June 11-18 - In South Granbury and Glen Rose, Texas

Tuesday morning, June 11, I said "Good-Bye" to Whiskers the cat...

And The Busy Woodpecker...

And the wonderful home of Susan and Terry.

From there I headed to my second Granbury stop, on the south end of town.

It was to be a somewhat shorter trip this day, by about 10 miles, compared to the leg from Weatherford to my first stop in the more northern part of Granbury. Starting at about 7:30 am (a great start for me), by 9:30 am I found this shady spot to pull off into by the Lakeside Baptist Church. I paused there for a bit of breakfast, and a good water dousing of my head, before I got back out on the sunny, hilly, road.

My hosts Karissa and O.J. were very excited about my arrival as I was to be their very first CouchSurfing guest! Although Faolan settled down a bit more when Karissa returned from work, she was clearly concerned about my being there and vocalized those concerns persistently until O.J. "sent her to the bedroom" for some doggy time-out.

As I was preparing for a bit of a nap, their kitten Sashimi, daughter of Sushi, found my Keen shoes to be of particular interest, probably because they were a little smelly and had springy elastic bands.

When Karissa returned from work, the three of us spent the remainder of the evening talking about all kinds of things. I answered questions about my experiences and shared lots of the ideas from Paul Chappell's books. As an avid reader, O.J. drew my attention frequently to the books of philosophy and military history on his own shelf and promised to get a copy of The Art of Waging Peace as soon as it was available.

Karissa was off to work early the next morning, so after posing for a photo, we hugged and said our good-byes, although, it would turn out not to be the last time we would see each other.

I continued on my journey to my first stop in Glen Rose, Texas to the home of WarmShowers hosts Frank and Pat.

As my Map My Ride chart predicted, there were more hills, and an especially steep one approaching the turn-off to their house. There were two lanes for the ascending side of the road, which meant basically no shoulder for me to walk/push in so I crossed over to the opposite side feeling safer walking/pushing against traffic.

It took me a while to get up the CAT 5 hill, which plateaued ever so slightly about three-quarters of the way up and then continued rising with a bit of a curve at the end.

I was grateful when I finally spotted the "CR 2021" sign marking my turn-off, although, it was at the very peak of the hill. When I finally did make the turn I found myself facing an even steeper descent and another equally steep ascent just opposite. I remember thinking, "Please let their house be on this side of the hill rather than the other!" Thankfully, it was!

I turned into a well-paved driveway that led to a very nice house. I pedaled my bicycle around to the back and found a shady area of low trees filled with bird feeders and bird houses. I got off the bike, propped it with the kick-stand and secured the trailer wheel. I rested for a moment, catching my breath, and drinking some more water, before making my way to the front of the house where I rang the door-bell.

When no one responded, I texted my hosts to let them know I was there, and then laid down on one of my nylon tarps in the shade under the trees to relax for a while...or...at least until the ants started to find me! (Luckily, they were not particularly aggressive ones!)

As I waited for my hosts to return home, I was thinking to myself, "I really hope they have a truck." I was going to have another very short ride, a back-track actually to my second stop in Glen Rose the next day, and I thought I would have to go back up one of the hills I had already come over to get where I was. The return route was along a curve with no shoulder and I knew I would have to be pushing during the busy evening (after work) hours, making it even less safe. Nevertheless, I soon heard and then saw my hosts come around the drive, and much to my hope and relief, they were in a big grey truck! When I shared my concerns, Frank explained that there was actually a road prior to the hill that would circle back to my destination, although it was also a bit curvy, and narrow, with little shoulder. Either way, he was more than happy to help me with a little "support" transportation.

In the mean time, though, I enjoyed another "Warm Shower" while Pat prepared a carb re-building meal of spaghetti. The next day Frank and I drove back into town, where he drew my attention to the sculpture of the "Barnards of the Brazos", by Robert Summers outside the historic Somerville County Courthouse.

After that we headed to the garden of friends of theirs who were in Turkey at the time, and did not want any of the produce to go to waste in their absence. So we poked around the squash, cucumber, and tomato plants to find whatever was ready to harvest. Once we returned, Pat made homemade squash soup for lunch and, as I had done the night before, I offered some sprouts and seaweed to go with it.

