Day 062 - Effingham to St Elmo IL

Another mostly sunny day. Warmer than yesterday with temps in the 60's and 70's. There was a 15 mph crosswind from the south.

Early on in the walk I smelled petroleum and saw a working oil well close to the road that looked brand-new. I had walked right thru the middle of a of a large oil storage tank farm last Friday on the east side of Casey.

As I approached Altamont I passed Effingham County Fairgrounds which has a harness racing track. Two jockey's were taking their horses thru their paces.

I passed the third high school in as many days where entire classes of students in shorts and T-shirts were on their way to the school's athletic field for Phys Ed. It's good to see that PE has not been dropped from the curriculums.

Because of Nicole's article in the Effingham Daily News a number of people recognized me and waved or honked as they drove by. A mail carrier made a drive by donation saying she had seen my picture on the front page of the paper.

One thing that has surprised me on the walk is how curious cows have been about me. I expected horses to come over and check me out as I walk by but I am surprised that if I call to the cows they will frequently get up and come over. I remember the cows on my aunt's dairy farm being lazy and needing strong encouragement to head to the barn to be milked.

Towards the end of the walk I passed the Wildwood Prayer Chapel. It is a tiny little wooden non-denominational chapel that was built in 2006. At the end of the days walk was the biggest greenhouse complex I have ever seen.

Thanks to OCRF for featuring me in their spring fundraising drive mailing.

Today's thank you for lodging goes to Brenda Maxwell a two and a half year ovarian cancer survivor. Her latest test results all came back great. She does not live along my route and could not put me up for a night but wanted to pay for lodging. She put me up on March 19 at the Holiday Inn in Cumberland. Since Holiday Inn gave us a super $39 corporate rate she wanted to provide an additional nights lodging.

Trivia answer:

Until the 1850's individual towns used to keep their own time based on local noon. The advent of trains necessitated the need to establish standard time zones due to their speed of travel and the need to come up with synchronized schedules.

Trivia question:

Decipher the meaning of the letters and numbers on the round green and white sign pictured at the end of the blog. Where is it located?

Day 061 - Montrose to Effingham IL

It was a sunny day with temps in the 50's and 60's.

As I entered Teutopolis I passed St Francis Church which was photogenic. Next was the Kountry Kitchen. Thanks to the staff that offered me breakfast. The homemade strawberry jam was awesome. In the 1970's there was a grill with the same name and spelling on NAS Guantanamo Bay next to flight ops. We would grab a bite there before heading out.

Timing is everything. While I was taking a picture of the old Effingham County Court House Nicole Dominique from the Effingham Daily News called to ask if she could do an interview. I was three blocks from her office. The article is scheduled to run tomorrow.

The city of Effingham's most prominent landmark is The Cross at the Crossroads, a 198 foot tall cross surrounded by smaller displays representing the Ten Commandments. It looked very similar to the giant cross I walked by at the Ohio / Indiana border.

After the walk I had my first corn dog of the walk at the Dairy Bar in Altamont. I almost always packed my lunch when at Vanguard. One time they had corn dogs. I told Joan I had a gourmet lunch and she immediately knew I had corn dogs. I could never pull anything over on her.

If anyone wants to meet or walk with me you should check my schedule on www.ocjoan.blogspot.com in the ROUTES / MAPS section. Note: Each day lists the STARTING location. I can email you a spreadsheet if that would be easier.
Take a look and once you've decided give me a call at 610-906-6252.
A couple of people have made assumptions about the schedule which changes because of interviews, etc and have missed me.

Thanks for last night's lodging goes to Sean Ramaley the former member of the PA House of Representatives that I met in Claysville, PA on March 26. He sponsored a resolution in the PA House recognizing Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. He offered to pay for the first night that I needed lodging. Amazingly I have walked out of PA thru West Virginia, Ohio and Indiana and entered into Illinois before needed a nights lodging.

Trivia answer:

When the five of us walked thru the covered bridge in Greenup on Saturday someone wondered why covered bridges are covered. Last night I called our resident covered bridge expert Sharon Smetzer. She is a fellow LBW member and was responsible for the AVA Covered Bridges Special Program. She confirmed that the purpose of the covering is to protect the wooden structural members from the weather. Uncovered wooden bridges have a life span of only 10 to 15 years because of the effects of rain and sun.

