From sea to shining sea

I made it!

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1189349041158621.1073741828.100002506100686&type=3

Tomorrow, tomorrow🎵

Hey guys! I am one day away from my final destination! I'm going to record the entire thing and post it here tomorrow!

Thanks for staying with me on my trip

100 miles to go!

I'm about 4 days away from completing my journey! I'm really excited. I'm also really glad it worked out that I'd finish before Thanksgiving so I can spend it with my family.

Stay tuned!

Donner pass

Started from the bottom. Now we here.

Last state line!

Right outside camp

500 miles to go!

We're coming down the home stretch loyal readers! Less than two weeks to California and a little over a week to the coast after that. I'm getting pretty excited

Beverly hills, thats where i wanna be

Nevada!

About 600 miles from my destination. The day is a pretty comfortable temp this late in the year and the nights are cool but not cold. The days are getting ridiculously short but I'm almost there.

Stumbled across some rock climbers

2 state lines left!

Update. Still in Wyoming

So the night of the snow storm, I had a pretty hard fall. I've been resting in a hotel for the last few days and my knee has healed up enough to keep going. I'll probably spend a few day in Salt Lake when I get there just to make sure I'm healed up.

Freak snow storm

I've been stranded about 25 miles from the Wyoming/Utah border. A snow storm popped up out of nowhere. Luckily I'm at a pretty nice truck stop. I hate to lose a day but it's better than freezing.

Oh the weather outside is frightful

Freak snow storm

I've been stranded about 25 miles from the Wyoming/Utah border. A snow storm popped up out of nowhere. Luckily I'm at a pretty nice truck stop. I hate to lose a day but it's better than freezing.

Donation milestone! $301

Thank you guys so much! I love the kindness I'm receiving. I should add, I've raised this much without solicitation.i rarely bring up the fact that I'm collecting money for national parks unless directly asked.

Surreal landscape

Not sure my pictures do it justice

Only 12 miles to the next town...

Local wildlife

Rain delays.

It is exceptionally cold today with a high of 45 with just enough constant drizzle to soak through my clothes. I've got to make a short day of things for fear my fingers will freeze off. Luckily it's supposed to be in the 60s tomorrow.

Continental divide

Less than 1000 miles to go!

Finally down to triple digits! So far I've raised $276 for the national park foundation.

There's not a lot in Wyoming

It's 100 miles to the next real town. This'll be fun

Just met a man that was biking across America.

Walking along the interstate in Wyoming is an interesting experience. in some places, you can see for 20 miles.i was in one of those spots when I saw a figure in the distance. As I got closer, I saw it was a biker. When we met, we stopped and talked for a bit. turns out his name is Pete and he's biking west to east. His blog is pete360.com. go check it out!

A short mishap

On Thursday, my trusty cart broke down after over a thousand miles. Unfortunately, I couldn't continue forward without it so I caught a ride back to Laramie to get a replacement. I'm back on the road today and just a few days behind schedule thanks to help from a close family friend who lives in the area.

Its all downhill from here

Yesterday, I reached the highest altitude of my trip. Over 7000 feet.

There wasn't a sign :(

I just crossed into Wyoming but there wasn't a welcome sign

Easy day of no cars and no one calling the police on me.

I normally walk on highway shoulders but there's a bike trail all the way from Denver to Boulder.

Round 3: the mountains and the desert.

Alright guys this is the last and probably hardest leg of my trip. Because I was a little late getting to Denver, I'm heading north to skirt the range rather than attempt to cross over because of the possibility of an early snow. The next big stop is salt lake city. And from there, Reno.

My distances calculator tells me if I keep this pace, I should arrive in San Francisco in mid October but I think I'll shoot for early November. I'll change my map when I get a little time.

Thanks for reading!

Denver update

I'm still alive. Having a great time. I had to replace my phone due to technical issues but I'm ready to head out now. I'll spend most of tomorrow packing and head out early Tuesday morning. Sad to say good bye.

Round 2 complete: Denver vacation

So I have conquered the great plains! I've seen a lot of beautiful sights, met a some really cool people, rode a giant waterslide days before it was shut down for being too dangerous, partied way too hard in a small Kansas town,  and learned that "mountain lion" is a misleading name. All in all, a great experience. But now as I pass my 2000 mile mark, it's time to rest and replenish my supplies. I have a few really good friends in Denver and a few new ones that I met on my walk. I'm looking forward to my rest before taking on the final and probably most difficult leg of the journey.

Until next time, thanks for reading!

Denver skyline

I got a flag! Maybe this will stop people from calling the cops on me.

Officially not in Kansas anymore

Hi reddit!

This is proof? Jiitunary

Night time stroll

Got up pretty early  this morning

Personal best: 41 miles

Yesterday I walked a total of 41 miles. A great achievement but it caused me to oversleep 3 hours this morning so I doubt I'll do it again soon

This is Ryan Ball. He gave me a book.

Meet Majean Schneider, a very nice lady.

Largest ball of twine!

Early morning stroll

Kansas isnt flat

So I've realized something recently.g going east to west in Kansas, the entire state is ever so slightly up hill > .<

America's top waterpark!

I'm very excited to take the day off at schlitterbahn. I love water parks so I couldn't pass up this chance.

New stroller!

