The Great American Journey

GAP WALK JOURNALS - VI

Thursday - August 7,  2008    Day 155   21.6 miles

Total Maine miles - 250.7     Walking Days - 73

Washington D.C. miles - 4.6   Cumulative miles 1256.1

Norma and I got off to a good start today, leaving the motel and
getting out to our start point before 8 am. Of course, we didn’t
have too far to go either. That was nice.

It rained all morning, but it was only a fine mist most of the
time. Every once in awhile it came down a little harder, but even
then it wasn’t too hard.  With the rain I tend not to look around
quite as much. I did notice that almost everyone I waved to
waved back - a very friendly bunch.

Segment one ended at the Wesserunsett Rest Area - I thought
you’d like that name. The names around here are great fun to
pronounce.  It’s really nice that they provide these rest areas on
the back roads here in Maine. They are very simple, with a few
picnic tables and a nice outhouse.

As I walked segment two I came into the little town of Athens.
Just as I came to the big curve, Russ called to see how I was
doing. I was happy to tell him where I was, and know that he
could picture it well. I was also able to report that Norma was
doing a great job as my support driver.

As I started walking again on segment three, a woman stopped
to ask if the highway we were on was Beckwith. I wasn’t sure,
but told her if she could wait a second I’d look at my map and
see. I keep my map in a ziploc bag in this weather, so I pulled it
out and sure enough, it was Beckwith Rd.  The woman also
offered me a ride, and I explained what I was doing and gave her
my card. She promised to pray for me.

Now you may wonder why I don’t know the name of the street
I’m walking on, but really it’s very simple. I know the highway
number (this one was 150) which remains constant for as far as
that particular highway goes. The name, however, changes every
few miles, so I don’t always pay much attention to the name as
compared to the number.

At the end of segment three we stopped for lunch at Charriers.
We also drove the route through Skowhagen so we would both
know exactly which turns to take. Then back to finish the
walking.

Segment four was done without the rain. Yeah. I walked through
Skowhegan on this segment. Stopping at a convenience
store/gas station to use the facilities, I got to talking with the
clerk behind the counter. He was very interested in my story. I
asked him about a church for Sunday, and he recommended on
in Madison, ME. It’s not too far away, but we’ll have to see. It’s
usually easier to stay close to where we’re staying.

Leaving there I walked on through the downtown area, then
across the bridges with the water rushing through and over the
dam. It’s quite a sight. Now I’m walking on Highway 201A/2.
Norma was waiting for me just a little ways up this road at the
Administrative offices for the high school - and I do know that
this highway is also called Front Street at this point.

I called it quits here since we had done some longer segments. I
mainly want to keep up at least 20 miles, but no more than 25 a
day. I’m quite comfortable while walking these days, and enjoy
being out there on the road.

We went to dinner at a local Chinese Restaurant. The taste was a
lot different from what we’re used to in Chinese food, but it was
still good - just different. From there we went back to the motel
for the night.

I noticed I had a voice-mail on my phone, and when I checked it
found out it was Connee. Both Russ and Connee told me that
they made all their flight connections ok. It was great to hear
from them both.