Brett Bramble Walks

I slept like a baby last night. It must’ve rained because everything outside was soaking wet. I got outside of my tent and saw a bag of goodies left on top of my cart. Blake, the guy who let me stay there last night, stopped by while I was sleeping and left some snacks for me and Domino and a coin that is special to him with the serenity prayer on it. What a treat it was to have met him.

I layered up because it was freezing and started walking. I wasn’t feeling it today. The cold weather and high winds got to me. I kept trying to keep my spirits up but I just couldnt. Domino was pissing me off and acting really bad today. I think she didn’t want to be walking either.

Huge hills all day and cold weather. I just went as quickly as I could to try to get to the next town with a hotel. I should’ve stopped to rest and eat but I never did. I just kept going. Obviously only making matters worse. Now I was hangry on top of everything else.

Thankfully a cool guy stopped me and asked if I wanted food. At first I refused and gave short answers, but then I finally gave in and told him about the walk and he told me he had food with him and I took it. It was some really good turkey. I mean really really good!

He helped me feel better. I needed to stop and eat. I still wanted to get to the hotel though and warm up. I pushed through the last 4 miles and got all checked in. The room was surprisingly nice. They must’ve just done a recent renovation.

I’m in a small town called Loogootee. It’s nice. Kind of weird but pretty. I ate dinner next door and came back to relax. I think I’ll be asleep in 10 minutes and it’s only 6 pm. I have another long day tomorrow. I am going to make sure to take it in strides tomorrow and keep me spirits up. It’s supposed to drop to 40 degrees tonight so I’m glad I got a hotel.

Good night and sorry so short today. I’m exhausted!

Ate a hearty breakfast at the hotel and packed up all of my stuff to get ready of 4 nights of sleeping in my tent off the side of the road. I wanted to be prepared so that it would go as smoothly as possible. Before I left, I got on the computer at the hotel to run through my route just one more time. Good thing that I did because Friday the 13th just threw something my way.

I noticed that my route went through a Navy base and that there were restricted roads. I don’t know how I didn’t see this before. I had no choice but to completely change plans. At first I was bothered by this. The only other way was to take busier roads with no shoulders. I asked the front desk clerk some questions about the roads and chose what I thought was the best route.

One good thing about it was that it brings me through towns with hotels and restaurants. It’s always nice to have those options. Especially since the weather is crazy out here. I finished making my 4 day plan while I had the benefit of having a computer and headed out.

The road that I was worried about wasn’t that bad. Very little traffic. This turned out to be a good switch so far! The whole day I was in the mountains. Up and down big hills but beautiful scenery. Not much happened all day really. Just walking up and down and loving the beautiful weather.

I had a funny thought cross my mind.. I wondered why people pronounce the ‘cycle’ in bicycle and motorcycle differently. This was the most entertaining thought of my day lol.

After 17 miles I was coming up to the area that I was planning on searching for a place to pop my tent up. I had seen a patch of woods on googlemaps and had confidence that I’d find something there. A couple of dogs ran into the street barking and running at me. Not in a scary way. I’ve gotten used to dogs doing this by now. I usually just tell them to go on or I stop and play with them. Just depends on how nice they are.

I heard a car approaching and when it came around the corner I made sure to wave to slow it down because the dogs were in the street. Thankfully he saw me and slowed down. He was more interested in my crazy ass with a straw hat and pushing a stroller full of crap.

He asked what was going on and I told him and he offered a place to put up my tent. I accepted because I’d much rather camp somewhere with permission. He was really cool and we hung out for a couple of hours. He showed me a natural spring that I drank from and we talked about life and also about how drugs have affected ours. He told me that he appreciated what I am walking for. I told him that I appreciated the campsite and the company.

I was blown away by how perfectly today went considering that I had no idea I was even going this way until right before I started walking. I also realized how lucky that I am to be able to be on this quest. It may be hard at times but I am just starting to realize that I am going to get so much out of this. And what it even better is that I believe that many other people will as well. How awesome is that!?

I just feel lucky.

Happy Friday the 13th!

Last night I pulled 16 ticks off of me and Domino. None of them bit me.  A few had bitten domino but they died. She is on very good tick medicine as I knew we’d run into them. I had a hard time sleeping knowing that there had to have been a few that I missed.

I woke up early around 7 am and it wasn’t raining. I decided to pack up quickly and head for Bedford. A town with a hotel about 7 miles away. Just over 2 hours of walking. It took an hour to pack up and get ready. Found a few more ticks of course. Everything was soaking wet and all of my laundry was dirty. I really needed to take advantage of a hotel. The one I had in mind listed that it was pet friendly and had guest laundry.

