Day 172, September 22, 2012

  
 I woke up with a pretty bad headache. I had slept with my neck a little cramped up and it was pretty stiff also. I was halfway out of my sleeping bag and part of my body was laying directly on the cardboard. My knees were pretty stuff too and were irritating me all night while I was trying to sleep. The spot ended up being pretty good and out of sight. I got up and packed my things up. I took all my vitamins and other pills, then brushed my teeth before heading out from behind the closed restaurant. I wanted to head back down to burger king to relax a little while longer before heading out. I went in and ordered a cheap breakfast sandwich and got a water. I sat down in there and figured I would relax for about an hour or so an then head out and get on the move again. It was about 8:30am now and I wanted to be walking by at least 10am. After sitting there for maybe 20 minutes, the guy that stayed in his RV across the way came in. He had a lazy smile and nodded his head to me. I said hey to him and he came to sit by me. We visited for a few minutes and then he went up to order a coffee. A man and wife were sitting across from me in a booth and the guy leaned over and asked me if he was still hungry. I said I was ok, and then he offered to buy me a breakfast meal. I was really thankful but told him I was really ok. Him and his wife said they were passing through traveling and I made a little small talk with them and they were really cool people.
          So after maybe 30 minutes I wanted to get on the road. I said goodbye to them and packed my things up to go. I headed out, stretched for a few minutes, and then started to walk.  I took off down the frontage road along the 60. It was a really nice morning and I was feeling pretty good mentally. I was hoping to make it to Beaumont by the end of the day which was roughly 14 miles away.  My right knee was feeling I little unstable and I was slightly limping, but I had much better thoughts that overrode the pain. My thoughts were focused on the big blue ocean that was ahead of me and less than a week away. 
         I walked toward the edge of the small town of Cabazon where I took a short break near a strip mall under a small tree on some grass. I sat there for about 20 minutes drinking water and it was starting to warm up now. I was ready to get a few miles in now and to leave Cabazon. I walked under the 60 south where my GPS took me to head toward Banning CA. As I crossed under the bridge I came across a homeless man sitting under there. He had a prosthetic leg and looked like he could use some help. I gave him a few dollars and a McDonald's gift card and he absolutely light up. It lifted my spirit to see how much he was lifted and smiling. I shook his hand and walked down to the next corner where I came to a homeless vet. I handed him a gift card and he looked at me with a pretty confused face. He looked almost shocked and confused. I always smile when that happens because I think its pretty hilarious. Im guessing its because I probably look like the last person who would be giving away stuff. I feel really blessed to be able to share what I have. Its also such a rewarding feeling to trust that I will be ok no matter how much of my stuff I give away. I am so inspired by being put in this position by others. It really males me think of what possibility's are out there with the simple act of giving. I've never been stimulated by this thought before I had nothing and was in a position where someone's act of giving was literally feeding my starving body, or hydrating my body that was deprived of fluids. 
       I left the town of Cabazon now and was walking parallel to the 60 heading west. The road I was on was a single lane road that was really rough concrete and seemed to be an unmaintained road for some time now. I was getting pretty hot by now and had gone a couple miles. I figured another mile or so and I would be ready for a little break. Then just ahead the pavement ended and I was now on a dirt road again. I was pretty confident it would go through as it ran right next to the railroad and I could see the town of Banning not too far ahead. 
       Just as I was looking around for a shade spot, I came to a small bridge where the railroad had a dried creek running under it. I pulled off the dirt path and went down a little hill to get under the bridge and take a break. Just as I came into the shade of the bridge I saw something written on the wall that blew me away. There it was written in a bold formation, words that spoke directly to the spirit of my travels, almost like it was fate. It read "I left the world an empty slate to paint a portrait free from hate". As I read it I felt the Goosebumps grow tall from the surface of my skin and the chills shot up my spine and to my neck. I just stood there and smiled. This was amazing. It put my mind in a perfect moment. Everything was perfect as I stood there staring at fate. I knew this was meant to be. It was a moment of clarity and absolute ecstasy. Nothing else in the world mattered in this moment except that I have trust that there is a plan for me. The things that have come together on this journey have been so amazing and I truly believe I have an amazing life worth living ahead of me. Whether its long or whether it ends soon, I need to live it. Live it with trust and faith. Enjoy it while its here. Share my love and dispose of my fears. Im so thankful for these majestic moments that cannot be planned. That alone is worth fighting to find what is around the next blind corner.
