I woke up at 9 this morning and went down to the cafe. I ate breakfast with Susan, who was the woman who was paying for my breakfast. I ate two fried eggs and two massive pancakes. Susan and her friend asked me if that was all I was eating, and when I said "yeah, for now." They both exploded into laughter... I guess it was a lot of food...

I sat with them for awhile and told stories and talked with other customers. Then I went back to my room and hung out until the afternoon when Bonnie came and picked me up to take me to the High school football game! I think we ended up people watching more than football watching, but it was fun. Watched the lighting in the far distance, and just relaxed. Until Bonnie and Susan wanted to introduce me over the intercom to the entire crowd! I nearly died I think, I don't remember anything that was said and I was shaking so bad after the fact, I had to practice doing some deep breathing just so I would stop. haha.  We left around 9, and Bonnie took me back to the Dakota Inn and I passed out.

<----- Luckiest salamander ever. Here is his story:

I started my day with the sun because it is suppose to get to 102 today.

As I left the campsite, I nearly ran this little guy (almost the size of my hand) over. His missed my front tire by an inch, and considering my cart weighs a ton today because I have so much water, he would have been road kill for sure. He was so pretty, I had to take a picture, so I got my camera out. I should mention that this road is an old high way, and I only saw 10 cars on it for the 7 hours I was walking, 2 of which, drove by right as this little guy was trying so desperately to cross the street. As the first car drove by, he was just on the other side of the double yellow lines, and I turned my head so I didn't have to watch the carnage. When I turned back, there he was! All curled up, and as soon as he got up and shook off the dust and started waddling his way to the grass on the other side, another car comes barreling down the road. This time, he was almost to the other side, and once again, I turned my head and once the car passed I looked, he was still alive! All curled up again. He waited a bit, and got up and started walking, then I walked over to get this picture and he curled up his tail like he was going to hit me with it if I came to close, so I just took the picture, and let him on his way and he safely made to the other side. Why did the salamander cross the road? I have no idea, probably to find a water supply of his own on the other side.

After all that, he survived me nearly hitting him (and I'll never walk down this road again I'd imagine) and the 2 to 10 cars that passed by in 7 hours. What a lucky little guy. I decided to write about him because the rest of my day was just HOT and miserable and I didn't want this blog to be empty, and this is a pretty good example of the small, seemly insignificant little stories that unfold in front of me everyday that I generally never mention. It's interesting to watch the small victories that are won everyday when you look close enough.

Walked 20 miles today, and got to the Kadoka Inn around 2:30 and after a little convincing, finally got the man at the office let me have a room right out front. He wanted to give me a room in the back where I would have to push BMW through the office and through two doors just to get to my door. As I struggled to get BMW inside, he just kept telling me leave my cart outside and it would be fine. People just don't get it sometimes, it's reminded me of when BMW was in the back of a truck and I told the owner that it needed to be strapped down good because it's top heavy. He shrugged off my request and while I was in the shower he left with his granddaughter to go down the the farm, and dumped BMW while driving. Everything inside went flying all over the inside of the wet, muddy truck bed, and when he got back, he and his wife dumped everything in the garage, and he told his wife to tell me what happened. He never said he was sorry, and my stuff was muddy and wet, and he could have broke BMW. I WAS PISSED. But kept my mouth shout to his wife since it wasn't her fault. She didn't get it either, she said "well at least we got everything, it you can just wash it off." The man at the office here at the Inn said something similar, that it would be fine and no one would touch it, it's just a cart. What people don't get, is that, BMW and the contents she holds are all I have. EVERYTHING I OWN (or am borrowing), in a 2x2x3 foot box, connected to a one-of-kind, made-with-love-and-care cart that took 3 years to make, named Bead My Walk. She's not "Just a cart".

