Tuesday Evening

I just spoke to Cody while he munched on his peanut butter and jelly supper. He was just a few miles outside of Maricopa, AZ. He's at a junction-- has to make a decision to head north to Pheonix or south to Casa Grande. He has friends or friends of friends in both places, so not sure which way he's going.

Cody ended up spending all day Monday laying low while his blisters healed. Since then, he's traveled both during the day and at night--shorter treks interspersed with naps. Ideally, he'd rather walk at night. That would save him from both the hot asphalt of the day and the shivery nights in the tent. It's awful hard to turn off the clock that makes humans awake during the day, though. He's thinking about sleeping from about 10:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m. and then taking a nap in the afternoon. You can walk quite a few miles in between three in the morning and dawn!

Cody had a chat with an officer of the law the other day. He's had a few interactions with them already. I don't know if it's because it's close enough to the Mexican border that they're suspicious, or just the incongruity of a guy pushing a stroller in the middle of nowhere. This officer gave him a written warning about being a pedestrian on a freeway. (Suprisingly, Cody has stayed away from freeways since then.) Cody said he wrote the warning up quickly, and then treated his captive audience of one to a political rant. (He ain't Barack's best friend, put it that way.) In the end, though, he gave Cody two Gatorades, so Cody says he could listen to anyone's political views for that. I think he thinks about drinks more than he ever has! Yesterday, a gallon of water broke all over his stuff. Not only did he lose precious water, all his stuff was wet!

Cody is hoping another Scott (there are lots of Scotts in Cody's life-- we haven't even mentioned his almost-brother Scotty F.) will soon be joining him. This Scott (Porter) has perfected the art of a nomadic life almost better than Cody. He and Cody took an infamous trip a couple years ago-- (see the aforementioned yellow truck link).

As the Official Blogger of this site, I need to put on a little disclaimer-- Cody would rather be pulled in half than solicit money from people. He truly believes that Doctors Without Borders is a great organization, and wants to help them with this trip, but he was a little unsure how to proceed. It was all the doing of me and his other Bossy Sister (he has five sisters-- only two are really bossy) that he is out in the public eye with this. So, please feel free to visit his fundraising site-- but only if you want to.

Actual Pictures!

Thanks to Scott Smith, there are now pictures of Cody's journey!


Cody with his trusty stroller. (As Dad noticed, there are major peel out marks behind Cody. That's probably the hardest thing in this trip for Cody-- not being able to peel out. Has he managed it in his stroller? Hmm...)

No cheating! Here is proof Cody walked all the way from the coast! None of this wimpy just starting somewhere random in San Diego...

Deluxe hotel accommodations.

That looks like a LOT of work.

A departure from Cody's usual PB&J-- a Wendy's stop.

Thanks to Clem Cowtipper (a.k.a. Scott Smith). See more photos at http://picasaweb.google.com/clemcowtipper/StrollerPushingHippies#

Over 300 miles so far!

A lot of people hate the cold of winter. Cody Vaughan, however, REALLY hates the cold. (Maybe from living in this trailer through an Alaskan winter... but that's a whole other story.) To avoid the Northern New York winter, he decided to walk across America! Some people would have just ordered extra long johns, but Cody isn't known for taking the easy way out. To justify the 4-5 months of time he will put into this, he is using the walk as a way to raise money for Doctors Without Borders. You can read why he picked this organization, and contribute at his fundraising page.

Since Cody is currently in the wild desert east of Gila Bend, AZ, I (his oldest and most beloved sister, Clover White) will try to update this blog with news, and possibly cell phone pictures Cody sends me. Hopefully, Cody will be able to log on when he gets the occasional internet access.

This is not Cody's first cross-country trip. He has been criss-crossing the United States at various times and for various reasons since September of 2002 (to the left here, in Anchorage, AK). This time, however, there will be no yellow truck or motorcycles, just slightly blistered feet.

Cody started walking in San Diego, CA. He was joined by Scott Smith, a friend who had a week free to walk with him. Pushing a jogging stroller loaded with a tent, food and other essentials, they got to Arizona before Scott had to return to a "real" life. Now, Cody's been walking by himself for over a week. He is enjoying the gorgeous desert sunrises and sunsets, despite a grueling two days through a desert valley where there was only one gas station in the 63 mile-trek. I don't think he enjoyed the time when a swarm of killer bees crawled all over his stroller, either! Despite all this, though, he made it to Gila Bend early Sunday morning extremely thirsty and with a few bad blisters. After a full day of rest Sunday, he is off again!