I walked fast as rain was forecasted to come soon. I made it to the hotel just after 10 am. I knew it would be too early to check in but thought I’d ask anyways. This hotel was strict about their policy and wouldn’t let me check in until 2. They let me put Lieutenant Dan behind the counter though and me and Domino went over to Denny’s for some food.

I ate a ton of food and Denny’s took care of my meal and gave domino a breakfast sandwich because they had heard about the walk. I felt so much better having a full belly and knowing that I had a hotel room for the night.

After we both ate, I came in and got on the hotel computer to plan out the next few days. I also called and emailed some media and made arrangements to do interviews. I had some extra time while I sat there waiting for a room so I went back on my mapping website and retraced my steps to find out how far I have walked so far. 844 miles!

Tomorrow will be 2 months from the day I started and I’ve walked 844 miles. Not bad considering it’s the first segment of the trip. I’ll have to pick up the pace in the flatter states. I’m not concerned about time if I can keep up the rate that I am going.

I finally got my room and went in and hung up my tent and tarps and sleeping bag and every damn thing else cuz it was all wet. I threw my laundry in the washer and went to take a shower. When I was done and I went to go throw my clothes in the dryer I realized that their washer was broken. I got pretty pissed off.

All I had now was a bunch of soaking wet dirty clothes. I was too lazy at this point to hand wash them so I just threw them in the dryer hoping that I could at least dry them out. Well it didn’t work. My clothes were still soaking wet after a full cycle. I took them to the room and hand washed them and hung them to dry. Nothing else to do but to do it.

The next 4 nights I’ll be camping in a tent and I want to make sure I’m ready for it. That’s what this stay was all about. After doing everything that I needed to do I ordered pizza and laid in bed watching tv.

I talked to some friends and family on the phone. I gave domino some more good food and we both got full again and are enjoying the bed. I will be out in the middle of nowhere for the next few days and I feel like I’m prepared. If the weather leaves me alone then I am confident that I’ll make it through it just fine.

844 miles!!!!

I slept great last night! It rained all night and I didn’t hear a sound other than the rain on the tent. I woke up and ate breakfast in the tent because it was still raining. I packed everything up while I was still in the tent waiting for the rain to stop. It finally did and I took my time putting everything up. I didn’t want to start the day off stressed out so I put some music on and took my time.

It was 11 am when I finally started walking. The fog was starting to go away and there was a hint of sunlight peeking through the clouds. I headed on and was feeling great. I was proud of myself for not getting upset that I had a wet tent and some wet tarps. My plan was to hang them up whenever I stopped and let the sun dry them out. Halfway through the day that worked and I didn’t have to worry about that anymore.

It started to get pretty hot. A guy pulled over and gave us water and some other snacks. I was thankful for the water. Today was hot and muggy and I needed the extra hydration. So did domino. I could see a mountain range ahead and really didn’t feel like dealing with that but I had no choice. I enjoyed the flat roads as long as I could.

Right before I got to my first big hill, I was stopped by a nice woman who saw me passing by. I had Crocodile Rock playing loud on the radio and my straw hat was on and I know I looked crazy. She asked if I needed anything and I asked for water. I got topped off and we talked about the walk and she had been affected by a loss of a friend to an overdose also. She warned me about the hills and the white trash neighborhood up ahead. I told her I went through West Virginia I can go through anything haha.

After her house it was up and down from there. Huge hills in southern Indiana. Who would’ve known!? I was on back roads with hardly any traffic. The scenery was great. I was jamming to a radio station that was playing hits from 1982. Life was good. Hours and miles later, I came upon a church. Thank God lol. I was out of water and me and Domino were both overheated. No one was there but I filled up my water bottles from the garden hose spigot and took a break. I thought about camping there because I’d gone pretty far already and it didn’t look like much was ahead on my map.

I kept going anyways. I still had about 2 hours left of daylight, might as well get another 5 or 6 miles in. Big mistake. There was nothing after that church. All farms that I can’t camp on and every house was 8000 miles off of the road and I didn’t want to walk all the way to the door and get rejected. I kept going and going.

Storms were beginning to approach. The radio was saying that it was going to rain really hard tonight and I wanted to just put my damn tent up and be done with the day. I finally found a shitty little half way cleared out spot right on the side of the road. I can totally be seen by people driving by but I didn’t care. The rain was coming fast. Wind and thunder already had started.

I went to stomp the ground to try to get a flat spot and realized that I was stepping on a deer spine and not a stick. Freaked out and then moved to another spot. Not very flat but no bones. I threw the tent up frantically and threw what I needed inside and then wrapped Lieutenant Dan in a tarp and hopped in right in time for the rain. Domino thanked me.