With regards to my trying to maintain a "geographically continuous route under my own power", I figured the help Frank provided with transportation was fair in that I had already covered the distance once before, passing by on my way to Frank and Pat's house. It was good to have another day of rest and with the distance being so short, under three miles, it seemed like a lot of work to get all decked-out in my gear, and all sweaty, etc., for maybe only a one hour ride!

Amanda was not home yet when Frank dropped me off, but I was good with just hanging out for a bit, so we said our good-byes and I settled down to wait for my next host. It wasn't but maybe 15 or 20 minutes altogether until she arrived and we actually remained outside for a little while talking for a bit before going on into the house.

I got settled in with my bags and as Amanda and I continued to talk, she mentioned that her father and step-mother were in the area and that she had been planning to meet them for dinner. Although we were running a little late, I encouraged her to follow-through on her plans, and that if she was okay with it, I was happy to tag along. As I have been explaining to everyone, I'm trying to meet as many people as possible on this trip, so, the more the merrier!

We headed back down the road from whence I'd come and then into some side-roads where I would have been totally lost on my own, until we came to the Silver Dollar Steakhouse located at the Hide-a-Way Ranch and Retreat. Amanda's dad, Rusty was generous enough to cover our tab for the salads we ordered. After meeting and talking with the other members of the dinner party, most of whom were already finished with their meals, Amanda, her parents, and I wandered around the property a bit. Rusty and Connie posed for a portrait in front of the "remains" of the infamous "Peg Leg Pete"...

... while Amanda took a few minutes to pet the goats.

We headed back home after a brief visit at her parents house, and then it was time to call it a day. Amanda would be off to New Braunfels to join her husband Steve for an EMT training/re-certification class over the weekend, so I gladly accepted the opportunity for some alone-time at the house. Since I had not been able to make the connection I had originally hoped for in Clifton on June 17th, my schedule opened up to stay a little longer with Amanda and Steve.

Remembering how disappointed my former host, Karissa, had been when we did not have time to go see her horses, I gave her a call to let her know I'd be open to doing that, especially since Amanda and Steve were going to be away for a few days.

As it turned out, the next day, Friday, was the day to head up to High Hope Ranch as Karissa and O.J. were also going on their own mini-work-vacation over the weekend, and, besides, Karissa was only working a short distance away at the hospital in Glen Rose. She gave O.J. a call and he met us at Amanda's where we all piled into Karissa's car for the ride up to the ranch.

Upon our arrival, the first stop on our agenda was to visit Karissa's friends, Morada, a Blue Roan, Valentine, a pure-bred Arabian, and Shimmie, a BLM rescued Mustang.

As Karissa explained, she had become friends with Shimmie by applying more Natural training techniques. In fact, it was a CouchSurfing contact she had stayed with in the area that introduced her to this new approach to interacting with horses without the use of metal bits, whips, etc. She later showed me the Indian Bosal style bridle that she used with Shimmie.

After visiting with the horses for a while we headed on over to the house of the ranch manager Chandler McLay. Chandler has a hike of the El Camino in Spain to her credit and she frequently hosts, as she put it, "Spiritual, Triple Bottom Line Retreats, and Reunions" at the ranch.

I'd say we had a very pleasant and mutually inspiring visit as I shared more from my own experiences "Pedaling for Peace", and she shared from her own wisdom of being a life-long adventurer herself. As we were leaving, she offered me a generous cash donation in support of my efforts. Thanks, Chandler!

When they returned Sunday evening, Amanda went to right to work doing maintenance on her bee hive, while Steve did some work in the garden area.

I took a closer look at the bamboo fence they were in the process of constructing around one side of the yard. As the neighbor next door to Peggy's house in North Dallas also had a rather large stand of bamboo he was trying to keep under control, I was thinking this particular design (by Amanda) might be something he could put to good use. (Are you seeing this Vincent?)

