The road ahead is anything but predictable.

Later today, I’m hoping to speak to another elementary school– this time K-5, where Darcie goes to school in Vail.
Darcie is the nine-year-old daughter of James & Kimberly, the thoughtful thirtysomething couple who invited me to spend some time with their family as they saw me making my way out of town, WALKING ACROSS AMERICA signs attached. Kim told me she’d been aware of the story from around the time I’d first begun the Walk. While it’s not uncommon for someone to see a news story in some given city and later stop to chat when they see me walking the road, it is very rare for someone without just a couple of degrees of separation to have already been familiar with the story weeks or months before I ever approached their city. Nonetheless, this is the case here.

After the lovely massage they hosted me to, and the follow-up invite to the Saturday sweet 16 birthday party of a dear family friend of theirs, Sunday morning I met Kimberly’s pleasant parents, Clyde and Linda. Later came a couple of hours of super-fun, intense bicycling with Kim, slaloming through a very prickly desert cactus obstacle course near a local Air Force base, barreling down bone-breaking bluffs at many points. James had lent his sturdy mountain bike to me, and though a loss of balance on any one of countless cactus-clad corners would have easily translated into an ER visit, those trails were sooo much fun!! Bicycles seem so fast to me, that I’m entertaining the option of actually riding one home from the White House. (No quick decisions on that one, however!)

Sunday evening James, Kimberly, and their three children, Darcie, Calvin and Ellie hosted me to the local Sweet Tomatoes Buffet. I arrived with quite the appetite; however, I really don’t remember ever experiencing so much post-buffet stomach pain upon departing. I felt about ready to pop! A nap was in order once we made it back home…

I truly hope that speaking to some classes at Darcie’s school comes to pass later today, as speaking to schools has suddenly become far more attractive an idea to me– one I plan to spend ample time organizing for this fall, during my summer recess. Whether today’s school appearance happens or not, I’m about back on the road east, ready to walk a series of main roads, side roads, dirt roads, and desert floor to reach to and through New Mexico. Daytime temperatures are rising again (Monday 88; Tuesday 89!), and though the heat may retreat for a reprieve here and there through the miles, it’s far more likely to just keeping rising as I keep pushing east.

I can predict that I will be making it further east on foot this week, walking across a variety of surfaces, and meeting many new souls. I cannot yet predict how far I’ll make it by week’s end, or how great the challenges I face may become. I simply know that I’m loving this chapter through the Southwest, and as the saguaro sunsets slowly recede as I step into the hills and higher elevations ahead, I’m determined to take the best attitude into any given situation– for better or worse, once again this week, I will surely enjoy the walk!!

I wrote a blog earlier in the day talking about how I didn’t know if I’d receive any invitation into any home over the coming weeks, as I walk 250+ miles into Las Cruces, New Mexico. I was aiming to camp at Colossal Cave Mountain Park– a 16+ mile walk for the day. However, I didn’t even make it halfway. Within just a couple of hours of leaving the house, I was receiving multiple invitations. I’m spending tonight with the Ragland family, who found me walking down Houghton Road. After stopping and giving me a bottle of water, they offered me a foot massage at a top-notch facility further down the road.
How could I not take them up on such an offer..??
The foot massage turned into a FULL body tune-up massage, an hour long, and left me feeling fantastic– both physically and mentally recharged. Kim Ragland then invited me to the sixteenth birthday of Mariah, the daughter of her great friend. By the time we were coming home from the party, it felt like we’d known each other for at least weeks, after only five hours had passed from talking to them on the side of the road. When talking to them, I enjoy occasionally referring to myself as: “the guy you picked up today off the side of the road.”
I spend tonight in the Ragland house. James & Kim are parents to three lovely children, all of whom are under age ten. Darcie, 9 years old, was so cute when she shyly approached me with a pad full of handwritten questions.
They’re trying to get a speaking appearance lined up for me at Darcie’s school– I surely hope it works out!!