Trivia question:

Last week I crossed from the Eastern to the Central time zone. What event was responsible for the creation of standard time zones?

Day 060 - Greenup to Montrose IL

Temps were in the 50's. It rained during the first half of the walk.

Property right of way markers in Illinois are similar in size and composition to the markers in Indiana. The difference is that they have the letters R O W spelled out vertically.

In Jewett I was watching two men load a semi truck from a grain silo. Apparently the grain would not flow freely so one of the men straddled the grain shoot and was prodding it with a pole. I'm not sure how he got up on the grain shoot.

For the past two days a main CSX freight rail line has run parallel to my route. Trains have frequently been going by in either direction at 45 miles an hour. Some trains have had four engines and up to 130 cars. Most of the time there has only been one track. I have not seen a single train slow down or be stopped on a siding. It would be really interesting to know how they choreograph the trains passing each other.

Thanks to Nadine & James for providing lodging for the past two nights.

Trivia question:

We walked across a covered bridge yesterday in Greenup. Why are covered bridges covered? Why not just have wooden planks across a stream without the canopy?

Day 059 - Casey to Greenup IL

The temps were in the 50's on an overcast day. We had a 10 mph quartering tailwind from the east southeast.

Four persons did the entire walk with me. Melissa Dunn, Laura Davis, Nadine and James Rich. There are now thirteen persons and two puppies that have done at least one entire day. Melissa's maternal grandmother died of ovarian cancer and her Mom is a five year ovarian cancer survivor. Laura does daily five mile morning walks with Melissa.

Nadine is the daughter of Barb Hannigan who is a fellow Liberty Bell Wanderer. Barb is an RN. She showed up at my house just as the hospice worker told me that Joan was starting to fade. It was a brutal heat wave and the hospice staff was overworked. Barb was a tremendous aide for me and the hospice worker taking care of Joan and keeping her comfortable the last two days.

Gary Strohm met us at the start of the walk and took a picture of us in front of the World's Largest Wind Chime in Casey. It was completed in 2011. The frame is over 55 feet high. The longest chime is 42 feet. We all took turns ringing the chime. Casey is also the home to the world's largest wooden golf tee. Apparently it has not been mounted in its final location. We did not see it.

James spotted a fox early on in the walk. Since there were five of us we travelled down old deserted segments of the original National Road where possible. Halfway through the walk we came to D & D Auto. The owner let us use the restroom and provided us with coffee and candy bars. He told us that the building dated back to when Route 40 was first completed thru the area and that it had served as a café and auto repair shop. A light rain had started by the time we left D & D so we all donned our rainwear, some more fashionable than others.

Next we went thru the town of Greenup which is billed as the "Village of the Porches". A block downtown reminded me of the second floor porches in the French Quarter in New Orleans. I got permission from the American Legion to go up on their porch and take a picture.

Later on in town we saw an auction run by Smitty's Auction Service in progress. One of the items being auctioned off was an aluminum Christmas tree complete with ornaments and a color wheel.

Just prior to the end of the walk we passed over the first covered bridge I've gone over on the walk. It is 200 foot long spanning the Embarrass River. It was rebuilt in 2000.

When finished we returned to Casey and dined at the Whitling Whimsey Cafe next to the Chime. They have really good food reasonably priced. The had two huge 10 foot "W's" on the ceiling. Nadine picked up on the fact that the shelf that ran around the ceiling was loaded with dozens of nostalgic items that all began with the letter "W".

Last might Nadine & James helped me set up a twitter account for the walk. Please tell everyone you know that uses twitter to follow my account at @ocjoan.

Day 058 - Marshall to Casey IL

It was a sunny day with temps in the 40's and 50's. Before starting out I came across a woman in a cafe that had lost her daughter to ovarian cancer. Her daughter had two pre-school age children.

At the start point for the walk Darrell looked down and noticed the biggest crawdad hole he'd ever seen. It was really big. Since I'd never seen one before it was the biggest I'd seen also.

Early on in the walk I came across a bakers dozen of turkey vultures in a field. Next up was a really scenic covered bridge with openings on the side. It was located on the original National Road.

Leon Goble of the National Road Association of Illinois tracked me down to say hi. We discussed what I've encountered so far on the walk. He said they are looking into creating a bike path on the original National Road right of way between Clark Center and Martinsville.

