Latest Update from Karla

Subj: Concordia, Missouri
Date: 1/5/2003 6:54:27 PM Pacific Standard Time
From: kbwalk@mymailstation.com

Howdy Everyone!
   As I've been slowly traveling across Missouri, it seems like lately when I call a church up and ask if I can roll my sleeping bag out on the floor, they've been putting me in motels instead.
   When I called the pastor up in Waverly, he contacted a motel that was recently sold to several local men who now use it as a lodge for hunters and no longer run it as a motel. They said I could stay there that night. Pastor asked me if I had enough money for food, and I said yes, that I had $40.   He said that he would be out of town when I arrived, but that he would leave some cash at the Caseys gas station for me to use for food. When I got there, he had left $20. I was so suprised.
   When I left Carrollton and headed for Waverly, the people in Carrollton were worried about what I would do when I got to the bridge in Waverly. The bridge that crosses the Missouri River is quite old, very long, and extremely narrow. The hunters lodge that I wanted to get to was right on the other side of the river. As I came up to the bridge, I saw a pickup truck coming up from behind. I flagged him down and he stopped. We loaded my cart up and I jumped in the back, and he hauled me across and dumped me off at the hunters lodge. I was glad to get there, and was thankful that I didn't have to walk across that long, narrow bridge.
    The room they let me stay in had 2 sets of bunk beds, plus one single bed, a couple desks, and a nice bathroom.   They had made the central, office area into a lodge, with a kitchen, pool table, and TV area.
Some of the co-owners came and visited with me, and we watched the football playoffs on TV. Plus one of the co-owners said he would be driving down to Concordia the next day and offered to haul my cart.
I was thrilled with that offer, and got on the phone to call up a couple churches there to see if I could stay inside a church.
   I placed a call to the pastor at the Baptist church, and he said he had a better offer for me than sleeping in the church. He told me which motel to go to, and that I could stay there. On sunday I attended church at the Baptist church, and on monday I'll be walking to Knob Noster, around 18 miles away.
   Knob Noster is located on Hwy 50 -- the same route that I've already taken across the USA.   And this 20 mile stretch from Knob Noster to Sedalia, MO will be the only part of this journey that I'll be retracing my steps. On monday I plan on walking to Knob Noster, then I hope to stay there at a motel for a couple days. After that I'll walk to Sedalia and take a day off there, and then turn south down Hwy 65 and go through Springfield, Branson, Little Rock, and on down to Baton Rouge and New Orleans. I should be in Mobile, AL by Easter.
   I have some really neat memories of walking through Knob Noster and Sedalia last year, and hope I'll be able to visit with some of the same people again in the next few days before I turn off Hwy 50 and head south.
   Someone from the Baptist Church said he'd be driving to Knob Noster in the morning, so he'll be dumping my cart off at the Motel while I'll be walking. The weather is suppose to be mild tomorrow, so I'm looking forward to a day of walking without pushing the cart.
    Y'all take care and have a great day! KB

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