Hiker's Diary

SUMMARY: Well, the Great American Journey team is moving right along. It was tough getting started again. They took two weeks to recover from their injuries, then finally got started walking again on February 24. Since then they have crossed through Arkansas, the boot heel of Missouri, the Mississippi River, Kentucky, and are now in Tennessee. During that time they have been interviewed by about seven local newspapers. We've only seen a couple of the stories, but many of the local people are reading them and are out cheering them on.

On Saturday March 6 our son Russ heard news stories about two women in Missouri being swept away in the floods. We thought: we have two women in Missouri, and they were right near the Mississippi. Some searching on the Internet revealed that the two women in the flood were in a different part of Missouri (and they were rescued). But in the process I found weather forecasts that said that the Mississippi River was going to be rising starting March 9 and reaching flood stage about March 11, and cresting about March 14. Two of the three towns mentioned to be in the flood area were the two towns on either side of where the RV was camped. I called Lyn to warn her, but after checking around she said the locals told her there was nothing to worry about. (But I still worry. After all it is a proven fact that it helps to worry. Studies show that 90% of what we worry about never happens.) On Monday and Tuesday I called Lyn several times to warn her and to tell her to be careful. She said that it was a beautiful day and that she was walking right next to the Mississippi River and it was flowing along very peacefully. On Tuesday they arrived at the river edge a couple hours earlier than anticipated. They had been planning to just walk to the western side of the Mississippi, and then on Wednesday move the RV into Tennessee, then resume walking on Thursday. But since they arrived at the ferry early enough in the day they decided to go on across. As they were on the ferry ( a flat barge being pushed by a tugboat) they saw that the river was beginning to rise and the current was getting much stronger. The ferry would take 15 minutes to cross one direction, then over an hour to fight the current to come back. The ferry operator said that he would probably only be able to make a couple more crossings before he had to quit because of the floods. Wow !!! That was close. When they got to the other side they were going to stop at the eastern waters edge of the Mississippi, but decided to walk 7 tenths of a mile up the hill. When they started walking again on Saturday the river had flooded all of the area below where they had stopped at the top of the hill (actually I think it was the top of the levee).

The anticipated completion date has been revised to take into account all of the delays that they have been encountering. Now, if they are able to maintain a 15 mile per day average for five days per week, AND they don't have any more significant delays, it looks like they will reach Key West, Florida about July 26 to August 3, rather than the May 26 that was originally projected. Unfortunately, that will put them into Florida just during the hot and humid time of the year.

They are making some more changes to their walking route so they may still cut off some mileage. Keep watching the website (at www.greatamericajourney.com ) to get updates on the anticipated walk route changes. Also, that is the best place to get the most recent Post Office addresses for them. Because of the delays and changes of route we really can't project the Post Office addresses more than about two weeks ahead. When we do project out too far, they often end up being way off course and have to drive more than 70 miles extra to get their mail.

		Updated July 10, 2004



Joni's twin brother, John, flew in from England to join the walkers for a week (6/15 to 6/22). Here is what John had to say: Hi Dave I am now back home after a memorable week walking in Florida. The heat was unbearable and I was at times exhausted but I enjoyed the experience and I would have regretted not taking part. Lyn and Joan are very tired but also very determined and excited as the finish draws close. I am looking at my wall map of their route and my 79 miles seems very insignificant, you really have to walk to appreciate the enormity of their achievement. Regards John,


June 11, the GAJ Team reached the Atlantic Ocean. This technically meant that they had already "Walked Across America." But they still had 431 miles to go to reach their goal of Key West, Florida.

As of June 5 the Team has walked 3,550 miles to five miles past Palatka, Florida. We estimate that the completion date of reaching Key West will be about July 20, after walking another 481 miles. We project that the total miles for the entire walk will be about 4,031 miles. They will actually reach the Atlantic Ocean this next week, but the entire trip plan is to walk all the way to Key West, Florida. Since they no longer have the motorhome (aka "The Castle"), they are staying in motels from week to week. That has proven to be much less frustrating than it was with the motorhome. But it also means that they have A LOT less storage space for their earthly goods. So far the temperature has not been too high, although the humidity is much higher than they are used to. They have been having daily thunderstorms, which seems to be the norm in Florida during the summer. Joni is still having significant problems with blisters. Please pray for her. She will have about a four day rest near the end of June while Lyn returns to California for her Granddaughters wedding. The anticipated route now is going south on US Highway 1 along the Atlantic coast to Key Largo, then across the Overseas Highway bridge to Key West.