I came across seven huge grain silos. They were loading train cars so I went over to check it out. Doug Littlejohn of Littlejohn Grain Inc gave me a tour of the facility and briefed me on the operation. Locally grown corn, soy and wheat are delivered to the silos by truck. The majority is sent by rail to be used as chicken feed in the deep South. They do their own loading with a railcar mover called a Trackmobile. They load trains consisting of ninety rail cars. Their largest silo can fill two of these trains. They process 8 million bushels of corn and 4 million bushels of soy annually. CSX is their hauler.

Media thanks goes to Gary Strohm of the Marshall Advocate who did an interview.

Also, I'm now on Twitter! Follow me at @ocjoan

We hit two milestones today.

Today the funds donated to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund hit the $15,000 mark. Thanks to all for your incredible generosity. If there is anyone that wants to donate and doesn't know how it's easy. Go to my blog www.ocjoan.blogspot.com and click on the donate link in the upper right above Joan's picture. To pay by check: Mail check payable to OCRF to 14 Pennsylvania Plaza, Suite 1710, New York, NY 10122. Note that it is for the Walk Across America. If you have questions or want to pay by phone call OCRF at (212) 268-1002.

Additionally the blog went over 20,000 page views today. After the United States the next five countries with the most page views in order are Russia, Germany, Brazil, Thailand and France. Keep up the good work telling everyone that you know that might be interested to tell everyone they know.

Don Vartanian hosted me for the last eight nights. This is the most nights anyone has put up with me other than my sister Diane. It was fascinating staying with Don. He got his start with Volksmarching in Germany. He has numerous display cases and banners showing off the medals he earned while doing Volksmarches overseas.

I have always wondered how the American Volksport Association got it's start. He and his father were present when the name was voted on barely winning out over "International People's Sport - USA". They were there when the AVA received it's charter and when the by laws were created. The first club was formed by Ken Knopp in Texas. The next few clubs were established near military bases in Ohio, Kentucky, California and Florida.

Don belongs to six different AVA walking clubs which is very impressive. He was constantly helping AVA members out the entire time I was there. He and Darrell Bratt logged some serious mileage positioning me and my car throughout central and western Indiana. Don took a picture of me next to one of his many Volksmarching medal display cases.

Trivia answer:

My smart phone did automatically change to Central Time when I walked from Indiana to Illinois. The mysterious part was that I drove back into Indiana for one last night's lodging there and it did not change back to Eastern Time. This would have got me in trouble if I had not awoken over an hour before I had the alarm set on my smart phone.

Day 057 - West Terra Haute IN to Marshall IL

Temps were in the 40's and low 50's on a sunny day with a 10 - 15 mph headwind.

I was getting an oatmeal at the McDonald's in Marshall, Illinois prior to placing my car at the finish for the days walk. Hi-99 the Wabash Valley Country FM station was doing a show in the McDonald's. One of the crew recognized me from the TV coverage. They interviewed me live.

With two newspaper articles and two TV interviews in the past couple days a number of people recognized me during the day. I posted all four in the Media Coverage section of the blog.

The woman where I parked my car had seen me on TV. A number of passing cars honked and waved including the crew in the Hi-99 van. They yelled encouragement to me an hour after their interview when I was back in Indiana near the beginning of the days walk.

Three persons tracked me down as I was walking. A gentleman gave me a Powerade sports drink. A woman gave me money for lunch and a second woman gave me a vey generous donation for OCRF. A gentleman bought me a bowl of really good vegetable soup in Bishop's Cafe

I toured the National Road Welcome Center at Harlan Hall built in 1872 in Marshall. It was unmanned and is undergoing remodeling. The US 40 picture of buildings in downtown Marshall looks just like it did in 1983 with the biggest change being the not surprising change of ownership of many of the buildings.

Trivia question

I am new to my smart phone and am learning new features every day. It automatically corrected for daylight savings time back in March.

Do you think it was smart enough to change to Central Time automatically when I walked across the Indiana / Illinois border?

Day 056 - Seeleyville to West Terra Haute IN

The temps were in the 40's. the heavy rain that occurred all night stopped just prior to my starting to walk. There was occasional light rain during the walk. This is the third wettest April on record in central Indiana.

