walking to Junction
Thursday June 16, 2005
6:19am I just woke up. I got me a full night's sleep. I'm all sore still. I'm really glad no bugs bit me last night. Thank you, Love.
Just like I always tell people, there is always a place to sleep.
7:01am It's about time I made another update. Well, I did right when I woke up. I'm having a good morning. I woke up and took two hits of weed. I waked and baked. I took a picture of my bed last night. Right next to the highway. I had a cool little campsite right here.
I just counted my CD's and I have forty three left. Wow, I've already given out seven.
7:22am I've got all my stuff loaded up. I'm going to do my stretches and take off walking.
7:25am I'm all loaded up. I scanned the perimeter to make sure I'm not leaving anything. I'm off.
7:36am Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that this morning I bent over and took a little shit-let. I didn't shit that much. Remember that little washcloth I found last night that I was saving for the morning to wipe my ass with? Since I didn't shit that much, nothing really came off. I'm going to save the washcloth and use it again. It's a good quality washcloth. I'm walking now.
I'm not really looking for a ride today. I'm going to walk on the opposite side of the highway so I can give the cars driving by going East the peace sign. Before I've been walking on the Westbound side hoping I'd get a ride. I'm going to walk to Junction. Watch me.
I'm giving all the cars the peace sign. I am getting seen. I have work to do.
7:37am Oh yeah, for breakfast I had some cheese and crackers. It's cool that I had breakfast. I ended up drinking that Gatorade last night. I should have saved it for this morning. I got thirsty last night. I figured it would help me replenish my stuff while I slept. I got a good night's sleep. I'm all rested. I feel great. I'm all walking good. I haven't mentioned, I'm carrying a lot of shit. This is some good weight training. I'm tricking my body into making it think I weigh more, so it will bulk up to compensate. Psyche! Just like when I used to wear my wrist waits and it made my arms all cut and buff.
7:43am Passing mile marker 477. I'm going to keep walking.
Oh, and when I saw that bridge last night it was a mile a way. I had said it was like half a mile.
I had crashed over by mile marker 478.
7:50am I just had a little pause in my walking to adjust my bags. I had my mission bag straps going underneath the padded backpack shoulder straps. It needs to be the other way around because my mission bag has thin ropes for straps and they dig into my shoulders. I put my backpack on first.
8:01am Mile marker 476. I'm going to cross the highway and go sit in the shade and eat something.
8:19am Taking off from the mile marker.
Yuck, there's a nasty deer carcass right here. It's disgusting. I'm about twenty miles to Junction. 221 to Fort Stockton.
I did brush my teeth this morning and put deodorant on.
8:35am Mile marker 475.
Yesterday I walked from sun-up to sun-down.
8:52am Mile marker 474. I'm going to keep walking. I'm going to make it three in a row before I rest. I can do it. I can do it.
8:59am Old Segovia Road, Exit 472 is one mile away.
9:06am I'm coming up on the next exit and mile marker. I'm stopping in the shade right before so I can sit down and rest because there's no shade over there.
9:33am I had a pretty productive rest. I sat down and cleaned out my pipe. I scraped it and got two good hits. I'm almost out of weed. I'm all stoned and I'm going to keep walking. I'm not that far away. I was thinking that if I crashed at 478 and I've walked about six miles. Actually, I've walked like five miles. Because I only did two miles before that first rest. Seventy eight minus five is seventy three, so I'm thinking that's mile marker 473 up there.
Oh yeah, I've got a couple more projects to do. I have to wind up this string I found on the highway and I have to put a new tennis ball on my stick.
9:40am Alright, I'm taking off. I'm taking my time today.
9:43am Mile marker 473. Let's see if I can keep going until 470. I might be running out of water soon. I've been drinking like a fish on this walk.
Something keeps poking me in my leg. I think I have a sticker in there. Hold on.
9:45am Operation successful. There was a little burr in my shorts. I got that out and it won't scratch me while I walk now.
9:52am Old Segovia Road, coming up.
9:54am Exit 472. Well, it'll be 9:55am when I walk past it.
10:02am Mile marker 472. I'm going to keep walking.
10:15am Junction 15 miles. Fort Stockton 216. The mile marker is coming up. I'm going to keep going past it.
10:18am Mile marker 471.
