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!
Monday, December 1, 2008
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!
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!
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!
Monday, November 24, 2008
Picture!
Thanks to PJ and Laura, motorcyclists near Globe, AZ, here is a picture of Cody. Looks like the scenery is getting interesting! Sunday, November 23, 2008
This picture has absolutely nothing to do with Cody's road trip, I'm just sick of not having any pictures to put on here. So Cody's Jacob's Ram, Amazing Grace Abner, who is safely tucked away at Mom and Dad's farm while Cody walks, is making a guest appearance.Now then, on to the walk...
Cody spent most of today resting, then set out this afternoon from Superior, AZ. He has about 25 miles to go until Globe, AZ, where he has to make a decision to head north or south. There are endless route possibilities, but how he heads off from Globe determines quite a bit of where he'll be for the next month.
Cody's foot is doing much better. He's been putting moleskin on his foot, which I guess is a special sort of bandage for blisters. It's been working! It's nice to know he isn't hobbling along getting infected now.
One of the annoying things about walking is the billboards. When he was walking a particularly desolate stretch, he saw a billboard for "McDonalds-- just 30 more minutes." He says he would have done anything for a burger or cold soda right then, but he knew the McDonald's was a full day's walk away! Today, he said they weren't as bad because he was full from sitting around eating and resting.
Thanks to all who have participated in Cody's fundraising site! It's encouraging for him to know he might be helping people with his adventure!
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Losing the Hippie Look
Cody has officially given up caring what he looks like, he tells me. He gave himself a buzzcut today, and when I talked to him, he was wearing his new $20 shoes (they're fitting him much better than his previous pair), a fanny pack, shorter shorts than normal, and a very mainstream t-shirt. The shoes are black and yellow and scream "NEW!" Cody says that when he's out there pushing his stroller, people think he's just a suburban dad out to punish the kids with a walk!
I think he's finally warm enough. He was grumbling today that he should have started further north. I forbare mentioning the whole point of this thing was to avoid winter, and that he'd probably be whining about the cold if he was norther. (Is that even a word? Doesn't sound right...) He is planning on heading further north in New Mexico, though. He's looking for somewhere where it's in the 40s at night and up to 50 or 60 degrees during the day.
He's still having some blisters, and he's also irritated by leg hair. (I hope he's all jiggy with me mentioning leg hair on a public post... hmm...) Anyway, as he walks, the pants rub the hair right off. Which is fine, until it starts regrowing, and then it gets a little bit ingrown, and the constant sweating stings. I have to say it didn't sound like a lot of fun.
(Marilla has just crawled in my lap, making typing rather complicated... )
Pheonix got the bid in Cody's decision making process Tuesday. He ended up walking 14 extra miles Wednesday! He had got a number for a Wednesday night bible study from some friends of his in Yuma, but by the time he connected with them on the phone, he had walked 7 miles too far east! By then, he didn't have a lot of time left. On his jog back, the tire went on his stroller. I'm not too clear on the details, but I think he just grabbed his backpack of (comparatively speaking) valuables and left the stroller there! He said he arrived at these folks house at 7:00, dripping with sweat, and asked if they had a place he could change! He did manage to get in a shower, so he hopefully looked decent by 7:30!
(I finally got Marilla off my lap, and she promptly crawled under the table and unplugged the computer. Thanks to autosave, I only lost one line! But back to typing with one hand...)
Cody got a night indoors with a great couple with young boys. I think the boys slept outside and Cody got their bed!
Anyway, this morning was spent on stroller repairs. (Cody is still hanging on to a little desire to be cool... he calls it his "cart". We all now what it really is, though.) When I talked to him at about 1:00 this morning, he had almost gotten to the place where he was before his mad dash backwards Wednesday night!
Bloggers weren't meant to have eight-month old babies. I'm signing off for the night...
I think he's finally warm enough. He was grumbling today that he should have started further north. I forbare mentioning the whole point of this thing was to avoid winter, and that he'd probably be whining about the cold if he was norther. (Is that even a word? Doesn't sound right...) He is planning on heading further north in New Mexico, though. He's looking for somewhere where it's in the 40s at night and up to 50 or 60 degrees during the day.
He's still having some blisters, and he's also irritated by leg hair. (I hope he's all jiggy with me mentioning leg hair on a public post... hmm...) Anyway, as he walks, the pants rub the hair right off. Which is fine, until it starts regrowing, and then it gets a little bit ingrown, and the constant sweating stings. I have to say it didn't sound like a lot of fun.
(Marilla has just crawled in my lap, making typing rather complicated... )
Pheonix got the bid in Cody's decision making process Tuesday. He ended up walking 14 extra miles Wednesday! He had got a number for a Wednesday night bible study from some friends of his in Yuma, but by the time he connected with them on the phone, he had walked 7 miles too far east! By then, he didn't have a lot of time left. On his jog back, the tire went on his stroller. I'm not too clear on the details, but I think he just grabbed his backpack of (comparatively speaking) valuables and left the stroller there! He said he arrived at these folks house at 7:00, dripping with sweat, and asked if they had a place he could change! He did manage to get in a shower, so he hopefully looked decent by 7:30!
(I finally got Marilla off my lap, and she promptly crawled under the table and unplugged the computer. Thanks to autosave, I only lost one line! But back to typing with one hand...)
Cody got a night indoors with a great couple with young boys. I think the boys slept outside and Cody got their bed!
Anyway, this morning was spent on stroller repairs. (Cody is still hanging on to a little desire to be cool... he calls it his "cart". We all now what it really is, though.) When I talked to him at about 1:00 this morning, he had almost gotten to the place where he was before his mad dash backwards Wednesday night!
Bloggers weren't meant to have eight-month old babies. I'm signing off for the night...
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
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.
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.
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