You Never Know Your Luck...

I am just going to tell you about today. My post for yesterday is saved on my computer which I can not use at the moment, so I will put up yesterdays events on my next post.

I camped around 35kms out of Davenport last night next to a tiny lake. This morning I woke up feeling good. The morning greeted me pretty chilly, but with no wind and the sun shining bright it was a good start again. I slept well with the exception of some little critter that kept creeping around the front of my tent door. I ate a good breakfast and set off. I was sure I was going to reach Davenport this afternoon.
After walking solidly for 4 hours I took a break and had the last of my food and water. This was around 11:30, and I tell you, finding motivation again to get up and back into it had never been so hard. I sat and stared at the road from the bridge I had set myself for around 20 mins, waiting for that now familiar, sudden surge of "Righto, lets get back into it". But it never came. Never the less, I got back up slowly like an old man from his armchair and started back on the track, still waiting for that motivation to magically appear. I made it another 2 hours down the road and had had enough. I planned to hitch a ride to the town (Maquoketa) I had spent the night in two days ago as I had left my cart there for reasons you will read about in the post from yesterday. At this stage I was about 18kms out of Davenport. Turns out my day was in for a change for the better.

This is when I met Amber. Amber picked me up and was a person you immediately like. After chatting for a while about life and what I was doing over here, Amber offered to take me all the way back to Maquoketa to get my cart, then drive me back to Davenport to where she lives. She has  house there and offered me the place to stay. She is heading back to her families in Wisconsin. What a girl! Now I am sitting in her lounge room typing this up, waiting for my clothes to dry in the dryer. This works out perfectly as tomorrow, one of Ambers friends is going to drive me back to the point where I left off today so I can make my way back here tomorrow and again, spend the night at Ambers. I really can not believe my luck!

I must admit I am looking forward to leaving the bigger freeway that I have been following for the last few days. I may have cut off 50 or so kms taking it, but after following a beautiful river that winds its way through tiny, little villages, meeting the towns people and having all sorts of wildlife living around you, the freeway with nothing but cars and wind has taken its toll on me, more so mentally than anything else, after a while it numbs you. A big thanks to Amber for whisking me away from all that today. Her house is in a great little village to the side of Davenport and right on the river. It really is a blessing to be here tonight and to have met her today!

When we arrived at Ambers home today, I moved my gear to the house and then we went over to Ambers work, which is a hair salon just across from her house, to meet her co workers and say gday. Little did we know, back at the house, Ambers dog (I forget her name) was enjoying herself by happily ripping into my subway sandwich I had just bought. We arrived home to find her looking more than happy with a piece of Subway wrapper hanging out of mer mouth, caught in the act or what?? After we laughed off the situation Amber was kind enough to buy me another, and far better substitute from the local deli.. best sanga of the trip I gotta say...

Now I am off to grab a meal at the local pub and then sit back and enjoy the comforts of the house.

Amber thank you so much for all you did today. It seems that God always knows when and who to put in my path when I need them most...

Greetings Iowa...

Getting up and at it this morning proved harder than usual. Waking up in the 5 star cabin and looking out the window to see the ground covered in frost was not the motivator I was after. But the show must go on. After the best sleep I have had in a long time, I hit the road about 9:30am. It was around a 2km walk back to where I had left my tent. I reached the main part of the little town after maybe 20mins and immedietly was hit by a mouth watering smell of a bbq! I followed my nose aroound a corner to find two blokes out the front of a bank cooking up a storm. When i asked how much, they told me to go into the bank and ask the girls. Upon entering the bank I had to do a double take that I had walked into the correct place, it looked more like a diner than a bank, but that suited me just fine!
I met the lovely ladies there and explained what I was doing and that was that, they alomost threw me into a seat and starting piling food in front of me. the specialty of the day was brat (is that how you say it, big sausages anyway), potato salad, chips, onion and root beer, what a start to the day. I might not have smelled the best to someone in a deep and meaningful conversation, but these days while walking I have learned to put that down the list of important things to remember, food and energy first for me these days!!! Anyway, after all this I hit the road around 11am, which is not the best start to the day but with what was on offer, I can not complain.

After another long day (covering around 38kms) I have ended up in the city of Dubuque which is in the state of Iowa. I swear this is the city of giving, I have been stopped four times by people driving past and trying to give me money, the word has travelled at a rate I did not expect and it seems people everywhere have heard about what I am doing. I have explained to all these people that they have to donate online but they insist on buying me my next meal and do not take no for an answer. I gave them the name of the blog so hopefully they will head back home and chek it out too!

I best bet going, it is 7:15pm and I have not found a camp site for the night. I will have to walk a few more kms out of the city to find one so best get cracking...

P.s Today was also a day for the biggest hills in the world, I survived again and am looking forward to the more level state of Iowa...

The last few days have been killers. Good days but physically taxing. I left the river a few days ago to move through some farming country. The country was beautiful. It was good to be on some more isolated roads where only every hour or so a car might pass by. At times when I was plodding along I would often gaze around to see if their was not a film crew close by as I could have sworn I was on the set of Smallville, the tv series. The landscape I was walking through was nothing but rolling cornfields, huge cornfields, and every hour or so I would pass by the typical american farm with the tiny, little farmhouse next to the big, red barns. I kept expecting to see Clark Kent going about his duties with his old man next to him!

I mentioned that the last few days were really pretty but as I also said before, they were bloody hard work too. Oout of two long days walking, I reckon I spent 5 mins walking on flat ground. The rest of it was some of the hilliest terrain I have come across. For the people back home that are familiar with good old Duffields Rd, the last few days has been full of them, but for a non stop 80 or so kilometers. By the end of each day my calfs and feet were aching. Reaching the top of each big hill though had its rewards, especially in the afternoon. As I reached the top the views were beautiful, and with sunset arriving, all the more, being able to see for literally kilometers with the sun setting over the cornfields was really nice.