I went 20 miles today. More than I wanted to but that’s ok. I’ll probably get a room in the town that’s about 7 miles ahead and do an easy day tomorrow. After that town, I will be in the middle of nowhere for at least 5 days and I want to be prepared for it.

Now to eat ramen noodles and sleep on this lumpy floor during a thunderstorm…

So I spent 3 consecutive days off. I didn’t really want to. The weather was terrible and I couldn’t find the motivation to get out in the cold rain. Well on the 4th day I was over it. I didn’t care. I was ready to go!

I packed up and had my rain gear handy in case it rained. Which it was supposed to according to the forecast. It was supposed to be strong thunderstorms all day. One thing I’ve learned about Indiana is that their meteorologists have the worst jobs on the planet because no one knows when the hell it’s going to rain out here. One minute it’s beautiful, the next it looks like a scene in Twister. I rolled the dice and hoped that it would be a good day

It started off great. I walked through Seymour and it was a pretty town. One lady stopped and gave me an indigenous bag that she had in her car that her church handed out. It was filled with goodies that are helpful to homeless people like me. She was nice and I was happy that she stopped.

I was walking out of town and soon to be on the country roads again and I was so happy to be back out. The weather was great and I wanted to get as far as I could before those thunderstorms came.

People were out doing farm stuff. I even saw a crop duster airplane. I didn’t even know people still did that. I was entertained by all of the big equipment and pretty fields of endless rows of whatever they were growing.

The wind started to pick up and the clouds began to turn. I took in all the signs and guessed that I had about an hour until the storm up ahead would hit me. I walked and walked and tried to come up with a place to find shelter or to just set up my tent and call it a night. My weather channel app was showing that it was supposed to rain all night without stopping.

I was getting desperate and frantic. Nothing but corn fields. I don’t want to set up on anyone’s crop. That’s just pushing the line too far. I saw a house up ahead and decided that I was going to ask if I could set up my tent on their lawn.

I roll up and I see that the front door is opened behind the screen door. Good. At least someone is home. I tie up domino to the stroller and walk up to the door. The owner was standing at the door already. As nicely as I could, I explained that I am walking across America and asked if I could put up my tent because of the storm. He asked me which way I was going and I said west. He then quickly said then I better keep going that way.

I said ok and sorry to bother you and nicely walked away. I wasn’t angry about it. I’m asking for a favor and he wasn’t at all obligated to help. I did think it was a little harsh the way he said no. I have to give him credit that it was clever though. I’m sure he probably thought that he was cool by saying it. Then I bet he felt bad because I was nice. I don’t know. I couldn’t really worry about it. I needed to come up with something and fast. The storm was about to hit and it looked intense.

Looking ahead, there wasn’t much at all to look forward to. I decided that it was time to put on the rain gear and get mentally prepared to walk in a thunderstorm. As I was zipping up the last piece, I hear a vehicle approaching and turn around and it was the guy on a John Deere golf cart thingy. He says that he doesn’t want me to spend the night but he had a place for me to wait out the storm. Awesome! He wasn’t as bad as I thought he was.

We talked a little as he walked me to a shelter that I could hang out in until the storm passed. His name was Ben. It was nice of him to do that. I know it must be crazy for some stranger to come up and ask to sleep on your yard. It would’ve probably taken me a few minutes to process that as well.

I get under the lean-to and am very thankful as the rain did come down. I ate some snacks and fed domino. The rain stopped in about 30 minutes and wasn’t as bad as I had thought it was going to be. I started to pack up to leave because it looked like the storm had passed and I didn’t want to overstay my welcome.

I was almost ready to go and Ben’s wife came out with a sack lunch that she’d put together for me and Domino and insisted that I stayed to eat it. It looked like another wave of rain was coming anyways. So I did. It was one of the best ham and cheese sandwiches I’d ever had.

After that wave was gone I packed up again and rolled out. I waved goodbye to Ben and his wife came out again with more snacks. I told them about the walk and the cause and thanked them for their hospitality. It really helped so much to keep everything dry. It helped my spirits too.

After that the rain went away and the sun was almost back out. I could tell that there were still more storms to come. It looked like about an hour south was getting hit pretty hard. West looked good though.

Walked on long straight country roads with an occasional car that would slow down and wave as they passed. Way better than the notorious hwy 50. A few hours later, it looked like the storms were coming back. This time I wanted to find a place to set up the tent.

I found a place in the woods but I had to climb an embankment to get up there. I had no problem getting up but Lieutenant Dan is a little overweight even without his legs. I must’ve spent 20 minutes trying push/pull him up the 8 foot bank. It was really muddy and wet and I was trying to hurry because rain was coming soon and I still had to set the tent up.

