Monday, December 13, 2010
Well, other than the Cowboys losing, last night was a good one to be inside. I was up this morning before 6, had breakfast in the motel, and on the road around 7. Temperature was 22 degrees at the time......I thought this far south was always warm. I stopped by a convenience store for some ice and a few supplies, and by 730 was on my way out of town. Demopolis has a historic district, but it's not along Hwy 80, so I didn't see it. My goal for today is just as many miles as possible......I'd like to get to Selma in 2 days, but that's about 50+ miles, so we'll see.
Hwy 80 through town has no shoulders for walking, but the traffic isn't too heavy, and before long I'm out of town and have a wide shoulder for walking. It's cold, but the wind is from the north/west, so mostly behind me......that makes it much better. The road is mostly flat with just a little roll, and traffic light. I hadn't walked far until a large truck pulled ahead of me and stopped. A guy got out, introduced himself as Ed Johnson, and asked if I was ok. He was heading to Selma for a load of gravel (gonna make that run three times today), saw me and turned around and came back to check on me. I told him about the trip, we talked a while, and he headed back toward Selma.
I walked a little further, and a car pulled up beside me, a woman rolled down her window and handed me some money, and said, "buy yourself some hot chocolate", then drove off. After another mile or so, a car pulled up and stopped, a guy got out, introduced himself as William Eatmon, and handed me a container of hot coffee, a cup, and a cup of sugar. It was his wife Betty who had given me the money, and I guess she figured there was no place out here to buy anything, so she sent William with the coffee. He and I talked a while, and he went on his way. The coffee not only warms the insides, but also the hands. In about 10 minutes, here comes William again. He had forgotten to bring me a spoon to stir the coffee, so came back to bring one! Now, you know that was Betty's idea, because William and me would have just found a clean looking stick for the stirring.
It's warming a little, in fact comfortable if the wind isn't too bad. I stopped to rest for a while, and a guy stopped to make sure I was ok. He noticed I was drinking a Mountain Dew, and when leaving remarked, "you need to drink more water!" What is with these people and the water......I usually swallow some when brushing my teeth, do I need more than that? I started back walking and spotted an armadillo......unfortunately it had encountered a car, and lost that encounter. But, now I can positively say that armadillo are in TX, LA, MS, and AL. I kept seeing red berries on trees/shrubs, and went to investigate. I believe it is a form of deciduous holly......I have some in the yard in VA. They really were bright and stood out among the other trees and bushes.
Hwy 80 is really nice through this area. Plus, it's "open" and I don't feel hemmed in by rows of trees. I think that's why I liked the far west states so much.......you can see forever. A car pulled up near me, and a guy got out carrying a pair of gloves. Introduced himself as Paul Bentley, an outdoor furniture salesman on his way to Demopolis. He had noticed I wasn't wearing gloves, so stopped to offer me a pair. I had some, just didn't have the on at the time, but his seemed warmer than mine, so I took them. We talked for a while about the walk and his business. His company has stores in the Carolinas, so he was familiar with that area.
I passed several small communities along the walk.......Galion, Faunsdale, and Uniontown. Galion and Faunsdale were nothing more than signs on 80, but Uniontown is a small town where 80 runs right through the middle. The big 18 wheelers go right through town, which is unusual with all the interstate highways now. Hwy 80 changes to 2 lane west of Uniontown, with no shoulder. But, traffic was light, and soon I was in the town. Stopped and asked if there was a place to eat, and was directed to Dorothy's Kountry Kitchen....."right across the street from Piggly Wiggly!" So, that's where I headed, bought a couple of sandwiches to take with me, and headed out to get a few more miles today.
Just on the outskirts of Uniontown is a large catfish processing plant, and a large catfish feed mill. Catfish raising and processing is a big business in this area. Hwy 80 is now 3 lanes......fortunately 2 are on my side of the road, so traffic can give me a little room. After a couple of miles, it expanded back to 4 lanes with a wide shoulder for walking. I walked a mile or so more, and a large truck carrying gravel pulled off the road near me. It was Ed Johnson again, on his last of 3 trips to Selma. He was worried about me sleeping outside tonight, and offered to take me back to Demopolis for the night, and bring me back tomorrow morning. We talked a while, but I decided to take my chances outdoors.......gotta do it sometimes. Ed went on his way, and said he'd be going to Selma again tomorrow and would check on me.