Well after those tough few days I finally arrived in Potosi, the little town I had as my checkpoint. I arrived at the local downtown pub to ask if they had wi fi and maybe to camp on their property. With a lady greeting me with a not so helpful attitude (I think she thought I was homeless or something) I continued on to the other local pub that was another mile or so up the road, and thank god I did. Spent, I arrived there and explained my story. "Of Course" the crew there shouted to me. So I set up my tent and went inside to say gday to the local mob of about 8. After chatting with a few of them and putting my feet up for a bit, one of the guys, Mark, informed me that he has 5 or so cabins a few kms down the road and that he would offer me the use of them for the night free of charge. The thought of a shower and a bed made me make up my mind pretty quickly and we set off in his car 10 mins later. I left my tent on the property as it is in a tiny town and the locals assured me it was in good hands. I was expecting a tiny little cabin that was maybe for hunters or something, boy did I get a suprise, I wa to walk in and flick the lights on to a 5 star cabin that I would be happy to call my home. You can see the cabins here as I forgot to bring my camera as we left in a rush as I think that Mark was in a hurry to get back to the bar!! - http://www.pinepointlodgepotosi.com/

So after a night in a luxury cabin, drinking tea, eating biscuts, curled up on the reclining arm chair watching movies on pay tv, I am obviously feeling fresh and ready to get back on the road again. A massive thanks to Mark for his genorosity and for the crew at Potosi pub (the pub on the highway, not downtown, haha).

I will be making my way to the town of Duebuque today. The weather is looking good which is always a positive sign, the last few days had some downpours of rain which slowed me down a bit,  for now all is thumbs up, so with that, Ill be off....

Am I Repeating Myself?

I have now left the comforts of the family of Bryan and Kathy. After a stomach full of bacon, eggs, toast, hashbrowns, coffee and orange juice I have a full tank and am looking forward to hopefully another for a good day.

I will be forced to leave the banks of river for the next few days and will be walking into farming country. It is nice to have the changes of scenery actually. With a forecast of potential snow today in the afternoon it will also be nice to be in farming country as the options of camping spots is a lot better than the river and the bluffs.

I have looked back on a lot of my diary entries and see an obvious pattern. It seems as if I am constantly talking of the good people that have been in my path. I never thought that I would be being taken care of this well by complete strangers. There has been many times when I have not put other stories and emotions into my diary, such as being yelled at and chased off peoples property, attacked and nearly bitten by snakes and dogs, times of lonliness etc etc.. and all of these events that have not made it onto the blog, for the simple reason that the kindness of people on these journeys are the memories and thoughts that remain in the mind and are the moments one wants to share with people, friends and family. Yesterday was the perfect example of this when it was 5pm in the afternoon, and as I wrote earlier, I was cold, alone and looking for a place to spend the night, when all of a sudden Kathy appeared, an hour later I was eating dinner and laughing with her family in the warmth of their house. What a turn around and what a great memory to keep for me! And to Bryan and Kathy, what great kids you have, Anthony and Ren, it was a pleasure meeting you both.

Isnt it funny, just as I was writing this down, a lady from a store I am sitting out the front of, came out to ask what was my story, after explaining this to her she gave me $15 worth of vouchers to use in the town of Praire Du Chien at local restaurants and so forth. Day to day I am blown away...

So if I do sound like a broken record,  let it be... because at times it has been the goodness of people that I love to talk about and has kept me going when the times have gotten tough and I hope and like to think that it will be the same until the end...

Haha, you would not believe it, the boss of the lady from before just came out and handed me another $20 that she insisted I take along with the vouchers, how could I not share these experiences with you...

Unexpected Invites...

I have just finished the best meal I have eaten while in the USA and met a great family. I have often talked of the good people that have been put in my path and today was of no exception. It was 5:30 pm and I was standing in the street of Praire Du Chien deciding wether or not I should cross the border into Ioha or if I should find a place to camp on the outskirts of the town when a lady walked out of the shop I was near and introduced herself. Kathy was then to invite me over for dinner and to meet her family. On arriving I met her husband, Bryan who was quick to offer me the use of the shower (maybe I was a little stinky) and also the use of their outside play house to sleep, which is the size of a small bedroom. My evening had done a complete somersualt, from "where do I go in a town that I was a stranger" to sitting on a table with a great family, talking and eating shazlicks, salad, cuz cuz and rice with a never ending glass of cold milk! It is times like these that I know I will look back on this trek and look past how hard it all was, how much I missed my loved ones, how much my legs, feet and back hurt and realize it was a truly blessed time in my life.
Now we are sitting back having a coffee and chatting with Kathy and Bryans two great kids, Rene and Anthony. I just wanted to share this little unexpected event that popped up today. Now I better get going as I am being rude not talking to these guys. Am feeling great tonight thanks to these guys, it is an amazing thing how people like Kathy and Bryan would not even think twice about how they treated a stranger like me tonight and they would not know how much of a boost and lift to the spirit it has been. Thanks so much guys for your good hearts...

First Taste of Wisconsin...

I feel like I am getting somewhere. Crossing into Wisconsin a few days ago was a good feeling. Leaving Minnesota with good memories I was quickly greeted by the kindness of Wisconsin too. I recieved an email from a family in La Crosse, the first town I was to come to in Wisconsin, stating that I had met a friend of theirs in one of the towns I passed through further North and that they would be good enough to allow me to put my tent up in their yard and take me out for dinner, you know I said a big yes and of course a thank you!!

I arrived in the afternoon to the address they had given me to find no one there, but a very cute little note from their 9 year old daughter, Stella, telling me where to set up the tent and that they will be back soon.  This brought a smile to my face and let me warm to Wisconsin immedietly. No more than half an hour later Tod was to arrive, Stellas father, who quickly invited me in and let me use the shower, which was exactly what I was after and needed. I showered and then we went to pick up Terri (mum) and Stella. They invited me out to dinner and refused to let me pay. We had a Chinese buffet, could there be anything better after walking 30kms I ask?? After numerous plates of this and that and getting to know the family, we headed around town for a quick tour and then retired to the house.