I took a step back, a deep breathe, and used my will power to get it done. Now that we were all out of sight from the road, I found a great flat spot and set up the tent. I threw everything that I needed for the night inside the tent and put the tarp up on Lieutenant Dan. As soon as I hopped in the tent and zipped it up, the rain started. Boom.

So now me and Domino can get some rest and hopefully make good miles tomorrow. Supposedly it is not going to rain but who knows. In the meantime, I will make dinner and read my Kindle until I fall asleep. It’s raining really hard as I speak but the new tent is holding up great. Me and Domino are both comfortable and dry 🙂

Slept well but it was so cold when I woke up. I went over to the bath house to take a shower hoping that it would warm me up but it was just annoying. Wasn’t warm enough and I left my soap back at my campsite so it was all a waste. Should’ve just kept my clothes on. Oh well. It was supposed to be warm today so I tried to focus on the fact that I’d be in a tshirt within a few hours.

Went back and packed everything up and then called the newspaper guy. Thanks to all of the messages I got this morning haha! We set up a place to meet and I walked there.

It was a papa Johns pizza restaurant and I ordered one while I waited for him. He came and we did the interview and then me and Domino ate pizza before getting started today. I had a choice to make. I could either walk on hwy 50 and almost die every 4 seconds or walk an extra 2.5 miles and stay on back roads. I picked back roads.

I went through a tiny town named Hayden. It had an old service station and a tiny little post office. After that I saw about 8000 corn fields. They are pretty this time of the year though because they all have wildflowers grown up. I guess it’s not time to plow yet.

While being semi bored I started thinking about random stuff. One of them was that I wished that I had learned how to do gardening instead of math in school. Something that I could actually use ya know lol.

Out here in Indiana there are dogs everywhere. Similar to West Virginia but in Indiana they aren’t on leashes at all. I prefer that. I hate to see a dog chained up. Dogs were running up to me and Domino all day. I try to play with them all a little and give them a treat and then make sure they turn around so they don’t follow us too far from home. One dog peed on the front wheel of Lieutenant Dan. He didn’t get a treat.

Later in the day I stopped for a break at a crossroads. Just found a spot on the grass and sat down. There was a man with a metal detector and a huge knife walking around trying to find anything I guess. I’ve always wanted to do that haha. He was interested in what the heck I was doing so I told him. He’d also lost a sister to an overdose. I hate the fact that most people I encounter are affected by this but I can’t help but wonder if things were aligned for it to be that way. A guy walking across America and a guy randomly looking for treasure with a metal detector cross paths in the middle of nowhere and both have lost a sister to drugs.

Moved on and finally made it to Seymour. Birthplace of John Mellencamp. It’s a little town off the interstate with an outlet mall and a few hotels and restaurants. I booked a hotel between a cracker barrel and a walmart. Cross country hiker heaven! I’m taking tomorrow off to do some resupply shopping and to hopefully find some temporary arch support for my feet until I can get to a podiatrist. Domino needs a break too.

I am about an hour drive from the Kentucky Derby which is tomorrow so everything around here is crazy. Probably best to stay off of the roads anyways.

Woke up early and left a note saying thank you on the door of the fire house. It was pretty cold but I still have most of my cold weather clothes so I was prepared. Stayed on country roads for the first half of the day. Nothing exciting happened there..

I came up to a point where I had to make a decision. My original itinerary had me getting on hwy 50 for a while to connect to the next section of county roads. I have not been a fan of 50 for the last few days. I had the option to turn the other way and go farther out of my way to stay on the back roads. I also had the choice of taking the railroad tracks.

If I was traveling with a backpack I wouldn’t have thought twice about hopping on the tracks. I’ve loved walking on train tracks since I was a little kid. It’s pretty stupid to try it with a huge stroller full of junk.

So I was on the railroad tracks bouncing along, and I came upon a bridge that I had to cross. I knew there weren’t any trains coming that morning because I’d seen some workers on the tracks a few miles back. I also didn’t care. I had an escape plan just in case. I went across and came upon the next road and got off the tracks and went out of my to get back on the back roads. Lieutenant Dan just can’t handle the tracks.

Things were going smoothly. It was chilly and gloomy all day but never rained. After about 10 miles I was approaching a small town and had no choice but to get on 50. It was not very busy so it helped. I made it to the town and stopped at Lumberjacks bar and grill for some water and tacos. It’s cinco De mayo and I couldn’t refuse some tacos.

I was the only one when I walked in and ordered and started eating. Then about 5 huge trucker type guys come in and are talking loud and I started to eat faster. Then 2 other people came in. A guy and a girl. They both had dread locks and had the hippie look down pat. Way better. My kind of people. Mike and Paula.

We started talking and my walk came up and when I said that I am doing it for my sister who died of an overdose, Paula started crying. I don’t want to put too much out there but she also had a very personal loss. We talked and hugged and cried and they offered for me to come to their home. I really wanted to but I knew I’d never leave if I did and I really wanted to get much farther before the end of the day.