The next evening, I once again prepared my Special Egg-Fried Rice and finger-salads for my hosts, and, as it turned out, Steve's daughter Sam and her boyfriend Luke as well. I had a rather engaging conversation with them, especially given the fact that Luke was thinking about joining the military. We talked a lot about the possibility of World Peace as I shared many of Paul's ideas on all of that, as well as how the military could still be beneficial if used for peace work; i.e. responding in the case of natural disasters or for actual Peace Keeping in areas of the world still prone to conflict. Steve mentioned later that all of that might have looked good as part of a documentary. For now though, I feel more like I may be "practicing" for something like that in the future, as I have yet to gain the same proficiency with speaking about all of this as Paul has. But, since I'm giving mini-talks every few days now, I have a feeling by the end of my journey, who knows what the possibilities might be?

During my last day of rest on Tuesday, I finally made a host connection in Clifton, Texas, which then made it more feasible to also make it to another WarmShowers host in the Woodway area near Waco.

(For those of you who might wonder how "one person can make a difference", my Clifton host helped to cut what would have been a 43 mile trip down to two trips of 12 miles and 31 miles, which, at this still early "training period" works much better for me. In fact, it is making something "possible" that might not otherwise have been in terms of my being able to continue my trek as I have been thus far.)

And so I prepared to say "Good-bye" to my wonderful hosts Amanda and Steve...

Although the path south and east was made clearer with the connection in Clifton, I still had another daunting 27 mile ride ahead to Meridian...

June 8th, 2013 Weatherford to Granbury, Texas

I pulled away from my aunt and uncle's house around 9:30 am - a relatively good start. Based on my departure times last year, anything before 10:00 am is "early" for me! I suspect the Texas heat will inevitably force me to push that time back even more, and I Will adapt as necessary although it means getting much more efficient with my pack-out routine.

The first challenge on this first day back on my bike was the gravel road connecting Ann Brown Drive to Upper Denton Road. It wasn't too bad though as the county workers had been there over the past week packing it down to prepare for future paving (sorry I just missed that). It had been a bit frustrating to my aunt and uncle as they were driving their bright red trucks through the frequently soaked and muddy gravel, getting them dirtier day by day. I even held off leaving until the weekend, when the workers would be off duty, to avoid the mud myself.

Of course, I ran into some hills pretty quickly and was off the bike pushing, and keeping a close eye on the Saturday morning traffic as it cruised past in both directions on the mostly unmarked roads. What drivers in this situation do not realize is that I can actually hear them coming from some distance away, long before I actually see them. Furthermore, I can hear the cars coming from both directions even before they can see each other.

On one particularly difficult, curving hill, I was pulled over to the side because I was hearing a vehicle (or vehicles?) but could not tell from which direction. Then I realized there were two and they were converging right about where I was. As the one approached from behind me, at the lower part of the hill, I motioned with my left hand moving up and down to signal "Slow Down..." and instead the car sped up as it swerved and raced around me only to realize, just in time, that there was a car coming over the hill from the opposite direction. The passing car honked as they went by, and I'm not sure if it was meant to be annoyance or gratitude once they realized that I was only trying to help. So, as a note, for all you drivers out there, keep in mind, if you ever see a cyclist doing that, you know, standing on the road and moving their hand up and down vertically, like they are pressing air into the ground, it means "Slow Down" - that's all. Doesn't mean you have to change lanes to pass, or anything like that, but that a little more caution and a little less speed are in order.

At the top of one of those hills, I passed a house and car I had spotted before. Only this time, the owner, Jackie, was out mowing his lawn. We stopped and chatted for a bit about my trip and then he agreed to let me take his picture.

Of course, the car caught my attention because it looked so much like my old VW Bug, and, as it turned out, it was a '72 model where mine was a '73. Furthermore, according to Jackie, it was still running, which is always good to hear.

I pushed on, sometimes on the bike, and sometimes off, until I got into the congestion of downtown Weatherford. Unfortunately, that included A Lot of construction right on the main road I needed to transit. I tried to avoid as much as I could, but there was a stretch of about a quarter mile that was between me and "freedom". With two lanes of two-way traffic squished to the left side of the road, and a concrete barrier to the right, all of that on yet another hill rising up from the intersection I had come to, there was no way I was going to get up it from there, certainly not walking/pushing my bicycle without causing some major frustration to the traffic behind me.