May 2004 Highlights May 3 - Crossed Alabama-Georgia State Line, 193.2 Miles in Alabama May 9 - Sunday School and pictures with President Jimmy Carter May 11 - Interviewed for 6:00 News WALB-TV May 24 - Reached Florida State Line, 193.2 miles in Georgia May 25 - Sold "The Castle"

The Team reached the Florida border on Monday May 24. Total miles walked to date was 3,427.4 Tomorrow will be the beginning of the last state. We don't know how long it will take them to reach Key West since we don't have the exact mileage. In fact, several different ways come up with different mileage. Lyn's original route came out to 653 miles (after adjustment), but Mapquest.com comes up with 577 miles. We're estimating as of now that the completion date will be about July 20 to July 26. (At 75 miles per week average.)

As of May 14 the Great American Journey Team has walked 3,330 miles and have just passed through Albany, Georgia, and finished just west of Doerun on Highway 133. The Team entered Georgia on May 3, and then on May 9 we were able to attend the Sunday School class at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia, that President Carter taught. President Carter is a Deacon at the church and teaches about three weeks a month. The church has about 150 members (about 60 active members), but about 10,000 visitors a year. We were there on Mother’s Day, which is one of their lowest "Carter Sundays", so there were only about 300 visitors that Sunday. After being searched by the Secret Service we had a "briefing" of when we could take pictures, when we could talk with Jimmy Carter (only when asked a question), and other cautions. Dave joined the church choir and sang with them for this Sunday. After the church services we lined up with everyone else to get our picture taken with President and Rosalynn Carter. This was a highlight of the trip.
On the previous day we met the Plains mayor, Boze Godwin, and passed on the "mayoral greeting" from our Paso Robles mayor, Frank Mecham. Boze and his wife Betty are cousins of the Carters, and very active in the Maranatha Baptist Church. Boze is in charge of videotaping the church services, and will send us a copy.
For the last several months "moving day" has been a very traumatic day for Lyn. Just about every time it has resulted in significant repairs and unwanted delays (sometimes several days each time). This has gotten to be an extremely discouraging process for Lyn each week. This weeks moving day was no exception. We started the day with the RV not starting - it started, but then stopped each time. This ended with a days delay and about $300 in repairs (we had to call the serviceman back the day after it was "fixed" because it still wouldn’t start). Eventually, on the drive from Eufaula, Alabama, to Albany, Georgia, the RV stalled three times. The first time the RV stalled on a narrow two-lane highway, which had no shoulders. Lyn prayed for someplace to pull off, and a spot came up on the left side. After quickly checking for oncoming traffic she just barely slipped into the space off the highway before the RV quit entirely. After letting it cool off for about 30 minutes, the RV started again, and Lyn could drive about thirty miles before it stalled again. This was repeated again a third time. At least the second and third times were where she had some shoulder to pull off onto. Then after the third stall Lyn was pulled over by the Georgia State Patrol (her first time in 46 years of driving). It turned out that the "month" tag on the California license plate was faded, but it made Lyn frustrated about getting the RV started again. After "babying" the RV to the RV Park where we were going to stay (selected because they had a mechanic on the grounds), the mechanic made a cursory inspection and pronounced that the repairs would probably be at least $1,500 to $2,000. And even then, with no warranties, and more likely still chances for more repairs. So the decision was made to abandon the motorhome and start staying in motels. That will make the rest of the walk much less stressful, and will hopefully eliminate future delays. Lyn has already found someone to buy the motorhome, so she is working on getting the title transferred to Georgia. Since they will be using motels the rest of the way there may be some additional route changes when they get to Florida. They may decide to walk closer to the ocean where the motels are more readily available. The following Tuesday (May 11) they had interviews with two newspapers and a TV station. They were on the 6:00 news on WALB-TV on May 11. They were able to go into a pizza parlor to eat and watch the news. Of course all the staff at the pizza parlor were excited about them actually being there with them when they were on the news. All of the other patrons joined in on the fun too. The TV station said they will send a video copy of the broadcast, so that will be available. Wednesday May 12 was the one-year anniversary of starting the Walk. A lot has happened and they have met a lot of wonderful people since they left the Peace Arch in Blaine, Washington on May 12, 2003. They have now walked 3,330 miles though 14 states. We estimate that they still have about 900 more miles to go. Lyn is hoping that they will be able to finish at Key West, Florida, near the middle of July. They realize that those last eight weeks in Florida will be tough because of the heat and humidity in June and July.