10:28am I am about a half mile away from 470. Just like on the last set of three I did, I stopped a little bit before, because there's shade here and not there. I'm going to stop by this wall and rest, and eat too. I'm hungry.
10:44am I am up from my rest. I don't have much water left at all. I shouldn't smoke. I always drink water when I smoke. On every rest I've sat down and smoked a cigarette.
Well, it looks like I'm not smoking until the truckstop. I'm out of water.
11:09am Mile marker 469. I see a big billboard over there that says Segovia Truck Stop. Exit 3 miles. That's really cool. I thought it was like four or five. I'm not going to stop. I'm going to keep going.
I keep seeing piss in bottles all over the side of the highway.
Oh, and the road-kill has just been everywhere on this walk. Dead animal here. Dead animal there. Fucking cars.
11:15am I'm going to switch to the other side of the highway. It looks like jumping on the other side will be a shortcut. The sides divide here.
11:27am I just came to mile marker 468 on the eastbound side of the highway. The sun is coming down hard now. I'm almost out of water. I'm tired. I'm going to sit down and rest for a little bit. There's no shade. That sucks.
Hammonds Trucking Incorporated. This 18 wheeler just pulled off on the side of the highway close to me. I'm on the East-going side. I got up, leaving my bags and walked up to the truck. I walked up holding my empty bottle and yelled, "Can you spare any water?" He didn't even roll down the window so he could hear me. He just nodded his head no. I gave the guy the peace sign and walked back to my bags.
11:38am I'm up walking.
Hopping over to the Eastbound side was a shortcut. I would've had to walk all the way around the bend if I had kept going on the Westbound.
11:53am A billboard says Segovia Truck Stop, Next Exit. I'm going to make it. I can do eet! I'm going for distance. I'm not going for speed.
11:55am I am going to stop at 467 and rest. I have to sit down in this corner by all the rocks in the shade. Squeezing against the wall.
12:06pm I'm about to get up from my rest and start walking again. I'm right in front of the sign that says Segovia Truck Stop, next exit. I hope the next exit is not two or three miles away. That would suck. I'm going to hop back over on the Westbound side again.
I took my last gulp of water.
12:12pm Hopping back over the highway. Back on the Westbound side. There's a sign right there that says Exit 465, Segovia 1¼. I'm almost there.
12:19pm Hallelujah, I see the truckstop. In the distance. I'm going to make it. I'm going to make it.
Segovia, here comes Victor Antonio.
12:24pm Mile marker 466. I am getting ever so close to the truckstop. Almost there.
I'm tired. I'm out of water too. Perfect timing. The universe provides.
12:30pm About to pass over Sycamore Creek right before the truckstop. If there's a lot of water I'll stop and take a bath.
That creek was bone-dry.
About to take Exit 465, Segovia.
I'm going to hop back over the highway and go to the truckstop.
12:48pm Here I am at long last. I need some water or I'm going to die.
12:49pm Tara is going to hook me up with a burger at the truckstop! At the restaurant. I appreciate it, Tara. Everybody gets credit, thanks.
Welcome to Segovia, Victor Antonio.
1:03pm That was an awesome burger. I am so stuffed.
I got hooked up phat at the truckstop. I just walked in all dog-tired and drenched in sweat. I just walked in and looked for somewhere I could sit down. I went in the restaurant and sat at one of the booths. This pretty girl named Tara gave me some water. She came back to pour me a refill, I was drinking water like crazy, and I told her, "Hey, I'm a long-distance walker/journalist." I gave her my line and she said, "What do you want? A burger?" I smiled and told her to surprise me. That not liking it was still a small price to pay for free food. She hooked me up with a fat burger. I took a picture of it. It was good. With ranch dressing. Welcome to Segovia, Victor.
Then I went to the lady at the front desk and told her, "I just walked all the way from Kerrville. Will you guys run me out of here for asking truckers for rides?" She told me, "Just don't bother anyone." Then I went and talked to the lady by the door where the truckers come in and out. I went up to her and she smiled at me. I told her, "I just walked all the way from Kerrville." She said, "I saw you." I tried telling her my story. When I asked if she was willing to listen she told me she wasn't interested. When I asked her to do me the couple favors she said, "You know what? I work at a truckstop. Anything is possible." I'm going to ask for rides now.
Hmm, I'm going to see if I can score me a courtesy-shower.