We talked long enough that it is starting to get dark, so I looked around for a camp site. There was a lake nearby, so I headed over there. A pickup truck drove up, the guy introduced himself as Jerome (pronounced Jeremy) Williams, and said he had a small trailer and I could sleep there tonight. We went to his house, and he tried to get heat to the trailer, but couldn't get the gas turned on. He then offered to let me stay in his house, and I accepted that offer. He had to load up a few pieces of equipment, so I helped him with that, then we came back to the house. These "Alabamians" are really looking out for me! So, I'll be inside tonight instead of in the tent with an expected low in the teens.
I added a new link to the blog......Scott Lehman from Ft Worth and a follower of the blog, and I correspond occasionally via email about the walk and other things. In a recent email, he said since he read the article in the FT Worth paper, he can't get a certain song out of his mind. I'd never heard the song, but listened to it recently, liked it, and decided to make it the "official" blogsite theme song. Check it out and see what you think.
About the pictures:
That's William Eatmon with the coffee;
Paul Bentley with the gloves;
Sign for a catfish park......what do you do at a catfish park?
Well, other than the Cowboys losing, last night was a good one to be inside. I was up this morning before 6, had breakfast in the motel, and on the road around 7. Temperature was 22 degrees at the time......I thought this far south was always warm. I stopped by a convenience store for some ice and a few supplies, and by 730 was on my way out of town. Demopolis has a historic district, but it's not along Hwy 80, so I didn't see it. My goal for today is just as many miles as possible......I'd like to get to Selma in 2 days, but that's about 50+ miles, so we'll see.
Hwy 80 through town has no shoulders for walking, but the traffic isn't too heavy, and before long I'm out of town and have a wide shoulder for walking. It's cold, but the wind is from the north/west, so mostly behind me......that makes it much better. The road is mostly flat with just a little roll, and traffic light. I hadn't walked far until a large truck pulled ahead of me and stopped. A guy got out, introduced himself as Ed Johnson, and asked if I was ok. He was heading to Selma for a load of gravel (gonna make that run three times today), saw me and turned around and came back to check on me. I told him about the trip, we talked a while, and he headed back toward Selma.
I walked a little further, and a car pulled up beside me, a woman rolled down her window and handed me some money, and said, "buy yourself some hot chocolate", then drove off. After another mile or so, a car pulled up and stopped, a guy got out, introduced himself as William Eatmon, and handed me a container of hot coffee, a cup, and a cup of sugar. It was his wife Betty who had given me the money, and I guess she figured there was no place out here to buy anything, so she sent William with the coffee. He and I talked a while, and he went on his way. The coffee not only warms the insides, but also the hands. In about 10 minutes, here comes William again. He had forgotten to bring me a spoon to stir the coffee, so came back to bring one! Now, you know that was Betty's idea, because William and me would have just found a clean looking stick for the stirring.
It's warming a little, in fact comfortable if the wind isn't too bad. I stopped to rest for a while, and a guy stopped to make sure I was ok. He noticed I was drinking a Mountain Dew, and when leaving remarked, "you need to drink more water!" What is with these people and the water......I usually swallow some when brushing my teeth, do I need more than that? I started back walking and spotted an armadillo......unfortunately it had encountered a car, and lost that encounter. But, now I can positively say that armadillo are in TX, LA, MS, and AL. I kept seeing red berries on trees/shrubs, and went to investigate. I believe it is a form of deciduous holly......I have some in the yard in VA. They really were bright and stood out among the other trees and bushes.
