Brett Bramble Walks

I woke up around 6 am and went to the bathroom to shower before the rest of the campground woke up. I was feeling good and ready to go pack up and walk into Durango. I walked out of the bathroom and it was raining. Shit. I ran over to my site and covered the stroller with a tarp and hopped back into my tent until the rain passed. 
Just a little delay. Nothing to worry about. I had to walk on the highway for just a couple of miles and then there was a river trail that I could take all the way into town after that. I was really looking forward to getting off of this highway. 160 is a nightmare this time of the year. All tourists with oversized RVs that they can’t drive. 
I made it to the river trail and was already feeling my knees buckling. The trail was amazing. Beautiful and quiet. Then it happened. Hills. Ugh. Huge hills up and down. I was thinking that it would flat since it is alongside a river but I was wrong. Oh well. It was still nice to not be on the highway. 
I saw a lot of little moles. I guess that’s what they were. It reminded me of that game at chuck e cheese where you whack the moles with the foam hammer. They just kept popping their heads up and running from hole to hole. Kind of cool. I’ve never seen them before. 
I get into town and look up hotels and realize that I’m in a tourist town by the prices. I didn’t care. I booked a room for 2 nights and checked in. I finally got off of my knees and had a nice bed to lay in. 
I planned to do some things around town tomorrow. Including getting on the newspaper. I had some other errands to run also. But that can be tomorrow. I laid in bed and that was that. 

Woke up around 9 am and was hoping to pack up quickly enough to get a ride to the end of the road from one of the other campers. I didn’t get that lucky. Just as I was getting ready to go, three ladies on a morning stroll came and said hello. They were probably in their 50s and two of them had garden sun hats on and the other had a breast cancer awareness cap on. Never would I have guessed that one of them was the mother of an addict. 
She told me about her son and I told her about the group The Addict’s Mom who has been helping me out with support on my walk. I know she will find support with them. It was a great way to start the day. I walked the mile back to the road and I was struggling badly. I knew that I was pushing myself too hard. I told myself that I needed a break after today. I’d just try to fight through it. 
I get to the road and because I was by a river, it was all uphill. I started pushing and shortly after a man pulls over in a big van and asked if I wanted a ride. That hardly ever happens. And when it does I usually say no. But this time I said please. We loaded up and I said if he could just take me to the top of the hill I’d be happy. 
We start driving and talking and I’m watching this hill get bigger and steeper. It should’ve been a mountain pass. I would’ve had the worst day ever if I had to climb it. I just wasn’t in the game today. The next town was 8 miles farther and he said he was going there and would be happy to drop me there. We got to the top of the mountain and I decided to just go to the town. 
I figured I’d take a break and get some rest. He dropped me off in Bayfield. Not a big town at all. No motel. I ate lunch at a restaurant and looked up some campgrounds while eating. There was a KOA 12 miles ahead. KOAs are really nice campgrounds. Usually expensive but worth it. It’s basically an outdoor hotel. 
I figured I could do 12 miles. I get about 8 of them in and then the shoulder completely disappeared on this very busy highway that I am walking on. I mean I had no choice but to either walk on the road itself or to try to get a ride. This was bad. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to get in any trouble by trying to hitchhike. Risking walking on the road was absolutely not an option. I’m crazy and bold and always push the limits but I knew that walking on this highway was beyond the limit. It was flat out impossible. 
So I called the police department. I explained what happened and an officer showed up and was happy to give me a ride to a safer spot but unfortunately my stroller wouldn’t fit. I would’ve been able to make it fit but he didn’t seem to want me to try and cram it in there. He actually told me to try to hitch a ride. 

So now I’m standing on the side of the road with my thumb out. With permission from the police. What in the world have I gotten myself into haha! It took a while, but finally someone turned around to help out. It was a weird feeling to stand there with my thumb out. It wasn’t something that I liked but I did think that it was cool to be able to say that I’ve hitchhiked. 
The guy was nice and had a truck. We threw Lieutenant Dan in the bed and I told him to just take me to where the shoulder comes back. I told him I was only going a few more miles to the KOA and he offered to take me there. It was only 2 miles away from where he picked me up. So we just drove there and I checked in and started to set up camp. 

