DAY 22 

ICE on my tent this morning. Yep, the season is definitely changing.

Reba turns her body to the sun, soaks up its warmth, and sleeps while I cook breakfast.

This is Dana and Alissa with their kids Laramie and Ronnie standing beside the old school house. Dana is 6th generation on his ranch (that’s 150 years!) where they still work cattle from horseback, in fact that is what he had been doing this morning. They stopped by after driving by and seeing me camped there, and I got to tell them what I was doing, and give them a card and booklet. We had a good conversation, and they asked if I needed any supplies like ice and such. I asked them if there was somewhere I could get a bale of hay in Alta Vista because if I stayed in the city park there probably would not be uncut grass for Reba to eat. They said they thought there probably was somewhere and they could ask around for me. They then left but returned shortly with a bale of hay (good hay!) and a bag of fresh grapes! Thank you Dana and Alissa! And long live your ranch!

Alta Vista comes into view. On reaching the edge of town, I stopped and fished at a pond that Dana had told me about (he wasn’t sure if the fishing was good or not). The water was very clear, and I could see lots of bass, but they weren’t taking artificial bait, so I didn’t have any luck other than a small perch which I threw back (I would have used the perch for bait but I caught it early on before I realized that artificial bait was a no go).

City Park in Alta Vista where I hoped to camp (the photo does not do the park justice, it is really nice!). I needed to gain permission, and no more had I rolled alongside the park then a man named Ben came down his driveway and I asked if he knew the town Mayor, and Ben said that’s him over there in his yard just across the street! How easy was that! After getting permission to camp in the park, Ben and I had a brief but good conversation about rural and small town America, and I gave him one of my Faith March cards.

After I got my camp up in the park, a family from across the street came over to see what I was about (it’s not every day a man parks a beautiful horse and wagon in the park across the street). We had a brief but good conversation, I told them what I was about, and gave them my cards. They are from right to left; Maridell, Jayten, Michelle, Michelle, and Marvin.

This is Simon and his kiddos Dylan and Paityn. Simon came along in a golf cart and was curious, so I told him what I was about, and gave him a card. The park was excellent, but the water spigots were locked when I first got there, so Simon went and got 10 gallon of water for me in his golf cart. Thank you Simon! 

Text Post: DAY 22: I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO BEN, HIS FAIMILY, AND FRIENDS: Ben came to my camp at 6:30pm and said that there would be a Christian meeting at his house with chili and refreshments and I was welcome to come, so I did… and man I’m glad I did! I came away with new hope for rural and small town America and that’s no small thing! In fact, I have to admit that although I know there are a lot of good folks working hard for the sake of small town and rural America, I have feared there are not enough, and sometimes wonder if God has sent me on this mission because my people are heading into a period of captivity (like the Jews experienced), and He wants us to be prepared for it, so we can survive it with our bond of faith and story of faith [of our pilgrim and pioneer forefathers and mothers]. But my encounters in this journey, beginning with Renee on day one, and leading up to last night, has given me new hope that the battle ain’t over, and we’re still alive and kicking out here in rural and small town America! (I forgot my camera, so I have no photos to share, but I would like to thank the folks at the meeting: Ben and Brier, Jason and Amber, Dan and Maureen, Kenny, Branson, and the kiddos; Jude, Eli, Chloe, Kyla, Asches, Kahle, and Corbin.) Thank you all! You were great! Oh, and so was the chili!