Hwy 80 is really nice through this area. Plus, it's "open" and I don't feel hemmed in by rows of trees. I think that's why I liked the far west states so much.......you can see forever. A car pulled up near me, and a guy got out carrying a pair of gloves. Introduced himself as Paul Bentley, an outdoor furniture salesman on his way to Demopolis. He had noticed I wasn't wearing gloves, so stopped to offer me a pair. I had some, just didn't have the on at the time, but his seemed warmer than mine, so I took them. We talked for a while about the walk and his business. His company has stores in the Carolinas, so he was familiar with that area.
I passed several small communities along the walk.......Galion, Faunsdale, and Uniontown. Galion and Faunsdale were nothing more than signs on 80, but Uniontown is a small town where 80 runs right through the middle. The big 18 wheelers go right through town, which is unusual with all the interstate highways now. Hwy 80 changes to 2 lane west of Uniontown, with no shoulder. But, traffic was light, and soon I was in the town. Stopped and asked if there was a place to eat, and was directed to Dorothy's Kountry Kitchen....."right across the street from Piggly Wiggly!" So, that's where I headed, bought a couple of sandwiches to take with me, and headed out to get a few more miles today.
Just on the outskirts of Uniontown is a large catfish processing plant, and a large catfish feed mill. Catfish raising and processing is a big business in this area. Hwy 80 is now 3 lanes......fortunately 2 are on my side of the road, so traffic can give me a little room. After a couple of miles, it expanded back to 4 lanes with a wide shoulder for walking. I walked a mile or so more, and a large truck carrying gravel pulled off the road near me. It was Ed Johnson again, on his last of 3 trips to Selma. He was worried about me sleeping outside tonight, and offered to take me back to Demopolis for the night, and bring me back tomorrow morning. We talked a while, but I decided to take my chances outdoors.......gotta do it sometimes. Ed went on his way, and said he'd be going to Selma again tomorrow and would check on me.
We talked long enough that it is starting to get dark, so I looked around for a camp site. There was a lake nearby, so I headed over there. A pickup truck drove up, the guy introduced himself as Jerome (pronounced Jeremy) Williams, and said he had a small trailer and I could sleep there tonight. We went to his house, and he tried to get heat to the trailer, but couldn't get the gas turned on. He then offered to let me stay in his house, and I accepted that offer. He had to load up a few pieces of equipment, so I helped him with that, then we came back to the house. These "Alabamians" are really looking out for me! So, I'll be inside tonight instead of in the tent with an expected low in the teens.
I added a new link to the blog......Scott Lehman from Ft Worth and a follower of the blog, and I correspond occasionally via email about the walk and other things. In a recent email, he said since he read the article in the FT Worth paper, he can't get a certain song out of his mind. I'd never heard the song, but listened to it recently, liked it, and decided to make it the "official" blogsite theme song. Check it out and see what you think.
About the pictures:
That's William Eatmon with the coffee;
Paul Bentley with the gloves;
Sign for a catfish park......what do you do at a catfish park?
So glad that Jerome Williams offered you a warm house to stay in tonight. Here (Gastonia) we are to have predicted low tomorrow morning at 13 degrees. Hope you keep warm on your walk tomorrow.--Jon
ReplyDeleteHang in there Jeff, you are about 30 miles to Selma which puts about 2004 miles on those tenny shoes.
ReplyDeleteYou know they play some FINE football in Alabama too..
Got your Back,
Mick
Yes sir, nothing like a little J.T. to lift the spirits. Always reminds me of simpler times. I'm sure he would be honored knowing his music travels with you.
ReplyDeleteI listened to your 'Walkingman' theme song and it is perfect for your blog. I have several James Taylor CDs and have never heard that song before.....good choice. His songs take me back a ways. Keep up the good work Jeff, you are almost home. I continue to LOVE your adventures and follow your blog daily. Stay warm and may God Bless.
ReplyDeleteAs Ever,
Beth
We had researched all of the questions about LA. They were very interesting answers for us. It is as cold here as it there. This will be the last time we blog before our Christmas break. Have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!!! See again in January- From Your Students at Woodhill Elementay
ReplyDeleteJust checking in for William and Betty, to see how you are doing. They have shared this story with everyone that they know, and continue to wish you well.
ReplyDelete