Blog The Walk

23 miles today using 43,158 steps...findings for the day: 1 Bostich number 20 hammer, 1 bag of gold star shaped confetti, 1 wrist watch of unknown brand, 1 thin dime and 1 penny...wildlife sitings: 2 hawks (species unknown to me), lots of deer, several prairie digs, several wild turkeys and a couple of bunnies...the slide seal issue may very well get resolved on Monday which will mean a trip back to Rapid City, oh when we can get laundry done and get groceries...I guess my next project will be to identify the raptors in South Dakota so I will know what majestic birds I keep seeing...right now an ice pack on my left knee and a good night's sleep...cheers!!!

Today we left Rapid City and set up camp just outside of Interior, South Dakota at the Badlands Ranch & Resort, third time is a charm...this place is VERY cool, off the beaten path, deer in the fields, coyotes yapping, wild turkeys in the trees and stars in the sky...we ended up there based on the recommendation of one, Virgil Klausen one of the guys working on the road crew doing some repairs to SD route 44 east...Emily, the manager was there to welcome us on her way to class and directed us to her brother Moses "Bull Bear" (I will have to clarify the name)...I had a rather brief but touching conversation with him...it seems that no matter where I go people are impacted by either diabetes or cancer and in some cases both, Bull Bear would be one, Jerry, the owner/bartender of the Wagon Wheel Bar & Grill in Interior would be another...Wayne one of Jerry's patrons rounded out the day being a Vietnam veteran (Air Force)...I never cease to be amazed at the heart felt stories of the "regular folk" that I bump into...Vietnam may have been a "crazy war" (aren't they all!?!?!?) but who is to say, Wayne did his duty as did the WWII B-17 pilot whose son I chatted with on yesterday's walk...I am not sure what the simple answer is for world peace other than "can't we all just get along?", it REALLY is that simple, HOWEVER as long as there are people who seek to tear down and destroy freedom we do have to stand up for that, as I see it, it IS all about peace, love, harmony and joy...thank you Jerry, Wayne and Bull Bear for sharing your stories with me, again I am touched and I am honored, all three of you will travel with me to Key West...today was further confirmation that as long as I am open I will find the right and perfect situation for me...today WAS the right and perfect experience...thanks Jim for the lunch and the book...cheers!!!

21.4 miles today (34.5161 km's) with 39,861 steps...findings for the day: nothing!!!...wildlife sitings: deer and antelope grazing and NOT playing, all kinds of prairie dogs (ok saw a few but HEARD the chirping of MANY) and two hawks of a species unknown to me...nice day for walking, cool (high 50's low 60's) muted sunshine, flat terrain and a gentle breeze...back to short sleeved shirt and shorts instead of long-johns and a half dozen shirts and gloves...again a hearty thanks to Jim for showing up at the right and perfect time...tomorrow we will be moving the motor home to Interior, South Dakota...cheers!!!

Since we are touch and go with the weather I decided to forego Sunday football in favor of walking...23.3 miles (37.5806 km's) with 43,401 steps...findings for the day: 1 rather small cloth football with snowflakes on it, 1 rather small porcelain teacup, 1 nickel and one yellow "Support Our Troops" magnet...wildlife sightings: deer and antelope playing and a hawk unidentified by me...Today was another milestone in that very early in the day I took the 3 millionth step in the walk, actually I forgot all about it until midday...ended the walk today in Badlands National Park, they really are bad, I had driven through before but never walked, spooky and desolate...slide repairs SEEM to be holding, how come THEY did not use the same seal that was on it is a mystery to me, perhaps a phone call tomorrow will shed some light...dinner, a cold beer, dump the tanks, Broncos win Monday Night Football, forecast for warmer weather, life is good...now if we can just find Jim's cell phone...cheers!!!

