich Aunt" and to the cast party afterwords. It was the best entertainment I've seen on this journey, especially for a school with about 25 kids in a graduating class

Next morning, I went to Norwood Baptist Church. I mentioned before about people needing each other. What an example this church was. The pastor and another member of the church had recently been killed in a car accident. Yeah, it was a hard hit to the congregation and to the town, and there was still crying and grieving that morning at the church. But, I was amazed to see how the people there were stepping up and working together to keep the work of the church going. They took on the responsibilities of pastor, continued the food pantry and prison ministries, cared for the families of the two that had been killed... it looked like everyone there was doing whatever they could to help. They didn't just come to church to sit through a service. Everyone meant it when they prayed, they spoke to each other like family. I'm not even trying to dress-up this description. This is exactly what I thought to myself while I was there. Seemed to me that's how church ought to be.

The plan from here in Montrose is to hug the western slopes of the Rockies as I go North. I can't go much above 9000 feet before the snow and cold make me regret it, but even at this elevation the scenery is spectacular and the terrain is enough of a challenge. I'm aiming to head northwest across Wyoming to reach Yellowstone National Park and then cut west across Idaho and Oregon to finally reach the Pacific Ocean and the end of this journey.

Matt