Days One Hundred Twenty-Eight through One Hundred Forty-Five

My aunt and uncle dropped me off in the Ivanhoe area on January 2nd, 2010. It was cold then, and in the ensuing days, it got colder. For a while, I simply did not want to bother with taking out the camera, writing things down, and keeping the kind of notes that make a trek like this interesting. The cold is a beast all its own. Taking a photo or jotting down notes means stopping and losing heat, taking off my gloves and feeling the bite of the cold, and ultimately trying to regain whatever semblance of comfort I had just enjoyed.

I had to tough it out though. My body adjusted (somewhat), and I got really fast at getting the gloves on and off long enough to take a picture. Below you'll find my efforts.

Once again, I have included a brief summary of the miles I've done and the places I've visited, followed by photos from this time. The day comes first, then the place I reached, followed by an estimation of the miles covered (all miles are included whether they contributed to the overall goal or not; my feet don't know the difference). Journal entries are interspersed throughout. Please enjoy.

Day 128: Ravenna, about 6 miles
Day 129: FM 1753, about 6 miles
Day 130: Denison, about 15 miles
Day 131: Denison, about 4 miles (I tromped around town, then camped just south)
Day 132: Just past Sherman, about 11 miles
Day 133: Hwy 82, about 10 miles
Day 134: Just past Whitesboro, about 8 miles
Day 135: Just past Gainesville, about 14 miles
Day 136: Just beyond Muenster, about 15 miles
Day 137: Just past Saint Jo, about 9 miles
Day 138: Just beyond Nocona, about 12 miles
Day 139: FM 2332, about 20 miles
Day 140: FM 2332, about 12 miles
Day 141: Just outside Charlie, about 19 miles (I went to Charlie and backtracked a little that evening, repeating mileage)
Day 142: Henrietta, about 22 miles
Day 143: Hwy 82, about 17 miles (6 of these miles was a walk in Henrietta itself)
Day 144: Wichita Falls, about 1o miles
Day 145: A zero day in Wichita Falls

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Day 128: I'm alone again. Thirty-six hours ago I was in Baltimore with Annie watching Groundhog Day. Now I'm camping alone by the road in some quixotic quest to walk around Texas. The weather is colder now, 30s 40s, and will get colder before the season is through. It's hard to figure why I've swapped comfort for this.
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Dwight, Denison, Grayson County, Day 130
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Day 130: Freezing morning. Somewhere between the mid-20s to low 30s. I had to keep sticking my hands in my arm pits every few minutes just to have the dexterity to pack!
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Day 133: Been drinking water from puddles and streams and treating it with GSE (Grapefruit See Extract). So far so good. The puddle in front of me was partly frozen. Soon enough, these water holes will no longer be options.
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A Kindred Spirit, Whitesboro, Grayson County, Day 134
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Day 134: Library for four hours! Email & letter to Caprock, Facebook stuff, etc. The librarians were so nice. Asked if I was camping out in the cold. Small talk like this is not common. One shelver even smiled at me!
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Pump Jacks For Sale, Gainesville, Cooke County, Day 135
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. . .Muenster, Cooke County, Day 136
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. . .City Facilities, Nocona, Montague County, Day 138
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. . .Birds' Nests, Clay County, Day 139
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. . .Self-portrait, Clay County, Day 139
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. . .Tolerance, Clay County, Day 139
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Day 140: Nice night. (I'm referring to the night before.) Heard animals sounds all night, though I slept through much of it. Lots of coyotes. I spread hot coals around my sleeping area [just in case].
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Day 140: Camped in a field and set up tarp. As I was setting up, a truck and trailer stopped nearby. They stayed there several minutes, so I figured I'd introduce myself. The driver was a real cowboy! Young but confident, big hat, boots, blue jeans, spitting every so often. We talked for ten minutes or so, him encouraging me to make a fire and seek shelter. I confessed my fear that I was on someone's property, and he said, "Shoot, you ain't hurtin' nobody." It wasn't his property, rather his ex's, yet I sensed an ownership of the land nonetheless. He cautioned me about the snow and the winds that go 50 to 60 MPH in the panhandle, saying that he lived out that way. Also said that everybody knows one another from here to there, that it's a small world. He said that if I needed anything, he'd be down the road. Finally, we said good night, and I snuck into my tarp. It was a warm night.
. . .Maddox's Arrow, Clay County, Day 141
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. . .How Now Brown Cow?, Clay County, Day 141
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. . .Charlie, Texas, Clay County, Day 141
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Day 141: Hiked to Charlie for fun! Added about 18 miles to the trip.
. . .Frontier Jailhouse (circa 1890), Henrietta, Clay County, Day 142
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. . .Junior Livestock Show Auctioneer, Henrietta, Clay County, Day 142
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Day 142: Matt Kelton, the editor and part owner of the Clay County Leader, invited me to the Clay County Junior Livestock Show. I'm here now. Cowboys galore! The kids raise an animal for a few months to a year; then the animal gets judged and ultimately gets a premium for the children's efforts.
The emcee is amazing! I've never heard anything like this. It's like Max Headrome on uppers. A pie just went for $475! The man sounds like a hive of angry bees spewing invectives against multiples of twenty-five!
This is the place to be. Hundreds of people fill this space, part of the local high school. I see kids, teens, adults, elders. Lots of people have programs and are keeping track of the bids and buyers even though many are not participating. One woman told me she does it "just cuz." It interested her to see which animals fetched which prices.
. . .Junior Livestock Show Pig, Henrietta, Clay County, Day 142
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Support System, Wichita Falls, Wichita County, Day 144
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Day 144: Met up with Katrina and Christina, my couchsurfing hosts, in Wichita Falls. Met their friends, too. Everyone was so nice. And I slept on a couch won on the Price is Right!