A new era for The Walk of Life commenced today...Jim Doran from the Pacific Northwest joined me today as the new support vehicle driver...Jim is a "professional volunteer" spending a good deal of time with Habitat for Humanity and the Red Cross...thanks Jim, I really Really REALLY appreciate you doing this, it means a great deal to me...soooooooooo today for the first day on the job for Jim and day 77 for me we did 23.2 miles (37.4194 km's) using 43,214 steps...findings for the day: 1 railroad spike, 1 quarter, 1 rather scuffed up nickel, 6 pennies and one Bridgestone golf ball...wildlife sightings: 1 little bunny rabbit, 1 hawk and all kinds of deer...we started in Rapid City at the Omaha Street Disc Golf Course and headed east on route 44...I stopped at the Caputa Store to assure Holly that I was dressed warmly enough to continue the walk (long johns over shorts)...I also stopped to visit one of Jonathan's cousins, Keith Ham...as it turns out Keith has three honorees of "The Walk" and didn't even know it, Jonathan his cousin, his son who was in the Marines and his father, Carl, who was in the army, thank you both for your service...just at the end of the day a gentleman with a pickup loaded with furniture stopped and asked me what I was doing after I explained he offered a prayer for my safe journey...it is such a treat to meet the "regular folks" out there, Holly at the store, the gentleman with a prayer, "Bull" at the tire shop, all of whom have an impact on my life and are truly a gift...thank you one and all for showing upon my life...see ya'll down the road...cheers!!!

some trip-to-date numbers:

1589.5 miles (2,563.7097 km's)

2,999,896 steps (2,999,896 metric steps)

$43.12 in loose change

21 elapsed weeks since the start at 80 miles per week I am 90.5 under schedule...weather, health and the motor home permitting I should make that up by Nov 17

Well I dropped Mom off at my sister, Roxy's, in Raymond, AB and then headed back to Rapid City...19 degrees fahrenheit when I left Sunday morning...just another reason to head for Key West!!!...got to Rapid City and found out the seal for the motor home slide was deployed a wee bit and the repairs will not be made until Thursday, the batteries and the shower did get fixed...it was determined that there was an issue with one of the rear tires (surprise, SURPRISE!!!) so it was recommended that I take the Beaver to Dale's Tires down the road...while I was there I had two pleasant surprises, the first being that the issue plus rotation and balancing was done for less than $70!!!, best trip to a repair shop EVER!!!...the second however was a wee bit more touching...the person that worked on the coach, by the name of "Bull" Bowmeister (apologies Bull if I misspelled your name), after I told him what I was up to, shared with me a story of his family, not everyday I get reduced to tears in a tire shop!!!...Bull, I shall carry with me, you and your little family, I only wish I could could say something to you and especially your wife that would ease your collective pain on this, the birthday of your twin sons...in that moment in the garage I felt that I have known you all my life, permit me to call you "friend"...what I am doing is to put positive energy out to the universe and please know, my friend, that your family will travel with me on my trip...thank you for sharing your story it indeed is a sacred gift to me, all the best to you and your family as you reconcile the bitter sweetness of the birth of your twins, may God bless you.

Today brings a close to an era in the history of The Walk of Life...my initial support vehicle has been forced into an early retirement, even though she was scheduled to terminate somewhere around November 4th or 5th Dr. Long at Rapid City Regional Hospital accelerated that date by a couple of weeks...Mom thanks for stepping up and getting The Walk of Life in motion, for four and one half months you have patiently and anxiously awaited that phrase, "ok, move on up to the NEXT one", you have assisted me in realizing a dream of mine, together we have over 1,500 miles with just shy of three million steps, we have been through towns and hamlets where we wondered "who would live in a place like this" or "WOW this place is pretty cool"...you did a fine job in the Jeep, climbed a jersey barrier, picked up a wee bit of mud, took a rock from a truck, weather countless blown fuses and heard your fair share of "vehement encouragement" as to where and how to park, as we said on more than one occasion, "nobody died"!!!...today we managed 3 miles over 5,619 steps before we were so rudely interrupted by a few extra beats of a heart...findings for the day: 1 nerf football (small) and no evidence of a heart attack...time to pass the mantle to another, stay tuned for who that lucky person may be...life goes on regardless of my expectations, I can ONLY deal with what is and currently, what is is, Mom has to go home and I have to find a replacement driver or drivers, sooooooooooooo if anyone knows of someone who wants to participate in an adventure as a driver of the support vehicle PLEASE lemme know...Mom, thanks again for your efforts and your patience, you made Cec proud AND probably chuckle on more than one occasion!!!