2:03pm I am done in the shower. I have all my stuff together. But, I'm missing my Natural Balance hat. Where did it go? Let me see if I left it downstairs anywhere. It couldn't have gone far. It's not like someone stole it. It's all sweaty.
3:03pm Scottie, the lady who works at the truckstop and had seen me walking, just took a picture of me in front of the Free Sign. Thanks Scottie.
3:21pm Sharon, at the truckstop is hooking me up with some water so I can take off walking. I appreciate it, Sharon. Everybody gets credit, thanks.
3:22pm I have decided to leave the truckstop. I'm going to walk to Junction, man. Scottie told me I was only nine miles away. Just to say that I walked all the way from Kerrville to Junction. Maybe I'll keep walking from there. I don't know. That girl Scottie was real cool with me. I'm walking now.
I stopped and took a drink of water and I took my last hit of weed.
Oh shit, I paid $1.80 for a bigass Gatorade and I left it. I'm going to go back. I hope I find it.
There it is, right where I left it. Cool, cool.
3:27pm I walked back to the truckstop and took a big gulp of electrolytes. I'm up walking again.
It sucks that my hat just disappeared. That sucks. I'm going to miss that hat. I had that hat for years. I had scored it at that garage sale in Eugene, Oregon back in 2003(7-11-03, 1:02pm). It sucks I lost it. It just disappeared. I don't know how I lost it. I doubled back to everywhere I went, the bathroom I took a shower in and it wasn't anywhere. I'm really glad I had this backup Gilligan hat my mom ordered off the web for me.
It was awesome how I scored me a shower too. I changed my underwear and socks out. But I lost my hat. That sucks.
3:48pm Coming up on mile marker 464. I've been walking on the Eastside giving people the peace sign. There's a bridge coming up I'm going to sit down at.
3:56pm I got to the bridge over by the mile marker. I noticed there was a road underneath it. Cool, some shade to sit down in. I got to the edge but the cement slope to the road was too steep. I went all the way to the other side of the highway with the Westbound traffic and found the grade wasn't as steep and I walked down it. I slipped and almost fell though. I sat down in the shade. Oh yeah, I had been saving some weed resin on my mom's back porch before I left and I just stumbled onto it.
4:07pm At the truckstop they were all making fun of me. Scottie had said, "Yeah, some of us have to work for a living." I told her, "If you think walking as much as I do and fighting the ignorance in this world isn't hard work, let's see you do it. I invite you to try it." I didn't really, but I should have told them that.
4:12pm I am up from my rest. I'm all resinated now. Let's see if I can walk up the same slope I came down. Without falling.
4:15pm Okay, I'm up walking again. I went back up the hill with no complications.
4:32pm Mile marker 463.
4:47pm Coming up on Exit 462.
Cool, Junction next three exits.
4:49pm I'm over here by the I10/83 junction. 95 miles to Uvalde. City of Junction Next 3 Exits. South Llano River State Park. Junction 1¼ mile.
5:19pm I had a break and smoked some resin. I ate the last of my crackers and I'm leaving now from marker 462.
5:20pm Passing sign that says South Llano River State Park, next 3 exits.
5:22pm Passing sign that says Junction 1¼ mile. Loop 481.
5:25pm This big oversized loaded trailer just zoomed by and almost hit me. I'm not that far from Junction, so I might as well be walking on the Eastbound side giving everyone the peace sign. Enough people have seen me as they're going in. Now they're going to see me going out.
5:30pm Exit 460. Texas Tech University at Junction, Next Left. It's a college town, badass. I'm going to tell lots of stories here. I might stay here for a couple days.
5:31pm I am sixty miles away from Sonora, hmm. Maybe I should walk all the way there. I'll play around with that idea. Earlier I was thinking maybe I should walk a hundred miles. That will make me real loud.
5:35pm Junction, Next right.
5:37pm Mile marker 461.
5:44pm Taking Exit 460 but, I'm passing a sign that says Junction 3 miles. Damn, almost. I can do eet!
5:49pm I just stopped at the first shade I could find. I'm going up the road that goes over the overpass into Junction. I'm going to stop in the shade in the grass right here.
5:59pm I am up from my rest. I never told you that after I took a shower I changed shirts and I'm wearing my Make It Happen shirt. I was wearing it when Scottie took my picture at the truckstop.
