Julie is taking a virtual walk to Moab, UT, to see her nieces and nephew. John and Ben are tagging along. As they pass Smallwander towns, John has a stream of consciousness. Read the origin story.

It has been two weeks since my last log. I am seeing now that I have navigated Julie way too far to the north. For that reason, along with the fact that she has had a foot injury, Julie has a ways to go to get to Moab, progressing only a short distance for this posting to Pierre, SD. I, however, with my more direct route, am seeing the end in sight, as I settle down in Georgetown, CO.  It’s a good thing that I know Julie’s brother’s family well, so, they won’t mind me getting there a little early.

Ben made it to Lindsborg, KS, which was near near Abilene, where I landed a couple weeks ago. I’m glad he did, because Abilene showed up in last night’s Turner Classic Movie showing of Red River. It begins just after the civil war with the John Wayne character, Thomas Dunson, establishing a ranch in southern Texas. Within 14 years, he, and his adopted son, the Montgomery Clift character, Matt Garth, has grown the herd to about 10,000 head. Dunson is unable to sell the beef in the cash-strapped south, so, they had to drive them 1,000 miles north to Sedalia, Missouri, or so they thought. After much conflict, Matt and the other cowboys insisted that there was a closer and easier route to take to Abilene, along the newly established Chisholm Trail. The plan hinged on the railroad having been extended to Abilene, and sure enough, it was there.

Julie is taking a virtual walk to Moab, UT, to see her nieces and nephew. John and Ben are tagging along. As they pass Smallwander towns, John has a stream of consciousness. Read the origin story.

It has been three weeks since I posted a dispatch because I have been tied up with moving from North Carolina to Troy, NY. The migration is usually in the other direction, I know. I also know that discussing a physical move on the east coast while simultaneously walking across the US shatters the illusion. Nevertheless, we continue on our virtual trek. All of those steps into and out of the moving van have propelled me to Abiline, KS, the home of the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum. If you are taking a walk through small town America, this is absolutely something you would stop in on (if it wasn’t closed due to the pandemic). You’ll remember that Eisenhower led the Allied forces on D-Day and later warned us against the military-industrial complex. Ben is following me along I-70, landing in the middle of Missouri in Rocheport, which is on the Missouri River. Meanwhile, Julie is making tremendous strides across the upper Midwest, ending up near Chamberlain, SD, which is, coincidentally, also on the Missouri River. Chamberlain is in the midst of four or five Native American Reservations.