today saw 21.9 miles with 41,019 steps...findings for the day: 1 rather beat up quarter, 1 football, 1 magnetic door sign "Lincoln Welding", 1 goofy die with face card stuff on it and 1 Barbie cowboy boot...wildlife sighted: 3 deer...the day dawned even windier than yesterday, sure glad it is a tail-wind...went on some back roads and for a time even on gravel roads...did another 3 miles on the freeway, with the tail-wind I would have been able to spread my jacket and be in Minnesota in ten minutes!!!...the wind blew all day with intermittent sun, a few rain drop, a few snow flakes and WIND and MORE WIND!!!, in fact as I sit here the coach is rocking and making all sorts of wind initiated noises...finished up o the west side of Rapid City and then scouted out the journey for tomorrow as well as a place to stay...I will move the coach first thing in the morning and go put in another 20 and change...after the walk today we drove around downtown Sturgis looking for a "restrictive diet" restaurant, nope only the Chinese joint and I won't do that two days in a row, so we came home and grazed through the fridge...problems getting parts for the motor home in a timely manner so it may very well be that the repairs get postponed for a while, that will be a "game day"decision...did a wee bit of cleaning in the motor home before it drove me to drink MORE heavily...thanks to the Baumgartners for stopping by and chatting, thanks Della for the kind words and the thanks of the day goes to Jeanie of Jeanie's Kitchen-ette in Black Hawk, SD, not only did she give me great directions to get through Rapid City BUT she gave me a BIG bowl of clam chowder to take home, YUM on a cold windy day such as today...forecast tomorrow is much of the same although Rapid City might ONLY be 20-30 mph instead of 30-40 mph...thought a great deal of Josh Peppers over the last couple of days, I whine over a couple of feet that are a wee bit sore, at least I have both of mine to hurt...not that I pack around the martyr mantle each day BUT (so I guess I do!!!) as I think of all of the honorees of this excursion I ask myself "How would Josh approach today?" or "What would Carla do?" or "How does Fred think of his life as a veteran and a cancer survivor?", thoughts and questions such as those and a thousand just like them make the journey a wee bit more meaningful than just one foot in front of another and repeat several million times!!!...well off to sleep listening to the wind howl its way across Sturgis, through the rows and rows of grave markers at the Black Hills National Cemetery and down 1-90 past Rapid City...see ya'll down the road...cheers!!!

after a much deserved two days off it was back on the trail...a wee bit of a late start in that I dropped by the RV repair shop to get some advice on correcting the issue that arose from a dishonest transaction with the person that sold me the coach.  The guy EVEN accepted my condolences on the passing of his "friend"!!!  Turns out the liar NEVER even met the deceased!!  Yes I AM bitter over my neglect. Trust BUT verify!!!  I suppose the universe has its way of "leveling" things I just wish it was in my time-frame and on my terms!!!...so much for the bitch, moan, whine and complain session!!!...today we got 19.3 miles with 36,761 steps...findings for the day: 1 cuzzie (from Strugis) 1 somewhat rusted philips screw-driver, 1 lumbar support cushion, 1 twenty dollar bill and 1 penny...no wildlife sighted...today I had to take I-90 for a couple of miles...I had sent my driver ahead and by the time I got to the Jeep she was already prepared to call it a day, just sort-a like "DONE", oh well...the cemetery was a fitting place to stop, I walked around a bit, read the Gettysburg Address and got a sense of how many people have given their all for the sake of the freedoms that we enjoy on a daily basis, I just wish all the power-hungry, money-grubbing, lying and cheating members of congress and the executive branch would stroll through that place and perhaps we might get some honesty in Washington, but alas AND alack it appears that history WILL repeat itself, "Rome where art thou?", oh it will NEVER happen to us, we are much too civilized now, RIGHT!?!?!?...set up camp at the "closed" Days End RV Park & Campground in Sturgis, SD, being a former "biker" I had always looked forward to going to Sturgis, just under different circumstances!!!...the wind blew all night long and rocked the coach to the extent that I pulled in two of the four slides, I guess Mother Nature is still in charge...see ya'll down the road...cheers!!!

