Lifeline

Ugh, So, I had to use a lifeline, I'm back in Ohio letting my bloody infected toes heal up. Not so proud of this, rather disappointed in myself at the moment.

A total of about 150 miles traveled (according to google maps), Pretty sure I walked more actual miles than that cause of route changes and back tracking.

It was a wondeful, learning expedition, a few modifications are in order and I'll hopefully be back on the road in no time at all. It was incredible, was a very difficult decision to NOT keep on going and I have no regrets.



Peace
Be Safe
-Jeff

Overwhelming Experiences on State Road 28 through Indiana

I made it to Tipton, Indiana today, was only about 10 miles and the weather was cold and very windy. Pastor Mark was gracious enough to get me a room at the Easy Street Inn, here in Tipton, I am so grateful and feel so blessed for all of the great people I have met so far. especially this week. Its been phenomenal and so hard to express in words what the heart and soul feels. Even the smallest of gestures feel immense, a warm cup of coffee along the highway !! Thank You awesome young couple on St Rd 28 and 213 !! Special special Thanks to Tara and Abe in Elwood for allowing me to hang out, for dinner and a dry safe place to sleep, the storms last night were phenomenal and I feel blessed to have met you both. Truly inspiring People all along the way. So many people and face and names, I try to write them down and remember faces. Its very emotional for me all the nice things that have happened to me so far, and I have a very long way to go yet.St Rd 28 across Indiana has so far been an enlightening experience, more people should take the slow route through the heart of Indiana, truly experience it and meet the people.

I was interviewed today by The Elwood call- Leader and the Tipton Tribune. Its kind of embarassing cause I'm just an average guy doing something that I need to do. I'm not special in any way.

New Post coming as soon as I get the time.

Have much to write about and such. I am not having the time to post regular blog updates. I will be copying my journal entries as soon as I get the time... hoping you find it interesting.

Peace
Be Safe
-Jeff

My Best Friend

I had to leave my best Friend Spooky behind today. My heart is heavy with sadness. I was optimistic and perhaps too hopeful in thinking that he would be able to go along with me on my journey. It is going to be rough going on without him but I will trudge onward. I was looking forward to the companionship and I'm going to miss my Spooky Dog. In a way, he is the last link to my former life. I realize this is all for the best for Spooky and I shouldn't be so selfish. I'll miss him. I have comfort in knowing that he is in a good home where he will be loved and taken care of. Most likely, better care than I would be able to give him.


peace
be safe
-Jeff

One with the Universe .. and other stuff

April 9th 2011

It's been a week since I started this walking stuff. I haven't gotten very far yet because of technical difficulties. This isn't really a bad thing tho. Better to have problems close to home and be able to have friends and family help you out than to go it alone. I got a new cart, I ordered a jogging stroller, took off all the non essential parts and added new essential parts and braces, supports and such. It's freaking awesome ! It rolls like a dream. Very little effort involved in pushing it around (so far). I made it to my sisters house today, it was another relatively short walk today, a little over 9 miles and it only took about 3 hours including break time for my Spooky Dog. My brother stopped by to see me as well. Please try not to worry about my to much.

When I started out the weather was very overcast and dreary as it had been raining all morning. I finally set out around 3:30 pm once it started to clear up. After about an hour the sun finally came out and it was absolutely beautiful walking weather. I saw Heron flying towards the west today, a good sign to follow. I also saw a garter snake out basking in the awesomeness of the sun. Other than that it was pretty uneventful walk. I'll be spending at least one night here at my sisters and I will figure out tomorrow which route to take from here. South to stop and see my friend Amber or due west to The Open Road .....

Goodbyes shouldn't be so hard to do. I want my family and friends to be happy for me, to celebrate me and what I am doing. No worrying or sadness please.

I read the following in a childrens book the other day and its one of those kind of things that will probably be with me the rest of my days.

Girl: "Goldie (the unicorn) where are you ? , Have you become ONE with the Universe ?"


Pretty significant in my opinion !