My legs are shot at this point. While I was setting up, my feet kept slipping because I was too weak to stand properly. I was risking serious injury. It was time to chill the eff out. I sat down in defeat and put my head in my arms. 
A man came over and offered a cold water and a Dr. Pepper in exchange for my story. I told him about the walk and the cause and we had a great conversation. He was very nice and it was good to have nice company at a time like this. We talked so long that his wife came over too. We all talked and then took some pictures. They are traveling in their RV all over the country. Smarter than what I’ve gotten myself into lol. 
They left and I finished setting up my tent. I went back over to the office to order a pizza that the campground gave me for free. They cooked it and brought it out to me and it was so good. I was eating and looking at my phone trying to plan out a hotel in Durango where I could take a break. Durango was only 8 miles away and I knew I could get there tomorrow. 
A woman came over with peaches and offered me some. I wanted to eat them but I’m very allergic to peaches. Yes, I am from Georgia and I’m allergic to peaches. It sucks. I’m also allergic to apples and oranges and most tropical fruits. I hate it but that’s just the way it is. She sat down with me and I ate pizza while she ate her peaches. 
She lives in Colorado and is probably just a few years older than me. She did a lot of outdoor activities and understood more than most people about what it takes to walk across a country. I really enjoyed our conversation. We talked about everything. Just talking. For no reason other than to talk. It was nice. We talked until the sun went down. 
I then got ready for bed and it didn’t take long to crash.

I slept in and felt good before leaving. There was a small shoulder but I put my headphones in and played music so that my mind wouldn’t be focused only on the traffic. I always keep just enough awareness to be safe but I hate focusing completely on the cars. They all make me angry so I have to just let it go. Today I was able to. It was nice to be in my own little world as people flew by. 
I was walking into an area where there weren’t any resources shown on googlemaps. I knew I’d be camping somewhere tonight. I figured I’d just walk until I was tired. I had a place 20 miles away that I wanted to reach. It would be helpful to do that as the next town was another 20 miles past that. 
I could tell that I was leaving the city and getting into the wilderness. I saw a campground called Happy Camper and decided to ask if I could use the restroom. They were cool with that. I did what I had to do and then was sitting there doing stuff on my phone when a woman pulled up and asked if I needed anything. 
I didn’t need anything but I told her what I was doing and told her about the overdose problem in our country. She told me that her nephew was in jail for drugs and is struggling hard with addiction. We talked for a little while and I was able to help her with some information that may be helpful to them. 
I got back on the road and was still feeling great. Just carefree walking. Miles later and I came upon a country store that wasn’t shown on the map. A total surprise. I decided to stop in and grab lunch. A nice, older woman saw me going in and she offered to buy me a drink. I grabbed one of those Arizona teas and so did she. She paid for it and told the clerk that I am walking across America. He gave me a slice of pecan pie and a brownie. 
I sat down at a table with my new friend and we talked about the walk mostly but I tried to talk about the cause as well. She was more interested in hearing about the walk so I told stories and also talked about things that I’ve learned along the way. She warned me about mountain lions that were in the area and wished me well. She was a very wise woman. I can’t describe it but I learned something about life just from speaking with her. 
I thanked the clerk for the pie and got back on the road. Now looking over my shoulder every few minutes for mountain lions lol. It was truly beautiful. Lots of untouched land and many signs of wildlife. I entered an area where the land south of me was Indian Reservation land and the land north of me was national forest land. 
Some clouds were forming and heading my way. I passed a campground and decided to set my tent up while taking a little break just in case the rain came down. The temperature dropped and the breeze picked up. Signs of rain coming. I got in the tent and laid down. I may have nodded off a little. It never rained. I decided to pack up and keep going farther. Even though I could’ve just stayed there. I wanted to get farther. 
I went a few miles and came upon a weird place that wasn’t on the map. It was a restaurant and campground. It had a sign that said “Open” but it was clearly not. There were some RVs on the side of the restaurant and I was trying to figure out who the host was so I could see about staying there but it was like a ghost town. I had a weird vibe so I just kept going. 
The place I had in mind from the beginning was only about 5 miles ahead. I knew I’d be pushing daylight to get there but I’d be ok if I didn’t stop. So I pushed and pushed. I think I pushed too hard. My knees were starting to hurt really bad. Coming down all of the big hills has been destroying my legs. 
I finally got to the place where I planned on camping. Unfortunately, the campground was a mile off the road. I didn’t know that until I got there. I contemplated just sett8ng up on the side of the road but decided to walk the extra mile to see if there were amenities that I could use. 
It was actually a beautiful walk back there. The sun was setting and I was following a river between two mountains. Lower Piedra Campground is what it was called. They had a bathroom and a water tap that had a sign that basically said that it wasn’t potable. Great. No amenities. Whatever. I set up and ate dinner while it got dark. I had to use my headlamp while I packed up my bear bag and hung it in a tree. 
I slept great though. Nice and quiet out there with the river not too far away. 

