Washington, Utah.  Thank you to Duwayne, Keoni, & Devin for stopping to say hi on that blistering Wednesday and providing me with those Gatorades, tasty cranberry trail mix, and Jacks Link beef jerky (the best).  You guys are awesome, that definitely made my day -- enjoy the rest of your Summer!  

7/3/13
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

Edwards, Colorado. Out of a Pontiac Firebird stepped a tall young gentleman by the name of William. We talked for a bit about my walk and he made a great donation. After a school bus full of kids pulled up and a short shirtless fat man jogged by I knew it was time to thank William and keep trucking.

Later on that day several miles down the road, William caught up to me and we got a bite to eat. We spoke about a wide array of different topics including our personal lives, where we grew up, current aspirations, hobbies, the importance of traveling, and females.

It was definitely a pleasure meeting and conversing with a young gentleman with such class, holding a clean slate in an world of endless opportunity. I wish William all of the best!

ASIDE: Also big thanks to Corrie (stay awesome), Jesse, the woman that provided me the sandwich & goldfish crackers while I was walking in the rain, and the guys that truck that donated.

5/16/13
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

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

Sterling, Colorado. After camping out at the local park and performing a few errands around town I decided to eat lunch at Subway. I know, I know, Subway again. Well this time I stepped in to Subway and there was a swarm of teenage girls everywhere. I automatically thought I would have to sit outside to eat because there was no place to sit or even lean against for that matter.

While waiting to place my order a few of the girls approached me in awe and asked me several great questions about my excursion. I discovered these ladies played soccer for the Scotts Bluff Bearcats in Nebraska. Soccer is one if the coolest sports in my opinion and its always great to see young females involved sports.

After placing my order the cashier informed me that one of the team members had already paid for my meal. What? How awesome was that? My meal was covered before I even placed it! Thanks to the lovely Celeste for buying me lunch, I truly appreciated it!

We took the above picture before the team departed. I believe I'm in the photo, somewhere in a sea of Bearcats.

Thanks again to Celeste, shout out to Rikke and the whole Scotts Bluff Bearcat soccer team!


4/27/13
SoilTrek.com

Julesburg, Colorado. Finally crossed the state border into Colorful Colorado! The plan is to be in Denver on May 1st, no days off, and so far so good!

Thank you to Susan in Julesburg, the woman that offered the water in addition advice about rattle snakes, and also to the trucker the gave me the energy drinks!


4/24/13
SoilTrek.com

Lexington/Elwood, Nebraska. This is Adam (shown left) & Thomas (right), cousins and two excellent gentlemen who own and run their own local construction business.

While driving by they stopped me and asked me if I was hungry after spotting me twice. Starving with only tangerines and oatmeal in my pack I said "sure". The meal I had was great, Thomas not only covered my meal but paid for my hotel room in town.

That meant I didn't have to wait until tomorrow to eat a proper meal and didn't have to camp out in the expected snow fall. Thanks a million guys, after a long, cold, and windy walk you really turned things around!

*Thomas or Adam if you happen to see my sign please call me at (914) 255-2860, thanks!


4/17/13
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.