5 miles today – 1943 miles total!
Finally arrived into Grand Junction, CO
A very full day…
- great to wake up out on the back lawn w/Kanoa camping to the sounds of the night!
- wonderful breakfast & conversation w/Haremza family
- a nice 5 mile walk to finish our trek into the heart of Grand Junction
- interviews w/GJ Free Press & Channel 11 News/NBC
- lunch w/Brett Maranville (THANK YOU) at Main St. Cafe
- Ben Purner’s arrival – after 4 hour drive from Denver – delivering BOB (our new member) and – sadly – taking Kanoa to the Walker-Krohn family in Littleton, CO
- a sad goodbye to Ben & Kanoa as they head back
- new tires and tune-up for BOB: a full-scale cart/stroller USED by Polly Letofski from ‘Polly’s Global Walk’ across the world – what an incredible woman – AND – ‘loan’ to our journey – she is thrilled to have BOB out of retirement! (pictures to come)
- great dinner and conversation w/Grand Junction super-woman: Debbie Kovalik
Goodbye Kanoa! – (a sad farewell – but the right decision)
Our last picture before Kanoa takes off – thanks to CSG school in Columbus, OH:
THANK YOU Columbus School for Girls for the shirts! - Hope your well!
THANK YOU Debbie Kovalik for taking us in tonight!
14 miles today – 1938 miles total!
(19 miles outside of Grand Junction, CO – 5 miles outside of Grand Junction, CO)
Another full day of taking in Colorado air & scenery as we charged NW along the GREAT canyons to our left & the mightly bookshelf cliffs to our right… beautiful.
We also enjoyed a light pack load as James Jackson kept our packs in his trunk to pick up later once we finished. THANK YOU to Anna for taking us to lunch today and shuttling (via Ed as well) us and our stuff around this afternoon!
my final night w/Kanoa before I take Utah & Nevada w/out him... this is much harder than I thought - but it is the right decision! ...until CA pup! - truly - man's best friend
impressive - the bookshelf cliffs of Grand Valley (outside Grand Junction, CO)
THANK YOU Haremza family for taking us in tonight!
11 miles today – 1924 miles total!
(outside of Delta, CO) – 20 miles outside of Grand Junction, CO
A very good morning with the Schroeder family – what fantastic people – SO helpful…. We will hopefully see them again in Utah!
Our walking today was beautiful – the incredible open space of Grand Mesa & Escalante Canyon running beside us helped to tackle mileage on a very hot hwy 50 – miles from any service, home or business – a true taste of what is to come in the deep West of Utah & Nevada.
We finished our day getting picked up from an old high school buddy: Jimmy Jackson. SO good to catch up and see an old friend along the way – great dinner w/all-you-can-eat wings as well!
Video from today:
THANK YOU Jimmy Jackson & Jill Wyroski for taking us in tonight!
11 miles today – 1913 miles total!
(4 miles before) Delta, CO – (7 miles past) Delta, CO (re-routed via Crag’s Crest Trail in Grand Mesa National Forest)
We had a GREAT ‘untraditional’ day replacing our typical road-side mileage with cutting, climbing & walking the great slopes/ridges of the Grand Mesa National Forest. Views – smells – sights – wildflowers – wild mushrooms – pine – lakes – volcanic rock – deer – marmots stole our senses today throughout the 11 mile loop in this lush Colorado paradise. A great ‘medium’ hike!
Video from today:
A few pictures from Grand Mesa!
on the ridge of the Crag's Crest Trail in Grand Mesa National Forest
the wild flowers were SO abundant on our hike today!
These were everywhere - incredible color!
THANK YOU Schroeder family for taking us in again!
16 miles today – 1902 miles total!
Montrose, CO – (4 miles outside of) Delta, CO
A great day of walking – HOT & DRY flat lands welcome us again after a long stretch through the cooler inclines of the Rockies. We are tasting and building our mental & emotional skillsets for what is ahead via Utah & Nevada!
Made some significant progress in planning for the transition from ‘backpack’ – to ‘cart/stroller’. Will keep you posted!
...starting to get a bit 'emotional' as this will be the last week Kanoa will join me until California - ahhh, he such an incredible pup - don't know where 'we' would be w/out him!