It was one of those times where it makes you think that things do happen for a reason. I had to keep moving. As I walked on, I started to think about Brittany and the grief was strong. I think I’ve learned that you can’t walk the pain away. I knew that before but I guess I kind of hoped that it would work. Then I thought the other people I know that are walking for the death of a loved one this year.

Phil who is running across America for his mother and Maria who is hiking the Appalachian trail for her sister. That’s a lot of miles over grief….

I hop on 50 because I just didn’t care anymore and even with the close calls I just kept walking. I wasn’t going to let it get to me today. I was getting close to 18 miles and I just wanted to get to my destination. I was planning on staying at a state park on the other side of North Vernon, Indiana.

I came into North Vernon and called the newspaper to see if I can get a story and he said he’d do it if I called him in the morning. I need reminders please! Message me tomorrow morning to call the paper so that I remember!!

The welcome to North Vernon sign had the mayor’s name and it is Mike Ochs. I busted out laughing. North Vernon was nice. A big town compared to what I’ve seen the last few days. Just on the other side was the state park. I can’t say the name of it. Just look at the picture above. I got in and set up and that was that.

I’ll take advantage of the shower tomorrow and try to make it to Seymour where I may take a day off. Or not. Who knows!!

Got up and did my normal morning routine and was ready to go. I stepped outside of the cabin and in 4 seconds it started raining. I turned around and waited about 2 hours for the rain to pass. It looked like today was going to be annoying as far as rain goes. The weather was showing showers all day hit or miss all over my area. My plan was to just walk when it wasn’t raining and seek shelter when it was raining. I had a 2 day goal of 30 miles so if I could get anywhere between 12 and 18 today then it would be a good day.

It started with a huge hill. First down and then up. While going up I realized my stroller was way too heavy. I just had too much stuff. At the top of a hill was the town of Versailles (ver-SAILS) and there was a post office there. I went right in and went through Lieutenant Dan and was able to lose about 15 pounds. I shipped most of it back home to be used later on or even after the walk.

While in the post office, the sweet ladies behind the counter took care of the shipping fee for me and donated money on top of that. One of them had just lost her son a month ago to a drug overdose. We talked. It is so hard and she was being strong about it. I was very proud of her. She had a fingerprint necklace around her neck. My mom has one of my sister’s fingerprint too. I wanted to give her a huge hug but I didn’t. We shook hands and said goodbye. I will always hope that she is doing ok.

While at the post office, waiting for more rain to pass and repacking Lieutenant Dan again, a woman who recognized me pulled up and told me about her daughter who is affected by addiction. She also wanted to give me some money and some encouragement. I can’t believe that I was able to do something to bring hope to people. That was one of my biggest goals. I am only about a quarter of the way and I have already accomplished more than I set out to do.

I went to the bank to get some cash off of my hands. Don’t want to carry too much of that around. Then I went to McDonald’s for lunch and to wait out more rain. This was getting to be a very slow start to the day…

I walk in and the sweet girl behind the register freaks out and was like “oh my gosh are you the guy that’s all over Facebook!?!?!” I told her what I was doing and she knew one of the people who had stopped by yesterday. After I ate we took a picture and as I walked out the door I heard her say, “that was the coolest thing I’ve ever done.” That was the coolest thing I’VE ever done.

Supposedly the rain was over for the day. I had to walk on the busy highway for about half a mile to get to a side road that I planned on taking. I moved quickly so that my chances of getting by a semi truck went down a little. I love you all in Indiana but we’re going to have to work on y’alls driving etiquette.

I somehow made it safely to the side road and was feeling great. I let Domino off the leash because there may have been one car pass by every 30 minutes. Hiker heaven…

I can see the clouds get a little crazy. I was wondering if that’s just what they do in the Midwest. They kept getting worse and I knew it was rain. I threw my rain coat on over my backpack and zipped up Lieutenant Dan and grabbed my umbrella. It was all or nothing. Heavy rain was coming FAST! I knew to protect my gear from getting wet over anything else. With that in mind I held the umbrella in a way that Lieutenant Dan, Domino, and me could all fit under it. It came down hard for a few minutes. Even saw small hail for about 30 seconds. I stood there for like 45 minutes waiting it out lol. So uncomfortable but I didn’t want to get my sleeping bag or my clothes wet because I have to camp for the next few nights.

It finally passed and I walked some more and it came back again for a while and so on. This went on for about 2 more hours. It would look like it all had passed and the sun was back out. Then it would like an F5 tornado was about to land right on top of me. I got through it though.