After sleeping like a log (they had given me a pillow to use which I had not used in a while, was like magic) I got out of the tent and went inside to the smell of blueberry muffins. Ater knocking back half a dozen of them I was also able to get my washing done. While waiting for this Stella gave me lessons in dragon mythology and told me all about tornado alley, she is a great kid, full of life and with no shortage of confidence! With clean clothes, a stomach full of food and a bag of more goodies to take with me compliments of the great family who had taken me in, I set off around 11:30. Thanks a heap you guys for looking after me, it was hard to leave the comforts of your house and good hearts. God Bless, be good Stella...

I managed to get about 1 hour down the road before I was stopped by a local news reporter who was after an interview. We had a quick chat and did some footage and I was off again. The story aired that night and the next morning. I must say the reception I recieved as I as passing through the little towns the next day was really cool, people were stopping to get their pictures taken with me,encouregment was being shouted out of car windows and from local shops and houses, it was really a nice experience to be supported so much from complete strangers!

I am now in the tiny town of Ferryville. The days have been getting colder and colder each day, and the nights and the morning, oof, they are freezing! This morning when I got out of the tent I was to find both the tarp of my cart and the tent to be covered in a thin layer of ice. Tonight is going to be below freezing again so I want to find a good camp spot a little earlier so I am not looking for one in the cold and dark. Now it almost feels as if it is a race between me and the winter to get south. At the moment I am winning as it has not snowed yet, but I will not speak too soon as there has been many halloweens where blizzards have appeared and halloween is only 7 days away, better get these little legs pumping...

Back and Going Strong

Well after a little hiccup I am back on the road and feeling a million bucks. I am putting the migrane down to (in my strong history in medicine) too much work too soon and a few days of not eating enough, but I definetly made up for that. Sleeping for almost the entire day and night only waking to eat and take a shower, and when I say "eat" I mean it. After I have a migrane I usually get a huge appetite, and yesterday was no different. I knocked off a sandwich, a bbq rib roll, a bannana, 2 packets of chips, 5 doghnuts, 6 oreo cookies, an apple, 2 litres of gatorade, a litre of water and two coffees and that was just for dinner... the body must of needed it!
But as I said, this morning I was a new man. I felt a surge of energy and excitement as I began the day walking, it felt like my first day again. The weather helped the attitude also as the sun was shining and the clouds were few, it was a great day to get back into it! I only walked around 26 kms today as I did not want to over do it again. I am now in a little pub by the name of the River Road in a tiny town called Richmond which is roughly 25kms out of La Crosse. La Crosse is the first town I will come across when I enter the state of Wisconsin. The owner of the River Road pub, Tim, was kind enough to let me put up my tent next to the pub. I have now met some of the locals and just finished a small pizza. We have started a fire outside just next to my tent so I will be off to warm the hands up for a bit and then try and get another good nights sleep for the day tomorrow.

I am looking forward to crossing the border tomorrow into Wisconsin, however I know I have only been in Minnesota for three weeks, but a part of me will miss it, I have met great people and already secured some really great memories here. So thank you to the people of Minnesota, you have surrounded the begining of this trek with kindness and promised great memories I will have forever. Let us hope the good times keep on rolling...

Migrane

I fell asleep last night feeling a little off. I put it down to another long day and hoped to wake up the following morning refreshed and ready to go. Unfortunately this was not to be the case. I woke up around 6am when it is still dark with a throbbing head and my guts doing somersaults. I stayed in my sleeping bag as long as I could as the weather now is below 0c in the mornings, until finally I could stay there no longer. I crawled from my tent to let go with an almighty spew, five of them to be honest. After cleaning myself up I crawled back to the warmth of my sleeping bag only for a bad migrane to settle.

I left camp a few hours later with less than no energy and a head that felt like it had been kicked around like a football. I was lucky enough only to be 5 kms out of the next town, but let me tell ya, it was a ong 5 kms. I arrived at the local motel and the staff were good enough to get a room ready for me at 10am as sleep is the only real thing that can help me with migranes. After 4 hours of solid sleep, a bottle of gatorade, a couple of sandwiches and a bannana I am starting to feel a little better. Hopefully tomorow morning I will be right to go again.

I have no idea why a migrane came on like that but if anyone has any ideas on how to prevent them, I would love to hear about it, today was not a fun day, would like to try and keep those types of days to a minimum...

Bathroom Nightmares

The nights and the mornings are getting a lot colder as the winter closes in slowly but surely. The days have been great but as soon as the sun begins to go down you feel the chill settle on you. And the mornings are becoming harder to drag yourself out of the sleeping bag for the morning bathroom duties let me tell ya. I am not complaining though, all is well as it is usually a lot colder this time of the year the locals have told me.

The past few days have been spent in some beautiful country around the areas of Hastings and Lake City. The walk has been great also as I have been able to follow the river perfectly with it being in sight of me for most of the days. To start the morning well I went in to the little towns only fast food store "Subway" to grab a good breaky for the good start to the day that I was looking for. As I was chewing down my sandwich and coffee I got talking to the nice young girl working there who asked me why I had all the gear and where I was heading. After a nice chat to the crew there I made my way off down the road. An hour or so later I noticed a car pulling up beside me. One of the guys from Subway had turned up. The shy type of guy got out of the car and handed me a bag of food,  $20 and a note which explains itself that you can see attached here above. I think if this type of thing happened to me everyday for the rest of my life I would always feel touched, humbled and so grateful each time. To you Adam and Rachel I send out a big thanks, I would have liked to stay chatting with you two for longer, you seemed like a real good couple of people, I wish you the best for the year, thank again so much....