Thanks to the staff of Jonesey's Eastside Diner for the great homemade raspberry pie, numerous cups of coffee and for staging two media interviews.

Media thanks goes out to Mark Bennett (reporter) and Joe Garza (photographer) of the Tribune Star,
Joe Astrouski (reporter) and Mike Latta (photographer) from WTHI-TV CBS and Kelli Bartoli (reporter) and Bob Bruce (photographer) from WTWO-TV NBC.

Thanks to Mark Bennett for suggesting I take the 8.5 mile National Road Heritage Trail from East Glenn to Terra Haute and for providing me with a map. This got me off Route 40 where there was a lot of ponding on the road. It was the first time I've walked on a trail since
March 16 when I walked on the Western Maryland and C&O trails with the Susquehanna Rovers.

It was a very scenic rail trail. I came across woman who had seen a large variety of wildlife on her walk and a gentleman who said that he used to work for the railroad and that this had been the main east / west Pennsylvania line. He said there used to be a switching yard and roundhouse nearby. I grew up a half block away from a switching yard on the same rail line in Ohio. Our roundhouse has been demolished also.

Towards the end of the trail I cut thru the impressive Indiana State University campus. I then walked by the Vigo County Courthouse. The trail ends at the Wabash River which was at flood stage. I had to wade thru puddles on the pedestrian bridge over the river.

Trivia answers

1) Google maps came up with 39 days and 20 hours by assuming a person would be walking 3 MPH non stop 24 hours a day without breaks for eating or sleeping.

2) The way Google maps made it from Ohio to Wisconsin without going thru Indiana was to cross from Ohio into Michigan state then taking a ferry across Lake Michigan.

Day 055 - Harmony to Seelyville IN

Temps were in the 50's. The sky was overcast. There was light rain for the last two miles of the walk.

The US 40 picture was titled "Victorian Elegance". It was of an old brick house built in 1872 one mile east of Harmony. The building looks to be in much better shape than it did in the 1953 or 1983 pictures. There was a large red wreath on the main entrance.

The original owner was George Mckinley. He came to the area via a cattle drive from Kentucky in the 1840's. He acquired the large tract of land that the house is on as part of a land grant. He is buried in a corn field a couple miles down the road. His grave has a tall obelisk monument.

The first non family member to own the property was Stan Rollings who purchased it in 1962 after it had been empty for a large number of years while the estate was settled. When he took ownership it was fully furnished to the point that the cabinets were stocked with canned goods.

Tom and Julie Kinley (no relation to the original owners) currently are using it as a B&B and have it up for sale. Years ago there was an identical building a few miles down the road but it was demolished. This information was provided by Marc Workman who is the nephew of Stan Rollings.

For the last six miles of the walk I chose to walk from Brazil to Cloverland on Indiana Route 340 which was the original National Road. The land around Brazil is rich in natural resources. In 1908 there were 24 mines each producing well over 1000 tons of coal per day. Brazil's clay works produced most of the bricks used to pave the original National Road across Indiana. The Mansfield Stone Quarry was the source of the stone for many of the brownstones in New York City and Chicago.

1 % of this years Indiana corn crop has been planted compared with 56 % at this time last year. The heavy rains that occurred just after I finished walking and are forecast to occur later tonight will not help the situation. Farming is a very difficult yet rewarding occupation.

Trivia questions:

When I was planning my walking route I called AAA and asked for a "walking Trip Kit" from Atlantic City to San Francisco to use as a reference. I was amazed when it appeared in the mail two days later.

I have used Google Maps extensively for years. I did not know there were icons to specify a route specifically for walking or biking. The route was totally unusable for a number of reasons. There were two things that puzzled me.

1 - How did it come up with 39 days and 20 hours for the duration of the trip?

2 - How did the route pass through Ohio and make it to Wisconsin without passing through Indiana?

Day 054 - Greencastle to Harmony IN

Temps for the walk were in the 40's and 50's on a bright sunny day. Today's walk was rural passing thru a few small towns.

In the vicinity of Greencastle I left US 40 to travel on an original section of the National Road. It was a nice break getting away from the busy four lane divided highway. Behind the old Walker Motel there is a long concrete bridge over Deer Creek. In the early twentieth century this was the only way across the creek until US 40 was rerouted to its current location. From this bridge travelers can view four generations of the National Road.