I came upon a little bridge and took a real break. One where I wasn’t standing in an awkward position. I hung everything out to dry and sat on the bridge and ate. Domino ate too and did some exploring. The clouds kept coming and going but no rain this time thankfully.

After the break I walked up a small hill and came out onto flat open farmland. I was met by a strong wind. Great. Me and wind don’t get along. It reminded me of those hard days in West Virginia. At least it was flat this time. That actually made a huge difference and I tried to focus on that. I took my flag down because it was smacking me in the face and I pushed on through. It wasn’t that bad once I decided to focus on the positive. Go figure…

I get to a small gas station and met up with James. Him and I had been talking on Facebook and he wanted to come out to meet me while I was near his area. Real nice guy. I was happy to meet him. I always wish that I could stay longer and talk to people. We hung out for a few though and then I was off to find a place to camp. I’d only gone about 11 miles but I was over the weather and was running out of time.

I passed by a police officer in the tiny town of Holton and asked if I could camp anywhere. After some pondering and a phone call or 2, they allowed me to pop my tent up behind the fire station. Awesome! I was thankful to not have to camp hidden somewhere. I’m going to have to try this tactic more often…

I set up and then watched the sunset. Listened to the radio while I cooked and and Domino played. And that was that. Another day down!

🙂

Woke up early this morning and the Dozier family made me a great breakfast. I got dropped off back on the highway and was so thankful for everything they did for me. We didn’t see eye to eye politically but I was very impressed with their humanity. They have a lovely home in what may be my favorite county of this trip so far.

I started walking and their was a good shoulder so things were good. It looked like rain was coming so I was hustling and trying to get to my destination as quickly as possible. In less than 10 minutes, a car pulls over and it was a girl around my age that was pretty and seemed very nice. She was actually related to the family who took great care of me in Lawrenceburg just 2 nights ago. She wanted to meet me and get a picture. She told me that she used to struggle with drugs and is now 2 years clean. What I am doing is not as half as hard as what she did and is still doing. I was so happy that we crossed paths.

Maybe 15 minutes after that a man pulls over and has a can of dog food and $20 for us. Says he saw me on the news and wanted to give this to us. Not 10 minutes later, an older woman drives by and hands me a $5 without even coming to a complete stop. I have no idea if she knew who I was or if she just saw me and wanted to help.

Not even one hour into my day and I’ve been blessed by 4 different people I’d never met before. Should I continue…. yes. I should….

Not much longer a woman named Amanda comes out of her car and gave some money and told me that she was going to call the local newspaper and get me in it. She gave some money also and talked for a few. Her connection with the paper was good because the reporter called me shortly after and we planned to meet up later.

I was walking through and the clouds looked gloomy. I walked by one farm and it looked like it was straight out of the movie “Twister” and I was starting to look around for places to tie my belt to so I could hold on while the tornado flies over me. Can never be too prepared….

Back to a more realistic frame of mind, I knew that I’d better set up Lieutenant Dan and Domino and myself for rain. It was definitely coming. As I was getting that done it came. I got it just in time! It still sucks walking in the rain but at least everything was staying dry. The rain wasn’t strong but just enough to annoy you.

I kept going anyways. I wanted to get to a state park ahead so that I could set up camp and just be done for the day.

The highway merged from 4 lanes into 2 lanes and the shoulder went from 8 feet to 8 inches. The traffic stayed the same. I was getting almost knocked over by the cars and semis and I am surprised that I am even here to talk about it. I pulled over to look at my map for other options. I had to add a couple of miles but without hesitation knew it would be worth it.

The alternate route was way better. I still wanted to hurry because of the rain but I figured the extra miles were still ok to take under the circumstances. There was hardly any traffic. I even took the leash off of Domino. She still walks in the same place as if she had it on but I know she likes to have it off. I like when she’s off the leash too.

I caught a break in the rain and sat down for snacks for me and Domino. I was getting close to the state park at this point. I look at my phone and get a message from one of the nice ladies that I met last night saying that she called ahead and took care of my fees at the state park and that I could stay in a cabin instead of a tent. I think everyone reading this sends a huge thank you!! I sure was happy about that. The sky was looking rough and I was nervous about sleeping outside.

I got to the park and was met by a woman from TAM and another closed group in Kentucky that helps bring support to parents of addicts. She brought a bunch of goodies for me and Domino and we sat and talked for a while. I loved her spirit.

Just a few minutes later, some girls in an ambulance drove by and got out to play with Domino. The name on their ambulance was Rescue 69. They asked if they could get a picture of me by the ambulance. Of course! It says rescue 69 on the side of it and I’ll forever be immature when it comes to stuff like that haha. They were awesome and Domino loved them.