So instead, I crossed over into the Wal-Mart parking lot, got held up in more traffic, had to dismount my bicycle, feeling somewhat self-conscious with all of the shoppers around, and managed to nudge that troublesome left knee joint of mine out of the socket again, not severely mind you, but had to hyper-extend my leg as I have learned to do to pop it back into place. Then I continued to walk my bicycle past the entrance to the store and towards the far side of the parking lot where I stood on the sidewalk for some time trying to assess my options.

I watched as cars came up and down the nearby road, some of them seeming to come from the construction blocked area I was trying to get to. I concluded there had to be some other route around the businesses' parking lots in that area. So, continuing to walk/push my bicycle mostly against the traffic, and up hill, and then crossing into a very steep parking-lot entrance, I made my way around the front to the access road paralleling the main road, only to be faced with yet another Really Steep (but thankfully short) grade, taking me into another parking area. After catching my breath for a minute, and drinking some more fluids, I dug in and pushed, tippy-toed up the drive, praying to be seen by any oncoming traffic (which was there but, thankfully, managed to avoid me).

Once at this upper parking-lot I was level with the main road again, and could see the narrow gravel path that led back out to it through the construction. Beyond that, and heading south, I had about 20 yards of the two-way traffic, in two lanes, with the concrete barrier to the right, before reaching the lighted intersection. Watching the traffic, the light, and the construction worker watching me, I made my way out, still walking until I was finally able to position myself to cross the rather broad intersection once the light changed.

I pulled way over into the shoulder on the right side as soon as I got through, and maybe went another half-a-mile down the road before I found a gravel road that led to some shade trees where I could park my bicycle, recover for a few minutes, and call my aunt and uncle to let them know I had managed to navigate through the construction. The six miles from their house through town to where I was had taken Three Hours! And there were still more hills to come!

Nevertheless, I was finally On My Way, and relieved to be out of downtown Weatherford! I wish I'd been able to take more pictures, but my main focus was just getting past all of that!

The rest of my journey was relatively uneventful. A lot of it looked like this...

I made a few pit-stops along the way, one at the Springcreek V.F.D. where Barry graciously let me use the bathroom and re-fill my water bottles. I also made a similar pit-stop at Panchitos Mexican Restaurant, just north of Granbury, where three of my bottles were filled with ice water by one of the waitresses there. In addition to these stops, however, given that I now had the capability to prop my bicycle on the side of the road (at least in the more level areas), I was actually able to "go" where I might not have been able to "go" before, especially with a "privacy shield" provided by my green, multi-purpose, nylon cover wrapped around my waist!

(As a side note: I learned about this kind of "privacy shielding" hanging out with the Artemis Racing Team in Maryland. Almost all the women carried either a long skirt or suitably sized towel with them as they were frequently changing into or out of their riding shorts in parking-lots next to the race courses.)

Once again, having that option of safely propping my rig upright on the side of the road was proving to be Very Helpful!

Granted, I would still take advantage of a barrier here and there, like the one provided at my first major water crossing for this part of my trek, at Lake Granbury.

But it is always good to have multiple options!

The sun was getting low as I finally made my way into the town of Granbury proper...

And there were still more hills...

On the road just before my final turn-off these "Three Amigos" came galloping to the fence, curious as ever and ready to pose for their picture...

As I turned onto the street for my host's address, sure enough, there was One More Hill to climb...

And then I was "done" for the day!

My host Susan graciously welcomed me to her home and heavily shaded back patio where we settled in for some great conversations over the next couple of days.

With her husband, Terry, out of town, I had the Guest House (which also served as his "home office") to myself...

...but also filled-in as "Cook" (normally Terry's role), by preparing my "Special Egg Fried Rice" recipe for dinner the second night I was there, using the bean sprouts that I had started soaking the night before in Weatherford, and which, given the nearly perfect conditions of warmth and darkness in the pockets of my panniers, were already ready to eat.