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That is all for the moment. Until next time, folks...

Days Forty-Eight through Eighty-Five

(My apologies for not putting this up sooner.)

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Over a month has gone by, as well as a few hundred miles and the ushering in of the beginnings of winter, since I last posted my mile count and journal entries. Miles, miles, miles. There are so many of them, and this state seems especially loaded.

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I'm not even sure exactly what I've walked. I try not to concern myself too much with the overall mileage so as not to lose a general daily awareness. Thus this exercise is just as enlightening for me as it is for you.

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Here are the stats: day, destination arrived at, and approximate distance walked. Enjoy!

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Day 48: Somewhere along Hwy 87 north of Newton, about 7 miles

Day 49: Near intersection of Hwy 87 & R255, about 14 miles

Day 50: Hemphill, about 24 miles

Day 51: A zero day in Lufkin

Day 52: Somewhere along Hwy 87 past Milam, about 10 miles

Day 53: Near Shelbyville, about 24 miles

Day 54: Near Center Airport, about 12 miles

Day 55: Texas-Louisiana border on Hwy 31, about 21 miles

Day 56: Galloway, about 2 miles

Day 57: Somewhere along US Hwy 79 (via De Berry & toward Carthage), about 30 miles

Day 58: Intersection of Co 336 & US Hwy 79 (toward Henderson), about 26 miles

Days 59-60: Two zero days in Henderson

Day 61: Martin Creek Lake State Recreation Area, about 15 miles

Day 62: Longview, about 16 miles

Days 63-64: Two zero days in Longview

Day 65: Hallsville, about 11 miles

Day 66: Beyond Marshall on Hwy 43, about 15 miles

Day 67: Caddo Lake State Park, about 15 miles

Day 68: Near Smithland, about 10 miles

Day 69: Queen City, about 25 miles

Day 70: Texarkana, about 23 miles

Days 71-73: Three zero days in Texarkana

Day 74: Hooks, about 15 miles

Day 75: New Boston, about 7 miles

Day 76: Outside De Kalb on US Hwy 82, about 10 miles

Day 77: Oak Grove, about 5 miles

Day 78: Beyond Avery on US Hwy 82, about 8 miles

Day 79: Beyond Clarksville on US Hwy 82, about 16 miles

Day 80: Somewhere on US Hwy 82, about 10 miles

Day 81: Reno, about 15 miles

Day 82: Paris, about 12 miles (6 to Paris, then I wandered 6 miles around town)

Day 83: Globe, about 13 miles

Day 84: Beyond Direct, about 12 miles

Day 85: Intersection of Farm to Market Rd 1396 and 273, about 25 miles

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Interspersed among the photos are a few journal entries from these days. I remind you that each is a snapshot of this trip, something from that particular day, and not necessarily a unchanging perception, feeling, or thought. Enjoy!

