Judi's Trek Blog

September 4, 2006

Our day started early with a 4:10 wake-up and a 5:10 departure to our walking start spot. We did not start our day as early as the Fathers at the Holy Resurrection Monastery started theirs. Their routine is up at 3:30 with service at 4:30. We were ready in the car at our starting place at 5:15, but it wasn’t light enough to walk safely. We concluded we’d have to adjust our time tomorrow morning. The morning sky was amazing. I had to pause for a moment to appreciate the beauty of the blanket of stars and to dabble in the identification of a few constellations. I recalled times when Bert and the kids and I have looked to the sky with a telescope; I was missing them a bit. On the way to our start point, we saw a jack rabbit and a train. Gary noted that the train tracks around Rte 66 are very busy. It was too early for other signs of our busy civilization coming to life.

We actually started walking at 5:40 am. The walk was pleasant and the sunrise was beautiful. We paused for a shade break by the railroad tracks after we had walked 4 ¼ miles. The train tracks remained busy the whole time we were there. One of the interesting things we noticed was the song that the tracks begin to sing in advance of the approaching train. I had noticed it near Hesperia when we were walking near the tracks and kept trying to remind myself to tell my kids about it. The resonance builds to a crescendo as it announces the oncoming power of the machine. I had some interest in trying to capture the sound on tape, but suspected it would lose some of its power to provoke mystery and tension after it was captured into a harmless sound clip. It is just one among many sights and sounds we are privileged to witness as we walk in our complex world of machines and interconnectedness.

Our walk continued well. We stopped for a refreshing drink (coffee for Mom and Diet A&W Root Beer for Gary and I) at Calico Petroleum. The clerk who managed our transaction agreed to keep the station open for us. Just as we arrived, he had placed a sign into the window indicating that the station was closing for 20 minutes. He elected to let us cool off and enjoy our drinks inside before he locked the doors. He assured us that he wasn’t being significantly inconvenienced. It was kind of him to delay his break and we thanked him before we walked on.

Walking further on Rte. 66 we encountered 4 people who were taking a break from motorcycle riding. We talked about our journey and Fast-5, exchanged good wishes for a safe journey for all of us. We continued on. We are encountering fewer and fewer people as we approach the more sparsely populated area of the desert.

Gary offered a “Siskel & Ebert” style rundown of various movies for my amusement as we walked on. I have not seen many movies, so his review was entertaining. He initially was just giving the overview of the story line. Later he began to give more details when I told him that the chance of me having time to watch most of the movies was pretty low. I assured him that his review would not ruin the experience for me if I ever did get a chance to see them. My conclusion is that Gary has seen a lot of movies.

We finished our morning walk at 1015. It was 102 degrees and Gary said he was starting to feel hot. We walked 8.22 miles before we planted the marker flag. We drove back to Barstow to get a power converter for our camper trailer and to market for tonight’s dinner. Our propane igniter is being stubborn, so our refrigerator only works when it is connected to the car’s battery or AC power. We are adapting to the minor propane inconvenience for now and soon will troubleshoot the problem in hopes of solving it. The pharmacy was closed for Labor Day, so we couldn’t pick up Gary’s medicine. That will wait until tomorrow. He has enough for a few more days. We returned to the Holy Resurrection Monastery where Mom visited with the Fathers briefly and I worked on sending pictures to Bert. I was hoping that Gary took a siesta. I napped for a little while in our camper while Mom fixed dinner. It wasn’t the most helpful daughter moment that I have had, but she assured me that she wanted me to sleep if I could. I have been staying up somewhat late to try to keep up with communication.

Mom and I talked with Brother James today for awhile. It was great conversation during which we discussed wisdom and modern culture and what determines ones choice to live the life of a monk. He was generous in sharing some of his time with us. He showed us the cells that were under construction for each of the monks. The blend of primitive and modern construction techniques was pretty interesting. We thoroughly enjoyed our time with Brother James.

We returned to our stop point from earlier in the day, retrieved the flag and resumed our walk. The evening walk was terrific. It took a little while for the breeze to begin to cool, but when it happened, it was grand. We spoke with a family working outside of their home. It looked like they were working hard to landscape their yard. Gary told them about his journey; they said that had seen him on the news. They wished us well then we moved on. We happened upon a little town area that appeared to be the location for a weekly flea market of sorts. Gary and I took pictures of him in front of a teepee and of me in the “jail” flea market display area.

We returned to the monastery by about 8:30 pm. The monks invited us to share their supper meal. We had eaten earlier, but decided to share a small portion. My biggest interest was to taste the bread from the Monk’s Oven Bakery, owned and operated by the monks. It was tasty bread. Father Basil sat with us and candidly answered questions we asked. He showed us his cell, an efficient, comfortable place that is the first among a few to be built at the monastery. We insisted on doing the dishes. Father Nicholas reluctantly agreed to let us. We were glad to be able to contribute in this minor way to the work required to prepare the meal. We said our goodnights, and Mom and I retired to the camper. Gary went to the guest room kindly provided by the monks. Mom and I talked for a while before going to sleep. Our conversation generally focused on spirituality and the impressions we had from our day’s interactions. One notable detail of my personal journey is the opportunity I have had to share fellowship with those who nurture their spirituality in different ways.

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