The past month

Sooo...people thought I was injured or just stopped walking. Sorry it has been so long since an update. I have tried. The last month has been very interesting! Some things have become clearer. Animal encounters have been more intense. Meeting more people (mostly good). So, some random stories...

Stores and towns have been more spread out...up to 30 miles without seeing a store. Or talking to people. Weather has been bad, with plenty of storms and high heat. At one point I was under a bridge for 2 days waiting out storms. Then I walked about 5 miles and stayed under another bridge for 2 days. I've been running out of food and water because I cannot carry enough. I can deal with not eating (I always have a bag of dum dums, which helps), but the water situation got crazy at times. In the heat I was going through 1.5-2 gallons a day. I drank a lot of creek water. Twice I was out of water and about 5 miles from a major town and someone rode by and gave me water. Prayers answered.

I was studying my map one day and heard a car stop in front of me. Heard a lady yell "You hungry?". Looked up just in time to see a lady throw a bag at me and speed off. It was a Sonic hamburger. The next day a lady and her daughter pulled up and gave me a chicken wrap, fries, and tea from McDonalds. They talked to me for a bit...very sweet. A high school couple saw me on my phone and pulled over. The guy asked me if I was selling stocks on my hobo blackberry lol. They got out of the car and talked to me (actually it was more like us joking on each other). Got some much needed laughs. His girlfriend gave me half a can of coke and some doritos. The next day she found me and gave me 2 cans of coke. 

I was out of water and walking a very dangerous road south of Liberty. Drinking some nasty creek water. At one point I went down to the creek (it ran along the road for miles) to refill a bottle and came across a snake, so no water that time. Nasty stuff in the creek later, so no more water. So a good half day without water, and about 4 miles to town the next morning. I was hurting pretty bad, came around a corner, and right there was a beautiful site lol:  http://youtu.be/0CNDrJuGlTg

I kept seeing a weird tree. Anybody know what this is?  http://youtu.be/LbgaDJWPo_I 

I was taken in by a pastor and his family for a while in Pulaski. Went to Revival. The walk really affected a lot of people...made them rethink their faith and how much they trust God. I was told by a few pastors that my walk was a ministry and a calling from God. That's a lot to take in and process.
These are my friends in Pulaski. We were in Davey Crockett State Park, and 4 of them had just gotten baptized.  http://youtu.be/Vueg_0McxYA 

I was walking along and a lady pulled over and said she liked my hat, and asked if I was going to Hippie Hill. I was out of water (of course lol), so she offered to take me to a natural spring and to hippie hill, where I could spend the night for free. So I got in the truck. I keep forgetting her name, so I just call her "hills". So, "hills" takes me to an awesome natural spring  http://youtu.be/QzqB9eVyoT8
She said there is a big cave where the 2 holes are in the video. Then she takes me to hippie hill. http://www.hippiehilltn.com/  We walk around a bit. Meet some young people that have a band called the humps and the blackouts. hills bought a cd for her, and one for me. she later stole a bandana from me in exchange. there are more dogs on that hill than you can count!! people are very nice, but to me, it was sad seeing people living with no electricity or running water.  that's all I'm going to say about it here.....
so, hills and I went to the store to get some supplies for some of the people. this is a video of riding with hills, in the hills, listening to the cd:  http://youtu.be/lrBwvTjvk-E 
I stayed there for the night, and hills got me the next morning and took me back to the natural spring and then back to my path.  This is a weird tree-growing-on-another-tree at the spring:  http://youtu.be/gUZhEfqRWzw   She was crazy, but she was cool. During my night on the hill, storms were moving past us, and you could see the lightning slowly moving around us. Cool light show all night.
If you want to know more about this adventure, email me. 

After that, the hills were more spread out, and I entered the land of Tennessee Walker stables. One after another. For days. And days lol.
http://youtu.be/OPpGikoBKkk

http://youtu.be/Crxn1U9oCOY 

I saw the birthplace of Davey Crockett, the home and museum of Sheriff Buford Pusser (remember the old Walking Tall movies?), and Shiloh battlefield.
I had a very creepy man keeping tabs on me for over 50 miles. Very creepy!

I had a pack of coyotes surround my tent one night, including at least one of them sniffing my tent. They were mad about something. I have seen a few copperheads. Had an angry fox one night (I'll try to get more vids like this one so you can know what it is like to be woken up by an angry animal lol). http://youtu.be/LOCUy0yVGak 

It's been a hard month but a fun month. I'm excited that I will soon have a major state behind me as soon as the hurricane passes (TN is the 3rd widest state, I believe), but also sad that I am leaving TN. It is a beautiful state, with plenty of natural attractions and history, and my family has roots in TN going back to the 1800s. So it will be a bittersweet departure. Arkansas is next, which will be the first state that I have never stepped foot into. 

We are about 1/3 across. Still can't believe it.

Memphis! (it's about time, slowpoke!)

I have finally arrived safely in Memphis!

It has been very difficult to update because: the last 2 libraries I was at, I tried and the blog crashed the computers when I tried to post...and, finding a library has been difficult. Either they were closed, or so far off the main road that I just kept going. Storms have been a problem. Same for the heat. But I am alive and well, and 1/3 across the country. I'll try to update with some stories very soon. Arkansas next week..yee-hah!!