APRIL HIGHLIGHTS April 1 - Tupelo (MS) Journal (Tupelo MS Daily Journal article) April 3 - Interview by Sulligent Lamar Leader April 6 - On radio in Vernon, Alabama April 7 - Interviewed by Lamar Democrat April 9 - Reached 3,000 mile mark at 12:00 noon April 12 - Article in Tuscaloosa News April 13 - Briefly on TV Talk Show "Great Day Tuscaloosa" WDGM April 16 - Two police stop to check them out, then take them to lunch

Total mileage as of April 24, 2004 is 3,149. Revised "Estimated" completion time at Key West, FL is now estimated to be between July 26 and August 3, 2004, Lord willing. Lyn's son, Russ, has joined the team for about a month so that Joni and Cassie will be able to walk with Lyn more. On Friday, April 16, Russ had parked the van on the side of the road and then went for some exploring. When he got back to the van there were two policemen checking it out; they have a lot of "meth" labs in the area, and the van looked suspicious. Russ told them what was happening, and they went to look for Lyn and Joni. After talking with them for awhile they invited them to lunch, and gave a police escort into town. On the way they called the Mayor to meet them at the City Hall (just a really brief meeting) and their pastor to join them for lunch. Then on Sunday they had a really great reception at their church, the Mt. Carmel Baptist Church of West Blocton, AL. Joni's friend, Ronni from Australia, joined the team on April 20. She will be the driver for the rest of the walk.

MARCH HIGHLIGHTS March 17 - Article in Piggott (AR) Times (Piggott AR Times article) March 18 - Article in the Union City Messenger (Click here for article) March 20 - Lyn's son, Russ, joined the team for a month. March 20 - TV News interview, ABC-7 WBBJ-TV Jackson, Tennessee March 20 - Article in Jackson Sun (Jackson Sun article) internet version March 23 - Interview for Henderson, TN News. A lot of people stopping and looking for them.
GREAT AMERICAN JOURNEY UPDATE March 20, 2004 Total mileage to date: 2,791.2 They have walked to Jackson, Tennessee In two newspapers and on TV this week. SUMMARY: Moving day(s) resulted in another day of RV repairs and another tow-truck friendship. This week saw two newspapers stories and one TV story. Check out the route changes. Moving Day: Moving Day on Wednesday, March 17 was supposed to be an easy day. They picked up the RV after it was worked on for about a week. They drove to Jackson, TN and stopped to get gas. When they were ready to start again the RV didn't (start, that is). After calling AAA for another tow-truck and a two hour wait (as they blocked the gas pumps), the RV finally started. They found a RV park real close and spent the night there. On Thursday the RV started OK, but as they were moving to another RV park the RV belched and backfired and came to a stop. Fortunately Lyn was able to pull off on a wide shoulder of the Highway. Good Sam Club sent out a tow-truck that took them back into Jackson to another garage. Several parts in the ignition system were fried and melted together. So it was another day of waiting around waiting for repairs. (In the meantime Lyn's Bank of America Versatel Card was frozen because Bank of America suspected fraudulent usage. It seems that they thought that there was an unusual amount of auto repair work being put on the account. After Dave explained to Bank of America what was going on they unfroze the account. Just more things for them to deal with as they go along.) Publicity: This was a week of much news coverage of the walkers. On Wednesday, March 17 they were interviewed by Chris Menees of the Union City (TN) Messenger. The article was published in the paper on Thursday, March 18. There is an Internet version at << www.ucmessenger.com >> Click on "Cross country prayer walk passes through Obion County." The Internet article does not have any pictures. Check it out quickly, since it may only be there a day or so. Then on Friday, March 19 they were interviewed by Wendy Isom of the Jackson Sun. This article was published in the paper on Saturday, March 20. There was also an Internet version of this article at << www.jacksonsun.com >>, but it was only on the website for a day. Although, you might still be able to get it by using this link: <http://miva.jacksonsun.com/miva/cgi-bin/miva?NEWS/news_story.mv+link=200403205974148> Then on Saturday, March 20 they were interviewed by ABC-TV Channel 7, WBBJ-TV Jackson, TN. This interview was aired on the evening news on Saturday. Route Change: For those of us in California, these changes won't make much difference, but for people like Clayton who wants to meet them along the way this next weekend, maybe these changes will help to find them. Also, several people have said they have family or friends along the way, so these changes might affect them. These changes are still tentative, and are subject to further change as they go each day. From Jackson, on Monday, March 22, they will go south on Highway 45, crossing into Mississippi near Corinth, MS. In Mississippi they will continue south on Highway 45 to Meridian, where they will turn east on Highway 80 into Alabama. In Alabama, they will go east on Highway 80 to Selma, and then take Highway 14 into Montgomery. They don't know yet which routes they will take out of Montgomery. Visitors: Lyn's son, Russ, arrived to join them at Jackson on Saturday. He will stay with them for about a month and drive for them. that will give Joni more of a chance to walk with Lyn. Russ will be with the Team for about a month, and then Ronni, Joni's friend from Australia, will join them about April 20, and will drive for them the rest of the time. Pray that Ronni's schedule and Visa's can be worked out smoothly. Well, enough for now. Thanks for praying for them.		March 5, 2004, Piggott Times

