Days 142-144 – 10/13-15/11 – Protests

Pueblo to Manzanola; Distance = 44 Miles; People Met = 20+

The protests occurring throughout the country formed a backdrop for our walk from Pueblo to Manzanola.  As Cindy and I were taking a break by the side of the road, Steve Howell stopped to ask us if we heard of the protests.  When we told him what we were doing he was excited and wanted to buy one of our T-shirts on the spot.  Unfortunately, we don’t carry those on us; they are kept in our support vehicle.  Also, we are more likely to give them away than sell them.  I’m not a very good businessman.

Steve Howell supports our cause

In truth, we offer an alternative to the protests.  Don’t get me wrong, I sympathize with the protestors.  From writing my book Systems out of Balance I have a more comprehensive understanding of what they are protesting against than most of the protestors do.  It’s great that people are awakening from a misinformed stupor, but community action will do more to turn the country around.  As we journey along we encounter plenty of confirmation for what lies behind this claim; that we can believe in humanity.  We help the causes we believe in; we need to believe in ourselves.

Like what we experienced with Ariel, the young Goth woman (teenager?) who thought we were homeless as we sat in front of a Loaf n Jug convenience store.  She climbed into her car with a case of Mountain Dew bought from the store, then climbed back out to offer us money.  We refused the money because, well, we are not homeless.  Actually, we are homeless in a way, but you know what I mean.  Now if Ariel offered food to hungry hikers instead would we have gone along with the pretense?  Hmm.  A moral dilemma. (I’m just kidding, folks, we’d tell her who we are …. though we might eat the food first).

Ariel has a good heart

Speaking of dilemmas, that is what many small town proprietors are facing across the country, like Joanie in Boone.  She runs a combination grocery and hardware store.  She also has housed a homeless woman down on her luck and allows travelers to tent on her property.  Bartering with the homeless is a community-based solution, the type of solution you might encounter from a local proprietor.  Yet our representative government structures the economy to give an unnatural competitive advantage to corporations over proprietors, and Joanie is just one of many local proprietors throughout the land facing extinction.  As they disappear possibilities for community-based solutions decrease.

Joanie is still in business

Our real destination was Olney Springs, where my next talk for a Lions Club would be, but we went 9 miles further to Manzanola and Ky brought us back to stay with Ed and Lorell Anderson in Olney Springs.  More on these gracious hosts next time.

Photo Gallery

Hiking through chili country

Zach, "just a little, farmer boy," was concerned we were heading the wrong way

Tammy cooked us dinner as we celebrated her birthday

Why walk 5,000 miles when you can just eat beef?

One of many times we'll be crossing the Arkansas River

Jerry, Brian and Robert riding for the Mennonite relief fund

Sheep dog guarding the flock from intruding hikers