Peace
Be Safe
- Jeff

4311 Day 3

Sunday was a really nice day. It was nice and sunny but a little windy out. Walked 10 miles from Pleasant Hill to Bradford to spend some time with great friends David and Sara and there kids. David walked the 4 hour walk with me and it was nice to have him along to talk to. He got a little (maybe more than that) sunburn, and sore feet out of it. We arrived in Bradford, had an awesome home cooked meal of Fried chicken, mashed potatos and gravy, and my favorite... sugar snap peas... yummy. After dinner we hung out playing board games, talking, chilling. My other great friend Beau stopped by as did Zac. It was an awesome time.

Took a few pictures along the way. My greatest observation of the day was the fields. They are all dead. Being springtime you would expect little signs of green things growing, and mostly little green things are starting to grow pretty much everywhere EXCEPT the fields. They are barren without a sign of life, thanks to chemical pesticides and herbicides, nothing seems to want to live there. Its an alien landscape and until now I never paid much attention to the fields before they have been planted. The Other funny thing was the yellow airplane noise clackety things. In a couple miles I counted 9 of them in total, all yellow except the last one just outside of town, it was red.

An awesome day !

Peace
Be Safe
-Jeff

4111 Day 1

Today did not go as planned. I seriously need to rethink and possibly redo the whole wagon thing. Plus, I did not sleep well last night, I kept waking every hour or so. Wasn't nerves, or anxiety or anything like that, simply put, something wasn't right, it felt evil and sinister (and that is all I have to say about that).

I love my family, Not for what they do for me or anything like that, I know they love me and worry about me and my well being. They go out of there way to help me even when I probably do not deserve it.

Anyways, rough day today, got to where I needed to be. The weather was pretty nice most of the day, 50's or so started getting windy and chilly later in the afternoon and eventually it started raining. No pictures tho. Have a few things to do tomorrow which is Saturday.(maybe some pictures) then I will be hitting the road on Sunday.

Wish I had more to say, as time goes on, I'm pretty sure that I will.

Remember, an act of kindness can never be replaced... just a thought.

be safe
peace
-Jeff

Almost Time

Less than 24 hours to go !! yesterday I spent most of the day taking stuff to goodwill to get rid of. It's amazing how many things a person can accumulate. I've discovered, if you don't have things to put things in, you don't accumulate as much. Strange how and entire business of "organization" has developed to help people keep so many things tucked away out of sight, and .... out of use.

Anyways, repacked the wagon and backpack today. Once again things get lighter. This is a very good thing !!A few odds and ends to finish up today and I'll be all set to leave. I'm so excited and so nervous at the same time. Everyday is going to be a WHAT IF ? My biggest fear is my wagon will crap out on me before I even get relatively close to where I need to be.

I have been receiving quite a few emails thanks to everyone wishing me a safe journey. Your prayers and thoughts are much appreciated and do a lot for my motivation.

My first couple of days walking will be relatively short. 12 miles a day as I am stopping off at friends on my way out of Ohio.This will give me a chance to figure a few things out, wieght distribution and such. Plus, I am in no big hurry to get anywhere in particular, just in a hurry to get started !!

The weather looks to be fairly decent for the first week as well. A slight chance of rain here and there but all I can do is get used to it.

I'll try to have some pictures and such of my first day walking up on Saturday. The good thing about staying at friends the first couple of days is I will have internet access. After that, it may be awhile before I post any updates.

Please keep in touch !

Peace
be safe
-Jeff

please email me

Hope ...

Something phenomenal happened to me Sunday evening. An event that does indeed inspire me to keep me going and to reinforce to me that the ideas of HOPE, sincerity, and honesty still exists in todays world. No surprise that it came from a darling child. It is amazing how the innocence of youth, of being a child, the sincerity of it all is Essence of Life. A total representation of the goodness that every person has, that they are, that they were. I ask myself why or how is that lost as we grow up, as we mature into adults?