well day 73 out on the road...did I say something about "computers and tequila tools of the devil!!!"???...I just spent a half an hour waxing poetic and literary only to loose the information  aaaahhhhhhhHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!...enough to drive me even MORE insane!!!...OK let's give this another go...22.1 miles (35.6452 km's) with 41,482 steps, for the week that would be 6 days of walking for 131.2 miles (211.6129 km's) in 246,308 steps...trip-to-date 1522.1 miles (2455 km's) with 2,873,283 steps just a little over one third of the journey...findings for the day: 2 quarters & 2 pennies (just change in South Dakota), 1 CB radio antenna, 1 set of Dodge keys with house key and mail box keys attached, 1 yellow Ferrari (filled with dirt and sand so I guess it won't work very well!!!) and 1 bracelet with little charms attached to each link with "Manuel Zed" on the back on four of the links (a name?)...a very good day for walking, sunshine, not too hot with a very nice tail wind pushing me along...I always attempt to imagine the conversations that preceded the various items to the road-side, "two sets of car keys, who needs 'em, one otta work just fine" or "Manuel, I hate you and here see if you find find your bracelet now!" or "Jimmy if you keep driving that Ferrari over your little brother's head it's going to get tossed out the window! OK I warned you!!!" or "Ernie did you tighten up that antenna?"...rather odd how formerly useful stuff becomes road-side litter (or treasures) for some odd-ball who comes strolling by...Saturday night we had dinner at a little Mexican place just next door to the RV park, VERY tasty!!! after which I caught a cab downtown to do a wee bit of bar hopping...Saturday night in Spearfish at the B & D Bar, cold beer and blues then a bit later across the street at Horses to Harleys for more cold beer and pool with the locals, Dave, Sara, Wyatt and Sondra followed by a rather wise cab ride home...Sunday Mom got to go to church and I got to watch football all day, finally found a person of intelligence from DISH (not much there!!!) that was able to get the local channels (Jack from the Phillipenes), nice guy and unlike MOST for the people at DISH he knew what he was doing and got me connected right away...Monday ! got the tires rotated on the Jeep while Mom did some laundry...thank you Mike Huber of Green's Brakes & Alignment in Belle Fourche for doing an excellent job at a very reasonable price, it is nice to see people take pride in a job well done!!!...thanks, Becky for the good food and good service at the Belle Inn for breakfast (wanna be my driver!?!?!?), made arrangements to have the slide on the Beaver looked at in Whitewood tomorrow to get the slide fixed...looks like all I have to do now is get the slide fixed, find a driver, walk another 3000 miles and life will be back on an even keel, until the next curve ball served up by "LIFE"!!!...see ya'll down the road...cheers!!!

well since I did NOT freeze to death yesterday I thought I may as well walk today...sunny all day and before noon I was down to short sleeved yellow...managed 20.6 miles with38,584 steps...findings for the day (in Wyoming) 2 pennies and a car wash token...sightings for the day: antelope...yesterday was about 16 miles in Montana and 4 in Wyoming, today was 16 miles in Wyoming and 4 in South Dakota...chatted briefly with Toni and Jeremy and their two dogs  who were on a road trip from Oregon and Jerry Williams, a veteran from Montana...always nice to meet the locals or fellow travelers...and a hearty thanks again to all the truckers who give me a wide berth and a few blasts on the horn...still looking for a replacement driver (adventurers out there!?!?!?)...making every effort to get south fast, after tomorrow it will be just about constant south, enough cold...thanks to my eldest child, Staci for sending my "care" package with mail, a new soap dispenser bottle AND new socks!!!...see ya'll down the road...love 'n kisses to all

well Thursday dawned chilly and cold and ONLY got colder as the day wore on!!!...20.2 miles with 38,037 steps...findings for the day: 1 quarter...sightings for the day: 1 bald eagle dining on fresh (???) venison compliments of a recently passed Peterbilt, some deer and some antelope (feeding NOT playing!!!) in fact late in the evening as I was on my way to the supermarket a little three-pointer managed to run into the side of the Jeep, fortunately for the deer I was almost at a standstill and the deer was going the same direction (down the middle of the road!!!) as I and just barely touched the car, no damaged or marks left...the temperature yesterday started out cold with a gentle (1-1 1/2 club breeze) coming out of the north-east-east RIGHT IN MY FACE!!!, I finally had to resort to putting on long yellow pants!!!, can't remember the last time I had long pants on...hmmmmm my final retirement party in down town Kirkland and someone was nice enough to take scissors to those!!!...anyway as the day wore on the temperature (high 30's) stayed the same but the wind picked up a tad, going from 1-1/2 clubs to about a 3 club wind, OUCH!!!...it certainly brought out my not-so inner martyr!!!...said farewell to Montana and hello to Wyoming, still just as desolate and still just as cold!!!...finally finished up the walk and got settled in Spearfish, South Dakota at the KOA...still can't get local (network) channels from DISH and nobody there is bright enough to know how come, I get everything else, all 287 "home shopping" channels, thank you GOD for NFL RedZone!!!...see ya'll down the road...cheers!!!