       So I sat there in front of the writing and took a break sitting on my sleeping bag and drinking some water. I really wished I could get a picture of me with that writing on the wall. I had an idea. I thought maybe there was an app that I could get with a timer. So I searched and I found one! I downloaded it and then set up my ipod on the ground and set the timer for 10 seconds. I got a perfect picture (above) and was really happy I thought of that. It was perfect!
     I took off from there taking a few last gazes at the writing and smiling. As I walked away I was very pleased with such an awesome day. I had to take a moment and just give thanks. I don't have enough thanks to give and still feel like I don't deserve the blessed events happening in my life. But I thanked god for what I could. I walked west towards Banning along the dirt road. I was feeling dam good!
        I finally made it about 3 more miles and to Banning. I came to a paved road finally and went back under the 60 north, then made a left turn to head west for downtown Banning. It was a little bit of a rough area, not bad but just rougher than the last few towns I guess. As I walked west through the town I came across a little old Mexican lady who passed me carrying a bag. When she passed me I then heard her call out something. I turned around and she said something in Spanish and held the bag up towards me. She had a slight hesitation when making the gesture that made me think it may have just been a guilty conscience making her feel the need to help me. Since I had that instinct I thought maybe she actually may need that food more than I need it. I have trust that withougt taking it I will be fine. So I smiled and told her no thanks and thanked her very much. She was so cute and smiled. 
       I walked another couple miles where I decided to take my long break at a mcdonalds. Right outside in the mcdonalds parking lot there was a man picking through the trash. As I walked by him I gave him one of the Del Taco giftcards that I was given the day before. He mumbled  under his breath and said thank you. He was an old man with no teeth. I felt sad for him but knew I had no idea of his life. Im sure people feel sad for me from time to time, but im truly happy and hope nobody feels sad for me. I have hope that there are other homeless that have that content feeling and are pleased with life. I went inside mcdonalds and ordered a drink and a double cheeseburger. I sat near an outlet and charged my things while using the internet. There were a group of kids outside that looked like they were up to no good. They kept looking inside like they were going to do something sneaky soon. Sure enough two of them came in and filled up their cups with soda. the cups they had were from ampm. they went back outside and then a few minutes later were yelling at another young kid walking by on the sidewalk. Its so weird to me to see people doing little things that make no sense in my mind. After being out in the desert and honestly feeling hopeless and like I was pushing my personal limits of solitude and supplies, I see so many things in populated areas that don't make sense. Like small arguments or complaints. We are all alive with food and water, what is there to bicker about? Those aren't real problems. 
        I stayed there for about an hour and a half and then packed my things up again to head out of there. I headed down the road and towards Beaumont. After about a mile of walking a guy and girl walking approached me holding drinks and snacks. They stopped in front of me and said "Nick?". It was a guy who had followed me for a while on the internet and his girlfriend. He had mentioned on twitter at some point that he wanted to join me for a walk one day, and now here he was. So I shook him and his girlfriends hand and we started walking. He told me he had recently been going through struggles in life and was living in his truck for a long period of time. He was actually homeless while I was in about Texas, and since then he got a job and was now living with a friend. That was pretty cool to hear. Its crazy that ive been walking long enough for peoples lives to change like that. Sometimes I forget how long its been out here on the road. They walked with me for a few miles and we really connected while talking about how we perceive life in different pathways. Or how life can be hard when your mind is your biggest enemy. He was a really cool guy who had definitely been through some rough times but was keeping his head up and fighting through. It meant a lot to me to have him say I had really inspired him in many ways. That is so cool. But the truth is that I have found the most inspiration from this and it has been the amazing people along the way who have inspired me. I like to see them all as Angels who are delivering hope to me.
      We said goodbye just about a mile from Beaumont as they still needed to walk back and the sun was setting. I left and continued into Beaumont. I was north of town entering the city limits in what looked to be a newer residential area. It was really nice and I was walking past a big empty field with a mountain behind it. It was a very peaceful setting for sure. The sun was setting and I was starting to search for a hideout to catch some sleep that night. A few miles up I came to a park that had its gates closed. I rolled my cart around the gate and walked back to a patch of trees with flat dry grass around it. It was hidden from the road and there wasn't much else around there. It was a good area to sleep for the night and I felt pretty safe. I rolled out my tarp and sleeping bag and plopped down to relax. It was a good day and I had made it the 14 miles or so that I set out to. I was very content as I closed my eyes for the night. A day to be very thankful for. I slept good that night with the exception of a few spiders crawling on me and waking me up. Not a big deal when you have slept outside in the south.

