DAY 84 ~ 12/7/21

Joan and I walked a total of 13.9 miles today. We ended by walking right through downtown Crockett TX. It was a nice town I’d like to explore more!

It was a magical day. So much to pack in. It was full of precious animals from puppies, dogs, donkeys, cows and a longhorn. It also brought interactions with people, memories that will last a lifetime!

We walked right through some road construction this morning. Right at the very end of the construction one of the pilot cars stopped and the guy said “y’all be careful and don’t let any trees fall on you“ then laughed. Guess that’s good advice, eh?

Midway through the construction a couple of workers were burning some of the tree clippings. They asked if we were just out exercising. We told them the story and they were sincerely amazed. We told them the states that we had walked through and one of the men said he was from Arkansa and asked what part of Arkansas we walked through. When we told him, he said we walked close to the town he lived in near Searcy. That’s where Paige and I stayed when she came to visit. It’s a small world! He was very genuine when he wished us good luck on the rest of our journey.

At the beginning of our walk, I noticed some cow’s and talked to them just like many other days. For the first time these cows came running to me! They usually run away. And to top that off, when we continued walking down their fence area the group of them came running to the point we were at again, and then again until they couldn’t any longer! It was really wonderful having them along for this short section of our walk!

We stopped for lunch in the RV at our stopping point after 9.3 miles. Clarence was preparing hotdogs to microwave for us when a truck needed access to the road we were parked on. Clarence went outside to talk to the gentleman and Joan noticed another car pull in and a woman got out carrying what looked like a lunch bag. She thought maybe the woman brought lunch for the guy that was trying to get access to the road. Shortly there after there was a knock on the RV door. The woman was outside with the bag in her hand. I told her to come on in. She introduced herself as Amy and said that she saw us walking by her house earlier today. She also shared that her husband saw the RV at our starting drop off point this morning and read the back of the sign. He told her “you’ve got to meet these guys there walking for pulmonary fibrosis!” Turns out Amy’s mom died of pulmonary fibrosis! She said she was here to bring us lunch! What a touching surprise! She stayed for over an hour visiting with all of us. She told us the details of what she thought as we walked by her house. She was just having some coffee and saw what looked like backpackers on her highway, which isn’t a place for backpackers to be walking. She thought we missed the road for the national forest which is east of here!! It turns out Clarence was in on the surprise, as he often is, because she went and found him at our starting point first. That’s when she made the plan to meet us for lunch. They exchanged cell phone numbers to coordinate. When she described which house she lived in, I realized I had taken pictures of the gate, Stillwater Refuge, because it was so impressive! The synchronicity is just unbelievable! Her car was parked a little ways down the road so I invited her to walk with us to start our afternoon portion, and so I could walk her to her car. When we said goodbye we had a beautiful embrace. I will never forget her. What a beautiful soul!

I had the Christmas song “It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas” in my head since I woke up this morning and throughout the day. Today I saw so many beautiful decorations, and was touched by human kindness in the wonderful Christmas spirit. Love is boundless, and everywhere!