Day 19 Sterling to Centerfield

Tom from NY

 Today the forecast was for rain. It ended up being a beautiful day with interesting clouds and no rain. As I headed into Gunnison, I started getting the usual encounters with people driving by – offers for a ride, a few who had heard about me on the radio. At one point, just before reaching the prison, a U-haul stopped and a fellow with a leather jacket and a feathered hat jumped out and crossed the street to talk to me. He was from New York and headed to a new job in LA. He said he decided to make a road trip out of his move because he wanted to meet interesting people. He took some pictures with a camera that actually used film. He was very interesting to talk to. I wish him luck. He also gave me a donation. Later, when I checked my email, I found a message from his mother, also with a donation. It was pretty cool.

Walking with the kids

Once I got into Gunnison, a car-load of people emptied out and crowded around me. These were some of the kids I had met the day before when I met with the elementary school, and again as I passed by Sterling. These kids were so fun! They wanted to walk with me. They each made their own donations. The oldest, Kelsee, asked for her allowance so she could give it to the kids, and the other two asked to do chores so they could earn some money they could donate. When little Rylee’s mom told me she had earned money to donate, she jumped up and down with excitement, like she had just been told she was going to get a scoop of her favorite ice cream. She was so cute! Perrin, the girls’ cousin, was a non-stop stream of curiosity combined with information. He was a real delight. They had all been following me on my website and seemed to know more about my walk than I did. Meeting this family will be one of the bright highlights of my trip.

The Bolgers, Jaruis's and Lyon's

We stopped walking in Centerfield, just south of Gunnison and Kara and I went back to Spring City to spend the afternoon and evening with our new friends, the Huntsman’s. We are meeting so many wonderful people down here. It will be hard to leave.