Invitations may be in the works for Benson and Bowie as well, both of which await me within the next hundred miles or so…

I continue forward, prepared for the hardships and simultaneously accepting of the delights, as they come…

I leave today from the eastern edge of Tucson (Bonanza Road, to be exact). From here, I head back toward Interstate 10, aiming for Las Cruces, which is some 270 miles away. I figure at best, I’ll be arriving there in the second week of May. I may not have a roof over my head till then– we’ll see what develops across the miles.

Two weeks of slowly moving across the widely spread Tucson metro area has been a rewarding experience– one that will someday bring me back to experience more of the enormous amount of local treasures offered the traveler.

My mind and body have been calling for greater challenges recently, and so umbrellas of excitement greatly overshadow strings of nervousness within regarding the unknown and unpredictable adventures to come of these next warming weeks.

As was the case when I walked through eastern California and western Arizona, I will probably be spending at least a small amount of time walking along the freeway. I’ll certainly be spending more time walking all available frontage roads, side roads, dirt roads under power lines, and sometimes even the flat floor of the desert, when possible. My eyes will be wide open for the many species of rattlesnake which are well out of hibernation mode and slithering all across the landscape. I’ve already heard the shakity-shake of their rattles, assuring me that they really don’t wish to be any closer to me than I do to them.

Wrong turns in fir-tree carpeted regions of the Pacific NW meant that I had to walk all the way back. Now, however, I simply cut across the open desert floor if it appears easier– just watching to make sure I don’t step on rattlers.

When I don’t camp in an official campground, I typically just find a place that is far enough from the road to be seen by no one– which is much more easily done after this winter’s heavy rains still has all the plant life in bloom.

Some wild animals could potentially be a threat in some places. Probably not, but nonetheless, I’ve followed the advice of the most experienced outdoorsmen, and I’ve picked up a small boater’s push-button air horn, which will squawk so loudly that any large animal will quickly run for its life upon hearing it. Bright lights are also said to do the trick– and I have plenty of those too– plus mace!

I’m overpacked again, so I’ll likely be shipping away some thermals, warm socks, and other small items as soon as I get the chance. I hang on to them for the moment, as Tucson recently had some very chilly evening weather, and from here I’m walking into elevations of 5,000 feet and above…

The great power of growing enthusiasm fills me at this point, as I’m more excited through each passing second of what’s to come as I step outside the doorway this afternoon of the some of the most wonderful hosts in the world here in Tucson: Kathy, Brenda, Trevor, Ashley, Harriet and Delissa…

My apologies for no updates to this page in six weeks!

Too much has been happening away from the computer to update this as regularly and as well as I’d otherwise wish.

From the day we left the Coachella Valley and started our way out of California via Box Canyon, the desert experience has on many fronts proved both very challenging and very rewarding.

By the time I’d made it to Phoenix, I understood why following intuition had me beginning a walk across America over a thousand miles before I’d officially need to. A much shorter walk across America could have been started from Santa Monica or San Diego, from where it would be only about 2,500 miles to Jacksonville, Florida’s Atlantic shoreline. Having entered the Walk as anything but an outdoorsman, however, those first thousand+ miles from Vancouver built within me the toughness and determination that would be necessary to brave the challenges of the desert adventure, in addition to the many challenges which continue to await me west of the Mississippi.

I love meeting and staying with new people constantly, but at the same time, camping in the open desert seems never to come up short of being a truly soulful experience.