I want to offer a special Thanks to Susan and Terry, for opening up their home and guest house/office to me, and to other cycling travelers via WarmShowers.org. Really sorry I did not get to meet Terry, as I heard great things about him from Susan. I had a wonderful time talking with Susan, telling her about the mission of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation and all about Paul K. Chappell and his work as their Peace Leadership Director and of course his writing work to help educate people in how to more effectively "Wage Peace." We also talked a lot about the challenges of family relations and raising children. I must say, I have a lot of respect for how Susan and Terry have been living their lives together and for their Conscious Parenting! I wish them all continued Success and Happiness and I look forward to keeping in touch.

After a couple of days "recovering", enjoying good food, conversation, and accommodation, it was once again time to head on down the road, to my second stop for this trip at the more southern end of hot and hilly, Granbury, Texas...

Taking Care of Some Details in Weatherford, Texas

While I was in Weatherford with my Aunt Joyce and Uncle Jim I had several things that needed to be taken care of before I could get on the road again.

First of all, having gotten a new set of wheels for the trailer after losing the tire off of one of them just west of Luling, TX (the mechanical incident which brought my journey to a temporary end), I was recalling what the manufacturer, Mike Holland at the Wheele Rack Company had said about a "bushing" from the old wheels that needed to be transferred to the new ones. Steve in New Braunfels helped install the new wheels while I was there, and it seemed they went on fine without the bushing. Nevertheless, I wanted to open up those old wheels to see exactly what Mike had been talking about. With my uncle's patient help, we did that, and sure enough, there was a narrow metal cylinder that seemed to be serving a purpose when it wedged between the two sealed bearing cups on each side of the wheel. So we transferred these to the new wheels and, now almost 50 miles later, everything seems to be working just fine.

In addition to addressing this matter with the new trailer wheels, I got to thinking about the trouble I had if I ever needed to stop and get off of my bicycle "in the middle of nowhere". (You know, like to go to the bathroom or something...). I had met Paul Edmenson from England early in my trip and he carried a fairly long, sturdy, wooden stick with him with a fork in it and he would wedge that under the top tube. Since my uncle is a skilled wood-worker, I thought we might be able to come up with something until I looked a little more closely at the bit of PVC pipe with the extra trailer hitch on it that I'd been using as the upright for my trailer stand. I realized, there was something of a notch created by the hitch and the PVC pipe at the top, and otherwise, it was a long leg that could reach to the ground. So I adjusted the hitch up just a little higher and added an easy to attach/disengage strap to the trailer wheel (to keep it from rolling) and, Voila!: A multipurpose bike kick-stand, plus a still usable trailer stand part as well.

This stand adds to the list of "Little Things" that I hope will make this trip a little easier because it solves a persistent problem; i.e. being able to keep my rig upright when I don't have anything to lean it against. One of the other "little problems" that I solved while at my friend Alisa's house was how to keep my charged batteries separate from my uncharged ones (as I use them in either multiples of two or three and the charger has to have four batteries in it to function properly). My solution was to make little nylon bags that were red on one side and green on the other and could be turned inside out or outside in as necessary. When the green side is out, that means the batteries are "Good to Go". When the red side is out it means "Stop-Batteries are Dead".

Finally, and I don't have any pictures of the new bag covers yet as I have not had to use them, but last year I spent a lot of time using an old army poncho to cover my rear panniers when they needed rain protection. It was kind of a hassle because I had to be really careful to make sure none of the excess material, or tie-down cords were going to get caught up in the wheel.

Here's one picture from last year that shows what this looked like...

Upon closer inspection I got it in my head that I just might have enough fabric in that poncho to make more easily attached covers for ALL of my panniers. So that was another project I set out to complete while at my aunt and uncle's house. As my Aunt Joyce was not terribly keen on the idea of my using her Brand New Electronic Sewing machine on the somewhat rugged and coated nylon fabric, I took advantage of "Option 2" instead - and sewed them on her Much Older Singer sewing machine - which worked just fine once we found a bobbin the right size. Not only did I get four covers for the panniers, I even managed to piece together a cover for my saddle - all of which I will be sure and photograph as soon as I Have To Use Them! (As it turned out, I had an extra nylon bag that I made prior to starting my first trip that was just the right size to hold all of the covers and fit neatly, and handily, on the back of the rack over the rear wheel.) In addition, taking all of the reinforced edges off of the poncho Reduced the Weight a bit, and even though, relatively speaking, it doesn't matter That Much right now, I still felt better about the final result - for many reasons.