Well Junction, here comes Victor Antonio.
6:10pm I came up to this shintzy picnic area. I was going to read the plaque here because I thought it was an important one, but all it says is, "This site was donated for park purposes for the state highway department of Texas by Kimble County," blah, I'm not going to read that shit.
Wasn't it awesome that I had this backup hat?
6:25pm Scenic area ½ mile. That's where I'll stop and rest.
6:29pm I've been on Loop 481 this whole time.
Whoa, there's a sign for a big hill.
6:33pm I walked to before the hill and I'm going to sit down and rest in the shade.
6:43pm I'm going to start walking down the hill now.
The scenic area is coming up right now. I'll take at least one picture.
6:50pm I got to the scenic area and Junction looks awesome from up here. I can't wait to go down there. From up here it looks like a magical hidden city. A Shangri-La. There's a huge river and a bridge. Awesome.
6:58pm Coming up on the 2169 junction.
This town is cool. It's like a Shangri-La hidden in the forest down this big hill.
7:02pm Sign to the left says Hill County Fairgrounds and Texas Tech University at Junction. I'm going to keep walking to that bridge.
7:10pm I am about to go on the South Llano River Bridge. I'm tired.
I walked over the bridge and found a little shady spot. I see there's a Chevron across the street, but it's closed. I want to go find somewhere where there's people so I can sit down and rest and talk to people.
I'm in front of the courthouse. Whoa, there's a marker that says Coke R. Stevenson. I went to Coke Stevenson Middle School in San Antonio. Let me read it.
"Coke R. Stevenson. Strong, resourceful, conservative governor. Placed Texas on a cash basis with no increase in taxes nor curtailment of services to the people - changing a $34 million deficit to a $35 million surplus. Lifetime resident of Kimble County. Son of pioneer settlers, R.M. and Virginia Hurley Stevenson. Born March 20, 1888. In school only 22 months. Studied throughout his life. At ten got a ranch job. At 16 owned and operated Junction Brady Freightline. At 18 entered banking as a janitor, advancing to president. Studied law and was licensed in 1913. County attorney, County judge, legislator(1929-1939). While he was speaker state house representative, landmark legislation included first driver's license law, municipal indebtness reporting law, creation of state auditor's office: lower Colorado River authority, highway department pay-as-you-go plan.
First Texan to hold the three highest executive posts which are Speaker of the House(1933-1937), Lieutenant Governor(1939-1941), Governor(1941-1947). Also first to have more than two terms as governor. Over fifty years a Methodist, lawyer, mason, rancher. Married in 1912 Faye Wright. He was deceased in 1942. In 1954 Ms. Margaret Key Heap. Children: Coke Jr. and Jane."
7:32pm I walked up to the Exxon. Johnny's Exxon.
10:47pm Son of a bitch. I just now realized that the tape had ended on Side A. Man, it's been a great magical adventure I have had so far.
You see, I didn't notice that the tape had ended so I ended up not logging anything right when I got to Junction. Right when I got to the gas station. Let's see, what happened after that. Oh yeah, I went in and hit Allison up at Subway. She was wearing a nametag that said Daryl. I gave her my 'ol gasoline-for-the-stomach line and she hooked me up with a badass twelve inch sub. I tried telling this Mexican dude that was there about my mission, but he walked off right when I started talking to him. Then I went outside to eat and there were kids everywhere. I saw this girl walk by wearing a cap with marijuana leaf. I had some really good presentations.
Oh yeah, I ran into Cody! Cody pulled up in a truck. I have to look up when I've met him before(5-6-03, 8:50am and 1-8-05, 5:04pm). He said, "What a small world." At first he even told me he was going to let me use a tent and show me a place to crash. He said he was going to take off and try to score some weed and that he would be back. Then D walked by, the girl wearing the marijuana hat. I told her, her boyfriend Chris and her friends my story and she asks me, "Do you need a place to stay?" They brought me over to where they live in a room behind her grandma's. Right now we're cruising around in their car. We just went to Little Mexico to try and score some weed. There wasn't any there. It's already late now. I need to get to sleep.
11:41pm I'm going to go to bed soon. They cleaned out this bunk-bed for me. That was just so awesome how I had automatic friends in Junction. My story gets me so much.
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