So the good of the day had come and gone, now to come was the fear... I was going through a town of around 10 houses and had the sudden urge to use the bathroom and not number 1s if you dont mind me saying. It came fast and the emergency horn was starting to sound. I saw an old church on the hill above and hoped to god there would be a bathroom of some sort awaiting me. I arrived sweating and hot from the dash to find an old outside toilet. I grabbed my toilet paper (yes I am not that ferral, I do have it) and went like a whippet to the door. As I opened the door (you can see a photo of this toilet in the latest photos I uploaded) something bigger than a rat but smaller than a bear went running into the roof. I had no choice, I had to go for it. As son as I sat down, whatever it was in the roof starting going nuts, it must of thought I was coming for it! It scurried back and forth trying to get to me or away from me. Suddenly it was in the wall behind me, by now I can tell you I was literally $%&*^* myself. It could have been a scene from Alien vs Predator, one second it was behind me, then bang, it was above in the roof again. I finished as quick as I could, my head flicking back and forth following the noise and just as I was about to pull the pants up the bloody thing was below me in the toilet (it was an old wooden toilet where the actual toilet is like a wooden bench seat with a hole in it that goes onto the ground). I was half expecting to recieve a bite on the bum or worse, I jumped as high as I could and virtually fell out of the door, luckily with pants up!
From the bathroom I quickened my pace, half the reason as I was pumping with adrenellin and "what the hell just happened syndrome" and the other was to get away from the possessed bathroom of the Mississippi. With all my bits and pieces in tact I geared up and kept on the move, looking back every now and again just to make sure what ever it was was not coming to finish off the job.

With that experience behind me I laughed out aloud about it as I walked away from the spooky little town. As for now it looks as if rain is about to hit. I probably have another hour or so walking time so I best be getting into it.

To all my family and to Cami, I am thinking of you guys lots, miss yas.......

Making Good Time...

Have stopped into a computer repairs place for them to have a look at my wireless adapter.
Hopefully now I should not have as many problems. The people here were asking about the usual things, where is that accent from, why do you have sop much gear, basically what are you doing. After explaining again what I was up to they told me to take a seat and use their wireless. they also were to bring me tea, three apples and two bags of fruit and nut mix. Another great start to the day.

After a frosty morning (the coldest yet) the day has turned out perfect. Not a cloud in the sky and little wind makes for a good day of walking. hopefully I can keep my updates more common now that my computer has been seen to by someone with some idea of how computers work, as my knowledge of them is around a solid 2/10. Cheers for now...

16^th October

 I was to wake up nice and early and start off towards the next town, Red Wing. 10am came around and as I said before about timing, I was passing an old country church that was just beginning. I popped in to take a look. Greeted by some really nice people I took a seat up the back and listened to a really good 45 min sermon. As this finished the country folk came from everywhere asking me who I was and what I was doing. We talked over cakes and tea for another 45 minutes and then I had to excuse myself as the day would have gotten away from me. As I was leaving the two people that had greeted me when I entered came up to say bye. As they shook my hand in front of everybody, I felt a piece of paper in it, I looked down to see he had slipped $30 into my hand, as I went to protest he gave my hand a squeeze and gave me a wink as if to say “dont make a scene, no need in protesting, please just enjoy it”! I was very humbled by their generosity and also a little embarrassed. But what great people hey. As I grabbed my cart from outside I also saw that they had put 2 loaves of raisin bread and a loaf of a type of cheese bread in there. Feeling on top of the world and blown away by the kindness that seems to be following me everywhere I go, I headed off down the road again with an extra bounce in my step!

I am now in Red Wing camped on a little hill just of the road I will be following on tomorrow. It has been a good two days having covered around 80kms and still feeling strong. With the forecast looking good for the upcoming  few days, La Crosse, the next small city on my path is seeming close!

15^th October

I am now out of the cities and must tell you, I am happy about it. The cities are too full on for me at the moment, don’t get me wrong, cities have their many good points and when I go back to Colombia or Australia I will live in a city, but when you are trekking across a foreign country with nothing but you backpack on your shoulders and do not know the city, it can be pretty daunting.

This morning  after a good rest we went and checked out my first homecoming parade. After cheering on all the floats done by the students and eating all the lollies and chocolates we could (they were throwing these to the crowd as it is a part of the tradition of homecoming at that uni), Christina and her great friend who I really liked from Texas (sorry I have forgotten your name!!!) were good enough to drive me back to St Paul so I could continue where I had left off.

I talk of negative memories of the cities, but I can say nothing bad about the people I stayed with there, they were a breath of fresh air, all so eager to make my stay as good as could be, so interested and full of questions about the trek and so full of a great energy that was a pleasure to be around. They also filled my pack with food for the next leg which always is a vote in my book!!

I got going at around 11am and to be honest, I was keen to get on the move to knock back the kms, but it was also a little sad to leave such nice people, especially the familiar face of Christina who reminds me of Colombia which is where we met. Thank you so much guys for the breath of fresh air and good time together, you have no idea how nice it was for me whilst I am on the road!

Well after around 20kms the pack was getting heavy around the hilly Hastings area. I had covered some good ground in a short amount of time so when I noticed a farm up ahead that seemed to have a bit of life about it going on, I set my sights on that for my next rest point, and aren’t I glad I did! Upon reaching the farm I was to find out all the commotion was due to the farm being a pumpkin farm, and with Halloween coming up, you can imagine how the USA is starting to look now. Pumpkins are in every house with their evil little faces staring out of every window. People were wheeling their purchased pumpkins to their cars everywhere and on something that caught my eye. They were wheeling them on these little red carts that I thought could hook up to my pack like I did the wheelie bag (but with better results this time lets hope). I went to find the boss and was introduced to a lady. After explaining what I was doing she told me there were not any for sale but I could get one from a local brand shop for about $70. Just as I was saying thanks anyway her husband came up and said hi. He asked if I was after a cart and told me he had one for me if I wanted. Timing is everything hey! One of the bolts was a bit stuffed and they did not want it, so after a little fiddle with it I had it working like new and attached to my pack. What a bloody difference!! So now I am flying again.

I spent the night in Hastings and came face to face with another skunk at about 11pm just as I was getting out of the tent to go to the bathroom. I was crawling out rubbing my eyes and bang.. we saw each other at the same time, we both froze, wondering what was about to happen next, I thought to myself “is he thinking fight or flight”, I hoped to god he was thinking flight as I was backed up against my tent with nowhere to go if he decided to start spraying his love potion. After what felt like 5 seconds I was happy to see the back of him as he turned and scurried off towards the river as fast as his little legs could carry him. I thought later he might have got a wiff of me after all these days and realized I had him beaten!!

 

Twin Cities...