While we were all playing and hanging out, the reporter from the local paper showed up and starting snapping pics and asking questions. It was a chaotic scene. I loved it! It was a great way to finish off the day. After the ambulance left, we were finishing up the interview and a couple who were coming to see the state park walk by and ask what was going on. We told them and the woman gave me a huge hug and started crying. Her grandson was currently in active addiction and it was something that she hasn’t been able to talk about much to anyone. The TAM momma took her under her wing and talked to her about some things to help her out. We must’ve stood there for 2 hours total. It was incredible.

I go inside to check into the park and the guy was like come on and I’ll throw the cart in the truck and take you up there. That was nice because it was all up a steep hill. I got to the cabin and settled in and hung all of my wet stuff up. I posted on Facebook to let people know where I was at and invited anyone else out as well.

A woman and her husband and their dog came to hang out. She was so sweet. She saw my picture from when I bought all of the junk food back in Cincinnati and bought some of the same things for me and Domino. And she brought a roll of duct tape!  Which I actually needed 🙂 I will always think of them when I use it.

We talked for a long time. I really enjoyed them both. Their son is in the shit pretty bad and they are trying to cope. I was very proud of her for talking about it. I could tell it made her feel better and she let me know that it did also. She gave me some insight into how  what I’m doing is bringing hope to people. I was moved. It gives me chills.

Another person from Facebook came out. A family of 5. Awesome guy and his awesome wife and their 3 boys. 3 boys that have their dad in their life because he cleaned up his. Sober for 42 months AND helping others in recovery in his area. I was honored to meet him. He knew a lot of the same people I’d met 2 nights before. I am definitely coming back to Dearborn County Indiana. Great things are being done here.

I wish I could express it better in words how much these people mean to me. I was telling my new friend that I feel like I am being pushed across America. It’s like it’s not even hard. I just keep ending up farther and farther and I have no idea how I’ve done this. I mean I walked to Indiana from the Atlantic Ocean. I’m not some walker guy or a hiker. This is absolutely insane for me. I love it though!

As I was typing that last paragraph, I just received a text saying that my page just reached 5,000 people! What a day! No words….

Day 50 was an off day. I thought it was supposed to thunderstorm so I took the whole day off and had plans later in the evening. I’d realized that I had left a package back at the hotel I was at in Cincinnati and I really needed it. A friend of mine sent me some insoles and I left before they got there. One of the day’s goals was to get back to Cincinnati to pick it up.

I tried Uber but I was in a small town that hasn’t gotten there yet. No Uber. I asked the hotel if they had an airport shuttle. I was thinking I could shuttle to the airport and then use public transportation to the hotel and then do the same thing back.

No shuttle at the hotel. There weren’t many options. I asked a nice lady I’d been talking to who offered to help if I needed anything. I needed something but I still was shy to ask. I asked and she showed up to pick me up in 20 minutes. We drove to Cincinnati and picked up what I needed and drove back and her and her husband bought me lunch and we ate on a patio with Domino. It was great.

Later that evening I had plans that she had put together for me. It was something like a dinner party. There ended up being like 20 people who showed up and we all ate and talked and took pictures and I got to meet them all. Not One More is the name of the organization that they work with and they do great work for the cause. It was so nice of them to come together to help me out. They arranged to have another organization 1Voice there too. As well as a few mothers that live in the area with children who battle addiction.

They also arranged to have the news there. I did an interview with Fox 19 which is out of Cincinnati. So I ended up getting on the Cincinnati news after all.

It was so nice to have the company of so many nice people to have dinner with. I wanted to stay all night. It was a great welcome into Indiana!

The next day I woke up late and packed up to get ready for a long walk. I was excited to see how these insoles hold up. My feet have been a small concern of mine for a while now. If I don’t find a solution to this certain pain I’m having then I may have to take a long time off to figure it out. I don’t want to do that.

Anyways, I was still in the hotel room at 11 am and the house keeping lady knocked on the door. I answered to tell her that i just needed like 10 more minutes. She recognized me from the news that aired that morning while I was sleeping lol. Crazy.

I got going and the first 5 miles or so were on a paved trail off of the road. No traffic!!!!!! I was loving life. The weather was good and the trail was great. My feet were still hurting though. I could tell that these insoles are going to help but that I still needed more arch support. My arches are like the McDonald’s logo. I will have to pick up some other insoles when I get a chance. I did some research while I was in Cincinnati and I think that may do the trick.

So I walked on anyways. With my feet hurting more and more as I went on. Whatever. I was so happy. The trail I was on was awesome! I got to walk through Lawrenceburg, IN. A really cool town with a casino. As I was walking through the “main street” area I had people waving and cheering me on as they had seen me on the news that morning also. Nice people are awesome.