March 16, 2004 Total mileage to date: 2,761.2 They have walked to Bradford, Tennessee They are hoping to get a campsite around Corinth, Mississippi, or just above the Tennessee border. SUMMARY: Well, the Great American Journey team is moving right along. It was tough getting started again. They took two weeks to recover from their injuries, then finally got started walking again on February 24. Since then they have crossed through Arkansas, the boot heel of Missouri, the Mississippi River, Kentucky, and are now in Tennessee. During that time they have been interviewed by about seven local newspapers. We've only seen a couple of the stories, but many of the local people are reading them and are out cheering them on. VARIOUS EVENTS: During the time that they were recuperating they went to Little Rock, Arkansas to pray at the state Capitol, and went to Saint Louis to sight see. While they were in Saint Louis they went up into the Gateway Arch and also watched the Mardi Gras parade. Samantha went home to visit while the others were recuperating, but found that she was physically and emotionally exhausted. She had walked 2,325 miles in eight and a half months. Samantha tried coming back to join the team after a week of rest, but found that she needed more time. So she will be staying at home for awhile, and hopes to join the team sometime later. After getting started again they went through Arkansas towns of Salem, Ash Flat, Hardy, Pocahontas and Piggott. They reached the Missouri border on March 3 after walking 182.5 miles in Arkansas. Six days later they completed the 62.5 miles across the boot heel of Missouri to cross the Mississippi River into Kentucky on March 9. Their trek through Missouri took them along Highway 62 through Campbell, Malden, Risco and New Madrid. On Saturday March 6 our son Russ heard news stories about two women in Missouri being swept away in the floods. We thought: we have two women in Missouri, and they were right near the Mississippi. Some searching on the Internet revealed that the two women in the flood were in a different part of Missouri (and they were rescued). But in the process I found weather forecasts that said that the Mississippi River was going to be rising starting March 9 and reaching flood stage about March 11, and cresting about March 14. Two of the three towns mentioned to be in the flood area were the two towns on either side of where the RV was camped. I called Lyn to warn her, but after checking around she said the locals told her there was nothing to worry about. (But I still worry. After all it is a proven fact that it helps to worry. Studies show that 90% of what we worry about never happens.) On Monday and Tuesday I called Lyn several times to warn her and to tell her to be careful. She said that it was a beautiful day and that she was walking right next to the Mississippi River and it was flowing along very peacefully. On Tuesday they arrived at the river edge a couple hours earlier than anticipated. They had been planning to just walk to the western side of the Mississippi, and then on Wednesday move the RV into Tennessee, then resume walking on Thursday. But since they arrived at the ferry early enough in the day they decided to go on across. As they were on the ferry ( a flat barge being pushed by a tugboat) they saw that the river was beginning to rise and the current was getting much stronger. The ferry would take 15 minutes to cross one direction, then over an hour to fight the current to come back. The ferry operator said that he would probably only be able to make a couple more crossings before he had to quit because of the floods. Wow !!! That was close. When they got to the other side they were going to stop at the eastern waters edge of the Mississippi, but decided to walk 7 tenths of a mile up the hill. When they started walking again on Saturday the river had flooded all of the area below where they had stopped at the top of the hill (actually I think it was the top of the levee). Saturday March 13 was a big day for Lyn as they walked the 9.1 miles across the western tip of Kentucky. Their route had taken a swing north to pick up just a portion of Kentucky because that is Lyn's ancestral family home. She had hoped to take several days to go visit the area where her family had lived some 200 years ago, but felt that they were too far behind schedule to take the time. They did have some more problems with the RV, but this time it was mechanical problems instead of motorhome problems. They thought that it was the starter or the ignition switch. After having it towed to a repair shop they moved temporarily to a motel in Tennessee so they could continue walking. They did lose an additional couple of days because of the RV repairs, but at least they were able to keep walking most of the time. Now they are having beautiful weather and getting in good mileage days. They are walking south through Tennessee now, and will probably finish Tennessee next Monday or Tuesday. Our son, Russ, left Paso Robles on Saturday to go be with them to help them drive, etc. He is hoping to meet them about March 20. He will be with them for about a month. Then a friend of Joni's will be coming from Australia to meet them about April 20 and then drive for them the rest of the way. The anticipated completion date has been revised to take into account all of the delays that they have been encountering. Now, if they are able to maintain a 15 mile per day average for five days per week, AND they don't have any more significant delays, it looks like they will reach Key West, Florida about July 26 to August 3, rather than the May 26 that was originally projected. Unfortunately, that will put them into Florida just during the hot and humid time of the year. They are making some more changes to their walking route so they may still cut off some mileage. Keep watching the website (at www.greatamericajourney.com ) to get updates on the anticipated walk route changes. Also, that is the best place to get the most recent Post Office addresses for them. Because of the delays and changes of route we really can't project the Post Office addresses more than about two weeks ahead. When we do project out too far, they often end up being way off course and have to drive more than 70 miles extra to get their mail. Thanks for keeping them in your prayers and sending cards and notes. They really enjoy those. Or even phone Lyn at (805)610-0274

