Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Las Cruces, NM

Cody called from Las Cruces today. He was planning on splurging today and blowing his $6/day budget on a pizza from Little Caesars-- he's been having a craving for pizza. While he was talking to me and telling me this, he spotted a Little Caesar's box in the ditch-- we decided it was an omen, and he should really pursue the pizza thing.

He had called me to run some mileage numbers to figure out his best route. He was expecting to pick up a package in Alamogordo, but he was worrying it would have been smarter to go the El Paso route. Google's prognosis was that Alamogordo route was the most direct, so he's heading thataway. He was also stoked to hear that if he keeps walking in a fairly straight line, it's only a little over 1600 miles to the Atlantic Coast-- he was thinking it was more in the neighborhood of 2000 miles. Of course, there could be many detours that could add to the trip.

Cody is expecting visitors this weekend! My sister, Lindsey, and her friend, LaRae, are flying into Las Vegas for a little vacation, and driving about 13 hours east to see Cody while they're there. Cody told me that he'd "forgotten" to pack some Eleanor Barkley Gingersnaps (anyone who has ever had that cookie remembers it!) and if Lindsey could remember to pack some... So we've been baking cookies today! I'm hoping if we freeze them good tonight, they'll have a few days to defrost and will taste fresh to him when he finally gets them Saturday night.

Cody's hoping to find a Wednesday night Bible study in Las Cruces tonight, and then Lindsey may be able to drive him to a meeting Sunday morning! He was excited about that.

I've been hovering by my mailbox, but no picture CD yet! I'm sure with Cody's budgetary constraints, he didn't overnight mail it, so it might be a while! I'll have to badger Lindsey to post pictures at the beginning of next week.

Monday, December 15, 2008

New Mexico and Nice People

The folks at the Savoy travel center near Deming, New Mexico are nice people. After several hours of their ministrations to a cold Cody, Cody is on the road again. Cody was hunkering down outside last night when the security guard, Catfish, told Cody to come inside. He got a nap on the couch in the truckers lounge, a juicy burger with fries, free shower and more! He had planned on just sleeping a few hours yesterday evening before walking more at night, but he caught some good sleep while it was available. He was there from 7:30 pm until 3:00 this morning. He's trying to do more night walking at the moment because there isn't many options except the prohibited interstate, so he tries to walk at the least busy times.

After leaving the comfort of Aerol's ranch last week, Cody walked into a headwind all day long. The next day the wind pushed him sideways, then it whipped at his back the third day. Plenty cold! He was supposed to pick up his package from Mom and Dad at the Lordsburg P.O. Friday, but it wasn't in yet. He hiked south of town to the ghost town of Shakespeare to look around while he waited until Saturday's mail. He was met with a shotgun by the caretaker (not a nice person) and was told he had to leave. Cody, of course, just waited until it was dark and then snuck around back and spent the night in the stable. I asked him if he saw any ghosts, and he said no, but his sleep was rather disturbed by dreams about the guy finding him and shooting him! Then he snuck back out before the sun was up. Unfortunately, the package was still in El Paso Saturday (tsk, tsk, USPS, Priority Mail let him down!) so he asked them to forward it to Alamogordo, NM and set off again.

Today found him in Deming, NM. He went to a Wal-Mart and got a CD made of the pictures he's taken so far! Can't wait to get that! He was thinking he would have to backtrack a ways to send it at the post office, but when he walked out of Wal-Mart, the mail lady was there in her little truck and he was able to mail me the CD right there. You probably get more excited about saving a couple miles when you have to walk every foot of the way. (Or drive the green bus, but that's another way-back story). He also traded in his "guaranteed-for-life" tire tubes for his stroller tires-- says he'd forgotten what a Cadillac the stroller can be! It's been pretty stiff pushing lately. There's a Wal-Mart in his next big stop, Las Cruces, so he only has to last until there to trade his tubes in. I have a feeling they're going to be sick of their little guarantee by the time Cody finishes his trip!

Cody sure enjoyed his time with Aerol (The Bachelor), and hopes he'll see him again some time. Aerol has roots in South Dakota, and attends the Sturgis rally every year, so he's told Cody to come stay with him in a trailer at the rally and work security or something. He also has friends that run combining teams across the Dakotas, a job Cody has always wanted to do. He did some combining in Oregon last year, but he's always dreamed of running a combine on the Great Plains.

Cody isn't able to check in on the internet much, but he was really excited today when I told him how much has been raised on his fundraising site. It's encouraging for him to know people are supporting his cause.

I checked with Google on an approximate mileage count for him, and he's come at least 675 miles, not county any backtracking or fencing hikes. No wonder he wears out shoes!

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Ranching

Cody's still interred on the ranch in Arizona. He was planning on heading out today, but Bachelor had to take a trip up to Pheonix for a few days, so Cody agreed to ranch-sit. He had only planned on being there a week, but after a shopping expedition Sunday to buy new tubes for the stroller tires, some new jeans to replace his "shredded" one, and some food, he realized he needed a bit more cash, so he stuck on.