So I got my room in the front and spent 5 minutes trying to get her over the front step which was just long enough that I couldn't get her inside the door. I nearly started to cry because I was SO HOT, dehydrated, but bloated with water, and had a head ache from hell and just wanted to shower and sleep in the air conditioning!!!!!! Damn it! Finally I made it in once I dumped most of the stuff into the room on the bed.

After a shower and nap, I went to the cafe and ate dinner and meet Bonnie who got me in contact with the Inn and she and her husband ate with me and we made plans to go to the High School football game tomorrow night. She also said she would pay for my dinner tomorrow night as well, since someone else got my dinner tonight, and someone else was going to get my breakfast tomorrow morning! And both my nights at the Inn are paid for too! Kadoka is quite the welcoming community.

I went back to the Inn and talked with Jonanne, the woman who runs the Inn and Cafe, and after an hour or so, I headed off to bed. What a day.

Lucky day!

Today was suppose to be another 100 degree day, but for whatever reason, it was cloudy and fairly cool all the way until I got to camp. I listened to the revised version of "Everything I need to know, I learned in Kindergarten" and that got me through the day. It even rained a little bit, so all-in-all it was a pretty good day. I passed by some construction workers, and as usually they just stared until I waved, and then they all waved and started laughing. I was stopped early in the day by a man with his son in a van. He asked if I liked jerky, and of course I said yes and he opened his trunk and it was completely over flowing with boxes of jerky! He gave me 6 packets! Buffalo, turkey, and beef. That was about it for excitement.

I was waiting for a phone call from a woman in Kadoka who was going to be picking me up this afternoon, but by the time I got to the campsite in the Badlands, I had not head from her. So I went up to the office and spoke with the woman inside, Charlie, and she told me to go pick my site and come back and let her know. When I came back she asked me about my walk and we talked for a few minutes and she ended up giving me a free night! Super cool, always looking to save money! She asked if I needed anything else, and I looked around and saw some beer in the fridge, so I asked if they sold the beer in singles and she said no. Oh well. She asked if she could come interview me and take a few pictures later after work. She use to be a reporter, and enjoys listening to peoples stories.

So I went back to BMW and set up camp, as I was finishing up and getting ready to take a shower, Charlie came over and brought me a beer from her cabin! Awesome! That made my day, and it was good beer too, a wheat beer from a micro brewery in Kansas City, Missouri. Not long after I set up camp, I got a call from the woman who was suppose to pick me up. She had been out of the office all day, and just got back. I told her that I was already all set up, and not worry, but talked her for the offer.  

After a while, Charlie came back and sat with me for almost two hours and I told her all about my Walk and she took some pictures. It was a really nice evening, and as soon as the sun set, I was in bed and watched the stars come out and listened to the crickets until I feel asleep.

Hot, hot, hot.

Thank goodness is was another short day today, 13 miles. With a high of 99, it's so hard to keep hydrated and have any kind of appetite. Nothing too exciting while walking, but I did have an interview with a local newspaper, The Pioneer Review, that will be out next week. Malcom was also coming out to pick me up to stay another night at his and Nola's home back in Wasta. 

He came when I was getting interviewed so we ate some Subway and headed into the Badlands! I was pretty excited. The Badlands are one of the main reasons for coming through South Dakota. It was even hotter there, 103, yuck. We did the 30 miles loop you can drive. What amazing country, I am very lucky in that this has been a very wet summer, so the valley was very green and lush, when most of the year it's pretty bleak and baron. We spend about 2 hours in the park before heading home.

When we got back, Nola was home so I showered and we all got ready and went down the local bar. Now I should mention Wasta has a population of about 70 people. While we were enjoying our beverages, a woman walked in asking if anyone had a truck code reader. Of course no one did. She went on to say that her truck had been giving her problems all day and her and her daughter (?) were on their way home to Billings (population of 106,000 people) from... somewhere... I can't remember... haha, anyway, so they were also looking for a mechanic or a place to stay that would keep their horses. The 4 people in the bar put in his or her two cents, she left saying she needed to go make some calls.

