18 miles today – 1475 miles total!
Lewis, KS – Offerle, KS (past Kinsley, KS)
Such a cool morning (7am start) – loved it…
Ahhh, well – I mentioned to you all yesterday that I enjoyed watching ‘Into the Wild’ again with my friend Wendy Hett on Monday evening. On Tuesday, I made it to Lewis and interacted with my local connection (Ron Lindberg) at his bank. His employee (Kayla Burr) offered to take me to her parent’s farm while Ron practiced w/his quartet! So, we get there…and what do we have: a leather studio in the garage. The father does in own leather work… haha, this was incredible. He was SO kind to show us all the work and in a matter of minutes he had made a custom collar & leash for Kanoa! (Pic & Video below) You can check out his work at: TROY BOY LEATHER
At Troy’s studio…
The final product! (I handcrafted the tag...so much fun)
Also enjoyed an incredible brunch at Strate’s Kountry Kitchen (THANK YOU for taking care of the meal!!) – It was funny to have them comment on a mutual friend ‘Katie Visco’ who visited last year as she was running across the USA! – She was also a guest at Heartland Farms in Pawnee Rock, KS (where we stayed last Friday) – cool to follow in her footsteps a bit.
Here is another video of the quartet – loved this…
THANK YOU Lindberg family for taking us in again tonight!
12 miles today – 1457 miles total!
(outside of) Macksville, KS – Lewis, KS
A great evening (last night) and morning with Wendy Hett (Florence, KS) who made a long drive to spend time with us again. We grabbed a big watermelon, talked to the locals, watched ‘Into the Wild’, and talked for several hours on larger & personal topics. What an amazing gift to have people want to drive a few hours to share in this experience… she is quality. One of the ‘products’ of our encounter was pushing this very talented and creative soul to start a blog. So, keep an eye out for her words here: http://www.willedtorisk.blogspot.com
We enjoyed a great breakfast and were quickly on our way. Today was hot and cloudless with only a couple places to hug the shade. I am becoming painfully aware of the intensity of Summer! Made it into Lewis, KS (1457 miles) from Lewes, DE (starting point on March 1). The locals greeted us as we have a connection Ron Lindberg who owns the local bank in town… (where Kanoa is currently curled up in the AC) I will give Kanoa another day of rest tomorrow as I slam the pavement to push for a big day towards Offerle, KS (past Kinsley!)
Local Library: Lewis, KS - I am SO thankful to the hardwork that goes into ALL of our libraries - these are truly incredible organizations.
12 miles today – 1455 miles total!
Stafford, KS – Macksville, KS (via St. John, KS)
....great morning for Kanoa and I heading into St John, KS
Great diner (Curtis Cafe) in Stafford, KS - wonderful breakfast and quality puzzle collecting on the walls!
Okay, I know I always say this – but dang… ‘what a beautiful morning!!’
I can’t begin to explain the complexity of colors that surround us at 7:30am in Kansas country. The greens are so rich – the yellows are so bright – and the blue sky fights with the reddish/yellow sun. We enjoyed our 12 mile walk today – Kanoa was OFF-LEASH all day. He was happy about that; however, the sun got to him and he was exhausted when we were through. We enjoyed a great Mexican lunch and enjoyed quality conversation w/Ben (joined us for several weeks back in March & May)
At the library now and will stay at the local Motel to get some good shut-eye. I have the luxury of being joined again by Wendy Hett of Florence, KS! We will be watching ‘Into the Wild’ and pushing on here ‘writing’ goals….haha! – she is great.
THANK YOU to Country Inns Motel for giving us a discount tonight!
12 miles today – 1443 miles total!
Sylvia, KS – Stafford, KS
A wonderful morning waking up to the smell of biscuits & gravy from the Ginest kitchen. They are such a warm & comfortable family – THANK you again for taking us in.
We started our day in Sylvia enjoying hot coffee, watching dark – swirling morning clouds, and a quality conversation with a local business owner talking about the struggle and hardship of keeping his doors open. It never continues to amaze me how we are all impacted by our ‘larger, faster, stronger’ decisions.
A good walk today…shorter, but it felt longer. It was a tough day mentally as I daydreamed of finishing as I entered my home town of Denver in 3 or so weeks. These next months will be very trying as the attraction to being near loved ones increases.
