Fri., May 20 - I talked to Jim at 2pm and he was frazzled to say the least. He got to the Philadelphia airport from the train station just fine and went up to the check-in kiosk. Instead of displaying his itinerary as usual, it said "pick up phone". After waiting quite a while to be connected, he was told that his first leg to Wash, DC was so delayed that he would miss his connection to Salt Lake City - UGH! They re-routed him thru Denver and then to SLC, but he was not going to get there until 11pm or so. When he went to the desk to check his bag, he commented on it and this person told him there was no delay on the Wash flight!!! So, just to be safe (and very considerate), she booked him on both flights. Jim called again around 5pm and his flight to Wash took off on time and when he got to Wash he had plenty of time to have a nice lunch/dinner at the airport. When we talked, he was waiting for his next flight to Salt Lake City to board, hoping that his backpack would be there (I'm saying prayers right now).
Jim called again about 10:30 our time and his pack had arrived safely and he was waiting for the shuttle to take him to an airport hotel.
Sat., May 21 - Jim left a message while I was out that he was in Chicago (yes, I know he went east again - guess who will be planning the route next time!!!) waiting for his final plane to take him to Bismarck. We talked about 3:15 and he had just gotten his pack (amazing it wasn't lost over four flights) and was about to spread it all out and repack the way it needs to be for hiking.
He said that this final plane ride was the most pleasant of all - about 2/3 empty and plenty of room to spread out. He was in such a GREAT mood - ready to start, finally! My phone rang again about 15 minutes later (uh oh). Sure enough, he said "bad news - my worst fear" - the airline had confiscated his fuel canister - his only way to make coffee or heat up a noodle dinner! In almost 20 years of hiking and numerous plane rides, this has never happened to him. He had mailed himself a 2nd canister, but he won't get that until May 27. Before he left home, he had done some research on Bismarck to see if there was an outdoor store (as a "just in case") near his route, but didn't find one. He decided to continue walking into town as he was planning to do for an early dinner (he was starving) before completing the 10 miles planned for today. I was about to leave for Mass so I said I would pray extra hard at church (AND I SURELY DID).
Just as I got in the house from church at 5pm, the phone rang - problem solved (thank you, Lord)!! Jim stopped at a hardware store, which did not have what he needed but they directed him to a mall across the street where there fortunately was an outdoor store. He figured he probably walked an extra mile wandering around, but it was well worth it. The advance forecast for Bismarck was rain, but it was actually sunny and about 70 - beautiful walking weather. He was calling me from Applebee's and was looking forward to a good meal after a day of traveling.
Jim called again about 7:45 (he's an hour behind) and asked me to call his motel to tell them he was definitely on his way (he didn't want them to give away his room). I did this and talked with a very nice woman who was amazed at Jim's plan. She definitely had his room. He called again at 8:30 and was all settled in - very warm & tired and his feet are hurting (that didn't take long). He wore boots today but will switch to sandals tomorrow if the weather cooperates. He also said it was a good thing he had a reservation, because there were no vacancies at this small motel - good planning, Jim! He was planning on a shower and then bed fairly soon after.
Jim called again unexpectedly about 9:30 to tell me he felt much better because when he was flipping through channels he found a Red Sox game and they were beating the Chicago Cubs 3-1 (sadly, the Sox later lost the game).
Miles Today - 11.....Total Cumulative Miles - 11
Sun., May 22 - Jim called this morning about 9 after he had a great breakfast at a local family restaurant. He was walking towards the local church to attend 8:30 Mass (his time). He is feeling fine and is walking in sandals so far. It was partly cloudy with rain forecasted. He left me a message at 12:45 as he was walking on what he described as a beautiful sunny day (so much for the forecast - yea). He had just finished a 5-mile paved bike path - a nice change from the busy roads. We talked again around 2:45 and he described a tense experience he had about a half hour earlier. He saw a sign "bridge out - local traffic only". He decided to take a chance and kept walking. Fortunately, the bridge was blocked to vehicles, but he could still walk across. It was now cloudy, but no rain so far. He estimates he had probably walked 10-11 miles and his feet feel fine. He has seen very little traffic this afternoon - quite pleasant. He did find a flowing stream down a steep embankment where he was able to refill water bottles (he treated it to be safe). As we talked, the paved road suddenly turned to gravel - not Jim's favorite - he may need to change to boots. The wildlife experience of the day was at breakfast when two birds flew directly against the front window. He assumed they would be dead but when he went out 15 minutes later, they were still there, apparently quite stunned, but very much alive!
When we talked, it sounded very windy even through the phone - at times so noisy it was difficult to hear him well.
Jim called again at 5:30 and he was settled for the night. He did find some water earlier for tonight in a pond in a field about 150 yards away. Unfortunately it was behind a barbed wire fence, but he did manage to slip under and get the water. Since he had to walk through a field of "cow pies", he assumed the water was pretty polluted so he treated it. Then about 1-2 miles later, he found a beautiful flowing stream but this time he could not get under the barbed wire. He walked a bit further until he found a patch of trees (rare in this part of the country). He finally found a place to get under the wire to the spot where he wanted to camp. The tricky thing was getting his pack over the fence! This flowing water was much more appealing so he tossed the other stuff. He is well hidden behind a hill and in the trees - PERFECT! He had already heated some water on his stove and had washed up. He felt so blessed today that he had no rain at all - certainly not the forecast. And his feet felt really good today - a full day in sandals. He was looking forward to a relaxing evening.
Miles Today - 19.....Total Cumulative Miles - 30
Mon., May 23 - We talked several times today. As expected for the first night in a tent, Jim did not sleep well. He was up at 5:30 and after a breakfast of hot cereal with craisins, he was on the road a little after 7am. When he called at 8:30, it was a beautiful sunny day. Unfortunately that changed and it was mostly cloudy the rest of the day. When we talked at 12:45, he had arrived at his campsite at the Cross Ranch State Park and he was getting ready to set up his tent. He is looking forward to a relaxing afternoon, since his plan is to walk 22.5 miles tomorrow. We talked again around 2pm and he was really enjoying this site. He was within 100 yards of the Missouri River and hearing duck calls all over the place. His tent site was quite close to the facilities and had a picnic table, where Jim did some reading and sudoku puzzles. Today's walk was mainly gravel with pavement only the last 2 miles. He did have to change into boots to keep the gravel from getting into his sandals. He has noticed that the topography of the area changed quite a bit this morning. Originally it was rocky and hilly with no farmland, just cattle. Later on it changed to more flat and grassy farmland - much prettier. He was able to do a hand washing and hang up stuff on his makeshift clothesline - it was breezy enough to dry fairly well. We talked for the last time about 7:30 and he said that the birds here are fantastic - just chirping away. He did say that it was quite cold this evening - leaves are just now coming out on the trees so it is still the changeover season there. He has layers of clothes on to stay warm. He'll be fine once he gets into his warm sleeping bag. The ranger who collected his $12 fee said that his walk tomorrow will be 5 miles of gravel and then 3 miles of pavement into the town of Washburn. He was able to get his phone and e-reader charged at the campsite next to his - all the modern conveniences! The rain finally came later in the afternoon so he spent some time in his tent. It had stopped by the time we last talked. He mentioned that there were very interesting exhibits at the campground visitor center - historical info about extinct and endangered animals - a map of the river with historical sites, some of which Jim will see later on in the trip. I told him about the tornado in Joplin, MO and he said he really does miss the news.
He was getting ready to cook up a vegie rice dinner that he will flavor with bacon bits (yummy).
All is well in North Dakota....
Miles Today - 15.....Total Cumulative Miles - 45
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