She and her daughter came in about 15 minutes later and said they would be sticking around to have a beer, and they had a friend from Rapid City coming down to bring them whatever it is that they needed. They sat next to Malcom, Nola and I and we started up a conversation. They are horse people like Nola and Malcom and got to talking about that for awhile, then they asked if I was their daughter, so I told them my story. She said that she was kinda familiar with BOC and she was actually given a beautiful bead by someone at the hospital. I told her that Billings was the second hospital that I visited and then she asked if I happened to meet a woman who worked there by the name of Sara Blackburn... and I said YES! I do! She was the wonderful woman who showed me around and introduced me to all the kids there. How crazy is that?! Tiny-town-USA, two people from two very different worlds, both far from home, meet in a tiny bar and just so happen to know the same person who lives 600 miles away.

We took the picture that you see up above, and then headed home for steaks and potatoes! Great way to end a very hot day! The pictures below are from the Badlands.

Short day number 2!

Felt pretty good this morning, better than the last few days anyway. Woke up to say good bye to Lynell, it was my last night at their house and this morning I spent cleaning up, and getting packed.




<-------------I also worked on this!

David took me to the hardware store to pick up supplies to pimp out BMW and I think they turned out great! Took two hours to paint on the writing so I'm glad I had a half day and started so late.

David came back at his lunch time and drove me out to where he picked me up. The first two hours were amazing because only THREE cars passed me. Then my highway ended and I had to jump on the freeway. I was waiting for a girl my age named Christy to join me. I met her Dad yesterday at the warehouse and he gave me his bonus money as a donation. He told her about me and she contacted me, and said she wanted to walk with me for a bit. Unfortunately she couldn't get off work on time, so instead she drove all the way out to Wasta and picked me up to take me to Wall (home of the famous Wall Drug) and took me to dinner there. Just as we were trying to figure out how to get BMW into her car, a truck pulled up and asked if one of us was Stacie... It was Dace, he is the son of the husband and wife where I'll be staying at tonight. It was perfect timing because he had a truck, and him and his brother were going up the hill to eat with Malcom. So they took my cart and I told them I would meet up with them when we got back. I jumped in Christy's car and we headed off to Wall. Which I thought was so awesome!!! She drove all the way out to met me, and hang out for a bit. So nice! I wish we could have walked together, I would have liked to have heard more of her story. Thanks Christy!! I had a great time!

When we got to Malcom and Nola's house, they were just finishing up dinner, and we sat around and chatted for a awhile. Then Dace and Christy left and I talked with Dace's brother and headed off to bed. I love being on the ranches, it feels like you can see every star in the sky and it's so quite... I will miss them once I get further east.

Another short day. Not feeling too great when I woke up, so today will be 15 miles, and tomorrow will be about 13 miles, and that will put me in Wasta.

It was a hot day today, but I stayed on the old highway, and there was a breeze, and almost no traffic! Rolling hills the entire day, but nothing to crazy. The only remotely exciting thing, was a man stopped to take some pictures and told me he writes a travel blog. We talked for a bit, and he was really, really nice. He gave me a donation, and we exchanged cards. 

That was about it... After David came and got me, we went to the hardware store and bought some stuff to spruce up BMW... My inspiration came from the new signs BOC sent me. I love them a lot, but they are way too small. You can't read them while driving by, so I'll use those at parties like I had last night, and other events I might go to. I'll post pictures of BMW when I'm done.   :)   So, that's what I worked on during the afternoon, and the rest of the evening is being spent cleaning up, and getting ready to leave Lynell and David.   :(   Very sad. I'll miss you guys! Thanks for everything!

Short day, but good day.