I walked past the Putnam County Correctional Facility which was a large complex. Shortly past the prison I saw a Thoroughbred Retirement Farm sign which I decided to take a picture of to post on Facebook. As I was taking the picture two correctional facility officers wanted to know what I was doing on correctional facility property. I told them I had checked in at the Indiana Highway Patrol barracks five minutes ago. They said that was a different agency. I wasn't near the fence but apparently once I had stepped off Route 40, I had entered their property. They were concerned about people leaving items along the road for the inmates. They asked if I had left two water bottles near the rifle range. I assured them I had not. They asked if they could see my water bottle and fortunately it was a different brand.

I wonder if they had done a background check on me and seen that in the 1970's I was the pilot in command of a Grumman Navy C-1 aircraft that was the getaway plane for a major drug deal near Willow Grove Naval Air Station. Too long and convoluted a story to explain here. Anyone that wants the details can discuss it with me over a beer someday.

I walked another original section of the Nation Road near the end of the walk. I saw four wild turkeys

Today's media thank you goes to Joyce Orlando who did an interview for an article that may appear inthe Wednesday issue of the Greencastle Banner Graphic.

Day 053 - Plainfield to Greencastle IN

There was another overnight freeze warning. Temps for the walk were in the 30's and 40's. The sun was shining thru a high hazy overcast. There was a ten mph tailwind.

I started the day at Dawns Diner in Belleville. They were loading the table they used for yesterday's breakfast buffet onto a pickup truck.

Today's walk was rural. I passed numerous fields that will be filled with corn and soybean in a month. The stubble from last seasons corn stalks has not yet been plowed under. I passed a number of small horse farms and an apple orchard.

Each state had different markers along the National Road. Indiana had very few that served as mileposts like in the states further East. Two of the original mile markets were located near Centerville. I have seen numerous concrete posts about 4 inch square and over a foot high with IND R/W engraved vertically into the side. These are survey posts that mark the end of the road right of way and the beginning of private property.

Many of Indiana's county roads follow a structured grid system that make it easy to estimate distances and find addresses. I came upon two signs standing next to each other that made it difficult to tell whether I was in the 700 West section or the 1100 East section.

I passed the Rising Hall Estate which is located on the border of Hendricks and Putnam counties. It is an Italianate home built in 1872. The owner Melville McHaffie raised mules and received a commendation from President Lincoln for providing the Union Army with the largest number of mules during the Civil War. A crane was wading in the lake as I walked by.

Day 052 - Indianapolis to Plainfield IN

Temps started at freezing and stayed in the 30's. The day began sunny but clouded up as the day went on. It was cold enough at the beginning of the walk for me to see my breath and slide on a patch of ice.

After dropping off my car I spotted a doughnut shop on the route and spent the first half of the walk trying to decide what type of donut I would buy. I arrived at Al's Donuts which has been in business since 1960 at 9:58 AM. They close at 9:30 (unless sold out earlier). I could see the empty display case and smell the aroma of donuts. Life is definitely not fair.

I love doughnuts. When I was in flight training my roommate and I drove from Pensacola to New Orleans to go to the French Quarter to get beignets. It was a six-hour round-trip.

A little further on in Plainview I came across a very impressive pedestrian bridge that led to a park. The stream it crossed was very swollen.

Joe Frost had helped me locate the house in the US 40 picture near Belleville using Google street view and satellite view. I stopped at Dawn's Dinner and asked one of the waitresses Janet Lynn to verify that I was at the right place. She said that her sister and brother-in-law had lived in that house.

The Vale's said that this was one of the most difficult pictures for them to locate since the only remnants from the farmstead shown in the 1953 picture was a barn and a stone arch bridge that the driveway passes over that had become overgrown. They needed to go to the Friendly Inn which no longer exists to ask for help. The barn that was in the 1953 picture is a shambles.

The bad news is that today was the last day for Dawn's Dinner until they can find a new location. The good news is that the all you can eat breakfast buffet was great and there were unlimited cinnamon rolls. Life is fair after all.

Todays media thank you goes to my cousin Donna Kay who lives in Southern California. She submitted an article to the Daily Breeze. The link to the article has been added to the MEDIA COVERAGE section of the blog.