The story is.
I arrived at my friends house (Dave and Sara)to hang out and have a good time, it was game night for us. I arrive with my friend Beau and as I am walking up to the house, The darlingest little girl comes skipping up to me and says "Jeff, I want you to have this.." she hands me a dollar coin I say "Aww thank you, but you should keep your dollar sweety." she says, "No, I want you to have it because you don't have a home or any family." Well, a little later I find out that at church that day, each child was given a dollar coin to give to someone that they felt needed it. She had chosen me and I felt so honored, again blessed by the simplest, honest gesture of kindness. Being me, I start to get that choked up, going to cry start feeling. Sometimes I feel so sensitive, raw and open This is not a bad thing I suppose.

Anyways, this simple gesture totally touched me I will keep this coin as a reminder that there is still hope in the world. I will keep it until I happen upon someone on my journey that needs a little HOPE in there life, and I will pass it on. Thinking about this last night and today reminded me of a book I read a couple years ago that I still have called "Hope For The Flowers" by Trina Paulus. I still have this book and I am going to read it again before I leave. I will also pass this book on before I leave. It is an inspirational Book that everyone should read. Go buy a copy of it, read it, and pass it on to a friend or someone you know.

That is really all I have to say for now.

There is Hope for Tomorrow!

Peace
Be Safe
-Jeff

Prayer

I have had this for awhile but forget where I found it. I didn't write it. It's one of my favorites and at this particular point in time it felt exactly right. So I am sharing. I hope it brings someone as much comfort as it does me.


Prayer to the Four Directions


Great Spirit of Light,
come to me out of the East (red)
...with the power of the rising sun.
Let there be light in my words,
let there be light on my path that I walk.
Let me remember always
that you give the gift of a new day.
And never let me be burdened with sorrow
by not starting over again.


Great Spirit of Love,
come to me with the power of the North (white).
Make me courageous when the cold wind falls upon me.
Give me strength and endurance
for everything that is harsh,
everything that hurts,
everything that makes me squint.
Let me move through life
ready to take what comes from the north.


Great Life-Giving Spirit,
I face the West (black),
the direction of sundown.
Let me remember everyday that the moment will come
when my sun will go down.
Never let me forget that I must fade into you.
Give me a beautiful color,
give me a great sky for setting,
so that when it is my time to meet you,
I can come with glory.


Great Spirit of Creation,
send me the warm and soothing winds from the South (yellow).
Comfort me and caress me when I am tired and cold.
Unfold me like the gentle breezes
that unfold the leaves on the trees.
As you give to all the earth your warm, moving wind,
give to me,
so that I may grow close to you in warmth.




peace
be safe
-Jeff

Where's it all end ?

The One major thing about me and walking across the country is that I do not know where it'll end. Once I hit the road, there is no turning back because I have nowhere to return to. There is no turning around and going home because home does not exist for me. It hasn't for a long time now. Yes, I have had a place to live and I am very grateful for my friend to let me stay here because without that I would have been out on the road last fall. Actually tho, that might not have been such a bad thing because it's entirely possible I would be where I need to be and may have found what it is I do need to find. I don't exactly know what I am looking for, because it is a multitude of things that seem to be lacking in my life at the moment.

I feel truly blessed to have such supporting friends.
The thing is, I suck at good byes. I'll cry. I know I will. I get that lump in my throat really sad feeling just thinking about saying goodbye to my friends. They are all I have. I feel blessed because of them. There is no turning back now. No possible way that I cannot do this. I have no choice.

I walk the path the universe lays before me.

So where does it all end ? I wish I knew, I really do. All I can say is it will end when it ends. The only other alternative is I die out on the road somewhere, and if so, then that is what is meant to be and it will be over.

I walk the path the universe lays before me.

Once again, I will dance reverently with feed to the ground to the heartbeat of Mother Earth.

I walk the path the universe lays before me.


Peace
Be Safe
-Jeff

Unknowing, Unlearning and Gear

Oi Oi Oi

I feel like "I'm gonna need a bigger boat" !