So today was a 20 mile day, and I felt pretty sick by the time Lynell's husband, David came and picked me up. But my walk through Rapid went really well. I stopped at one point to get my bearings, and while I was looking at my phone, I felt someone watching me. When I looked up, I saw a man standing against a door to the warehouse I was next to. He started to walk over once he realized I saw him. He asked what I was doing, and when I finished telling him, he gave me a sealed envelope with his name on it. He said that his boss gives out bonuses sometimes, and that is wasn't much, but he wanted to help my cause. Awesome!

Next I met the Central High School girls soccer team. They were out doing a conditioning run when I stopped to talk to their coach to ask him where the bike trail they were running on went to. He told me it would take me through most of the city, and then we processed to talk about my cart and my Walk across America. He was pretty excited, and every time the girsl form the team would run by he would tell them what I was doing. We chatted for a bit, and then I continued walking down the trail until I meet up with the entire team again after they had finished their run. They came over and gave me a rice crispy treat, and I told them all my story and they asked a million questions and we took a bunch of pictures. They were cool, and I am hoping they will do a fundraiser for Beads of Courage!!!

Right after that, I met a couple walking down the path and they stopped to ask me what I was doing, and when I told them, the woman reached into her purse and pulled out a $20. She looked at me and said: "This is for you to buy yourself a beer! Or two!"  hahaha, pretty cool!

The rest of my walk was pretty uneventful, David came and picked me up around 3:30 outside of town. Tonight is my party that he and Lynell are throwing for me! About 20 people came, and we sat around and talked for awhile. All super nice people, and very giving, I made $350 in cash and checks, and a few more gave online, so another $100! Thank you so much to everyone who came out, I really, really appreciate it, and I had a great time!!!

"On the road again..."

Whelp, back to wallkin' and walkin' and walkin' and walkin'. Today was a 24 miles day, and it went well enough. It wasn't too hot, and I wasn't pushing BMW so the tons of wind didn't bother me too bad, and there was a little cloud cover all day so it didn't get above 89. I spent the first 8 miles on the freeway and then jumped onto a side road and followed that to the edge of Rapid City.

I was worried about my ankle not being healed, but it didn't flair up while walking,  and I really didn't have any problems with my body when I was on the road, only when I got home did it hit me like a freakin' train wreak. UGH. I did have a TV interview today  she got it a little wrong, I said I was walking to 20 hospitals that BOC is currently in, and they said that's how many hospitals TOTAL that BOC is currently in... Oh well, it was still a good interview!

When Lynell came and picked me up I felt pretty good, but as soon as I got home and showered, I completely fell apart, I caught a cold while on my break, and now my entire body is revolting against me and I ache everywhere. Thank goodness they have a hot tub so I sat in that for awhile and took a bunch of drugs so hopefully I'll pass out soon and wake up feeling better... Hopefully... But all-in-all it was a pretty good day, and tomorrow I head through town, and tomorrow night, Lynell and David are throwing me a party! Yay!

Hello ya'll!

Sorry it's been a while since I last updated,but I have been thoroughly enjoying my time off. My birthday could not have been any better, thanks to the generosity of others, I raised over $2,000 in 12 days and am just over $12,000! Thank you to everyone for helping me make my birthday so perfect!

I am going to keep this short, but I thought I would just let everyone know that I had a wonderful, wonderful birthday, and a great two weeks off. I am hoping that my ankle is healed up enough, but it was hurting yesterday after walking just two miles  :(  so we'll see... I will be back in Rapid City on Thursday and start walking again Friday.

Thank you to all my friends and family who made time to see me on such short notice, it means the world to me! I love and miss you all, and I will see you soon!

So I planning on taking time off starting Friday on my birthday, but I ave plans everyday until then, soooo I am starting my break now. I will not be posting a lot while I'm on my break, maybe just a couple of times, and probably more pictures than anything.

Today was Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse and wine tasting tomorrow. I am also hoping to meet with someone at the hospital here in Rapid to talk about BOC and I will also be meeting a family who I would like to get in the program so I'm super excited about that.

I'll keep ya'll posted on my plans   :)