Day 051 - Cumberland to Indianapolis IN

The temperature was in the 30's which is almost 40 degrees cooler than yesterday. The wind was a 20 - 25 mph headwind which was hitting me with sleet off and on throughout the walk. There is a freeze warning for tonight.

Indianapolis had 5.6 inches of rain in the last four days. They normally only have two thirds of that in the entire month of April. Areas north and west of the city got much more rain. There are flood warnings out for most of central Indiana. I cannot believe that I have not walked in the rain the last four days. After dropping my car off at the end point for the walk we saw that a portion of the road that I was going to be walking on was closed due to flooding.

The women in the Roll With it Bakery gave me a cinnamon roll that was delicious. I came across a street address that had been converted into a US 40 sign. As I entered downtown Indianapolis I came upon a tall metallic monument that had the US 40 logo at the top and the major cities the highway passes through on the bottom with Indianapolis highlighted. I seem to have passed another invisible line where all the soft drink machines do not refer to it as soda or pop but as cola. The going rate has been 50 cents for a twelve ounce can.

When I got downtown I went to the observation deck of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument. It stands 284 feet high only 15 feet shorter than the Statue of Liberty. When the woman heard of my walk she waived the fee to ride the elevator. There is no charge if you walk the 330 steps. I have been known to climb the steps in a number of tall buildings. Once I ran to the top of the Washington Monument in my Navy service dress blue uniform while wearing my wool overcoat. I did this to top a feat my brother Dan had done.

When Joan and I travelled across the country after I got my wings I remember our sightseeing between St Louis and Columbus including driving by the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, going to the Indianapolis Speedway and paying a visit to the National Museum of the United States Air Force located at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio which I walked a few miles north of a week ago.

I went to Loughmiller's Pub where they gave me a bowl of chicken noodle soup that really hit the spot. My waitress was an impressive young lady Katie Koile. She recently raised $1000 to provide support for children's cancers. She shaved her head to provide moral support.

As I was approaching the end of my walk Washington Street (US 40) was still flooded. There was a car stalled out in the water. A fireman told me it was the third car stranded there today.

Today's media thank you goes out to the US Naval Academy Alumni Association. They posted an article about my walk on their online April WaveTops newsletter.

A reminder that each day I take more pictures than are shown on the blog. I post a number of extra pictures to Facebook. Since the Facebook site is for the walk not my personal Facebook site you do not need a Facebook account to look at the pictures.

Additional pictures that I posted to Facebook today include a picture taken from the observation deck of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, an Indiana National Road monument near the Indiana Capital and pictures of a fire truck and a flat bed tow truck rescuing a car from flooded Washington Street.

Day 050 - Greenfield to Cumberland IN

Temps were in the 70's on an overcast day with a constant 25 mph crosswind out of the south. I was two miles ahead of schedule and started walking early to finish up before the weather warnings took effect later in the day. There was a heavy wind warning for gusts up to 50 mph starting at 11 AM. Fortunately I didn't run into gusts near that level.

Marie, Dick and I took a picture by the statue of James Whitcomb Riley at the Hancock County Courthouse in Greenfield. The town has a festival to celebrate his birthday each October. Dick walked the first two miles with me then Marie picked him up and they were off on their ten hour final leg to get back home to southeast Pennsylvania.

I passed thru the small village of Philadelphia, Indiana. I was disappointed that there were no cheesesteaks or soft pretzels in sight.

Once again I did not encounter any rain during the walk. With all the heavy rains the past couple days the streams were still high and the currents rapid. There was still many fields with standing water. I came across another park that had been flooded out.

I spent the last three nights at the home of Andrea and Joe Frost. Joe is the Executive Director of the Indiana National Road Association. Andrea is an RN which is the most honorable profession I know. Almost every RN I've known has been an angel.

I'm not sure who had the most energy their 14 month old son Will who is at the age where everything is an amazing discovery or their very friendly rescue dog Ginny.

Joe gave me historic insights into the surrounding towns and took me on a tour of the area. He gave me literature on the National Road, a t-shirt, lapel pin and bumper sticker.

Trivia answer:

I was the third Keystone Cop from the left with the real red hair, mustache and beard. Barbara Knight who walked all of Day 011 with Anne Kat the puppies and I was the DBA at Lukens Steel before me.