Double checking my gear and supplies. It's a slippery slope. With limited funds and all the more I take with me the less I'll have to acquire later. But, at the same time, my little chuck wagon is only so big and the less I have to take the better.

I break it down into 3 categories the Need List, the Might Need List and the nice to have but not really necessary list.

It frustrates me.
Letting Go is Hard.
Having to stay here is would be even harder.

I find it amusing at some things I read about people walking across the country.

I just don't know about most things. Lately I have been thinking how nice it would be to UNLEARN things, to unknow people, Micro laser technology sure would be nice to be able to get into that brain case and cauterize away some things. Ignorance is bliss ?


The empty soul consumes itself. I call it cannibalism.

peace
be safe
-Jeff

Wanderer -

Consideration and Stuff

I'm not a very articulate writer. I tend to use short statements that may or may not ramble on in a run on sentence.
Now that's cleared up...

I've been busy mapping my route, again, still and over again. My original estimate of 45 days to travel from Eastern Ohio to Devils Tower, Wyoming was pretty..ummmmm ambitious perhaps. Double checking and I'm guessing closer to 60 days, maybe as many as 75.  I've been using google maps, I have been estimation a low of 20 miles per day traveling. Depending on weather, getting tired and breaks, I imagined it to start with a lower more practical number. This way, when I actually manage 25 to 30 miles a day I'll be impressed.  Not really impressed but that kind of feel good about yourself feeling.

So the mapping has gone really well until I hit western South Dakota near The Badlands National Park, The Black Hills, etc. There's just no easy way around it, or I should say through it. At least not by walking. Seems as if a road wanders around hither and thither then suddenly ends. Given the sparseness of people and all the stuff people feel the need to have around them and harshness of the terrain, it is going to be pretty daunting. My biggest concern is water. and bigfoot, well not really bigfoot, you know. too funny.

So yea, I believe that'll be one of the greater challenges, the South Dakota part.

It'd be nice to have another person or two come along with me. As much as I'd like to see it happen, I am pretty sure it will not happen. Quite a few friends and people say they wish they could do this. Walk across America. I tell them... "You can do it, you choose not to." We all have a certain amount of choice in our lives and we choose what we choose based on priorities. The truth of the matter is in my opinion is that people are shackled down by all there stuff. It reminds me of the "Junk Lady" in the movie Labyrinth starring David Bowie. Treasures and so so much important stuff. It is all weight we carry, not only physically but spiritually. It seems as if sometimes people make up for that emptiness, lack of spirituality by owning stuff. the physical.

OK enough rambling.

summing it all up...
mapping is going good overall.

Want traveling companions.  oh well . . .

In a perfect world I'd live in a small cabin surrounded by nature, trees, hills and such . . .



Peace
be safe
-Skooky

backgrounds

yea, I'm looking for a decent background, I'd prefer something with a moon and stars, kind of a spacey galaxy cosmo kind of thing. It's gonna change and change and change.
still haven't found what I'm looking for.
ugh
keep looking


peace
be safe
-skooky

I think its thursday

Yes, I think its thursday therefore it is thursday. I've been looking at maps the last couple days and it's beginning to feel a bit overwhelming. This way, that way, sideways, upways, byways, someways. My original thought of route was to take me mostly north then head west. Then I thought, well, I could save some days by just going mostly northwest. Then, ( sigh ) again I thought, hmmmm this American Discovery Trail thing is kind of cool. Then after checking all of that out. It's like up down all around and if I stay on it leaves me south , by a good many miles, from where I intend on going, which is Devils Tower in Wyoming. So, it's as if I don't want to even bother mapping this thing out. I just want to go. It's not like I have to go a certain way this way or that way. I have no definite timetable. I'll get as far as I get as fast as I get there. Right ?