I'd been wondering just how desperate the cash situation was before he got this job, so Cody finally told me tonight, from the security of the ranch's double wide, with a full meal in his belly-- he spent his last dollar on a cheeseburger from McDonald's on Thanksgiving Day. It wasn't until Monday, I believe, that he found this ranching job. He'd made his last 12 1/2 dollars last a week and a half up until Thanksgiving, by subsisting on PB&Js and Ramen noodles. After the dollar cheeseburger, he lasted the rest of the time on PB&Js. He was passing the ranch after they were all gone, and he decided he at least had to ask for water. He found a job, along with water, and several good meals.

Bear in mind, worriers, he could have had money from anyone in his family or an extended network of friends with a phone call, but he had to see how he would feel to really be broke.

I'm guessing he felt hungry.

And probably sick of PB&Js.

Anyway, this job has done wonders for his morale and bank account. It sounds like it's beautiful country, too. Cody's been fencing in the BLM portion of the ranch, which is full of mountains and valleys. Since it is BLM land, there are no motorized vehicles allowed. That means hauling in fence posts on foot, over tough terrain. At least his muscles probably haven't atrophied in the last week!

Cody, true to his battle against softness, hasn't been sleeping in a bed on the ranch, even though the rancher offered him one. He has, however, been sleeping inside. An inch of snow fell yesterday-- Cody says it will be tough to leave the warmth at night! He has lots of warm clothes, though, and Mom is shipping him a package with another winter coat. He's also mulling over what book to ask her to send. He's finished Travels with Charley, which he thoroughly enjoyed.

The Stroller Saga continues. Cody spent money on three tire tubes that were guaranteed not to go flat. He spent about twenty minutes carefully picking over the three tires, removing any tiny speck of thorn or gravel that might pop a tire. He then carefully wheeled it about 200 ft. and parked it next to the house. The next day, Bachelor had hired someone to blast some rock for them. After the blaster set the six-minute timer, they were waiting for the explosion, when there was a loud bang from behind them! The tube had chosen this moment to blow up! Cody has no idea why it would have exploded, stationary with hardly any weight on it. It's not like he's overfilling them, since he has a pretty lame hand pump to pump them up with. The tire that had popped was a back tire, so Cody swapped the tube out with the front tire, than filled the front tire with pipe insulation. Since it's not bearing as much weight, he hopes that will work.

Scott Smith left yesterday, heading for Laramie. I'm hoping he took some pictures that he'll post!

Cody continues to be remembered at home in upstate New York. He had pygmy goats when he was a kid, and we all loved them. They were cute and had tons of personality. This summer, he decided to buy another one, so he answered an ad in the Free Trader (lifeblood of the North Country) for a pygmy goat. He was a little skeptical when he showed up, since there wasn't much pygmy about this goat. He hated to call the lady a liar, though, so he took the goat. He quickly decided it was just an ornery billy goat. And it smelled worse than boys' feet after a road trip (and I speak from experience-- I once had a Metro that my brothers borrowed for a road trip-- when my sister crashed it 18 months later, it still smelled wrong!) It was just an exceptionally unappealing animal.

Remember my comment about Cody's relationship with The Law? Well, because of that touchy subject, I'm not gonna say what happened to the goat. Suffice it to know that a really ugly billy goat was discovered in the enclosed court yard of the local high school sometime this fall. The ag teacher took pity on it and adopted it, while the juniors accused the seniors of a prank, and the seniors retaliated with accusations of their own. Not much has happened with the goat lately... until it got in the mood to write Christmas cards.

An 8x10 portrait of the goat was sent to Cody (at Mom and Dad's address). The goat asked if he could please come home again...

The shop teachers at school have had lots of Vaughan kids through their classes, and I think they might be fairly confident that they know what happened that autumn evening.

Anyway, there are no goats on the ranch in AZ!

As Cody says, this little break has done wonders for his morale, but he can't wait to get walking again, and "karate fight the road." Here's hoping he delivers a good blow to the asphalt! Feel free to make your own karate chop for good with a donation to Doctors Without Borders at Cody's fundraising site.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Bare Bones Facts

The only information from Cody comes third- or fourth-hand, and I don't think it was a long conversation then, so all I have is the skeleton of facts. It lacks all the details of Cody's life that usually make for interesting stories. So here it is, boring, but at least an update.

Cody is planning on working on the ranch for a few more days, then he's off again. Scott Smith, who helped him start his trek back at the beginning, has rejoined him for a few days, so he'll be able to get Cody to a meeting today. I'm sure Cody's enjoying having him there. Since Scott walked across California with Cody, Scott has been back to Washington, with a trip to Maui in the middle. That guy travels!

Anyway, hope Cody gets time and/or cell phone reception to talk to me soon! Until then, happy fencing, Cody!