I woke up with the early bug. I packed up and was on the road before 8 am. I had planned on eating breakfast with the family from last night and doing laundry and just hanging out at the campground, but something told me to just go. So I went. I was out of there before most people even woke up. 
I was only 2 miles from Pagosa Springs city limits. I walked in and saw some deer drinking water in the river. I ate breakfast and then ran into the Martinezes. A nice family who stopped and talked to me as I walked by them. 
I went to the Riverwalk where some hot springs were and thought about getting in but didn’t feel like getting wet and all that nonsense. I just wanted to get to the other side of town and get a hotel to relax for the day to celebrate conquering the big mountain. I blasted through, stopping to talk to people here and there. I had to walk up a huge hill and that kicked my butt. I did it too fast. 
At the top of the hill was a Walmart. I went in for supplies and had to sit down for a while because I was light-headed and thought that I was going to pass out. I felt better once I caught my breath. I just needed to slow my roll a little. 
I walked a little farther and saw a hotel. I knew it would be expensive because I’m in a tourist trap city and it’s peak season. I didn’t realize it would be as much as it was though. I called a few other hotels and they were all sold out. I asked nicely and they brought the price down some, but it was still way more than I wanted to spend. But whatever. I needed this. 
Checked in and relaxed. I woke up from my nap a while later and had a lot of chores to do before getting back on the road. I had to patch a hole in my sleeping pad, dry my rain fly, change my tires, do laundry, fix my battery pack, charge everything, organize the supplies from Walmart. Hardly a day off. 5 miles uphill and chores for days. I did it all though. 
I’m thinking that I’ll try to make it a few more days before taking a real day off. I can’t afford to do it in pagosa Springs. It’s a pretty town, but I don’t like being in places when it’s tourist season. I never have. I like to see things differently I guess. I don’t know. 
What I do know is that every muscle in my body hurts exactly like you think it would after walking up and down the rocky mountains pushing a heavy ass jogging stroller. Oh well. The show must go on… 

So I woke up and it was freezing. Like literally. The condensation in my tent had turned to frost. I reached one hand out of my sleeping bag to grab my phone. It was connected to my battery pack. I never leave it connected all night. Must’ve fallen asleep before remembering to unplug it. With my one hand I tried to remove the plug and broke it. That battery pack has been a life saver since Winchester, VA. Now it’s broken 🙁