From my night in a church I made my way towards the twin cities of Minneapolis and St Paul. Since arriving in amongst it all here in the cities, is has been an experience. As I arrived to the north of Minneapolis it was approaching dark and I was in the outer suburbs of the city. I got talking to a shop keeper about if there were any motels or the like around if I continued on the same street I was on, he was to laugh at me and tell me it is best if I do not continue at all. I was in a bad neighbourhood and it only got worse the closer I got to the city. He was good enough to go over my GPS with me and plan a safe route around the "Hood" as he liked to call it. I continued on till around 9pm, without any problems. I found a place to crash in an old abandoned warehouse and actually slept as well as I have for days.

The next day I was up nice and early as I was only 90% sure that the warehouse was abandoned and was not real keen to wake up with an angry foreman standing over my sleeping bag asking questions with a big wrench in his hand! I arrived in downtown Minneapolis at roughly 10am and from here my story saddens... we lost a crucial member of the trek... my wheelie bag, I was at Mcdonalds trying to find some internet when I took a look at the wheels, as lately it had felt like the bag was getting a lot heavier, turned out it was not the bag but the fact that one of the wheels had started to take the shape of a rectangle and was not rolling so well at all. After accessing the damage and realizing the damage done was unfix-able and unrecoverable, we came to the decision it was best to turn off the machine... and part ways with my little wheelie friend. It turned out ok as when I was transferring all my gear back to the backpack an old homeless guy was wandering past, I said gday to him and got talking, as we chatted he was checking out my wheelie bag which I asked if he would like it, "really" he exclaimed, with that, a problem was solved and I was on my way again.

I headed to St Paul which is around 12km from Minneapolis. I took a street which cut through a bunch of Latino and Asian neibourhoods and arrived in St Paul at 4pm. I met a couple of young girls who I asked if they knew where I could find a phone to call a friend of mine who I had met in Colombia but lived in St Paul, and they were kind enough to lend me their mobile phone. I called Christina and explained where I was. After  some good directions I was off to her university on bus 63 for the night.

Waiting for Christina out the front of her Uni, I was approached by a young fella who asked me "are you an Australian"? I was to find out he was a friend of Christina and he was on "retrieve homeless Aussie" duty. I was to find out that Christina lives in a "girl" house on campus and that Ryan (the guy who came to my rescue) lived in the counter "guy" house on the campus and I was to be staying there. It turned out to be a really good night with a bunch of really good people again!

That night they were having a movie night in the boys house, so with around 20 people packing the lounge room and all the pop corn and home made cookies one could eat, we all sat back to enjoy a movie together. As I said it proved to be a great night with after the movie everyone sitting back and chatting and eating more food till after midnight. It was really nice to be able to sit back with a good bunch of young people and just have a conversation and relax.

After sleeping on the sofa and sleeping like a log mind you, I am now waiting for Christina (have also just enjoyed a great plate of bacon & eggs cooked for me by one of the guys from the house, cheers Steve) and it is 9:30am. We are going to check out her homecoming parade for an hour or so at her university then I will be heading south again in the direction of the town Hastings, which I will not get to by tonight, but at least if I reach the outskirts of Hastings I will be out of the cities which will be nice.

Technical Problems

Just a quick one to let everyone know that I am ok but am having some technical problems with my laptop so I might not be able to update as much as usual. At the moment I am in a public library writing this. I will hopefully have the problem sorted out within the next few days. As of now I am currently 5 kms outside of St Paul.

Has been an interesting few days with its ups and downs, but in the end all is well. I will share the last few days events with yas when I manage to get my computer fixed up and get some more time up my sleeve. For now I better get moving as the cities are not the most fun place to get stuck after dark...

A Night In a Church...

As I mentioned in my last blog I ended up making that break for it. The rains were still there, but only lightly, so all was ok. After thanking the guys at the Garage, I said goodbye and good luck and was on my way. I was 2kms down the road and I could have kicked myself right up the bum. I realized I had left my shorts in their office as I had put them there to dry. I was about to throw a tantram and chuck my stuff on the ground but somehow I broke out in a grin and laughed instead, Lets be honest, it could have been worst, I might have left my sleeping bag there and walked 10 kms hey... With that I hid my bag under some bushes, turned around and made the small trek back. The guys were waiting for me to return, and after a few jokes about it all I was on my way south again, this time with my shorts and a can of coke and a chocolate bar the guys had given me from the garage, thanks fellas, good bit of energy to pick me up after my clever deeds.

Heading south I felt good after 3 hours of rest. I walked solid for another 3 hours before it started darkening. I was hoping to walk another half an hour or so and find a camp site. As I was wandering along I noticed a big yellow sign saying Christian Fellowship. I thought to myself "wouldn't it be a coinsedence if there was a service tonight", and as I got closer I was to read that yes, there was one in an hour. I had not been to church in a while so I thought I would pop in and check it out. I noticed a lady in the window and gave her a wave, she came out rather wearily and we got chattin. I asked her if I could camp around the back and she offered me the church as a room for the night, great I thought, a roof over the head and no need to get the tent out. Little did I know there was to be much more than that.

Ana, who was the lady I met, was to shout me Mexican for dinner and when I was to see inside the church, it was like a big house, it was awesome. And I was able to sleep on one of the big comfy couches inside. Soon after the people from the church began to arrive and after hearing what I was up to, they all wanted to help. As the service finished the people brought out cookies, juice, soups, bottled water and some blankets for the night to make my stay a little more comfortable. They were a great bunch of people.

At the moment I am sitting back on my bed (couch) and soaking up the warmth of the insides of the church and waiting for Ana to arrive as she has promised me breakfast also, life is good I tell ya. God is continually putting good people in front of me, always through my life but especially now when I need them most!

I am hoping to make good ground today if the weather permits. They say maybe a few light showers which should not hinder my path too much let us hope. I should also come across the MR again at some stage.

Now I am off to have a wash and get the gear ready for the day, and of course, see what Ana brings for breakfast. I put some more photos onto the blog last night that might be worth having a look at... cheers.