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Day 171, September 21, 2012

I woke up hearing a truck running not too far from me. When I looked up it was a big rig sitting on the on ramp of the freeway idling. It was maybe 100 yards from me. 
I rubbed my eyes and sat up. I looked around and it was still early. The sun was shining and the air was still in its morning crisp form. I was feeling pretty bogged down and tired. I sat there a few minutes trying to wake up before starting the day.

I finally was up and packed now. Looking at my GPS I realized now that the walking path from here took me down a dirt road that ran parallel to the freeway. It worried me a little and I was really hoping not to hit a gate. There was nothing around this area besides mountains and freeway. But I didn't have much of a choice. So I just started trekking down the dirt path and hoped it would punch through at some point.
It was rocky and rigid. The road seemed to get more rough the further I went. I walked down the path for a few miles when it looked like there were a couple houses ahead. I wasn't sure if they were abandoned or what, but they looked like they weren't around anything else. 
Right before I approached the houses there was a drop and the road went downhill. As I came over the peak and went down there, I could see a big canal. I didn't see a bridge or anything and I then had a knot in my stomach. Oh no! It was a really big canal like a delta Mendota sized canal. I kept walking towards it and still saw no water. Then as I came close to the edge I was really relieved. It was bone dry! Not only that, but I really lucked out as there were two ramps to roll down and into it. They must have been for cars to cross. So I walked down the ramp and into the bottom of the dry canal. It was maybe 15 ft down. I walked across and then went up the other side. I was glad I made it across. But I was still wondering where this dirt road was taking me...
Just then my tire suddenly gasped out. The air came rushing out and I had a flat down to the rim! I kneeled down and did my normal tire routine. I took the valve stem off, put slime in, spun the tire, and pumped it back up. It held air and I was good to go again. 
The road was very dry and dusty and my legs were caked by now with a layer. It wound a couple times and them went by the houses. Then just past the houses I could see that it turned to pavement!! Whew! I walked by the houses and saw now that they were occupied. Just a little run down though. 
I hit the pavement and saw more houses ahead. Now I felt much better and hoped the rest of the day was paved. I walked up ahead another couple miles when I had to make a right turn. After that the GPS showed a left turn. The problem was that the location of the left turn was another dirt road! And this one had a gate. Great. 
After standing there a few minutes to see if I could find an alternate route, I saw that it was either this, or go back the way I came. I thought about it, and then just decided I would go for it! I walked under the gate. It was a single pole gate that left me just enough room for me and my cart to creep under. I felt a little weird now knowing I'm on private land. But I was upset that the gps took me here and hoped it wasn't too long of a walk until I was out of it.
I walked through the property and saw tons of rabbits running around suddenly. I was on this dirt path now for maybe a mile and a half before I came to another gate. The gate was the same and I was able to get through beneath it. I got out of the property and then a few hundred feet later the dirt road connected to another paved way. Thank god.
Now I saw ahead that there was a small town. It wasnt far and I was ready to take a break. I still felt very tired and wanted a rest. I made my way along the paved frontage road and finally came to the town of Cabazon. It was an interesting place where there were giant fake dinosaurs all around. It was weird but interesting. I went into a burger king there and ordered some food. 
I sat there a while when someone came in to see me. It was the same guy who had come out to find me in the desert. He was the 4th person who found me (black truck). He brought his wife and kids this time and wanted me to meet them. Such a nice family and they checked to make sure I was ok. It was pretty awesome! 
I sat in there a while after they left and a guy who had been in there all day came up and asked me what I was doing? He noticed my cart and visitors and was curious. He sat next to me and we ended up talking for a while. He was a nice dude who actually was living in his motor home down the street. He had been staying in LA but kept getting bothered. So he drove out here a few days earlier and had nowhere else to really go and park it. 
I had two more visitors come in a bit later and it was 2 girls from Murrietta CA. One of them married a guy who is a pro motocross racer who I grew up near. So that was cool that we had that connection. I always looked up to him growing up. Her and her friend brought me a bag full of food and supplies. They stayed and hung out with me and the guy who I was talking to. We hung out and talked for maybe an hour just about our experience with homeless people. They are both nurses and have dealt with homeless off and on. 
They took off and me and the dude hungout after that and talked. I decided I was gonna stay around there for the night and get some rest. Burger king was closing and the guy was headed back to his rig. I took a few things from the care package that the girls brought me and then gave the rest of the food to him. He was a really nice dude and seemed to be struggling a bit. He honestly had no idea where he would be in a week and was low on funds. He was pretty pumped with the stuff I have him and said I had no idea how much that would help him... I thought to myself, I think I have some idea.
I left there and went across the parking lot to an abandoned Resturant. I went up to where there was a walkway with a railing around the back of it. It was pretty well out of sight and not busy at all. I made my bed up there and luckily found some cardboard to sleep on also. Any extra padding helps a lot. I closed my eyes and went to sleep there at about 11:30.