My stroller's front wheel stopped spinning yesterday which slowed me down terribly. I had to get a new one yesterday and I elected to get a new model. Its pretty much the same but this one matches my backpack! I'll post a picture soon.

Sorry for the absence

Very little has happened in the last 4 days so I haven't really had anything to post lately. Sorry. I'm on my way to Kansas City

Good bye st Louis

Finally headed west!

Big monochrome rainbow sculpture

Google maps stinks

Usually I just walk until I'm tired. Sometimes though, I'll have a destination in mind. I use Google maps to figure out if there's a nearby campground or hotel. The problem is that sometimes the places I want to go aren't where the application says it is. For the past 3 nights, I've had to walk at least 3 extra miles to get to my destination or to backtrack to a different campground.

I'm more than a little annoyed so this is a bit of warning. Be very cautious about using maps to navigate if you're walking

Milestone: 1000 miles

As of yesterday I have walked over a thousand miles on my trip! Here's to 2000 more

Leaving Sikeston

I didn't make much forward progress yesterday because I had a hard time navigating Sikeston but I'll make up for it today

But that's where i just was...

My long and arduous trip through Kentucky is over

I was in the paper!

http://www.jacksonsun.com/story/life/2016/07/09/cross-country-traveler-stops-jackson/86835994/

Welcome to Kentucky

Reelfoot lake state park

A nice view for one of my last days in Tennessee. This lake is huge.

Good bye Jackson!

I had a wonderful time spending the 4th in Jackson. I met a lot of great people and even got interviewed by the newspaper but sadly I must be off. Next stop reel foot lake

Watch out, Jackson town

I'll be coming into Jackson tonight and taking a short fireworks and BBQ break. Then, st Louis!

Tennessee river

Donations milestone

Hey guys! Thanks to a very generous donation, we've broken $100 to give to national parks! The current total is $132.

Nashville!

Sorry for the blackout there. I ran out of data and couldn't post for a few days. I made it to Nashville and am gonna spend some time in my favorite restaurant chain in America.

Thanks for reading!

Man its hot

First week of summer would start out hot and humid who knew? It's not all bad though. My half days are getting to be as long as my full days used to be. I walked 19 miles today and started 5 hours late.

I should be in Nashville in 3 or 4 days

I crossed a time zone!

Ever been doing something for an hour only to check the time and it's only been 5 minutes? Just happened to me only it actually had been an hour. That was silly

Picture of the day

Knoxville Tennessee!

I'm just about as far west as I can remember. How exciting

There's a slimming hole!

Dammmmmm

Wrong turn

A road to myself

After climbing mountains on narrow roads, it's great that this high way is flat with enough shoulder to be it's own lane. I don't feel the need to pay as close attention and can enjoy the landscape

Perfect timing

Around noon I usually look for a place to cool off. Today I found a water park not 100 feet out of the way!

Stage 2: fight

Today I leave out from Johnson City towards Knoxville. I'm pretty excited about it.

I have crossed mountains!

I've recently crossed the border to Tennessee and got to the other side of the Appalachian mountain range. I'm feeling pretty good right now. 17 miles til Johnson city!

Yes!

New state!

Last leg of the first challenge

I'm entering the mountains going towards Asheville. The shoulders are wide and paved which I'm very grateful for. It's gonna be all uphill from here

On the road again

After a short break, I've made it 21 miles and am very close to Greenville SC. I'm excited to see some of my friends.

Playing games

I'm in Greenville today! There's a very large tournament and my friend sig came and picked me up so I could make it in time. Tomorrow I'm going to get a cab back to Laurens and walk the distance I skipped to Greenville. After I get back, I'll probably stay a few days in Greenville to spend time with the people I know.

Wet feet and delays

Well I'm a bit stuck... It rained very hard yesterday and all my socks got wet so I'm just sitting and letting them dry. At least there are worse places to be stranded than lake greenwood state park. I should be in my home away from home of Greenville soon. That'll be pretty great.

As always thinks for reading!

A new game

For the past week I have been walking with a heavy back pack averaging about 13 miles a day and being pretty miserable. Today I used a stroller to carry my backpack and I was able to walk 16 miles nearly pain free. It changed the whole game and I wouldn't be surprised if my average quickly goes to at least 20 miles a day.

If you are planning a walk yourself, I recommend starting with a stroller. It may look silly but it works great

This is literally the best thing ever

Nice spread!

One of my neighbors at my campsite heard about my trip and like anyone with kids of their own, she was worried I wasn't eating enough so she brought over food from her campsite and shared it with me. The kindness of complete strangers still astounds me

Family visit

Yesterday my parents came down to visit at the jellystone campground! We went out to eat and had a fun time. I'm taking a rest day today to try to let my feet heal back up. A hundred miles in a week with a 50 lb backpack put some strain on them.

First donation!

Today a man named Nolron Green saw me on the side of the road, went to the closest gas station and brought me a cold bottle of water. He also made a 5 dollar donation to my state park cause.

New town!

Sketchiest place ever

The kindness of strangers

After a brief run in with the police, I met two very nice people. I didn't get the first's name but she pulled over after seeing me and gave me two bottles of water. I thanked her profusely despite having 5 liters in my pack and she drove off.

The next was a shop owner named Wayne. Fittingly, his shop was called Wayne's. He told me great stories and let me have a few packets of peanuts. He was really funny and I told him I'd see him again. A promise I fully intend to keep.

Murica