13 March 2004 - Total mileage as of March 13, 2004 is 2,721.2. Revised "Estimated" completion time at Key West, FL is now estimated to be between July 9 and August 1, 2004, Lord willing. The Team completed Arkansas on Wednesday, March 3, at 5:30 PM. Then they walked across the "boot heel" of Missouri, and crossed the Mississippi into Kentucky on March 9 at 3:30 PM. After several days of forced layoffs, they completed the 9.1 miles in Kentucky and walked into Tennessee on March 13 at 2:30 PM. The motorhome had ignition problems so the Team lost three days in Missouri. They finally moved to a motel in Union City, TN to continue walking until the motorhome is repaired.

January 29, 2004



12 November 2003 - This date is the six-month-versary of the beginning of the Great American Journey. The Team had a wonderful experience on November 12 when they were able to speak to two youth groups in Miltonvale. There were about 50 kids in the first group, and about 30 in the second group. The kids were VERY interested and kept asking very good questions. One little guy asked: "Do you sweat much?"
7 Nov 2003 Reached the Nebraska - Kansas border at 2:30 this afternoon, one month to the day of starting Nebraska. Total miles in Nebraska 416.2.
30 October 2003 Check out the Internet News article on the GAJ Team at: http://www.custercountychief.com/articles/2003/10/30/news/news03.txt It is a really good article, and was published in the Custer County Chief on October 30, 2003
29 October 2003 The Team has been featured in several news interviews and newspaper coverage in Broken Bow, Nebraska.
23 October 2003 Speak at the Broken Bow Seniors Luncheon
7 October 2003 Completed South Dakota, at the Nebraska state line. Total miles in South Dakota 98.1
29 Sept 2003 Completed Wyoming and entered South Dakota. Total mileage in Wyoming 233.4 miles
Memorial stones that the Team is leaving at every town and state along the route. "9/27/03 Memorial stone # Across America; The Great American Journey Walking Team prayed for the community of Osage, Wyo, the fields and railroads. To GOD be the Glory! Lyn, Sam, Joni, Cassie & Waliluke."
16 Sept 2003 Lyn & the GAJ Team will be speaking at "3 Peaks Christian School" in Sheridan
14 Sept 2003 Visited at Grace Baptist Church in Sheridan
31 July 2003 Lyn, Joni & Samantha cross the Continental Divide at Flesher Pass, approximately 6,000 feet elevation

29 July 2003 Hitting the trail early today, the hikers crossed Stemple Pass at 6349 ft. elevation, traveling on a gravel road. The altitude getting the better of Lyn, Joni offers to pull Lyn up the hill via leash. Cassie looks on as Lyn had a few minutes of weakness and needed to lay down and rest before reaching the summit. All was well again as the trio heads for the Castle and prepares dinner.

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20 May 2003 Judi, the driver was able to join the walkers today. The hikers received a hardy welcome in the town of Concrete. 13.5 miles

17 May 2003 The team met up with Annie at Annie's Pizza, turns out Annie is the president of the local Chamber of Commerce and had communicated with Lyn during the planning stages of the cross country walk.

16 May 2003 The Great America Journey (GAJ) team settles into the RV (now nicknamed 'the Castle'). Dave & Russ head back to California. The 13.8 mile hike today took the team by creeks, lakes, and many beautiful homes as they made their way through Sedro Woolley on hiway 9 in Washington.