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Day 170, September 20, 2012

       I woke up from the sun beating down. I had slept decent aside from the traffic waking me up on and off through the night. I was right at the bottom of a steep hill where cars were gassing it to get ready for the steep climb up the pass. So some of the louder engines woke me up here and there. 

 I sat up and right away started thinking about how close I am now to finishing this journey. In reality, I still had a ways to go. But I was thinking more in terms of days. When I was in Texas I didn't feel what months seemed like until I was close. But now I am thinking in terms of weeks. Less than 2 weeks in fact. And now I can feel it! I am close and I know the ocean is not too many mountain ranges or deserts away now. These are the times where I can think for 20 minutes and keep trying to grasp it. But I have to stop myself and keep moving. I have a lifetime to remember think about this if I want to. But for now, I need to finish.

        I started packing my things up. I shook out some of the sand that was on my tarp and folded it up. I tucked my sleeping bag and gear away in my cart and was ready. For some reason getting out was a little tougher. I couldn't find a clear path to roll my cart back out to the road. The way I came in was a little easier as it was downhill slightly. So I had to muscle it a little more and lift my cart over a few rocks and some small thick wood root kind of things.

     When I got out to the road, I was stretching a little while leaning on my cart handle. A dark colored Tahoe passed me and hesitated then honked. Then they passed by and started heading up the pass. I wondered who it was but I didn't think much and just started heading to Morongo Valley. Then I heard a honk again from behind me and it was the same Tahoe coming back my way. It passed me then made a u turn towards me and pulled off. A girl popped out with a bag. She handed it to me and said she had just heard about my journey on Facebook and wanted to come help out. I was really thankful and gave her a big hug! 

     After she left I headed on down the road again and made my way into Morongo Valley. I was expecting more of a town but it was not a whole lot. I was getting low on water and pretty thirsty, so I stopped at a gas station to go inside and fill 2 gallon jugs I had. I went into the bathroom and filled them in the sink. The water was not the best, but it's water. And I've had worse on this trip.

     I walked the rest of the way through Morongo Valley and was just about to the end of it and nearing another long steep pass down the mountain. Just before the pass I was planning to stop for a break and to stretch. My body was ok but my knees had a pretty bad full pain in them. Especially my right knee.

 
     Just as I approached a nice shade tree next to the highway, 2 motorcycles pulled off right by the tree. Two guys hopped off and tool their helmets off. They came up and shook my hand and said they were following me now for a while! They heard about the journey through the motocross community and really thought it was cool. I was happy to talk motocross with them and took my break with some cool dudes. They brought me a gatoraide too which is always amazing!