Not getting off to a good start. Everything was cold and wet, including me. I couldn’t fold my stuff up properly because my fingers were frozen. I had to poop. Like emergency go to the woods right now kind of situation. I did what I had to do to pack up and just get the heck out of there. It was beautiful on the top of the mountain but I wanted to warm up. 
I threw everything in a trash bag and just stuffed all of my stuff into my stroller to deal with later. I was wearing every layer of clothing that I had. I rolled down the steep hill and saw a sign that the next 10 miles were going to be at a 7% grade. Ouch. 
The sun came up and I changed right on the side of the road. Like down to my underwear. I kind of don’t care what people think about me at all anymore. I felt better now that I was warm in a tshirt. This Georgia boy loves the heat. I pounced my way down the hill stopping occasionally to gather strength. It was definitely harder to go up but it wasn’t an easy feat to go down. 
It was beautiful though. I mean stunning. Everywhere I looked could’ve been a puzzle or a postcard. There was a huge ess curve that looked really fun to drive on. There were a group of BMW’s that were racing around the curves and then turning around to do it again and again. Some of them would wave and take pictures as they drove by. It became a pattern. 
I made it down and a few miles past the big steep descent. Rain was coming. I could tell. I was just about to put on my rain gear when I saw a cattle bridge. Just a little underpass under the highway for cattle to pass through. I went down into it to wait out the rain. I took the opportunity to take everything out and reorganize the strollwer. After the rain passed I waited for the sun to dry out my tent and tarps and packed up properly before getting started again.
About a mile later I ran into Mike Williams. Another cross country cyclist. This must be a common route for cyclists. As we were talking I could see more clouds forming and knew I needed to find shelter again as I didn’t feel like getting everything wet after just drying it all off. 
I passed by a DOT property with no one there. The gates were locked but I saw a hole in the fence. I tarped the stroller and ducked under the hole onto the state property that said no trespassing. I stood under a covered building that smelled like crap and plugged my phone in to an outlet while I waited out the huge storm approaching. 
I checked my phone and saw that a news reporter from Denver messaged me saying she was going to cover the story on today’s news. I wouldn’t be able to see it but that’s great. One of the people I ran into yesterday is a photographer for this station and worked  it out for me to get coverage. 
It never rained. I trespassed for no reason. Kept walking and a nice family stopped to say hey. Shortly after a guy from the Chech Republic stopped and told me that he wanted to walk across America too. I told him to do it. 
The last 6 miles of the day were excruciating. I was exhausted and hungry and just ready to eat and sleep. I was heading for a campground. They have full amenities and I figured I’d just order pizza. I have food but I just wanted something good after all that mountain madness. 
I get there and pizza doesn’t deliver and I had to walk way down to get to the campsite. At first I was thinking I made a mistake and should’ve just gotten a hotel. Too late now thiugh. I set up my tent and started snacking on chips that I bought at the office store. The family across from me came over and asked about the walk since they saw my stroller with the signs on the side. 
Very nice people and they invited me to dinner. They have been affected by tragic loss and addiction in the family so we were able to get along with that and with stories of travel. The food was almost as good as the company and it was incredible. We sat around and talked a but after dinner. I had to go to the bathroom really bad so I said thanks and goodnight and went to go end my day the same way it started. 
I’m looking forward to seeing them all again in the morning. Great people. I was very happy and lucky to meet them. They helped me so much tonight. I really needed what they gave me. 
Life is good. 

I slept great and got some much needed rest. I packed up and headed for the hills. I stopped for breakfast at the only has station in South fork. I also grabbed a blimpie sandwich for later. After I ate and talked to a few people at the gas station, I left and walked through town. There was a shop who did ski and rafting tours. I popped in to see if they had a beanie cap. They did but it was marked for tourists at over $20. I said that was just a little too much for me. Before I walked out, the manager stopped me and asked about my cart outside. Told him what I was doing and he tossed me a beanie in the air. I will wear it proudly. 
The incline began. I was feeling full of energy and ready to go as far as possible today. Hopefully reaching the summit but had my mind set on a ski resort just a mile from the top. (Last resort, get it?)

