Day 168
I awoke on the ground by the Sovereign Grace Bible Church in Phoenix, Arizona. The sun was about to rise.

I broke camp and repacked the buggy.

I hit town. The sun rose.

I went to a Walmart and waited for it to open. A man came by and gave me a banana! At a Mcdonalds inside they had a great breakfast special on sausage mcmuffins. It was good! 

I killed some time at Walmart. I had some time before Mass. I took a little nap outside.

I made it to the Cathedral of Saints Simon and Jude!

I passed through the Holy Door of Mercy.

And attended Mass.
After Mass, I started heading west. I needed to find a safe place to get some rest.

And I did! At a park in Glendale, the next town west of Phoenix. I set up my hammock in some decent shade. Just before 11 a.m., I fell asleep!

Time passed.

At 3 p.m., I awoke. I rejoined the sidewalk and headed west.

Northwest.

I filled up my 3 gallon at a water machine outside a dollar store. I had finished it off early that morning. 3 gallons in one day! Rested and hydrated, I felt great!

I made it to a Circle K in Glendale. I bought a burritto and a coconut water. I sat outside and ate.
And then a man pulled up to the gas station. He tried handing me a pack of cigarettes. I thanked him, but told him I didn’t smoke and kindly refused. But he told me to look inside. Wow!

And then a woman came out of the store, she handed me some money and told me to get something to drink!

And immediately afterwards, a woman pulled up, got out of her car, and asked me, “Sir, are you thirsty?” She bought me a huge cup of powerade! She was so polite, kind, and sweet!
I was pretty dumbfounded. These three different people all helped me out in the span of a few minutes. None of them knew each other, or saw the other person help me either. It was pretty moving. It had been a rough 24 hours. I don’t think they knew how much they helped me!

Feeling a resurgence of motivation, I started moving.

Chipping away at the miles:

I made it to Sun City just passed sundown! 

The police stopped to check on me. They had gotten a call about someone pushing a stroller, and just wanted to make sure I was ok. They were pretty amazed after they asked me where I was coming from!

Sun City was beautiful. 

A thunder storm to the south.
I had recieved an “anonymous donation” from someone! I headed to Taco Bell and sat down for some much needed calories. I rejoined the road.

And then the storm blew in! It was pretty crazy, lightening and all. I found a DQ and got a small blizzard.

I  I watched the storm from the patio. 

It passed. I started moving.

I joined Highway 60 was wide, and traffic was minimal. There was construction going on too, so all the cars were going slow. I decked reflective gear and a head lamp. I kept moving.

Into Suprise! 

I made it to a 24 hour Walmart. I decided to stock up on some things I would need for the journey west.
I bought: a coconut water, pop tarts, new sandals, chef boyardee, pringles, new gallons of water, and a few other things. 

I knew I was probably forgetting something, and didn’t want to leave town unprepared. So I camped out behind the store. There was a great little forested area behind the back loading docks. I set up my hammock. Phoenix was well behind me. It was quiet and safe.