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Day 53: If anyone can get anything out of this project, I hope that it's to try to realize a dream. This was my crazy dream, and I'm doing it. It's not what I thought, at least not yet, but I'm doing it. I could fail to complete it, but that's ok. Failure is somthing to be proud of; it means you had the guts to try.

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Two Mushrooms, Sabine County, Day 54

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Day 55: (not a journal entry) On this day I stumbled upon an original survey marker, placed in 1841, separating the newly formed Republic of Texas and the United States of America. It was placed at the south end of Hwy 31 where it runs into Louisiana and, a few miles later, Logansport. I have not added a picture or much text because I've submitted an article and photo to the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Out of respect of my agreement with them, I'll hold off using some of my extraneous materials. But let me tell you this: it was a little vertical block of granite, nothing too special, but the initials R.T. were something incredibly powerful to behold.

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Logger for Hire, Sabine County, Day 57

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Day 57: It was a real pleasure chatting with David [the biker from Irving] today. I'm relieved I'm not so alone in this endeavor. We spoke on a wide variety of subjects, but the common theme was "Why aren't more people out enjoying this world?"

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Cloud Makers (near Martin Creek Lake State Recreation Area), Rusk County, Day 65

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Caddo Lake State Park, Harrison County, Day 67

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(A short Day 67 pre-thought here: I tweeted about a woman who had given her son free reign to shoot me if I did anything "funny." The scene of this tweet happened like this: I stopped on a hill near the road across the street from this woman's five-acre plot and home. I made myself comfortable, drinking water, reading, etc. I see the family members talking on the porch of the house, and eventually the woman comes out to talk with me. Aside from the initial distrust, she was quite nice. She told me how her family had been the victims of a lot of theft, that the neighborhood had gone to pot, that times were really tough. She said that it was "a black area." I left more nervous than I had arrived, but it wasn't from the gun.)

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Day 67: As bad as people say these places are, I have not encountered a negative element yet. There is [racial] tension, but I feel outside of it. And I've seen many exceptions too. Hard to know what to think. I've found people using "black" like it's a bad thing. "Oh, that's a black area" or "That's a black neighborhood." They confuse things known to increase crime (drugs, unemployment) with skin color. For this period of time, they may be right, but should things ever shift the blight on the word "black" will be difficult to recover from.

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Muddy Conditions? (Caddo Lake), Harrison County, Day 67

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No Parking, Marion County, Day 68
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Day 68: These convenience store ladies have seen it all. Truckers, druggies, locals, drunks, cowboys, farmers, rich and poor. Throw me in with my crazy project, and they believe me, no problem. They pepper me with questions and get a kick out of it - for a minute or two. You can pick up a lot from these ladies and from the customers they serve. One guy today took his money out of his sock. He was a huge man, no need at a glance to hide anything, but I'm just passing through. Two ladies at this last place spoke freely of getting robbed by residents and harassed by the police. They wouldn't elaborate on their grievances with the police except for one work-related complaint (couldn't get time off). I wanted to photograph them but was scared to do so. I've adopted their philosophy: Don't put any more stock in your surroundings than you have to. So I don't.

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Trucker Mailbox, Marion County, Day 68
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Day 69: Money is the great normalizer. If I spend a little, usually this breaks the ice and allows people to open up, ask questions, whatever they want. The BBQ restaurant staff [in Atlanta] were so friendly and talkative. The manager (at least I think she was the manager) appreciated the dedication I've applied to the project. "I hope you find what you're looking for," she told me. The other worker admitted she got pregnant in her teens and had been putting off going to school. "After seeing you, I guess I don't have a good reason not to try," she said.

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(Day 70 pre-thought: This was an unusually positive day. My interview with Michelle Williams was wonderful. Then I met a Pakistani couple running a convenience store who were quite nice. Then some workers at the next convenience store were all smiles and questions. Then I made it to Texarkana and Michael Boyd and another interview that Michael had set up. All that fed into my short entry below.)