     After my break and the guys taking off, I headed towards the drop off the pass. It was pretty hot by know and was warming up still as the sun was coming over the top of me. I started down the hill and it was pretty steep! Also the shoulder of the road was more narrow and narrow the more I went down. It was also getting to be pretty curvy around the mountain which was pretty scary since the cars were staying on the throttle. I was just about riding the white line and was honestly ready to jump at any moment just incase a car came at me. It just took the wrong person to not be paying attention and to swerve at me and I would have been over the railing and on the sand to get out of the way. I was paying very close attention to the oncoming traffic. 

     I made my way down a pretty long ways and finally was out of the more dangerous part. I was releived, and from looking ahead, it seemed to be the last really sketchy part (road and traffic wise) that I would have to face. When I dropped to the bottom now it flattened out and it was really Hott! It was 8 degrees warmer down here than it was atop the hill where I was before the pass. The elevation really made a huge difference in temperature. Just as it flattened out I had 2 cars pull over back to back. One was the mother of a girl who met me in 29 palms. She wanted to come check on me after talking to her daughter. She lived down this way and was now closer to me. She asked if I needed anything and I told her I was just about set on gear and everything, but if she wanted to say prayers later for me I would be greatful! The next car was a guy who was driving back to Arizona from Los Angeles. He had heard about me on the Internet and wanted to come say hi. He gave me $5 even after I said no. He insisted and was really nice. He took off and I was thankful for both cars checking on me!

     I decided to pull off for another break in the median under a tree. So I darted across the highway with my cart and went into the shade! I was a little tired from holding my cart back down the hill and so I plopped my sleeping bag down on the ground and took a break. I had some of the snacks that I was given by the girl in the Tahoe earlier that morning. I ate a bag of chips and a fruit cup. I really didn't have much food when I started the day, so that really helped me.

     I took off after about 20 minutes and a quick stretch. I darted across the other side of the highway from the median, and after maybe a half mile turned onto a small paved road where my route took me. This was now the end of my walking on route 62. Thank god! It has been the toughest road yet!

     The road I was now on was residential, but very spread out and looked somewhat deserted actually. It looked like a really trippy place for houses. It was so dry and plain and quiet. As I walked through there I was starting to wonder where my GPS was taking me. It didn't look like much else was ahead except some mountains that had not roads on them. I kept on the path though.

     I finally came to a dirt road that had a gate. The gate looked like it was normally closed, but happened to be open now as there was a truck up on the hill and working on a windmill that was inside the fenced area. It was a whole windmill farm actually. I didn't know what was at the other side or if I would even be able to get out. But it honestly looked like the only path that would get me in the direction I was going. And il be dammed if I don't finish this journey the ENTIRE way of ONLY walking! So I went for it. It was a bumpy dirt road for about a mile when I came to another gate. Luckily the other gate was open as well. So I went through that and continued on the dirt road. It then dropped down a steep mountain and I walked down and it dropped me back near where the 10 was. The dirt road then flattened and I crossed over a bridge that was over the white water river. It was fast flowing water that looked really refreshing! I stopped and went down there. I dumped the gallon of hot water I had a refilled it with the cold water that flowed here. It was sooo good! It was really refreshing and I seriously downed about a half gallon!

      I slowly headed past there and knew it was about that time to sniff a spot out for the night. I walked past a yard where there was a company that had tile and rock and stuff. There was a guy dressed in military clothes sitting up against the fence. He looked to be out of place or something, possibly in a troubled situation. So I asked if he was ok and if he wanted a snack or anything? He sort of declined in a rude way and waved for me to leave as he answered his phone. I didn't take it personal though. If he was starving, maybe he would have thought different to my offer. 

     I walked another quarter mile where there was a freeway exit. I pulled off of a dirt road next to the exit and decided that was the spot for the night. It was a quiet exit with basically nothing there. It would make for a decent spot with not a lot of people to see me. I found a spot behind a bush and made up my bed. My feet were cramped and stiff. So after I pulled my bedding out and sat down, I pulled my shoes and socks off and cleaned them with baby wipes. Putting the wipes between my toes honestly felt like a message. It felt amazing. I watched a really relaxing and beautiful sunset over the mountain, and laid back to get to bed. I fell asleep and was excited for the coming days. I'm so close to what I know is going to be an amazing moment!