It Had to Come

The rains have hit and hit hard they have. After only about 5kms this morning I noticed some big, black clouds rolling in from the south, they looked pretty full of rain and when they eventually were over the top of me I found out how full they were. Luckily for me I had not completly left the outskirts of the town Elk River and was able to run to cover at an old recylcling yard. Here I met the owner Brett who was a good fella, inviting me to stay in the shed with them until the rains passed. At the moment I am using his computer to write this. After having a look out the window I am happy to say that the worst of the clouds have continued north so I am thinking of chucking on some of the wet weather gear and making a break for it while I can.

Also just a quick one, to tall the people leaving comments on the guestbook and my email, could you please leave an email where I can return the message as I do not have a phone with me for the trip and at times it is hard to find a payphone.

Also to all you people, a big thank you, reading all your messages after long days is a great way to lift the spirit and provide me with the strength to attack the next length of the trek. It really is appreciated to hear your thoughts and well wishes, thank guys........

New Set of Wheels and My New Mate Raz...

Waking today I was happy to see the threat of rain not looking too dangerous. We copped a fair amount last night which made it a cold wet morning packing up the tent but now I am on my way the skies are looking inviting. After checking out my GPS I am around 55kms from downtown Minneapolis. I must say I do not really like walking on the outskirts of the big cities, the traffic is a hell of a lot thicker, faster and less likely to give you a wave and a smile than back in the sticks. I am looking forward to getting past Minneapolis and back onto a smaller path near the MR. 

11 October

Last night about 5pm I was strolling along pretty bloody tired and was thinking of finding a camp spot somewhere. The day had been a good one with the exception of getting stuck in a quick 45 minutes of rain in the afternoon. I looked on down the road to find a spot, it was not looking real good and there was not a heap of light left. I noticed just ahead was a small bridge and just behind that was a tiny little motel, I had not spent a night in a motel yet on this trip and I was about due for it so I made a v line for it. I was met at the door by a little man by the name of Raz. Raz, who is originally from India, looked a little concerned when I entered the place, with the size of my backpack. “What is this, it is too much” he told me. After having a chat about what I am doing the trek for and so forth, it seemed Raz was adamant that he was going to help me and look after me. After giving me a really good rate for the room he told me to come back for some food when I had taken a shower and got organized.  I headed back to find Raz waiting for me with a tray of cakes, muffins, chocolate rolls, raspberry danishes and all sorts of goodies. “Please take as many as you like” he told me in his strong Indian accent, “We need to keep you strong and full of food for all the walking you are doing”. He then told me to sit down at the table in the reception area and started bringing out toasted sandwiches, chips and my favorite soft drink – Mountain Dew and refused to take any money for it. What a legend! I can tell you, after all that I was chockers (full Cami, jaja) and feeling a million bucks again. I bid Raz goodnight and thank you and retired to my room for the night.

After a long, hot bath (which has never felt so good) I sat back to watch Pretty Women with Julia Roberts on cable tv with a hot coffee and a few more cakes and muffins compliments of my man Raz. Was heaven to be in a bed with clean sheets and to be finally clean myself. I can say I slept like a log that night!

The next day as I headed out to the reception to grab a coffee I found Raz again waiting with more cakes, muffins etc, and also with a small bag that had wheels on the bottom.” What is he up to now” I thought? He told me that he wanted me to take one of his bags as he was very worried about me damaging my back or shoulders. He told me that if I did not like it I could give it to his uncle in Minneapolis where I should be arriving in around three days time. I was not real keen on the idea but I thought hey, gotta give it a go I guess. I was also very humbled and appreciative of this mans kindness to help out a complete stranger. So after bidding Raz farewell with many thanks I headed off with my backpack 15 kilos lighter but with that 15 kilos wheeling along behind me. After 2 kms it was proving to be ok but I thought “No way can I hold on to this thing everyday for the next week, let alone 4 or 5 months”, so I started thinking of ways to make it work. As I was thinking this I noticed an old cable-rope thingy on the road, it must have snapped and came off a truck, and not for away from it was the hook that had attached it to the truck. I took the cable and and threaded it through the back of my pack so it was attached to the bars of my pack, so there is a loop of this that now hangs just below the base of my pack. Onto this cable I attached the hook and wouldn’t you know it… it was the perfect height to grab onto the handle of the bag with wheels. I had a little walk with it to test it and it worked a treat. So now I have a lot less weight on my back and am dragging a little wheelie bag behind me. The only negative thing about the wheelie bag is that now I must always be on paved roads or sidewalks, but after today it isn’t too bad and with weight off my back, it has also helped my knees out as they are now not copping 25 kilos onto them with every step, they feel good tonight!  I am not real sure how long the wheels will last with this though as they are just small plastic ones, but I reckon at least until Minneapolis, so walking has been a little easier today, on the back and knees anyway, the feet are still a little sore. So thanks to you Raz for your kindness and your genius, I wish you all the very best with life.

I am now camped at a town called Elk River, which is about 2 days walk from Minneapolis. They say there will be rain tomorrow which will slow me up a bit though, but let us hope for another good day like today full of sunshine and people like my mate Raz…. 

Corn Chips and Peanut Butter...

 So aterWaking up I was greeted by a beautiful day, the sun was coming up over the top of the church, there were rabbits running everywhere around the paddock and I was to notice something I hadn't the afternoon before, maybe because I was too stuffed or I don't know but I was oblivious to the apple tree I was sleeping directly underneath, so that sorted breakfast out for me as I was not super keen on corn chips and peanut butter again, not complaining at all though about the menu the night before! So after a couple of apples and a handful of corn chips washed down with water (was better then it sounds) I was off again pretty early. I have made good time today (is midday) and am feeling really good so hopefully I will cover some good ground and get to the next town of Princetown.

I am still probably a good three days walk from the next place I will be able to see the MR, which will be just outside of Minneapolis. The terrain I have been walking on has started to change from the thick forest of the north to the more open farmlands as I get further south. This is a good sign as i guess I am making progress.


9th October 

After a long day I am camped on the property of what looks like an old church that was attempted to be renovated but was eventually left to grow old alone. I say a long day as I was late to get started and had to really push the last few hours to reach my goal, having to skip a few breaks in the day really makes a difference.  I said goodbye to the staff of the “Blue Goose” Bar and Grill around 10am this morning, a good bunch of people in the town of Garrison, thanks for the company and refilling of my water and coffees!!