Day 70: I feel an emotional momentum.

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Hay Bales, Red River County, Day 76

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(Day 76 pre-thought: I was hiking along and saw a car pull up a half block ahead of me and stop. "Oh, boy," I thought. A woman stepped out. As I got closer, I could see she was older with hair as white as the clouds. She was holding something in her hands, hidden by a paper towel. I said 'hi,' and she asked, "Are you hungry?" That's how I met this charming, smiling woman named Neva.)

Day 76: I can't tell you how nice it was to be met on the road by Neva [of Malta]. True, she thought I was a needy, homeless person (guess she was half right). The random kindness she did for me, giving me cornbread, filled me with happiness and love. The bread was good, too; warm, delicious, crumbly, filling, and a little sweet.

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Day 78: Honestly, what am I doing out here? The great adventure is getting easier everyday. Hike, eat, sleep. Even the indignities are easier to take now. Is this about faith? So many people have spoken to me about God that I have ceased being surprised, but I have yet to make any real revelations. What am I doing out here?

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Self-Portrait, Red River County, Day 80

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Top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Texas, Lamar County, Day 82

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Impact Area, Lamar County, Day 83

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Pyles Cemetery Angel, Lamar County, Day 83

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(Day 84 pre-story: I walked into Direct, Texas and a few drivers pulled over to chat with me, having seen the Paris News interview. I made it to a little restaurant, and a customer said to me, "Hey! You're not making very good time, are you?!" The all-around cheerfulness was contagious, and I tweeted about it. Then I later heard German (Direct has a big Mennonite community) being spoken, and I tweeted about that. +++ In a different part of town, a woman settled down with the paper from the day before. She read about the interview, then got online for more information. She found my recent tweets and thought, "He's down the street at the restaurant!" She got out the phone book, called the place, and got ahold of me! Her home was on the way out of town, so I stopped by.)

Day 84: What a pleasant encounter! I spoke with Liza and her boys for about two hours (mainly Liza; the boys were busy playing in the mud). She tried to give me new shoes! She did manage to slip me about two pounds of food (tortilla burgers, trail mix, tortillas!). We talked about all kinds of stuff, but once again without effort, God came into the conversation. We also talked about their family, how she and her husband Norm had come to Texas. We talked while watching the kids play, and it was a nice way to spend an afternoon.

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What an unpleasant encounter! A truck pulled up to my camping spot, and I figure the jig is up. I start by saying 'hello?' Nothing. I wait figuring the windows are up. I hear the door open and start up again. "My name is Matt Read. I was just in the Paris newspaper. I met a lot of nice people in Direct." Not a peep, nada. I start to think it's more sinister, but what could I do? I kept talking. Finally, a voice in the dark replied, "Oh, you're talking to me?" Uh, yeah. Turns out he was just hunting first for game sign, then for the game. I watched his flashlight bounce around across the road and down the way. +++ Another truck pulled up! Guy got out, burped loudly. I wasn't in my sleeping bag yet, and it was getting cold. I considered speaking again but didn't. Instead, I tried to get in my bag as quietly as possible. Just as soon as I did, the second fellow jumped in his truck and took off. Guess I scared him!

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Texas Tree Trimming, Fannin County, Day 85

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Day 85: I'm such a fool sometimes. I slept with an insufficient tarp covering to ward off the rain (even though I saw clouds), and my stuff got wet. I call what I did "Lazy Man's Tarp" which means you lie down on one side of the tarp and if it rains you roll up like a burrito. Argh. This time, it was just dumb. I decided to hike double (or try to), so I could get picked up by my aunt and uncle a day earlier. So in addition to a bad night of sleep, I punished my body a second time! My toe hurt a bit, and I felt tenderness in a tendon in my left foot and leg and both big toes. When am I going to learn? Still, I'm in a bed now, and as long as that's the end result, it's going to be really hard to change.

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After spending a nice few days with my aunt, uncle, and grandma, my brother and I drove down to Corpus Christi where we met our parents, another brother, our sister-in-law, and niece. I'll celebrate Thanksgiving here, let my toe recover, and figure out what my next step is at the end of this break.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Until next time, turkey-eaters...