Pulling away my initial, pre-walk nine-month time frame for reaching Washington, D.C., was probably the best decision I’ve made so far. I’ve also decided to take a summer recess, in which I’ll likely return home, volunteer, meditate, harvest lavender, strategize the next chapters of the Walk, and probably throw in a summertime Vancouver-to-Vancouver walk (BC-WA) as well. The initial nine-month time frame will easily be doubled. That’s okay though– as I’ve created the space in my life at this time to allow for this. This fall, I’ll pick up from the exact street corner I decide to leave off at in June…

In Phoenix, I caught up with many great friends who once lived in Clark County. Brooke & Mike Shamhart and their seven-year-old daughter Olivia live in Peoria; I stayed with them for nine days. Brooke is a fifth grade teacher, and her class has been enthusiastically following me for months. They wrote to a great local shoe store and organized a gift certificate for top-notch new shoes for me. I met with them on Tuesday, March 30th, and spent the day with the class. This was perhaps the most rewarding day of the entire Walk. I’m now inspired to speak to more kids at more schools throughout the miles to come. Most of these talks will probably begin this fall, once the new school year gets underway.

I also stayed two nights with Brooke Santos & Hussam Moussa, and their cute little ball-of-wild-energy daughter Maryam. Before departing the area, Ben & Shae Cecka invited me in to spend three nights with them and their wonderful sons Jonathan and Joshua. Each of these excellent experiences definitely deserves its own blog, and I look fwd to taking the time to write them, down the road .

What makes me most happy upon leaving Phoenix, is that all three wives and all four kids met each other on the First Friday Art Walk, in central Phoenix. The wives hit it off well, the kids had lots of fun playing together, and I thorougly enjoyed the opportunity to be there with all three families at such a fantastic Phoenix art event. (Shae added enough delicious, home-made sandwiches to feed an army!) The wives are now friends with one another, and will likely meet up for this and more events. The truly tickling tie-in is that all three met each other as a result of their kind willingness to reach out and be of helpful assistance to someone else (me). Further proof that great rewards come to those who choose to volunteer time and energy to help others, expecting nothing in return…

I’m now slowly making my way through Tucson. Upon reaching Marana, on the outskirts of Tucson, I was to stay overnight with the Church family. Upon arriving, however, the fact that they’d just spent five years living fifteen minutes from me in Clark County made me feel so at home, and it was very easy to take them up on the offer to spend the rest of the weekend, three nights total, there. The “Church People” were great!!

Pulling out the Clark County piece, the same is true for the house I’m leaving this afternoon: I’ve spent three days with the Goldsmiths. Brenda is a Couchsurfing.org ambassador, the first I’ve met and stayed with. She and family are ultra-hospitable, and it became all-too-easy to stay extra nights here as well. Last night, the grandparents joined the fun and I made my burritos for them all!

Tucson has truly been a treat, and I haven’t even reached downtown yet.

Tonight and tomorrow I’ll stay with a twentysomething named Trevor, and I may stay with a trio of additional hosts before fully making my way out of Tucson as well. What a place– what an experience…

More great memories await…!!

Hospitable green dinosaur strip.

Perhaps I should add some punctuation and depth the the quartet of words above..?

Wonderfully unexpected hospitality, which has been a core underpinning of what makes the Walk of Inspiration Across America so meaningfully successful to me, started off the day as Mary’s million-dollar pancake and soy-veggie scramble breakfast gave us the I-shouldn’t-be-leaving-so-fast feeling before hitting the road. Delicious vegan pancakes mixed with fruit and peanut butter, natural apple sauce, maple syrup, and the scramble were served to us in proportions far greater than what we could eat.

“Eat up,” she encouraged us, “you’ll need it!”

“This sounds a lot like Hansel and Gretel,” I had to tell her– after taking a while to remember which kids’ story was which. “Oh well– even if it is– this food is soooo delicious, that I don’t know if I’d mind being your Hansel!”

The fairy tale ended just past 8:30, as Mary motored us to the corner of Hargrave & Ramsey in Banning, last night’s stopping point. Warm goodbyes and promises to stay in touch accompanied the gift of wonderfully put together sack lunches for Shay and me– sealed with love.

There is no easy way to walk the 22 miles from Banning to Palm Springs. Google Maps offers a 75-mile walking route through the mountains, but we were determined to walk through the valley, and get there by nightfall.