well today we put in 23.3 miles with 43,641 steps...findings for the day: 1 sign with a red arrow 24" x 8" and a small Browning pocket knife...weather was sunny all day, morning had a slight head wind, afternoon is was a decent tail wind...a couple of small flocks of geese, guess most of them were enjoying the warmer weather...the are is again pretty sparse, few trees, very flat and not many people...am looking forward to the Black Hills...tomorrow we will walk through Alzeda and into Wyoming...I still have to get a better South Dakota map...move the coach down the road tomorrow, walk then find a place to set up camp for a few days...cheers

got a rain and snow delay today and did not start walking until 10:50 AM but still managed 20.7 miles with 38,771 steps...findings for the day: 1 Texas quarter, 1 orange safety flag and 1 goose neck pry bar...saw deer, antelope, a hawk and a bald eagle...started out with a very light snow falling which gradually deminished as the day wore on...most of the time the road was wide with good shoulders and a gentle slope into the ditch, that made it nice to get outta the way of the wash kicked up by the trucks...no great insights other than it appears that cold weather inspires me!!!...WALK FAST OR FREEZE!!!...gorgeous sunset tonight, "they" say the weather is supposed to warm a wee bit over the next couple of days...Broadus seems like a nice town, however like all the rest of Montana the coffee SUCKS!!!, I guess I got real spoiled in London and all of Ireland, I really like their coffee...we did pick up another safety light during the snow delay so the support vehicle is a wee bit more visible, I have to deliver my mother back to my sibs in one piece!!!...cheers and see you down the road!!!

we managed 24.3 miles with 45,513 steps...findings for the day: 1 CD case with several discs...saw deer and antelope running from the hunters, heard several gun shots as it is hunting season here...it drizzled the better part of the day, just enough to be irritating and cold but not enough to stop walking...walked right to the motor home doorstep...saw lots of geese heading east and south, same as me, they appeared to be moving MUCH faster than "the walker"!!!...cheers!!!

today we did 18.9 miles with 35,204 steps...items found: 1 bungee cord and 1 4" ratchet extension (write your own joke here!!!)...weather was clear and cold, got started a wee bit late due to having to check oil (and add) to the Jeep...no substantive realizations nor "ah-ha" moments...numbers for the week: 103 miles with 200,998 steps bringing the tool for the excursion:  1390.9 miles (2243.3871 km's) with 2,626,975 steps...replacement support vehicle driver still wanted...cheers!!!

20.1 miles, 39,591 steps AND meeting the Peppers...just after I got started a gentleman stopped to chat, we stood at the side of the road and I gave my usual "family, friends and freedom, politicians need not apply" speech...just before he left I asked his name, as Jimmy Peppers was about to drive off my memory was jogged by a sign I had seen the night before in Lame Deer honoring a Josh Peppers, turned out Jimmy is Josh's dad...Josh was in Iraq and was injured by an IED, Jimmy drove off to get his wife, Josh's mother (Rae, thanks for the coffee)...I can't speak for the Peppers, BUT I was touched, being a parent I cannot imagine that call, they indicated that Josh has a very positive attitude and will be getting a prosthetic soon...words cannot describe the emotion that I felt out there on the road, duty, honor, integrity, the sacrifice that one makes for an ideal, walking is the very least I can do...I do believe that I am slowly beginning to realize the deeper meaning of what I am doing AND I THOUGHT I WAS ENLIGHTENED before!?!?!?...it is nice to feel like that I am doing something with a deeper meaning than just wearing out shoes and picking up trash...thank you to Rae and Jimmy Peppers for teaching me you ARE a gift to me, Josh I don't know you nor your buddies, BUT a sincere and heartfelt THANK YOU, THANK YOU and THANK YOU again...you too will be with me on this trip...little side note, a dog followed me all the way from Lame Deer to Ashland...was nice to have a companion BUT I worried the whole time she would get hit...when the rain and snow hit we took that smelly dog back to where she came from, dog you have no idea how lucky you are...a special thanks to Jennifer Carter and friend who stopped me in Ashland with a generous contribution (we wish we could give more) and a Dove dark chocolate bar!!!, NO gift, from the heart, is TOOOOOO small, the attitude OF the heart determines the ultimate value of the gift...thank you all for your support of my gift to all those who cannot walk for themselves...best wishes to all!!!