Today I was to run into some people a little different to the ones I have been becoming accustomed to. I hope it is not the trend, but the further south I have been getting today the more stand offish and wary are the people. I stopped out the front of a farm house for a quick drink and the thought of going in to ask if I could fill my water bottle. I caught a glimpse of two people sitting on the front porch which was 50 or so meters away, so I gave them a big wave, no reaction, I thought they must not have seen me so I gave them another, but they just kept on staring before another fella arrived from inside the house to join the staring game. This house gave me a bad vibe, it felt like something from the movie “Deliverance” or a scene out of “The Book of Eli” with Denzel Washington; however this made my decision to keep pushing on much easier, I would have waited for rain before heading up that driveway for water!  

After setting up my tent next to the old church, I got my sleeping bag out and realized that myself and the sleeping bag were not producing the best odor, so for the sake of Mum and Cami… something had to be done. I hung my sleeping bag up on a tree to air out and noticed a couple of hundred meters away was another old farm house, but after that little experience (the spooky starers) I was probably on edge a tiny bit. I was pretty sure nobody was home so I snuck over to look for an outdoor hose for a quick wash. I found one quickly, stripped off to my jocks and began to slowly get the sweat and grime of my skin. When I almost resembled a man again, wouldn’t you know it, a bloody car started to pull into the front yard. Luckily for me I spotted them before they got a view of the bloke showering in their backyard. I ducked down quickly and waited for them to go in the front before making my getaway, clothes and towel in arms around the back of the barn house. I must say I do feel a hell of a lot better, for both getting away without an incident and for the wash!

I had an interesting menu for dinner tonight, looking into my backpack as I was settling for the night I was to pull out the only remaining food from my pack which was half a pack of corn chips and half a jar of peanut butter. Now it wasn’t your premium nachos you would get from the local Mexican restaurant but after 30kms of pounding pavement, peanut butter with corn chips was good enough for me. At least my sister Toni will be happy I am eating the foods to keep the weight on!! 

Larry For President!

Yesterday was a long hard day, but a good one. I covered over 40kms and ended up in the town of Aitkin. At about the 20km mark on the trip I was starting to feel the pinch, when who should show up again, you know it, Larry the Legend. After checking on me to see how I was going and a brief chat about the plans for tomorrow Larry produced the play of the day. Asking if I was hungry (I had just finished my food for the day) he told me he had a sandwich for me. handing me the bag he bid me farewell until tomorrow and took off in his cruiser. I found a little shade to enjoy the sandwich he had left me. When I looked in the bag I found not only a sandwich but a gourmet beef roll, a vanilla coke, a bag of Doritos and four chocolate biscuits - LARRY FOR PRESIDENT I SAY! After smashing down this meal in record time (and probably not the prettiest fashion) I was set with the energy for the next 25kms and made it into Aitkin no worries, another big thanks to you Larry.

After meeting another sherrif  in Aitkin who was happy to take me to the supermarket I found a nice little camping spot in the local fairgrounds. It was a eary sort of place with old stalls creaking in the wind and wild deer jumping past my tent, but it did the job for the night.

Right now I am in the town of Garrison which is the next town south from Aitkin. It is a really pretty little town on a huge lake. I am now typing away in the local bar and chatting away to the two local waitresses who are a couple of good girls who are repeatedly filling my drink up god bless em! I am roughly 5 or 6 days away from  Minneapolis now so am making pretty good time, let us hope this trend continues, but with the likeliness of rain tomorrow keeping the pace is looking doubtful.

Americas Famous Hashbrowns...

I have just got back from finishing the 8 kms I missed out on yesterday. I left my pack with John at the restaurant, was real real good to walk without the pack for a little. At the moment I am in the Palisade bar with three other fellas and the local barmaid Kelly who has kindly allowed me to use her wi fi. I am about to head out towards the town of Aitkin which is around 35kms away. I will not make it today so will get as far as I can and come back to the town of Palisade as I like the little town and the people in it. I will use the same camp site as last night which was right on the MR so was a nice sight to wake up to as the sun was coming up over the river. Best get cracking...

5^th October

After a mug of hot coffee, a bowl of cereal, a couple pieces of toast and a glass of orange juice I was set to take on a long day. The next town, Palisade, was around 45kms away which after walking 30km plus everyday for the last 10 days was going to be tough. So sadly bidding Kathy Farewell I set off at around 7:30.

The day quickly warmed up to 26c. It was a beautiful morning with 3 or 4 chipmunks running around  and not a cloud in the sky. I passed a town hall which I went in to just to use the bathroom. There were two nice ladies there I chatted with for a brief moment before pushing on.  An  hour or so later one of the ladies pulled up in her car and explained to me that she was a writer for one of the local papers and wanted to do a story. So after another brief interview and a few photos I was off again.

After a long haul I pulled up around 8 kms short of the town, I had nothing left, I was spent. I waited for a ride on the bend of the Great River Road in the company of a small potbellied pig and his mate, which was a small dog, interesting duo; I must say I enjoyed the company of the dog better as the pig was adamant about trying to eat my backpack! I was in luck after about 45mins a car came past and took me to Palisades. Palisades has a population of 118 people, a restaurant and a pub. Again I was in luck. Larry (the Sherrif) drove past me today to check in on me and informed me of some great news. The owner of the restaurant in Palisades, John, was talking to Larry earlier that day about my trek and was good enough to invite me to his restaurant for dinner, his shout. I arrived at the restaurant with nothing left in the tank at around 6pm and was greeted by John and the waitress.. what a sight they were to my eyes. Within minutes I had the biggest plate of hash browns, mushrooms, bacon, sausage, peppers, toast and a tall glass of orange juice I had ever seen. I was famished but only managed to get through two thirds of the meal which leaves me with a good breakfast for the morning. A big thanks to John for buying me dinner, after a tough, long day I could not have asked to meet a better bloke!

So I will be up early tomorrow morning to head back out to the point where I finished tomorrow. Then I will be heading to Aitkin which is another 30 plus km day. Better get some sleep now. Thanks again Larry and John….