We walked as far east as we could in Banning before reaching the I-10 freeway, which, with it’s “PEDESTRIANS PROHIBITED” signs, clearly wasn’t welcoming us. We walked for perhaps a mile in a grassy section a few feet from the shoulder of oncoming traffic. We were approaching a state weigh station, with state police busily present in front of it, and opted to walk through an adjacent cow field. Getting through the barbed wire with big backpacks, we stepped our way through the green grass around a cow patty mine field till seeing a dirt road which appeared to connect a mile down to a separate, paved road along the Cabazon outlet mall strip. Finding this worked out well, because we were just approaching a herd of cattle– almost all of whom where staring us down, many with sharp bull horns.

Off-roading lasted perhaps an hour, and actually turned out to be far more fun than the ugly outlet mall parade of plastic which followed.

At the end of the road of the greater Cabazon strip mall flytrap, we briefly visited the small theme park with the big, life-size (dead size) mechanical dinosaurs– none of which were on. A quick pic, and up across the overpass we went to what we’re told is the classic Route 66– now a frontage road between freeway and train tracks. Frontage 66 took us nearly all the way to Hwy 111– our turn off for Palm Springs.

Palm Springs was another good ten miles away, and as the valley floor beside the freeway was mostly sand, we opted to walk it instead of the busy highway. We paralleled the main road all the way into Palm Springs, passing hundreds upon hundreds of giant windmills along the way– some casting enormous shadows on surrounding hills as the sun began setting.

The desert sand abruptly ended in lieu of fresh, green, artificially grown grass. This was the opening sign of urban/suburban Coachella Valley– nearly all of which takes on such a theme.

Shay was experiencing lots of foot pain by dark, after 22 miles, so we took our host Ashley up on her offer of an end-of-the day, off-the-route ride– picking us up from a given landmark (to be returned to the next day).

Meeting Ashley and Kayla, her can’t-slow-down black lab, was a blast!

Another great, productive day down, filled with the great hospitality, green energy, and mechanical dinosaurs to counterbalance the strip mall setback!

Just before leaving the house early this morning, host Mary informed me she had some vegan pancakes fresh made and sitting ready for me. I was still very sleepy, but having tasted her food the night before, upon arriving, I slowly drug myself up and out of bed. I could faintly smell the delicious hotcake aroma wafting through the air, and I firmly believe that it alone lifted me up, out of bed, and to the table. Mary had left out homemade apple sauce, maple syrup, organic peanut butter, and homemade pears. The pancakes had fresh fruit and cinnamon mixed in, and upon reaching the table, their smell emboldened me more than the typical morning shower. Three of Mary’s pancakes was more than enough to satisfy a person all morning, but as she’d left five for me, I obligingly at all five. How could I not..?

Mary and I chatted for a while before I began the day’s walk. Shane and I chatted for quite some time last night, mostly without Mary, who was studying for a nutrition class midterm. Later in the morning, after Mary’s class, it was time to converse more with her, and what a fascinating sweetheart of a pair Shane and Mary are. (Count this as another great Couchsurfing experience..!)

From where I left off outside of Beaumont last night, today’s walk was about a 23km endeavor to Banning. Mary dropped me off at last night’s stopping point, and through all the hours and miles of the day, I only had to make two turns– the rest was just following the bends of the road I was on. Fewer turns is often a sign of stepping into more sparsely populated areas, which is surely case for Banning.

“How many people stop and talk to you on any given day?” is a question that David, photojournalist from the local Record Gazette asked me as he walked with me, nearly half way through my day.

“Usually at least a half dozen.” And this was the case today, as a variety of locals stopped to ask what? why? where from? how long?

The further from the big cities, the more fascinated that the locals often are, it seems.

Palm Springs comes tomorrow, after a long, 22-or-so mile walk from Banning.

After a terrific trio of nights hosted by Andrew and his house of six twentysomethings, it was time to amble on to Beaumont.

