Fruita, Colorado.  Before hitting the Kokopelli Trail (www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kokopelli_Trail) to make my way into Utah, I did this news interview (#7) with Taylor Kanost of News Channel 5 of Grand Junction, CO.  This was recorded right outside the Fruita public library.  Click one of the links below to watch...

Source 1: http://bit.ly/10OVs19
Source 2: Click HERE


5/29/13
SoilTrek.com

Moab, Utah.  Thank every one that assisted  me with directions, donations, food, water, and supplies during my walk from The Kokopelli Trail in Fruita to the Outdoors Recreation capital of the US.



The stretch I walked was more mentally challenging than walking through the cold this past Winter however very  visually rewarding.  My top issues were: 



1. The intense heat with little shade

2. Insects constantly flying in my face

3. Little shoulder room on the road

4. Water supply getting too hot to drink

5. Constantly having to filter water from the Colorado River

6. Newly acquired Gatorade addiction

Special thanks to the Ashley & Pete for being great hosts, Walgreens staff in Fruita, Subway in Fruita, Henry at Starvin' Arvin, mountain biker that gave me Kokopelli directions, young girl with mom who noticed me from TV, cool dad in shades driving SUV (hope you're in Moab), Tony in Fruita who saw me on TV and donated, Yolie who saw in on the highway & donated, Jayme who donated, Fruita library, KJCT (Shannon) & News Channel 5 (Taylor) in Grand Junction, Lisa who gave me water, the couple that provided me with cold water, the guy who gave me a boiling hot bottle of water (its the thought right?), Tony & his cute family who provided me some food, the bikers troubleshooting the GoPro, all the cars full of young adults showing me love, Kelly for the donation, Phil/Alex/Simon/Jason of the University of Buffalo Geology for the water & donations, Sorrel River Ranch Restaurant staff (you guys were so awesome and food was great!), the gentleman who covertly covered my breakfast, Mike of Deep Desert Expeditions for the water/advice/recommendations, the Denny's staff of Moab, the Moab couple I spoke to before reaching, Mark & Susan of the Louisiana State Museum for being great & encouraging, 

Kari & Chuck who donated, the water rafting dudes who offered water, all the cars that gave me the right of way on these narrow roads, and everyone in the Moab area who honked, yelled, waved in support!



Much love to everyone!

6/2/13

SoilTrek.com

Grand Junction, Colorado.  Thanks to Shannon of KJCT for a great interview (#6) about my Diabetes Walk.  Click on link below to view.

Source #1: Click link to watch: bit.ly/112ZA92
Source #2: Click link HERE to watch.


May 2013
SoilTrek.com

State College, PA.  My good friend Emily Carlson wrote this ballad inspired by my journey.  Thank you Emily for composing such as lovely song, I love it!  Check out the rest of Emily's tracks HERE.

YouTube source:

Original source:

5/6/13
SoilTrek.com

Denver, Colorado.  Thank to Frank Donofrio for finding this!  This is an interview I did the day I left Denver's city limits and up into the Rockies.

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7AKCTgCHig

PLEASE NOTE: I will be posting more as soon as I get to Grand Junction, Colorado in a couple of days, connectivity has been spotty within the last week.

5/6/13
SoilTrek.com

NOTE: All photos taken on first day in Denver except newspaper photo.

Denver, Colorado. The two-day trek from Wiggins to Denver was very difficult, however I had to be there on time to meet several people. Shout out to Roman!

The trek there was very cold, snowy, and windy.  Having slept under a bridge that night with noisy birds and farm dogs making noise outside my tent around civil sunrise.  I was highly motivated to get somewhere halfway warm.

For most of that walk I saw nothing but a couple of cars, no people, just snow everywhere -- this is how I envision Siberia.

Once I entered downtown Denver I was pleasantly welcomed in the falling snow by Colorado's Prince Hall Grand Master (MW De Los Reyes), Grand officers, Prince Hall brothers, Delta sisters, Fox 31, and Denver Weekly News.

After meeting and greeting we all had dinner at Rocky Mountain Lodge #1.  After a great welcome after a long walk it was nice to have a great meal!  Later on Brother Sandy drove me to The Double Tree hotel where I had two nights comped along with hot breakfast.  Let's say I slept extremely well that night.

Hanging out with Sister Peggy & Jill, who were fantastic, I toured several places around town including the African American Research Library, tons of other historic Denver sites, and to city hall to meet the mayor.  A tremendous help to me also in Denver was Brother Dwayne and his wife Michelle.  He assisted me in getting a haircut, sending off donations, getting gear at REI, checking my health the 9 Health Fair, etc.