The Good People of Minnesota...

Well the good days have certainly kept on coming. I had a long walk set in for today, around 35km was my goal. I took off around 9am which was a late start as I was waiting for my clothes to dry off a bit. After maybe two or three hours a guy stopped alongside me and asked if I needed a lift. I explained that I would love one but I must decline for the the obvious reason. The guy bid me farewell and good luck. A half hour or so later who should turn up? But the same fella. His name was Larry. Larry informed me that there was nothing for the next 40kms to obtain any food, but if I wanted I could join him and his wife for dinner at their house which was around 30 kms ahead. I told him that would be great and would see them in 4 or 5 hours. 

So after a long day I arrived at Larries home around 4:30 and what a blessing this was to be! First up they had the washing machine waiting for me to use (which I was in desperate need, the hand washing I did didn't really get rid of the sweat and stench filling my clothes), then I jumped in the shower (first one in 7 days), then when I came out and we were chatting about life and the trek, what should Larry find hidden behind the couch... but a foot massager!! Things could not get any better. All I needed now was a hot meal of chicken, corn and mash potatoes followed by apple pie and ice cream - wouldn't you know it, that is what they served up for dinner! I was in heaven. After dinner I was able to have a chat with my fiance in Colombia, it was great to speak to her and her family after such a long time.

Tomorrow I continue on, for the second day in a row I am now heading south and will be until the finish. Is a nice feeling to be walking in the direction of Colombia now. The next town is around 35kms away again so it would be nice to reach there tomorrow.

With a pack full of clean clothes, a belly full of chicken and pie and another set of good memories from such good people, I am ready to attack another day. Thanks so much to Larry and Kathy for the hospitality and goodness that I received from them. When I asked Larry why he took pity on a bloke walking down the river road, he simply stated that he was paying it forward, wouldn't it be a better place if there were more Larries and Kathies in the world! 

3rd October

Today started off as a great day and only got better. This morning as I got up around 7 and Tony (Tammies husband) came down to introduce himself. He asked If I would like a coffee, you better believe I said yes.

10 minutes later whilst packing my gear for the day I heard Tony on his way back with that coffee he had promised, but this time the whole family had come back to see the strange guy sleeping in their front yard.. and they had brought breakfast! What a bunch of champions. With a big mug of hot coffee, a banana, a bottle of water and four of the best blueberry muffins around, Tony, Tammy and their two gorgeous girls definitely get the 3 votes from me. I really hope Tony, Tammy and the family are reading this as I want to say thank you again very much, you have no idea how much some kindness can give someone a boost in their step to start the day! 

From there I made my way to the next town, Deer River, some 11kms away. As I arrived I noticed some women taking photos of me. I did not think much as by now I am used to getting stared at wandering around with this big pack on. She came over and asked my name and then introduced herself as Louise, a reporter from the local paper and that she was waiting for me. Seems news travels fast in the sticks! We did an interview and then Louise showed me where the post office was as I wanted to mail some boots back home. The price was pretty steep back to Oz so Louise invited me back to the local papers office and told me that they would send them to me when I arrived in New Orleans. Good people are being put in my way hey. Thanks to Louise and all the crew at the Deer River paper, you have made the journey a lot easier!

I have made good time today and arrived in Grand Rapids and actually made it a few kms out of town and am now camping next to an old bottle shop. I asked an elderly couple who were standing outside of it if there were any hotels around and found out they were the owners of the shop. After explaining what I was doing they told me to pitch my tent. I was looking forward to finding a hotel as I was in desperate need of a wash as were my clothes. The shop has an outside house and after holding my breath and hopping under that for a minute or two I can now say I honestly feel like a million bucks. I also did a load of hand washing under it and am right to go. With a wash, a dinner of 4 tiny apples (a nice bloke in Grand Rapids gave my 8 of them as I was passing his house), my two last muffins and a cheese sandwich I am feeling a new man. So I will be off to bed and hope the good days keep on coming.

2nd October

The past few days have been spent following a road that eventually leads to the town, and my first real checkpoint, Grand Rapids. I have only managed to come across the Mississippi four or five times in the last two days also. It has been a pretty uneventful few days except for a pack of coyotes fighting or attacking something outside of my tent last night. This is a great alarm clock if you have trouble getting yourself up and out of bed,  gave me a bloody fright!

I had to lighten the pack last night also. Carrying 30 kgs and covering more than 30 kms everyday was starting to hurt a little and it was only going to get worse. I might kick myself later for getting rid of some of the items I did, but it is better than wrecking my body and having to have time off the trek or worse, having to stop all together. Amongst the items was my treasured cooker (sorry Youngst, love the thought though). It cooked me some good soups and stews early on but it was just taking up too much room and weight, which included the litre of methylated spirits I had to take with it also. It will have to be sangas, fruit and the occasional hot meal at a shop to keep me going now. All good!

At the moment I am camped outside of a lovely ladies house by the name of Tammy. I was knackered  and  wandering past when I saw her and her family in the yard and also the perfect patch of grass for my tent. She was happy to help which saves me searching around the bushes for a decent camp site. Right now I am off to massage my feet, tuck into a cheese and tomato sanga and read my book. Hope to make the outskirts of Grand Rapids tomorrow where the Mississippi becomes easier to follow.

Wildlife...

Found a good camp site last night and set up just outside of a town called Cass Lake which is the begining of an Indian recreation reserve. I will be walking through this for around three days until i hit the town of Grand Rapids. This has been my first checkpoint of the trip and will be nice to get to.

This morning was a great start to the day. I was up at 6 am and had just got all my gear together and was enjoying my cheese sangas and and bottled water for breaky when something caught my eye to the left of my tent. I turned to see a huge coyote (they are bloody big in real life) running 5 meters from me. beautiful animal. After heading off I was followed for a few hundred meters by two of the biggest eagles I have ever seen, their wing span would have been two meters across, awesome creatures.

I am now in Cass Lake and about to kick on. With two days worth of food in sandwiches, soup and fruit, the day is looking good, cold but with no clouds and the sun shining. lets hope it stays that way.