Day 197 // Alanreed to Groom // 6 miles by scooter, 18 by foot // miles walked in total 1455
Day 198 // Groom to Conway // 17 miles // miles walked in total 1,472
Day 199 // Conway to East Amarillo // 20 miles // miles walked in total 1,492
Day 200 // East Amarillo to Amarillo // 12 miles // miles walked in total 1,504
Day 201 and 202 // Hanging out in Amarillo!
Day 203 // Had to catch a ride to New Mexico for a comedy gig, at The Inn of the Mountain Gods Casino!

In the weeks since I have left Oklahoma City, walking on route 66 has been a pleasure. For the most part, the road is not traveled on, so it has been nice to walk and feel safe at the same time! On Day 197 I left one small town, headed to another. Route 66 and interstate 40 merge together after Amarillo for large chunks so I was planning to get off before then, because walking on the freeway is no fun! But it also merges for a six mile stretch before that, six miles may not seem very long but in walking time that is 2 hours. Two hours of illegally walking on a freeway where most people are going 80 miles an hour and NOT happy you are walking on their road way. A common theme for my trip has been feeling anxious about something and then it miraculously working out, and this event was not unlike so many others.
I walked the first 5 miles of the day and then came to the stretch I would need to get on 40. There was one possibility, on my map it appeared there was maybe a dirt road, I decided to check that out, but unfortunately it looked like the road just ended. So I walked back to the freeway entrance, parked my cart and walked under the overpass to take one more final look and make sure there was no other road in the distance. I looked, there wasn’t, I turned around to walk back to my cart and out of nowhere appeared Jesse!
Jesse, had also began a walk across America, but several weeks in someone gifted him a scooter, so he went with it. And there he was pulling a small cart with a dog in it!. He too, was freaking about having to walk on the interstate and after a few minutes of getting to know one another decided to go at it together. A team! He would slowly ride the scooter in front of me, it definitely made us look a little more professional, like we were in some sort of race. People gave us lots of room on the road, eventually, he stopped the scooter and we just walked it together. The 2 hours flew by, and the experience was yet another reminder of a valuable life lesson.
We cannot control all the hurtles we encounter in our lives, but we can control how we face them. If you face them with courage and belief in the universe, you just might be able to overcome every the largest!

Jessica: —6 miles to Amarillo. Let’s say I’m going to Clinton. It’s friggin’ hot. It’s like 80 degrees. I guess that’s not really that hot. But, uh. I’m going down Route 66. Listening to the news. Democracy now. [Winks at camera] Wink, wink. I, uh... Hi, sir! Um, I miscalculated and, uh, instead of being, like, 15 miles from my destination, I was actually 20, so I got a really late start. And now I’m racing the sun. Hoping to make it Clinton before the sun goes down. Gotta walk fast. It is day 188 on the road

Day 190. Made a new friend. Name’s Peter. He’s biking around the world. Or something. We met and shared a cabin at the KOA campground, ‘cause it was cheaper. And we are on a budget. Oh, that’s what I needed. That’s what I needed. [Hums] Bye! Off into the sunset he rides. It is day 190. Feeling good, feeling great, feeling motivated. Um, today is gonna be a short day. I w-, thought I was gonna try to make it a long day, but ended up sleeping in late, and I’m just gonna go about 14 miles to Elk City. Stay in an RV park there. Uh, it’s a cloudy — little bit of clouds in the sky, which is perfect. There’s a car coming up. Think I’m crazy. Hi! [Not a car]. Huge RV. Very different. What we’re doing, sir. It’s like, what is in that? What is in that? Why do you need that?

Good morning. Well, I’m here. It is the hundred [yawns] and 99th day on the road. [Polishes camera lens] That’s crazy. Super crazy. Uh, making my way into Amarillo today. Kind of, I think I’m on the outskirts. Uh, I feel good. I feel pumped. Um, I didn’t shower in this p-, space ‘cause I feel like I'd feel dirtier if I did, so. I dunno. Maybe I will. I haven’t decided. I have to leave here in about 30 minutes. There was a big problem with the hot water last night, and people were right outside my window talking very loudly, um. At first I didn’t know what was happening, so it took me a little off guard, but once I started listening, I realized what was going on. Um, I’ve stayed at a series of little hotels on, on 66 and, um, it’s been interesting. This has been the, probably the most question mark one. Um... Kind of like I’m in jail. Uh, and I think they're cooking meth, but, you know, whatever. They're probably watching me. Hi, hello, how are you. Um... But, uh, I feel pretty good. This coffee’s kind of making my stomach hurt. But, you know, just gonna keep it, drinking it for whatever reason. Um, the band that I hung out with last night, or the other night, Chad Sullins, um, the Last Call Coalition, I, I put their sticker on my... [Turns camera towards cart] Put their sticker on my cart. That other sticker is a [Buzz Bin], which is, uh, I stayed with that guy in Ohio. I don’t remember — pry-, I think I filmed that set. I filmed some music there. I think I meant to film my set, and I never hit record. ‘Cause I’m an idiot. But, uh, I’ve just been here, catching up on the news, seeing what’s going on. Um... You know, doing a little Twittering. Um, working on my, my route, uh, the whole route is, um...

01:41:34.07 It’s weird, 'cause I kind of see, like, a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel, like I think [and] there’s an ending in sight. So that’s weird. Very weird. Um, yeah, I mean, if, if I go by the route that I have here, then November, which, it’ll be November today, oh, ‘cause today’s Halloween. It’s Halloween! I’m gonna dress up as a woman walking across America. I’ve got a really good costume. Um... Yeah, so today’s Halloween. Um, I’m gonna dress up as a woman walking across America, 'cause I have a really good costume for it. Um, [yawns] um... So if all goes according to plan, November would be my last full month on the road. I mean, I wouldn’t be back to New York ‘til January, so that’s not true. Really two more months. [Stretches] I can’t believe I’ve been on the road for seven months. That’s crazy. [Yawns] Really crazy. I thought so many times I couldn’t do it, but now I kind of think I can. I think I can! That’s what’s up. You just gotta think you can. Fake it to make it. Fake it ‘til you make it. All right. Let’s get this day started.