20.2 miles, with 39,787 steps, found 1 penny...quite easy along this stretch of road to fill trash bags, I could fill one for each twenty feet I walked...thank you Debbie at the D&D Trading Post in Busby for letting us park the motor home in her lot, makes the trip a wee bit more efficient...after an incident in the middle of the night I CHOOSE to stop and reflect at, perhaps a deeper level, just what I am doing here, thank you Vic for being a sounding board, good thing this issue drew upon your Arkansas education and not your wasted stop at byu!!!...just a couple of miles into the day's walk I was stopped by a woman named Pauline, another experience by the side of the road by REAL people, your people go with me and Raven is on my mind, thank you Pauline for stopping, your gift to me is very much appreciated and will go with me, you are a gift to me and your promise that "the animals will go before you" was more than accurate...several miles down he road I saw a man splitting wood and that reminded me of the MANY cords of wood I therapeutically split in my formative years...I stopped and chatted with Jeremy Iron and what splitting wood means to him, Jeremy you ARE on the right track (as I see it!!!) keeping chopping wood, it IS good for the soul...thank you for sharing the story of your friend and your grandmother, I look forward to your letter, thank you Jeremy for choosing to split wood that day, chatting with you is indeed a gift to me!!!...a day of intense introspection...my brain works as it is trained, accounting, rational thought, logical, always being efficient or at least looking for the most logical and efficient way to do things, always by the numbers, driven by economics...I am discovering the "human element" (wasn't there a commercial about that!?!?!?)...just what does it mean to "honor" all of these people by walking???, my brain always wants to break it down by "results", in this case who donated to the diabetic camp, who gave to the Folds of Honor Foundation, who made a contribution to one of the causes, what I failed to focus one is that sometimes the "honor" is in the giving of ones self, not by pounding a nail or picking up the trash along the road but just the very fact that I am out there putting one foot in front of another (so far about three millions times!!!), as each breath represents life, so each step represents a transfer of my energy to the universe, for me it is a close to meditation as I have ever been able to come...walking for those who cannot walk for themselves...there seems to be a shift in my brain, perhaps a more integrated view of life, economic yes (we do have to pay the rent) but also the VERY personal human element...thank you Mom for being the catalyst, thank you Vic for the mirror and thank you Pauline for stopping!!!...cheers

walked 22.3 miles (35.9677 km's) with 43,997...items found: 1 quarter, 1 dime, 1 penny, 1 squeaky dog toy (ball), 1 dog bowl, no dog, hitch pin, small socket, a flashlight, a Pink Floyd button, some goofy plastic troll type creature and a handful of reflectors...it seems when the employees of the Montana Department of Transportation change reflectors they just DROP the old one on the ground (somehow I am guessing that is NOT in a policies & procedures manual!!!)...walked past Custer's last stand and could see grave markers from the road, a prime example of ego run amuck with no official oversight, lack of communications and man's inhumanity to man, al least the animal kingdom eats itself for survival, humans do it for?????????...along the way we were stopped by Robert the Reporter, he took a few pictures and we chatted a bit...I had the pleasure of having Robert walk with me a bit while he interviewed me, Robert, your stopping that day was truly a gift to ME, thank you for being curious AND doing your job, thank you again for sharing a bit of your story, THAT is how come I am out here...thank you to Pastor Rob in Busby for ministering to the more temporal needs of an elderly support vehicle driver!!!, I enjoyed the conversation, I am sure your wife is much more grounded than other politicians, amy she ALWAYS remember "the people"...cheers!!!

today we logged 21.5 miles under 40,531 steps, we stopped today just about 1 1/2 miles outside of Crow Agency on route 212...in the absence of real nasty weather we have 8 more walking days for Montana, about a day and a half of Wyoming and then off to South Dakota...items found today: 1 dine, 2 pennies and a bit for a wood drill...the west frontage road from Hardin to Crow Agency has the unofficial, unscientific distinction of being the most littered road of the walk, thus far...I must say that I am appalled at the callous disregard for common courtesy some people have (in this case a great many) by tossing their trash on the roadside...TAKE SOME PRIDE FOLKS!!!...had the Jeep and the motor home washed yesterday while I sat around like a slug and watched football, good to have the regular fees back...I found the source of the leak in one of the slides, Mr. Rube here found it in twelve seconds, something that two different repair facilities and $5,000 were unable to locate...are people just that stupid or do they just not care!?!?!?...I would lean towards the latter, people do not care about quality anymore...now I just have to figure out a way to fix it before the rain comes Wednesday of Thursday...17 weeks into the walk