I make it to Aurora, IN and the end of the good trail. From here I would be on the shoulder of a major highway for the rest of the day. I stopped to get lunch before I put myself within 6 feet from semi trucks going 70 mph. I figured mexican food would be a good last meal…

I went in to eat and was recognized by some people at another table. They said hello and told me that they knew one of the people that I’d met the night before at the dinner. Small world. I thought that was really cool. They were very nice. They paid for my lunch and I didn’t find out until I was done eating and the waiter never brought a check.

Aurora was a pretty town at the bottom of a hill. A hill that I knew I’d have to climb. Ugh. I get onto the highway of death and start pushing Lieutenant Dan while trying to be as far to the left of the pavement I can go. This is a 4 lane highway but no one likes to use the 2nd lane I guess. For some reason, it was perfectly ok to not move one lane over as they flew past me. I guess that’s not exactly wrong of them but it sure makes the few people who DO get over look a whole lot better. I always wave and thank those people.

It wasn’t so bad though. The shoulder was big and I was safe …ish. People would honk and wave and I knew that it must’ve been from the news. When people know what I’m doing there is a whole new way of how I’m treated.  When I started in Delaware a lot of people knew about me and I got on the news on DC and that spread for a while but I started to get to a point where people didn’t really know anything and when I was in those areas people tried to avoid eye contact and some were even rude to me.

That’s ok though. I get it. I look crazy out here. Some people don’t mind either way though. Like the woman who pulled over and asked if I was ok and if I needed something. I said that I was ok for now but thanked her anyways. She wouldn’t let me off the hook that easily. She gave me some juice and some pretzels before driving away.

Always makes me feel better. Not even so much that I am on the recipient of a random act of kindness but moreso that I got to be a witness of a random act of kindness. I’ve always loved hearing about people doing nice things. I get to see it done on a daily basis now and it is really amazing.

People were honking and waving all day. I felt like a celebrity. The same lady from earlier came back with some money and some hygiene items and an awesome blanket that I will totally be able to use for the rest of the trip. She was so sweet. Can you just think about that?! She already had done a good deed and then went home and thought that she should do more. Got some stuff together and drove all the way back out to someone that she doesn’t know and pulls over on the side of a busy highway to give away items that will help that person. Amazing!

I kept going and a woman who lives about 30 feet off the side of this busy road steps out her front door and says something. I couldn’t hear her over the highway noise. I parked Lieutenant Dan and walked closer and she was asking if I needed anything. I asked her to top off my water which she happily did and she told me that she’d seen the news and was waiting for me all day. Awesome. Just awesome.

Shortly after that I see an SUV with sirens on top pull over. Uh oh. I keep walking and doing a mental check to make sure I’m legit. Like anyone does when they see a cop pull up behind them… I get closer and realize it’s not a cop. I assumed it was probably a fire and rescue truck as I’ve seen some similar ones to it along my walk. That’s what it was.

A young guy got out and asked if I was the guy walking across America for overdose awareness. Yep. He asked to shake my hand. I asked to shake his. I also asked him when was his last time that he reversed an overdose. He said 2 nights ago. It’s a problem guys. If you haven’t learned yet. I thanked him for doing that and told him to keep it up. He said it’s frustrating because in Indiana when they wake someone up using Narcan, the person who overdosed then has the choice of going to the hospital or not and most of them refuse. Then the Narcan wears off and the can go back into overdose. That is unfortunate. I told him to keep it up anyways. There is always hope as long as they are still alive.

Kept on going and more people honking and waving. Another car pulls up and it’s a man and 2 teenage boys. They were nice and the guy had 2 friends who died from overdoses. We took a picture and they went on to a baseball game. He gave some money too. Indiana was beginning to blow my mind. Nice people everywhere.

I approach the town that I’d been trying to get to all day and had plans of asking the fire department if they knew of a place to set up camp as this seemed like a good town and I figured that I’d be able to come up with something legit rather than hiding out somewhere and being nervous all night.

I was literally 20 steps into the town when a couple pulls up and asks if I am the guy walking for his sister. I said that I am and they told me they saw the news and asked if I had a place to stay for the night. I told them that I was looking for a place to pitch my tent in town and they said to come on out to their place. It was just on the other side of town. 2 miles. Small town. I was blown away and accepted.

I get there and they were so nice. They let me in for a shower. Cooked dinner for me and let me sleep in an extra bed indoors. Unreal. A lady who I’ve been talking to on Facebook wanted to come meet me since I was near her area and she came to the house with a friend and we all talked and I was so happy to have met them. It’s just nice to have people tell me that what I’m doing is touching their heart. That right there is the only reason I’m still doing it.

I hung out for a while and went to my comfy bed for the night and just reflected on everything for a while. I’m going to take an easy day tomorrow I think. I THINK!