Today’s walk pulled me past the outer reaches of the greater L.A. metropolitan area. Having now reached expansive orange groves, sheep-covered hillsides, and the smell of fresh horse manure for the first time in weeks, the big city now feels far behind. I’m still not quite into the open desert yet, and don’t predict I will be till this coming weekend, when I walk into the vast, open, dry, unpopulated stretches east of Indio.

Moving from the dense, concrete urban beach-patio jungle of Los Angeles to the endlessly boring sight of strip mall after strip mall after strip mall (see– even to read it three times gets boring!), the open expanses of hills and fields felt refreshing, as did the air, even if a whiff or two of manure was apparent from time to time. I guess I’m ready for dung over diesel, days before dust dominates both…

About a half dozen different people stopped to chat amidst today’s 20k. Among them, a fascinating motorcyclist from Goa, who road his motorcycle through thousands of miles in southern India. “God is watching you,” he told me, with the look in his eyes of a wise math teacher who patiently knows the answer to the problem you’ve been spending so much time and effort stressing over. ”You’ll be hearing from me.” I imagine I will be…

Enthusiastic to pick me up shortly after dark, Shane & Mary, tonight’s hosts, met me at the bottom of the mile-long, uphill ascent to their home. This ended up working out quite well for me, as not only is a large hill at the end of the day a least favorite feature of any given day’s walk, but the hill itself is actually off the route. Off-the-route rides are generally welcome…

Shane & Mary are originally from the Pacific NW. So despite the fact that I don’t drink any of the stuff, they don’t look at me funny if I say pop. We also say the word “bag” the same way. Shay laughs at my pronunciation of the a in bag, but I get to feel at home with my pronunciation in this house!

Of course, now that I’m headed east, I’m wondering when hearing “you guys” will begin transitioning into hearing “y’all.” I’m also wondering just how fast this will happen– is there a specific split somewhere..? Probably not. I imagine that just as I see newspaper delivery boxes slowly change from one city to the next, I will hear a first localized “y’all” at some point, and then slowly begin hearing more of them, as “you guys” dies a painful Texan death. We’ll see!

I noticed some Adventist literature around the house here, and especially since I just walked through the Seventh-Day Adventist stronghold of Loma Linda, I had to ask them if they were Adventists. They confirmed this, and a newborn, hour-long conversation regarding faith captured our combined attention. I’m much more careful and cautious when entering into such discussions nowadays, not nearly so enthusiastic to do so as when I was in my twenties, but given the fact that it blossomed rather well, this conversation felt quite fulfilling. I truly look forward to spending another night here with Shane & Mary.

Shay plans to catch up tomorrow as well, after a weekend trip to San Francisco. (Unlike me, she’s obviously not devoted to having to take all the steps across.)

Shay and I have been walking through endless sunshine since Santa Monica, and admittedly, I haven’t even been checking the forecast since leaving the coast. So I smiling admit to being surprised to waking up to rainstorms this Saturday morning, first day off since leaving the coast.

Saturday with the twentysomethings in Redlands was a sweet experience. Lauren, a friend of Andrew’s, asked her grandparents if I can stay with them as I approach Indio this coming week. She was headed there this afternoon, but first invited me to explore downtown with me. She was also new to Redlands, despite living less than an hour away, in Glendale. We had fun walking up and down through the main street of the very inviting town. She hosted me to the most delicious chai tea ever before she left, and our great conversation made me very happy about the positive direction into which she’s heading.

I brought back all the necessary burrito-constructing ingredients from Trader Joe’s, and made burritos later for Kristen, Michelle, Steven, and Andrew (everyone who was home). What a great feeling to be giving something back to these wonderful people who are hosting me!!

It rained, it poured, and it hailed today.

Sunshine is forecast for tomorrow, when I’ll be headed across San Timoteo Canyon to Beaumont.

I’ll miss this house: Andrew, Casey, Kristen, Michelle, Steven and Shala are people that you’d love to spend years with– which makes it obvious why they’re all living so harmoniously well together. One by one, I found each of them on Facebook, so that we can stay in touch!!