I've been second guessing myself ( again ) on the wagon dilemma. I love my wagon, He's very charming. However, from experience I know thjat it is easier to push things than it is to pull things. I'd absolutely love to happen upon a cool jogging stroller to convert such as this. I been checking craigslist but even the few on there in my immediate area is out of my price range. Just so you know I absolutely LOVE free. Alas, life is not always so. So, wagon it seems to be unless someone out there has a free cool jogging stroller to give me. Then there's my gear list. Been going over it, I have everything I need pretty much except for a few things I's like to have. A working mp3 player would be cool, a gps (kind of cool but not really important). I have thought about taking a bigger tent, I have a small 2 person tent I am taking but have been considering getting a tad bit bigger small 3 person tent. Again, maybe useful but not so important. What else.... pepper spray, bike lock for my wagon, single burner propane stove,  Maybe a new backpack. I don't intend on wearing a backpack because I have a wagon for that right ? Well, my opinion is to have a decent backpack that will carry the things I really really need in case CHUCK ever gives up the ghost and breaks down on me beyond repair. I've still ben checking into solar chargers as well for the few electronics I do plan on taking. I know the phone is coming along, still undecided on the laptop. It'd be nice to find a spot to upload pics and such on at least a kind of regular basis.

Anyways, getting closer to closer to walking away. Life is Life. scream, it's ok, people need to scream more often. It's cathartic.

Me on Face Book
http://www.facebook.com/skookyartsist

Be Safe
Peace
-skooky

Ehhh ?

hmmm
A couple of  observations:
1. Blogs are blogged by cute  perfect families that insist on telling every cute detail of there lives.
2. Blogs are blogged by photographers.
3.Blogs are blogged in languages I can't read.


p.s. I'm not very objective, jaded perhaps, but not very objective at the moment.
p.s.s. I found my maps and road atlas. that makes me happy.
 p.s.s.s. I have been working on "mapping" and checking out The American Discovery Trail... it's a pretty cool concept. too bad the maps aren't free.

1 final thing a quote from a movie I watched the other night on netflix, I forget the title of it.
"Rejecting great things does not make you noble, it makes you stupid and naive"


peace
be safe
-skooky

Clip Clop

My friend Sarah shared this link with me (Thanks Sarah ! ), so I thought I would share it here as well.  It is about a guy named Bob, a wagon, and his horses, traveling across the country. Heres a link on Yahoo news about him

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110219/ap_on_re_us/us_the_do_over_i


and a link to his web site: Wagonteamster

A quote from the article:

"Then one morning he suddenly departs, as if into thin air — leaving everyone to hope and wonder."

Sounds magical.

 

Peace

Be Safe

-skooky

Enough

I thought this was pretty cool so I am sharing it here.

A time comes in your life when you finally get it…when, in the midst of all your fears and insanity, you stop dead in your tracks and somewhere the voice inside your head cries out

ENOUGH!

Enough fighting and crying or struggling to hold on. And, like a child quieting down after a blind tantrum, your sobs begin to subside, you shudder once or twice, you blink back your tears and begin to look at the world through new eyes.

This is your awakening.

You realize it’s time to stop hoping and waiting for something to change…or for happiness, safety and security to come galloping over the next horizon. You come to terms with the fact that neither of you is Prince Charming or Cinderella and that in the real world there aren’t always fairy tale endings (or beginnings for that matter) and that any guarantee of “happily ever after” must begin with you…and in the process a sense of serenity is born of acceptance.

You awaken to the fact that you are not perfect and that not everyone will always love, appreciate or approve of who or what you are… and that’s OK. They are entitled to their own views and opinions.

And you learn the importance of loving and championing yourself…and in the process a sense of new found confidence is born of self-approval.

You now stop complaining and blaming other people for the things they did to you (or didn’t do for you) and you learn that the only thing you can really count on is the unexpected.

I read this on The Shamans Well


It's awesome.


Along with this.

It has been a good day.


Peace
Be safe
-skooky

Chuck

Little Green Wagon
Roll gently over bumpy roads
may your axles never wear out.
stay sturdy and strong
in adversity and bad weather
may your tires never wear thin.
roll with me through
thick and thin
I have faith in you
my Little Green Friend
I bless and christen thee
"Chuck"



peace
be safe
-skooky