After taking care of these "critical" issues, I finished putting everything back on the bike...with a little assistance from Thomas the cat...

And then, on Saturday, June 8th, with a bit of trepidation because I have been basically sedentary for the last three months, I was ready to get on the road once again, with my Aunt Joyce taking the pictures and my Uncle Jim posing with me outside their garage where so much work took place over the few days I was there.

I owe a great debt of gratitude to these two relatives of mine who have done so much to help me with my journey!

Before and After in Dallas Wrap-Up

One thing my mother taught me was to always try to leave a place in better condition than you found it. Thanks to my friend Chas and the trust of his mother-in-law Peggy, I was able to make a big difference in exercising my painting and organizing skills in helping to get Peggy's house ready for her return from a long stay at the hospital.

There was some internal as well as external work to be accomplished. For the external work, I was called upon to repaint the porch, former garage area, and left side eaves. Here are a few before and after photos of that project:

As I told Chas, I had done quite a bit of painting when I lived in Montana and I put my skills to work here for sure. I had to pace myself because I was just barely tall enough to reach the highest points with a ladder, and all of the overhead work put a bit of a strain on my right shoulder especially (the one that already suffered a lot of repetitive stress when I used to work in sewing manufacturing). However, over the course of the month that I stayed there I slowly worked a few hours at a time to cover the entire area. It made me think of when I worked in Montana pulling napweed for Roy and Jody Anderson on a hillside above the road. People would drive by every day and see me there, and then see the bundles of weeds at the bottom of the hill. I felt like the people in Peggy's neighborhood were seeing the same kind of slow and steady progress and I'd like to think I may have inspired one or two of them to know that if you apply a little perseverance, even a project of this size can be completed over time.

There were also projects to complete inside the house. Cleaning up the back room area with its "second kitchen" was a big part of that.


I found a new site on line, StillTasty.com that gave me some information on how to assess the expiration dates on some of the food products that I came across. Otherwise, it was really a matter of being willing to apply some elbow grease and again, attention to detail and perseverance when it came to, for instance, getting the vacuum cleaner into all the nooks and crannies especially as the ceiling had been recently refinished and there was still a lot of debris in those places.

At the end of the month though, I was able to offer Peggy my "Thank You Gift" for opening her home to me, and fulfill the agreement I had made with Chas. I was finishing up the last of the painting the day before I left, but, it was all completed and, if the warranty on the brand stands up to its claims, the paint should last for the next 15 years, so I can be proud of the fact that I definitely left my "mark" there!




And so, I said "Good-Bye" to my old and new friends before Chas drove me to my last stop: Weatherford, Texas where I would once again be reunited with my "trusty steed" and prepare to embark on "Stage II" of my cross country adventure.

* * * * *

Post Script, June 10, 2013: Later in the day after posting this blog, I found out that Peggy passed away suddenly while shopping with her sister. Apparently she suffered from a blood clot in her heart, as well as head trauma when she fell to the floor. The clot was probably a complication of her chemotherapy treatment for leukemia which is why she had been in the hospital. Attempts to resuscitate her failed. As I communicated to Chas, she died doing something she loved to do, which is about the best anyone can hope for.

So, here's to Peggy. I'm glad I got to meet her and help her get her house in order. May she journey on in Peace.

Final Update from Dallas, TX

After a month now in North Dallas it looks like I am finally going to be heading to Weatherford this coming Monday, June 3rd! I will be there just long enough to do a little maintenance on my bicycle and pack whatever I can before getting on the road.

I will have to admit, I'm probably feeling a little more intimidated about this half of my journey more so than the first half for several reasons: A) It is already June in Texas and I know it will only be getting hotter over the next three months or so, including going through New Mexico, Arizona, and Southern California. B) The long stretch through southern Texas feels really intimidating right now, more so than any of the territory I have previously covered. My general plan is to do as much riding in the early morning and late afternoon-evening hours, and figure out a way to take shelter during the hottest part of the day. C) I kind of do know better now what I am getting myself into with the ongoing logistical, fundraising, practical, and physical challenges. When I started the trip last summer, I was a bit more naive about all of it, and sometimes, ignorance Is bliss! Nevertheless, I feel I have to give it my best shot, one way or another, no matter how anxious or intimidated I might feel right now.