THANK you David Kovich (walked w/us in Kentucky) for promoting our walk at your tournament!
We enjoyed an outstanding evening & meal w/our Delta, CO hosts: Bill & Jane Schroeder
THANK YOU Elizabeth Schroeder for connecting us with your incredible family here in Delta!
What an amazing couple weeks back on the road. The movement of ever-changing terrain, smells of rich pine forests, rivers/creeks/streams that dance around their rocky shore, and the peace and ‘large-scale’ clarity that rides w/the vast Colorado wilderness. I love this state and it is SUCH blessing to walk through it…
I am enjoying my cousin Matt Sherman as he continues to share this journey with me. There have been many times on this 2nd leg of the trip where the challenge of ‘pressing on’ is real and loud. Having someone to talk with, laugh with, and take in this experience makes it SO much fuller. He is an outstanding individual and we happen to share the same birthday. We are learning more about one another – as the nature of this walk creates crystal opportunities to talk, digest, and build relationship at great levels.
Working away here at the Montrose Public Library planning and organizing for our time in/through Utah & Nevada – all-things cart, route, connections, and water/food re-supply are priority! If anyone has any networks in the South Central Utah/Nevada region please contact me at: kivawalk@gmail.com and/or find us (Kiva Walk) on Facebook (sidebar to the right).
Here are some BRILLIANT videos from the Black Canyon yesterday!
Video 1 of 3
Video 2 of 3 (sorry about sandwich chewing – geez…)
Video 3 of 3
Outstanding 'Olathe Sweet Sweet Corn' from Olathe, CO - Matt Sherman pictured here..THANK you Bukacek family for cooking for us!
THANK YOU Blue Mesa Ranch for taking us in - SUCH a great community!
Pleasant Valley Campgrounds! - great pies, food and camping!
Matt Sherman here - ahhh, steep walking in these parts...
THANK YOU Bukacek family & Montrose Public Library for taking care of us!!
11 miles today – 1886 miles total!
(Black Canyon, CO) – Montrose, CO
We had an amazing day… (a few pictures below)
- Woke up to an easy breakfast & coffee w/the Bukacek family
- Made our way to an early morning radio interview at 94 KIX/KUBC in Montrose, CO
- RANDOMLY ran into Cead & Finn Nardie-Warner who hosted us in ST. LOUIS at the Black Canyon visitor center – can’t explain this – outstanding – they joined us for the day on the canyon.
- Explored and fell in love with the majestic and EVER SO impressive: Black Canyon/Gunnison National Park (if you haven’t experienced this – I can’t begin to encourage you to make this your next destination…. uggg – wish I had more time)
- Enjoyed sharing our story over a great dinner w/the Cobble Creek community at their clubhouse
A personal SHOUT out to Laura Mahon, Matthew Cunningham, & Johnny who are visiting from Ireland in Denver. Safe travels back home – you all are missed and loved – wish we would have had more time…
I will be in the library of Montrose, CO all day tomorrow catching up and updating you all. I have some great videos from the Black Canyon – so stay tuned!
Cheers for now from – BEAUTIFUL – Montrose, CO,
Jonathon & Kanoa
THANK YOU Bukacek family for taking us in!
Ahhh, the Black Canyon (below) – thank you for sharing your visual wealth…
SO much fun (from left: Cead Nardie-Warner, Finn Nardie-Warner, Jonathon Stalls & Matt Sherman) - incredible...
At the bottom of the Black Canyon - East Portal access - incredible color...
A great view... dang
Painted Wall - the highest cliff in Colorado - 2300 feet - SO impressive
Please see the pages listed above and the sidebar below to navigate this website. All video/photo/journal updates will be posted on the left. (Older posts are marked on the Calendar below)
Kiva is the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend to unique entrepreneurs around the globe. (About Kiva)
Please note that I am not taking financial donations for Kiva Microfunds, as my #1 goal in supporting Kiva is education & encouraging people to join as members.
We have run across additional expenses for our Walk across America. If you want to make a donation to our walk, please donate below; however, I encourage you to FIRST JOIN the Kiva Walk Lending Team above if you haven't already! If you have any questions please email me at: kivawalk@gmail.com - THANK YOU!!!
Intro Video
...Video done by Joseph Powell - Thank you!
Site Hitz
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
