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

Mesa County, Colorado.  This was the second day of walking through White River and Grand Mesa National Park.  The first day was extremely challenging, I could write a whole article about.  However, the second day things started to come together.  I found a reliable trail and shot this.

5/22/13
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

5/9/13
SoilTrek.com

Davenport, Iowa. On my way out of town I was very hungry and wanted some breakfast to get me going. The local Subway restaurant was closed as well as all the other eateries, I guess because it was early Sunday.

Not wanting to start walking on an empty stomach I saw two gentlemen walking the opposite way I was going and so I asked them where I could get some food. At first they were a little hesitant, but by my attire and manner they could tell I really needed food from somewhere.

One of the gentlemen was Matthew and he told me to follow him to a place that serves meals. We walk into the place and it turned out to be a soup kitchen. I normally serve food at one of these places, however now I was on the receiving end and had no shame about it.

Matthew kind of stayed away in the corridor and so I interacted with the other individuals there. Most seemed to have fallen on hard times and had a tough past. Some of the guys there didn't want me there because I wasn't homeless and thought I was getting preferential treatment from the staff which I was totally unaware of. The rest had great interest in my journey and had a barrage of questions.

Before Matthew and I left, I said my good-byes to the guys and to the staff before the facilities manager handed me a music CD sang and recorded by her, which was a great gesture.

From that point after leaving the soup kitchen Matt and I was together a majority of the time. Which was cool because until then mostly everything I did was solo dolo.

Before Matthew and I left, I said my good-byes to the guys and to the staff before the facilities manager handed me a music CD sang and recorded by her, which was a great gesture.

From that point after leaving the soup kitchen Matt and I was together a majority of the time. Which was cool because until then mostly everything I did was solo dolo.

We went to church together that same day after a lady recognized me from the TV news and invited me. I got a great tour of downtown Davenport along with video I shot on the Skybridge where I met some of Matthew's good friends.

That last day was extremely cold due to the brutal wind, I was one layer short of being okay but I manned up and just dealt with it. Matthew had a non-verbal urge to join the trek I was on. It would have been great however I'm glad he chose to stay and iron out some challenges he was facing.

Matthew was definitely a great guy to hang with, we said our good-byes that day, however our paths will most certainly cross again.

3/3/13
SoilTrek.com

York, Nebraska. Someone please remind me what season are we in? Winter refuses to give up, but on the flip side I kinda enjoyed breaking out the winter gear and honestly I find myself more comfortable walking in colder weather. Anyway, a large portion of the day was relearning how to maneuver quickly and safely across ice covered surfaces.

Short Summery of Slippy Surfaces (SSoSS):
Frozen grass - most consistent as long as you avoid heads of clumped grass. However, the resistance from the frozen blades eventually wear you out a little.

Frozen gravel - Walked this the most, either in the middle of the road (no one's driving in this crazy weather) were the road is balanced or I walked the very edge were there is a slight incline but the roadside grass prevents my left foot from too much slippage.

Frozen cornfields - Not very user friendly. The turned over soil made it even worse, they were like big slippery jagged rocks. So you move... very... slooowwww.

Frozen rocks & pebbles - Slippery and dangerous and not worth it and crazy town.

Frozen paved roads - Straight ice rink without the zamboni. But, if hail has previously fallen earlier or day before it provides okay traction.

Frozen ditches - These weren't too bad as long as they weren't filled water or long strands of grass.

Frozen mud - Not bad and sort fun to walk on. With a layer of dirty ice on top and melted ice water in between it almost like walking on rough plexiglass. It's also cool watching the air bubbles dance beneath the ice.

I walked on white snow or ice whenever I saw it. It gives excellent traction to prevent you from falling. If it wasn't bright white, it is suspect in my book. Especially at night, you can't miss seeing it even with little light around.

If you are unsure about a surface while walking in icy conditions take my advice and just walk like a elderly person, meaning take your time! It may not look cool, but it will prevent you from becoming a falling fool.

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

Linden, IA. These two dogs shown in the video followed me for a quarter of a mile. Not wanting to repeat what happened the other day I return them back to their home. This is becoming a reoccurring event and time consuming.

1/19/13
SoilTrek.com