A few miles into the ascent, I came upon a campground. I needed to pee and wanted to put sunscreen on. I figured the restroom there would be a good a place as any to handle those tasks. I walked into the office to ask permission and the woman was so sweet. A southern accent that reminded me of Georgia. I wouldn’t have been surprised if she had offered up a slice of pecan pie. She had no problem with me using the restroom there. 
Not long after the campground, a cyclist riding down the hill was approaching and we stopped to say hello. Daniel is from South Korea and is cycling across the US. His English was good but he had a hard time with the pronouns. We understood each other enough though. 
At the 9 mile mark was another campground. I had planned on stopping here anyways. I sat and ate half of the blimpie sub and refilled my water bottle. As I was sitting there, a family pulls up and wanted to say hello. They saw me on the road and had all sorts of questions. They are from England and driving across America. Husband, wife, and 2 teenage daughters. They looked like good girls but I still took the time to express my cause and the importance of staying away from drugs. They were very nice and brightened my mood up. 
There was a long stretch of zero shoulder at this point. It was obnoxious but there were pull offs every so often. For some reason, all of the cars coming downhill were in large groups. I would run from pull off to pull off between the large groups. At one of the pull offs, a car was waiting and it was 2 guys around my age who wanted to say hey. 
Chris and Dominic. They were headed to go ride mountain bikes. We talked about everything and then another person pulls up, Michael. We all just hung out on the side of a mountain highway like that’s what people do. They took pictures and I asked them to share my cause to help me raise awareness. 
Same routine with the pull offs. A few pull offs later, I was met by yet another car who saw me. This was great. I love when people aren’t in such a rush that they can stop and meet the guy who’s walking across America. Damien and Diana. This was awesome. Damien is an addict in recovery and Diana’s father had walked from New Jersey to Toronto. The perfect people to run into. 
We talked for quite a long time and it was amazing. I hope to stay in touch with them. Still no damn shoulder. I was starting to get pissed about it. The whole point of me taking this specific route was because there was a wide shoulder. I guess I was wrong. I kept going anyways. I mean what else would I have done?
I came up to a big pull off with restrooms. I decided to take advantage of them and after that, the wide shoulder returned. Yay. The incline was getting steeper and steeper throughout the day. I had to stop more often than usual. But that was fine. I was in no rush at all. 
I start seeing signs for construction ahead. This explained the swarms of cats. They had a section that was down to one lane. I approached the guy holding the stop/slow sign and asked him what my best option was. We sorted it out and I made it through the construction zone safely. 
The incline was very steep after that. I had to stop every mile to rest. I was moving slowly but steadily. I came up to a much larger construction zone and the line of cars waiting was so long that people were outside of their cars talking to each other. I strolled by and was making jokes about passing them. Some of them didn’t like that at all. Others understood the humor. 
I talk to the flag guy again and came up with a plan again and got through the zone again. I stopped to break at a place where the construction workers parked their cars and was met by some of them who asked about the walk and offered some cold water. I was running low at this point so I took a few bottles. They tried to give me more stuff but I explained that it was hard enough to get up the hill and weight is truly a factor. 
It was about 5 pm now and they were all going home. The road was back opened. I get to where I can see the ski area and was so happy that I made it so close. I still had plenty of time in the day and I felt good still so I decided to go and make it to the top. I was only moving at about 1 mile per hour it felt like. 
I see another damn cyclist coming down the hill. She stopped to say hey also. Mina is cycling around the world. We took pictures and swapped info on what was ahead and went our separate ways. I pulled up to the entrance of the ski area and sat on the guard rail for a rest. 
I looked over and there were 5 bottles of water and a cliff bar just sitting there. I took 4 bottles and the cliff bar and left one bottle to hold a note that I wrote “thank you” on. It had to have been the construction worker from earlier. 
I was a mile from the top now! I rested up well for the last ascent and when I was ready, I went in strong. Excitement ran through my body. This will be the highest point of the entire walk. My biggest milestone. The top of the freaking rocky mountains!
There was a big sign on the side of the road with people pulled over standing around it. I assumed that was the marker for the top. I jogged the last 100 yards or so and when I crested, I threw my hands in the air and yelled a cheer of victory. Some people looked at me like I was mad and others joined in on the celebration. 
There were quite a lot of people so I had to do the whole people thing for a while. When they all left, I finally had my moment with the sign. The sign explained how all of the water to the east of the line flows to the Mississippi River and all the rivers to the west of the line flow to the Pacific Ocean. Naturally, I peed behind the sign and made sure to wave back and forth on both sides of the line. 
More people stopped every so often and I’d talk to some of them. I think I scared the others. I set up camp in a field behind the sign. The continental divide trail was right there and I got to walk on it a little to find a good place to camp. The continental divide trail (CDT) is a hiking trail that stretches from Mexico to Canada and follows the continental divide. It’s total madness. I don’t know how people do it. Guess I’ll find out when I do it in a few years haha.
I ate, then hung up my food bag so that yogi doesn’t steal it and then watched the sunset from my tent. It didn’t take long for me to fall right asleep. I woke up at about 130 and decided to write the blog before going back to bed. So here you have it. It’s about 40 degrees right now and I’m very thankful for that beanie from this morning. I’m going to sleep in until the sun is high enough to warm up when I crawl out of my cocoon. 

