He called at 11am (9 his time) and he was on his way. The rain had stopped, the clouds were clearing and the sun was coming out. He plans to head to the local diner for a hearty breakfast before heading out. The temp is comfortable and he said it feels like a good day. His pack is heavy from the re-supply package but he'll deal with it. He said there were lots of puddles so he was trying to avoid them - he does not need wet feet!
He passed a sign that read "Regina, Canada - 24-Hour Entry - Take 2nd Right". He said he didn't realize he was that close to Canada (uh, shouldn't a hiker know that?). Later I googled it and he was actually 48 miles from Canada.
My cell phone rang with a call from Jim at 4pm, but sadly no connection. I did not hear from him the rest of the day or night - never a good thing on my end. I sure hope he made it to Karen & Milo's in Brockton for his planned stay in their back yard.
The rest of today's info comes from calls on Saturday.... Jim's breakfast at the Wild West Diner was very good and after sharing his story with his waitress (Shelly), she said "Breakfast is on me". This diner is a former dining car from the Burlington Northern Railroad and was trucked to Culbertson in 1957.
Jim did forget to tell me a story from Thursday evening. After he got back to his campsite after dinner, he was sitting down doing a sudoku puzzle. All of a sudden he heard a voice "Sir, sir". There was a woman on the other side of the fence (in her yard). She had a huge bag of food - more than he could possibly carry with him. He explained that he was sorry, but he had just eaten dinner and she seemed so disappointed - another example of kindness to a perfect stranger. Also, Krista & Roy showed up in Culbertson for one more visit with Jim.
Using the map from the Culbertson city hall man, he found Karen & Milo's house and they told him to set up his tent anywhere in the yard. The only people he saw after that were their 4 boys (ages 4 to 10), who were fascinated by Jim and asked lots of questions. They watched every move he made as he set up his campsite.
He said that today was a rough day for coming up with the right combination of clothing - breezy, cloudy, then sunny - it kept changing. He did see lots of road construction, apparently digging ditches for some kind of pipes. Today was a very hilly day for the first time - just one hill after another - tough on his legs, but the tailwind did help.
The best thing about today was THERE WERE NO OIL TANKERS!!! He said it was like someone "flipped a switch" on the trucks. It certainly was a much more pleasant walk being finally out of oil country.
Miles Today - 19.5.....Total Cumulative Miles - 325
Sat., June 11 - Thank you, Lord - a call at 9:15am from an unknown number, but the familiar Montana area code. Jim was in a QuikMart and borrowed someones phone - different carrier so there was reception. He knew I would be in a panic and wanted to reassure me that he was fine. We just talked briefly, but he said it was the most noisy night's sleep he has ever had - trains going by, dogs barking and firecrackers going off! He was heading to Poplar, where he will meet up with Father Francis and hopefully still be able to stay in the parish hall.
We talked again briefly at 3:15 when Jim was in Poplar at Our Lady of Lourdes Church with Father Francis. Before going to the church he stopped for a great lunch in town. It happened to be a brand new restaurant just opening today and Jim was the first customer!! Jim still didn't have cell reception, but there was a phone in the hall, so Jim gave me the number so I could call whenever I wanted. Father Francis also expressed concern about Jim camping out in the upcoming towns of Frazer and Nashua. He called the priest in Wolf Point, Father Jolly (pronounced the French way, Jolie). Father Jolly also has responsibility for the church in Frazer and may be able to help him out. Jim called him and they will meet on Monday morning.
We talked in more detail around 5pm. Before I called, Jim had been sitting out on the church hall stoop enjoying the sun. He had cleaned up and washed his clothes and they were drying on a few chairs and walkers that were in the hall.
He said that he woke bright & early this morning and was on the road by 6:30. He said that today was the most perfect day so far. The temp was in the low 60's - perfect hiking weather - he was able to strip down to one shirt fairly early and the sun was at his back.
The bad (although not unexpected) news was that his Teva sandals finally gave out. He will now use the emergency ones (thank you Krista & Roy). He is somewhat concerned since they are not broken in, may feel stiff and may rub in different places.
We talked again at 9:30 and Jim was enjoying his stay in the church hall. Father Francis told Jim to help himself to anything in the kitchen. So Jim explored and found lots of slider rolls and hot dogs in the freezer, so he used his own pot and boiled hot dogs for the slider rolls. He even found Grey Poupon mustard and pickles!! He will get to sleep early tonight since he is expecting a 20+ mile hike tomorrow.
Miles Today - 14.....Total Cumulative Miles - 339
Sun., June 12 - I was driving home today from CT and just as I pulled into a rest stop on the Merritt Parkway, my cell phone rang at 12:45pm. I still can't believe the timing, because I wouldn't have answered the phone if I had been driving!