As far as food and entertainment, Denver had a plethora of places to choose from and explore.  I dined at such places such as The Berkshire, Bar Louie, and Welton Street Cafe.  Visited a couple bars and even the movies to see Iron Man 3 (which was a little disappointing).  Shout out to Michelle!

Thanks to WM Alex Burse for the tons of beef jerky and also for the Mayweather fight invitation at one of the brother's homes.  I enjoyed the comradary, the fight was good, and the food was fanominal!

After experiencing bits and pieces of Cinco De Mayo and several mini tours of The Mile High I realized how diverse Denver was, which I honestly didn't expect.

My hotel stay was very relaxing and felt like home. After staying a total of 5-days it was time to hit the mountain.  Brother Dwayne, who was a tremendous help sent me off from my final point of stopping.  I thanked him for all he and his wife Michelle had done, said good-bye.

By my luck I was fortunate enough to do one last news interview with Jon Bowman of Fox 31 before hitting the city limits and slowly hiking up into The Rockies.

5/1/13
SoilTrek.com

Cedar Rapids, Iowa. During my stay in the town of Cedar Rapids I got the pleasure of meeting WM Alan Gauvin, the head of Mount Olive Lodge #17.

I admired Brother Alan's straight forward demeanor and his dedication to the organization as well as to his family.

After corresponding with Brother Alan, we met for lunch with the following great brothers from his lodge: Brother SW Morgan Kimbrough, Brother Bev Taylor, Brother JW Justin Stowall, Brother Kenny Reid, and Brother James Robinson. I enjoyed great conversations with these brothers and ate really well!

Following lunch we visited Alan's lodge (waiting for the local TV news to show) and then to meet his wonderful family.

I really enjoyed the brief time I spent with Brother Alan's wife (Keli) and their children. They all had had tons of interesting questions for me and the overall vibe was great! That moment made me really miss my own family.

I thank Brother Alan and all the brothers I met from his lodge for their warm welcome and donations! Your words of wisdom through the laughter gave me the emotional boost to keep going and your generosity put a stamp in reaching my original donation goal.

3/9/13
SoilTrek.com

Denton & Crete, Nebraska. As of writing this, charity efforts are at $16,000. If you're reading this have been affected by diabetes in some way you should donate. It could be as little as $1 and your donation is secure & tax-deductible.

After waiting in Lincoln a couple days for my boots to arrive, starting my 25 miler to Crete was a little tough and I eventually got into my rhythm as the hours progressed.

Halfway through my walk (10-15 miles) I was a little hungry so I stopped by the Denton Daily Double to grab a bite.

I stuck out from the rest of the crowd, its something I've come to like. Denton is a restaurant that doubles as a kenu lottery hall. Quite a few people were playing, I'm not the gambling type so I just watched.

Once I was done eating my delicious meal I asked for the check. The waitress informed me that someone paid for my meal anonymously. I was very enthused and also curious to know who covered my bill. Looking around and getting no clues it was now time to hit the road. While packing up to little girls came up to me and said they saw me on TV -- Wow, I didn't know Omaha TV reached that far. Before leaving the kind woman behind the kenu counter gave me a donation. Awesome experience!

While doing the last leg of the day's walk I stopped into a Casey's to pick up trail mix and beef jerky. While checking out I was approached by Jenn who was very kind and happened to work for the local newspaper.

She drove by me, saw my sign, and wanted to do a story on me. I was surprised (due to it being the end of the day and I didn't think many people were paying that much attention) and was very happy to do the interview. She asked me if I needed anything, I informed her I had everything. I have to say Jenn was very pleasant to speak to and she took some photographs of me before departing.

My final decesion of the day was to decide if I was going to stay at the Super 8 or the Creek Inn motel. Not wanting to spend a lot I chose the Creek Inn and good thing I did. The gentleman checking me was originally from Queens NY, like the charity I was walking for, and decided to let me stay at no cost.

Today was very tough on the road. However, all three places I had stopped into, people opened up their hearts.

Omaha, Nebraska.  Much thanks to Leah at FOX 42!  Watch video below, if not viewable click HERE to watch my segment on Omaha's FOX news.

3/31/13

Omaha, Nebraska. These "Good Luck" eggs were made for me by friends of The Bowsmans who I had the great pleasure of meeting and staying with.

The eggs must of worked because I was fortunate enough to meet and conduct an interview with the lovely Leah Uko today who is a TV reporter for the local FOX affiliate.

My segment will air sometime tonight on the 9:00 PM (CST) news (which is on now as I'm writing this) here in the Omaha area.   I will post a link as soon as it is available.


3/31/13