Monday, December 1, 2008

Fencing for Funds

Cody's financial situation is looking up! He just called to tell me he has a job on a ranch about 20 miles from the New Mexico border. All those years of fixing fence on the farm when we were growing up filled out his resume nicely! He's laying fence for a 55-year old roping champion and bachelor. (Since I don't know his name, he'll be Bachelor from here on...) Bachelor owns about 700 acres but runs cattle on 7,000 acres, most of it BLM land. On this spread, he has about 50 cattle. I think he's semi-retired and could support more cattle than that, but it still sounds funny-- our dad runs upwards of 50 beef cattle on about 40 acres of pasture in Northern New York!

Cody's getting meals, a bed, and actual money, so this is a nice interlude in his journey. I think he was a little discouraged over the weekend. His stroller had three permanent flat tires. The only reason he hadn't ditched it by now is he took a gander at some of his route in NM, and it's pretty desolate. He's going to need a way to carry water and food through those stretches. Hopefully, during the week he's planning on working for this guy, he'll have time to fix it all up and turbo-charge it!

I didn't get to talk with him this weekend, but he talked to my folks, and his friends Tanner Smith and Scott Porter, who were with my family for Thanksgiving and beyond. He had some stories to tell them-- I guess Cody had another Sheriff incident. For a guy who's (reasonably) law-abiding, Cody sure has an adversarial relationship with The Law. This weekend, as he was walking down the road, a sheriff pulled up and asked to see his ID. Cody, instead of fishing out his wallet and a five-minute explanation, quite legally told the sheriff he was not obligated to show his ID because he was breaking no laws. (Principle is often a bigger thing with Cody than expediency.) The sheriff told Cody he was breaking the law just because he was walking down the road. Since Cody was on a secondary road open to pedestrians, Cody disagreed. It all finally ended when Cody told the sheriff he would call the state police on his cell phone and ask them the legality of the situation. If the state police told him anything he was doing was wrong, Cody would happily show the sheriff his ID. At this point, the sheriff drove off in a huff. It will be interesting to see the number of times Cody gets in this situation during his trek, and whether he actually makes it the whole length of the country without getting incarcerated!

His cell service wasn't the greatest when he talked to me, so he'll call back later. I'm anxious to hear all about life on a ranch in the southwest!

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Unconventional Thanksgiving

Just talked to Cody, before we sit down to our enormous Thanksgiving meal. Cody was in the McDonald's in Safford, AZ, eating a cookie! He had quite a walk to get to Safford. I think it was 70-some miles in 36 hours! He got to a Wednesday night meeting in Safford with five minutes to spare...

Last night wasn't real restful for him. He was sleeping in some woods, and it started raining. He found a lighted overhang somewhere in town and slept a few hours before the police rousted him. He found somewhere else to sleep, until it started raining again. This pattern continued all night! He's planning to stay in Safford for a couple days to make some money. I hope he finds a better place to sleep for those days!

Cody wasn't sounding sorry for himself, but I'm not thinking a lonely day in a strange town on Thanksgiving sounds like much fun. He's hoping to find someplace open to have turkey! The usual homeless men standbys (libraries, malls, etc.) are all closed today. His day is making us all thankful for what a nice day we're having here with lots of food and friends.

Here's hoping Cody finds work so he can fix his sick stroller and start his journey again!

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

On the Road Again

After a day and a half in Globe, Cody is on the move again. It's the first cloudy day he's had since the very first day in California. He's enjoying the respite from the sun and the corresponding 60 degree weather!

The stroller is having lots of problems with flat tires. Cody was talking about just ditching it and going on with a backpack. I hope I've talked him out of that. He needs to have at least two gallons of water with him at all times (in my oh-so-knowledgeable opinion) and that's 16 pounds right there, let alone clothes, extra shoes, sleeping paraphernalia, etc. I think he's stuck with the stroller for now!

Cody was thinking of augmenting his cash supply with a few days work in Globe, but Globe is a mining community, and the price of copper just plummeted! Ergo, lots of laid-off miners and unemployment. He's decided to take the southern route from there. He is just past Peridot, AZ, smack dab in the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation. He's heard Safford, AZ, about 60 miles from where he is now, is a farming community, so he's hoping to pick up a short job there.

The first "interesting" wildlife sighting was today-- Cody saw what he thought was a dog run behind a bush. When it didn't come to his whistle, he went closer, and a wild boar exploded out of the bush and ran in the opposite direction! He also saw a tarantula-- might make sleeping outside seem a little less exciting.

Cody would like to get to Safford by Wednesday night in case he can find a friend in town, but that is an insane amount of miles to walk by then. We'll see where he ends up for Thanksgiving! We'll eat a slice of apple pie in his honor Thursday...

Thanks so much to those who have contributed to Cody's fundraising page. The other day he was sitting at a gas station waiting to charge his phone, when a man walked up and told Cody he'd run home to get his spare change-- he thought Cody was a beggar! After Cody explained more of what he was doing, the man told him just to keep the money "for the cause." So he's attracting some interest out there!