I will say this though, there have been a few positive changes in the last year that might make things ever so slightly easier: A) I'm a little more comfortable with this blog platform now, uploading pictures, etc., so I should be able to post updates more regularly. B) There have been a few changes to the Couch Surfing and Warm Showers websites/platforms that might make them a little easier to use as well. C) I've also gotten some new apps for plotting my path so we'll see how that works out for me. And D) I do have all of that prior experience under my belt and hopefully I will continue to improve on some of the "standard operating procedures" I have already developed.

Finally, I know I have So Much To Look Forward To - both with all of the people I will get to meet during my journey and with the new friends I have waiting for me back in Santa Barbara, CA. I know my dopamine levels will be well sustained anticipating those rewards.

I want to say Thanks! again to everyone who has been supporting me and those who have been patient with me as I have been patient with my own evolving circumstances. However...it looks like this "transition time" is coming to a close, and I will soon be on the road once again!

Until my Next Update...Peace Be With You All!

This Just In...

I now have contacts/hosts lined up for the first few stops of my trek south from Weatherford. Yeah!

I'll be staying in Granbury, Glen Rose, and Meridian, Texas. These first, fairly short distance (under 30 mile) stops are critical for the "breaking in" period as I get used to being on my bike again. Furthermore, as I get closer to I-35 the populations get more dense, thus increasing the chances of my finding suitable shelter.

In addition, with the money I earned recently at the estate sale, I am going to be able to cover all of the "last minute" items that I needed. In fact, I even found a new "corrugated" foam sleeping pad (at the estate sale) that I suspect is going to work much better with my tent floor/sleeping pad both when in use and when it is stored on the trailer.

With my most recent (Meridian) host making contact, I am beginning to appreciate the idea that, in time, everything really does work itself out, and part of the challenge for me is to remain calm, and patient, and still focused and persevering for my own part. Not to say I'm looking forward to traveling through Texas and/or New Mexico and/or Arizona during July and August, but...who knows? Maybe those miles through the desert will go quicker than my "noodling" along the gulf coast. I certainly suspect the roads will be better than some of the ones I encountered during the first half of my journey!

I've got some new updates to my "Please and Thank You" page as well. So please be sure and check it out!

Update from Dallas, TX

I had a wonderful time working an estate sale with these folks this past weekend. From left to right that's me (of course), then Cody, Dorothy, Barbara (the original "Madame Packrat"), Al (Dorothy's husband), and Priscilla, and in front, my friend Sherri who helped network me into this opportunity to work for Barbara in the first place.

A great deal of the set-up and pricing was completed before I arrived, but I was able to check prices on a big stack of vintage Topps 1955 Football cards including a couple of "Jim Thorpe's", and "Bowman" cards from the same era. I thought it might be a good idea to enclose them in individual plastic bags with individual prices based on my research. With multiple buyers over the course of the weekend, the whole lot sold for around $320, where Cody had originally planned to price the stack for ten times less! In effect, I paid for my wages with that little bit of extra effort.

And, I've nearly spent all of those wages as well, so nothing to get too excited about! But, for the most part, it is going for food, and those last items I was having trouble getting my hands on, like the DZ Nuts Bliss and a bulk bag of Dulse. Also, I have an outstanding load of "stuff" that I still need to get my friend Randy to ship me from Louisiana where I left it on the first leg of my journey.

However, the work is not quite over here yet, as I have some painting and organizing left to do to help Chas with his mother-in-law (from his previous marriage) as she will be returning soon from a rather long stay in the hospital battling leukemia.

Consequently, it looks like my departure for Weatherford will not take place until the week of May 20th, meaning I will probably not be on the road until the end of that week. I am comfortable though with being in a position to help my friends who are also helping me, and this is part of what this journey is all about for me as well, being of service to others whenever and wherever I can. And, as I have already understood from my own efforts, lots of people can use help Dealing with Their "Stuff"... and I seem to be getting more and more experience in that area as time goes by!