Some of (Claremont host) Taylor’s friends are headed up to San Francisco this weekend, and as Shay absolutely loves San Francisco, she enthusiastically accepted their offer for a ride there and back. This will be a great recharging break for her, I figure, and since I’m the only one devoted to walking all of the steps across America, I’m glad she’s making the most of such opportunities which come her way.

Andrew dropped me off back at the intersection of Marygold & Sierra, in Fontana, where we’d all left off the night before. Knowing that I’d simply be returning to his Redlands roommate-filled funhouse today, I left most of my heavy stuff there.

Upon being released in Fontana, I decided to first visit Sal’s favorite restaurant before moving on. Stepping inside, I was delighted to be addressed by the staff in Spanish, and I readily responded en español.

Andrew dropped me off back at the intersection of Marygold & Sierra, in Fontana, where we’d all left off the night before. Knowing that I’d simply be returning to his Redlands roommate-filled funhouse today, I left most of my heavy stuff there with Andrew, Kristen, Michelle, Casey, Steven and Shala– the sweet sextet who looked at me hesitantly when I referred to them in this way.

I didn’t walk the most direct route to Redlands today. The Blue Zone of Loma Linda added about a mile to the route, but something made me want stroll through this super-health conscious Seventh-Day Adventist Stronghold. D arkness fell upon my arrival to Loma Linda (I’m not speaking metaphorically), and the only locals I spoke with were a pair of pleasantly-retired ladies living just shy of the medical school. One touched religion momentarily, and I suddenly felt the long lost memories of my brief involvement in the Seventh-Day Adventist churches and schools, in fifth grade.

Taking it slow, taking multiple meditative breaks along the way, I didn’t reach the house in Redlands till 9 PM.

I was happy to be “home,” and looking forward to taking Saturday off…

Salvador stayed in touch with us, and we met him where Interstate 15 & Route 66 meet, where Shay and I had left off the day before. He brought his two lovable, year-old, chocolate doberman pinschers. He allowed me to walk one of them (the more well-mannered one), and walking a energy-rich doberman pup felt like having a medium-sized machine pull me forward– the same sort of sensation one may feel when steering a self-propelled lawnmower– only far more unpredictable with a young doberman in front of you.

We didn’t arrive till the early afternoon, and Sal joined us for the rest of the day’s walk. We thoroughly enjoyed walking and talking to him for hours. Sal is a rock guitarist who is originally from Guadalajara. As part of Shay’s family is from Mexico, and I’ve spent eight months in Latin America since 2007, we all enjoyed our cross-cultural conversations.

Upon reaching central Fontana, a very nice woman named Cynthia was with her daughter on the same street corner of Marygold & Sierra, next to one of Sal’s favorite local restaurants, and offered to buy us dinner, food for the dogs, and a few bucks for the road. We couldn’t eat at Sal’s favorite restaurant, because despite the fact that the three of us are all vegetarians, there are more animal ingredients in their food than Shay’s stomach can tolerate. So, Cynthia took us across the street to Sizzler, paid for salad buffets and gave a tip, then said goodbye as she and her daughter hit the road before even joining us. How wonderful is that!? Imagine…

Some of the locals call Fontana “Fontucky.” Well, with Fontucky being this hospitable, I’m also tempted to investigate re-routing the Walk to actually walk through Kentucky!

Andrew, friend of Kyle’s in Azusa, picked Shay and me up at the end of the day, and took us back to his place to spend the night in Redlands. He’d mentioned that Redlands is cool, and we both got the vibe that his opinion could be well trusted, so it was easy to take Andrew up on his offer, and skip the potential of walking a “V” shape down to Riverside before actually reaching Redlands.

Andrew lives in a recently remodeled old home in the heart of historic Redlands– a very beautiful place. He shares with five other friends, all in their mid 20’s as well, all super cool, all having known each other since at least high school. He invited us for three nights. Tomorrow’s plan is to walk back to the house from Sierra & Marygold, in Fontana; Saturday will be a day off!