Day 144

At sunrise I broke camp and reloaded the little stroller.

I headed down a side road and rejoined the main sidewalk. 

I started to put in the miles. 

I stopped at a plaza and used a hose to wash up. I ate a couple slices of pizza and hit the road.

I continued on Highway 20 to Doniphane Road. 

I was trying to stay in rhythm.

Just then I checked my twitter. Tom had messaged me asking me if I still needed a stroller! He gave me his number and told me to call him!

I headed to a Family Dollar and two teenage girls gave me a cold bottle of water!

Tom and his wife Ana picked me up! They took me out to breakfast! It was a great time at a mexican restaurant. I even tried menudo. Don’t ask what it is haha! We headed back to their house to rest.
Tom read about this journey and had been following along since I crossed into Louisiana. He and Ana got worried after I left Van Horn. I hadn’t updated the blog in a while. Tom actually did a drive by through Clint looking for me a few days before. 

We talked about all kinds of things. Ana is a first generation mexican-american. We talked about Juarez and the border. Tom is a fellow adventurer! He has lived an incredibly interesting life. He is from Seattle and has hitchhiked across America numerous times. He even spent a few years in formation as a Benedictine! They met in El Paso 14 or so years ago and have been married since!

Tom and Ana told me they wanted to help me with whatever it was that I needed! We went over the list I made the night before. They brought me to Walmart, and bought me clothes, food, water, and a new phone charger (mine was near broken). They also gave me a really nice sleeping bag from home. They even gave me money to pay my phone bill. Wow!

Best part, a few days before Tom’s neighbor was having a yard sale. Tom spotted a buggy and bought it for me! It has solid rubber tires, no more flats! Its huge and sturdy!

Tom and Ana were so nice to me! It was overwhelming, and almost hard to comprehend at times. They told me they would be praying for me. 

We loaded up the new and improved buggy into Tom’s truck. With a few goodbyes, and some ice cold waters, he dropped me off at the Family Dollar. And just like that, we parted ways.

I was just a few miles from the New Mexico border. Feeling refreshed and renewed, and trying to understand it all, I made my way north.

I buggied into Anthony, TX. And then into Anthony, NM. A town half in Texas, half in New Mexico. So cool!

I crossed into New Mexico! I went live on Facebook and chatted with friends and family for almost an hour! It was so fun! I answered questions and shared a few stories from the road. What a good time.

I crossed back into Texas and stopped at a McDonald’s to hydrate. It was only a block from the border. I bought a small drink and used wifi. I sat down and processed the last week or so. I made it through Texas!

Around 7:30 I crossed back into New Mexico and headed north along Highway 478. 

It was a beautiful stretch.

It started to rain. I found some shelter among some pine trees along the train tracks. I used my new sleeping bag as a tarp, and set up my hammock. I pushed the buggy right through the desert terrain: rocks, thorns, cacti. No fear of flats! 

It only rained lightly and let up as I fell asleep. I slept great! At one point, I woke up to a bright moon!