We finished at JoAnne’s Cafe – lunch buffet people. Country fixins for $7. …dang.
After talking w/several locals we finally made our way to our fourth couchsurfer (www.couchsurfing.com) on this trip! THANK YOU to the Hayden family for taking us in tonight!
8 miles today – 1431 miles total!
Hutchinson, KS – (towards) Sylvia, KS
A great day today waking up in the PEACEFUL presence of Heartland Farm in Pawnee Rock, KS <-- What a special place. If anyone is driving through and/or is in the need for some quality R&R, organic farming, good laughing, intentional community, art, alpacas, and SO much more - then do yourself a favor and visit these wonderful sisters/core members! I ended my morning with the famous Kansas Underground Salt Museum in Hutchinson, KS (tour is 650 feet below the Earth’s surface!) – incredible – a MUST see if in the area (one of the 8 Wonders of Kansas)
Finished up the day with an AMAZING short walk w/Alex & Nicholas Ginest (8 miles in the HOT Kansas sun!) – Video below:
THANK YOU Ginest family for taking care of us again tonight! – and for watching Kanoa while we were away!
Amazing night of playing cards w/the Sisters & Core members of Heartland Farm, KS (detour from route & videos are coming soon). Enjoying the guest house & am reading before bed. Great quote that rings SO true to this trip:
“There are those who would quickly love each other if once they were to speak to each other; for when they spoke they would discover that their sould were only separated by phantoms & delusions”
- Ernest Hello (19th Century Philosopher)
THANK YOU Sisters for taking care of us tonight…what a special place!
17 miles today – 1411 miles total!
Peabody, KS – Newton, KS
A loooong morning of walking hwy 50 in the hot Kansas sun. Kanoa was able to take a day off at ‘the Boar’s Nest’ while Chris and I powered it out.
- the Boars Nest: incredible, will post pics soon
- we enjoyed the company of trail angels: Karin Murphy & Wendy Hett SO much…both last night & tonight (Hett family hollow, farmer’s market, singing/dancing in old town Florence, great laughs…quality people)
- an amazing dinner with Lois (Boar’s nest neighbor) …such an amazing personality – loved her!
Very tired from a long day and updating via cell phone (apologize for the lack of detail) …we are so blessed.
12 miles today – 1394 miles total!
Florence, KS – Peabody, KS
A VERY warm day today (90 degrees by the end and will get hotter as the day goes).
We enjoyed our winding around hwy 50 all day taking several ‘umbrella’ stops for shade and water. Lots of honks – waving hands – and strange stares at our obnoxious antics in walking Kansas country in June. Haha…it feels crazy sometimes – but I can’t tell you how GOOD the locals are here. We have been taken care of every step of the way and just made additional connections for the next week….dang.
Peabody is a beautiful little town with impressive full grown trees hugging the front yards of large homes as you walk in relief to their graceful shade. We are relaxing in the township library and will be picked up by Trail Angel: Wendy Hett <-- who, by the way is someone 'everyone' should meet...she is SO refreshing. I will miss her and Karin as we head out towards Newton tomorrow. There energy and hospitality is contagious and I hope to return the favor someday.
Here are some videos from last night at Karin’s family Lakehouse: INCREDIBLE!!!! – ; ) – it felt so good to get the water.
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Intro Video
...Video done by Joseph Powell - Thank you!
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Personal Mission:
This walk will be a signifant chapter in my living mission to help awaken authentic community in American society...
Join me throughout this on-foot discussion...there will be much for us to learn!
Disclaimer
Please note that the Kiva Walk website is operated and monitored by Jonathon Stalls, not Kiva.org. Kiva (Kiva Microfunds, LLC) and Kiva Walk are two separate entities, and any transactions made through Kiva Walk--financial and non-financial--are not affiliated with Kiva (Kiva Microfunds, LLC).
Book List!
Outstanding reads that have all played a unique role in fueling the energy behind this walk... enjoy!
The Better World Handbook
by: Jones, Haenfler, Johnson
The Devine Commodity
By: Skye Jethani
Into the Wild
By: Jon Krakauer
A Walk Across America
By: Peter Jenkins
The Cult of the Amateur
By: Andrew Keen
The Great Good Place
By: Ray Oldenburg