Jim said he was awakened early by a phone call from an Indian on the reservation looking for a ride to church!! Since he was up, he decided to get an early start (6:45) on the long mileage. But before he left, he went into the church - a very beautiful one - he knelt and prayed for a while. Mass wasn't until 11am, so he couldn't wait that long to get on the road. When he got outside he noticed that it had rained hard overnight because everything was really wet. Fortunately, it had stopped and it was a beautiful sunny day. So far his new sandals are working out fine. He does seem to have another sore spot, but he is doctoring it. He has been watching freight trains go by every 15 minutes - a busy route.
For the first few miles the biggest battle of the day was the mosquitoes. Because of all the rains, the farm fields are basically all under water - a perfect breeding ground. He said at times it felt like a "mosquito blitzkrieg" attacking him. Finally, he got out the big guns - his DEET spray - that seemed to do the trick! When he walked by a cell tower, he decided to try calling and sure enough, it worked.
Jim called at 5:15 and said "guess where I am"? Believe it or not, he was in a motel (Sherman Inn) in Wolf Point. Since he is out of oil country, there are available rooms - an unexpected treat!! This is the first motel in 11 nights. He did say he was really tired. A couple of miles beyond where we talked at 12:45, he came across a bar & grill out in the middle of nowhere - Jim couldn't even tell me what town it was in. He was the only one there and he spent 45 minutes having a beer, resting and talking to the bartender, Biff. He told Jim about the Sherman Inn, which was welcome news. Since he had already planned for Monday to be a rest day, this is now perfect.
He did see something unusual today as he was coming in to Wolf Point - a man (Michael) on a bicycle, towing a wagon with a dog in it! They spent a while talking and Michael has been traveling this way for more than 3 years. He started in California and traveled across the southern tier of the country, then up the east coast and now back across the northern tier. He had gear attached to the wagon so Jim assumes that he is camping. Finally, someone is stranger than my husband!!!
It had just started sprinkling as he came into town, so that is even better that he has a real place to stay for the next two nights. When we talked, it had started raining harder - he made it just in time. I am so happy that he isn't in his tent tonight. He was really looking forward to a shower. He said that his feet are doing fine - the sore spot is no worse - his legs are really tired, but tomorrow's rest day should help that.
We talked again briefly at 7:45 when Jim went outside to test his cell phone (no coverage in the hotel room). He said his legs were now aching terribly - another good reason to rest tomorrow.
Jim called at 9:30 after he had a decent dinner at the hotel restaurant - he was glad he didn't have to go out in the pouring rain for his meal. I did look up the address for the local library so Jim may spend some time there tomorrow.
The hike is down to the last 49 miles - Wolf Point to Glasgow - which God willing, Jim will do on Tues., Wed. and Thurs. So far, Amtrak is scheduled to resume the route he needs on Wed.
Miles Today - 22.....Total Cumulative Miles - 361
Mon., June 13 - REST DAY - We talked briefly at 8am and the sun is out and it looks like a beautiful day to spend in Wolf Point, MT. He slept well in a real bed and was watching CNBC - so he is in his glory this morning.
We didn't talk again until 4:15 because today was a soup kitchen day for me. He sounded wonderful - nice & rested. He said he had a wonderful day so far. He had a good breakfast at the hotel restaurant and then went out to go over to the church to meet with Father Jolly. As it turns out, Father is not French as Jim thought, but Indian (from India, not Native American). This is the priest who also has a small church in Jim's next town, Frazer (an unsafe place to camp). They arranged it so that Father will meet Jim in Frazer at 3pm tomorrow and will unlock the church door for Jim to spend the night inside. This is a 20-mile trip so it is very nice of Father Jolly to make this 40-mile round trip just to help Jim out and to keep him safe. He also told Jim that his last town of Nashua is out of Indian territory and the town park should be very safe.
Jim walked around town quite a bit today - he went to the trains station and got his Thursday train ticket that I had reserved for him. The train person seemed confident that Amtrak would be running on Thursday (he expects it to start up again tomorrow). He found a grocery store in town and bought a sandwich for lunch and some fruit.
Then he went to the library to get on the Internet, but was kicked off after 15 minutes since someone local with a library card wanted to use the PC. He was at least able to respond to a few e-mails. He also spent quite a bit of time on the phone with people in his office.
He is actually planning to go to the movies later in the day. He reports that his legs are feeling great after much rest. He plans to get on the road early tomorrow since it is supposed to be warm & sunny - he hopes to get most of the walk done before it is too warm for him.
We talked around 9:15 and Jim highly recommends the movie "Water for Elephants". It is based on a book that is actually on my "want to Read" list! He says it is "not to be missed" - a wonderful story and very well acted. All in all, he has a had a great day of rest and relaxation.
My phone rang just after I hung up from Jim and it was actually Roy & Krista and they just wanted to check in to see how Jim was doing. Can you believe that!!! I was so happy to be able to thank them for taking such good care of him and driving him to get new sandals. I told them that his original sandals did break, so it was a real blessing that they came along when they did.
I did call Jim later after he got back from dinner in the hotel (a great grilled walleye) to tell him about Roy & Krista's call. He was very surprised and so touched that they cared enough to check in on him.
Miles Today - xx.....Total Cumulative Miles - xxxxx
Sun., June 12 - klkk
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