So I woke up in a hostel in Colorado today. That happened. I took my time getting ready. Turned the radio on and listened to the best station in the world. Took my time and enjoyed the morning. Then started walking west. 
I was getting very close to the mountains that I have to cross. The continental divide. My highest climb of the entire trip. I’m getting very close. Today’s goal was to reach South Fork. The town just before the steep incline up to the summit. 
10 miles into the walk was a rest area and I decided to take a break there. I sat down on a bench and an older man came and sat next to me and we started talking. His ancestors have been living on and taking care of this land since the 1500s. He told me that the rest area used to be a stage coach stop. We had a very great conversation about life and the importance of doing good. For ourselves and for others. It was great to speak with someone so in touch with the land that he lives and works on. Tim.
Another 6 or so miles and I was in South fork. I stopped at a restaurant called the old firehouse. They were awesome. I had fun and we took pictures and the said they would post them and help me raise awareness. 
I walked across the street to the resort where I was arranged to stay at. Amanda’s cousins own a resort here and they were happy to put me up for free. It was a great room with lots of space. A great place to relax before setting off into the mountains. 

I kicked back and watched some Olympics and some football and then headed down to a BBQ restaurant for dinner. After getting nice and full I headed back up to get my beauty rest. 
Tomorrow is 20 miles of 7% grade uphill. I’d like to make it to the top but my goal is to just get close. So either tomorrow or the next day I will cross the continental divide. My highest point of the entire trip. Another milestone!  I’m ready for it!

 

I opened my eyes this morning and the sun was rising outside my window behind the movie screen. I laughed. It was so beautiful and I was so dumbfounded that this is my reality that I just had to give a little chuckle. I got up and ate breakfast then got underway.
12 miles was another town and there were horrible storms projected all day today. My goal was to haul butt and make it there before the storms hit.
People were being friendly to me today. The newspaper posted a picture of me on Facebook with a description of what I am doing. People always react differently to me when the understand what they are seeing.
The views were beautiful too. I passed one mountain that just looked like a cougar was going to come down and attack me at any given second. Not the good kind of cougar that can be found at Johnny’s Hideaway in Atlanta but the cougar that is also known as a mountain lion. As much as I’d love to have a mountain lion story to tell about my walk, I just don’t think I actually want to have to deal with all that.
Beautiful part of the country. I roll into Del Norte and the owner of a local brewery stopped me and told me to come grab a free dinner there tonight. Not a bad welcome right there. I walked through town pretty quickly and headed for a hostel that I’d seen on googlemaps. The owner was awesome. We talked and then he told me if I gave him a $20 that he’d take me to lunch with it and we can call it even.
So we went to all you can eat mexican for lunch. Yes they have that here. Yes. Seriously. Mike was cool and we swapped stories over ALL YOU CAN EAT MEXICAN!
We went back and I laid down for a nap. Just before, I had to ask Amanda for help. Amanda was the woman who came to me in a gas station in walsenburg and wanted to show her support. I had a package that was in Alamosa. 2 towns backwards. Long story. Anyways, I needed a ride to get this package. It was all of my cold weather clothes. It gets really cold at night here and when I wake up I’ve been freezing.
I messaged her but fell asleep on accident before I heard back. I woke up to her showing up at the hostel. I got up quickly and we rode over 30 miles to the post office and 30 miles back. She was in a hurry to get to work. She wanted to help that bad. I’m so thankful. It was very valuable to me to have this package. I feel like if everyone in the world just acted like family that we would be ok. Just a thought…
Anyways, i was back at the hostel and still didn’t see any other people so I was a little bored. I walked down to the brewery for dinner. I was told they had good pizza. They did. The waitress Danielle was super cute and didn’t charge me for my pizza because of what I’m doing. It feels so good when that happens. To be acknowledged for something that you put so much effort into. I am very appreciative of all the kindness I am witnessing. I can’t wait to continue to pass it on to others.
I walked back to the hostel and still no one. I turned the radio on and found a great station. Danced alone to stevie wonder then decided to be productive and write this blog. Now back to singing and dancing in a hostel by myself…

Finally had a day with a good weather forecast. I slept in a little and didn’t start walking until 10. It was nice not to have to rush to beat heat or rain. I took my time and enjoyed walking as if I was just taking a stroll through my neighborhood. 
I came into Monte Vista and stopped into the visitors center to say hello and announce my presence. Also to get the number of the newspaper and tips on places to eat and stay. The woman there was very helpful. 
I called the paper and they said they would run the story. I’m making a big impact in the San Luis Valley in Colorado. Many people are affected substance abuse here. In some way or another. 
I walked 3 miles outside of town to go to a drive-in movie theater to see if they would let me camp there. I got there and they didn’t let me camp overnight but they gave me a discount on the hotel. It’s really cool. They have a hotel with big windows so you can lay in bed and watch the movie. I’m very excited. I haven’t seen a movie yet since I’ve started the walk. They are showing Suicide Squad. 
I talked to my friend Mikey from back home for a while on the phone and then I’ve been talking to some other people at the hotel about the walk and my cause. Also, watching USA dominate the Olympics. 
Great day today. It’s my dad’s birthday too.
 Day 150!!! 

Woke up early and got a phone call from my mom and daughter. It’s her first day of kindergarten. I was really bummed out to miss it. I’ve been dreading this day since I planned this walk. I knew it was coming but it was still very hard. She was so excited that she didn’t care. But it’s still something that I wanted to do. 
I felt down and didn’t feel like walking today. Rain was going to be a major factor today too. I wasn’t in the mood. I laid around until around 10 and then strolled through Alamosa. There were some hotels on the other side of town and I figured I’d wonder my way there. 
I stopped in a thrift store, a book store, an outdoors store, and walmart. Just chillin and enjoying the flexibility. I called the paper so as not to make a complete waste of the day. Any day that I do a news story is a good day. The whole thing is about raising awareness and the media always helps with that. 
I arranged to meet up with the reporter later on. I found a hotel where I had a discount and decided I’d just do that and be comfortable before tackling the biggest mountain of my whole trip. I checked in and was settled by 2 pm. 
That’s about when the reporter showed up. We did the interview and I got choked up and started crying. Sometimes it hits me when I talk about Brittany. She teared up as well as she has lost a cousin to an overdose. The guy behind the desk overheard us and came over to thank me. He was tearing up because his sister overdosed before and luckily survived. 
A total cry fest in the hotel lobby. Just another day in the life of Brett lol. It was refreshing though. But it just goes to show you how 3 total strangers from different places are all affected by this epidemic. 
Today was emotional. I think most of it had to do with missing the first day of school. I fell asleep early around 7 pm and woke up at 1 am. It’s now 4 am and I’m wide awake. Great. Going to be an interesting day. Should be easy though. I’ve got 18 miles to the next town. I’m excited to start waking my way closer to the highest point of the walk. Milestones are always fun!