We watched a couple of animals playing in the field. They weren’t elk, but some other similar looking animal. They were smaller than elk. We tried to capture a few pictures, but timing was off. We arrived at the car 5 miles from our starting point at 8 AM (Arizona time). Mom had been watching the wildlife as well. During the break we did some videotaping of the “reindeer games” or whatever one calls the rituals we were witnessing. The animals seemed to be uninhibited by our observation.

During the break we talked about the wear and tear on Gary’s shoes and the merit of arch

The remainder of the walking day was marked by Gary’s resolve to walk each 5 mile leg from start to finish without stopping. He was walking with confidence and a brisk stride. He averaged a 2.7 miles/hour pace throughout the day. The temperature was moderate (< 90 degrees) and there was an occasional breeze almost like a tailwind. The road was infrequently traveled so there was no significant traffic noise. This was a sharp contrast to the experience on I-40. We occasionally heard a crow, but no other birds. There were several cow pastures. As we have seen in the past, when we walk by the cows, most of them look up throughout the time we are passing their field. It’s kind of fun to imagine what the cows are thinking.

We marked our stopping place about 15 miles west of Quemado, NM and drove into that town. The conversation was notably light as we drove slowly through the town checking out the available resources. We stopped at a Grocery and Picnic Supply store to get water, paper towels and ice. We asked a number of people outside of the grocery store which of the restaurants in town was best. The answer was Chuck Wagon Café Mexican American Cuisine.

We were pleased to find that they served traditional

He said, “Mary, did you put the car in park?”

Mom and I both looked out of the window and reviewed all of the details that provided assurance that the car was in park and unmoved since we had walked away from it. I said, “You took the keys out of the ignition, right Mom?” She said yes. Mom and I continued to look out of the window.

Gary said, “Doesn’t it look like it moved?” I said, “You can’t get the keys out of the ignition unless it is in park. Mom took the keys out, so it must be in park.” Mom and I studied the car to detect movement or some other thing that might make Gary’s statements make sense to us. Gary said, “I always say…”

At that moment, I predicted that he was going to advise us not to trust the park position of the gear mechanism and to routinely put on the

Mom and I both turned toward Gary. He had the biggest grin on his face I have seen since the day we started walking. He was holding a french fry up in his right hand.

He said, “While you were looking that direction, I could have cleaned out this french fry bundle,” as he gestured toward the to-go box. We laughed out loud – a lot. We kept laughing and Gary kept laughing. He was showing yet again that he is modifying his relationship with food. He is able to laugh at temptation to eat when he is not hungry and he is able to feel his strength in the new power he has developed during his journey. It is a power that many Fast-fivers describe. I was happy to see him demonstrate it.

We plan to stay here tomorrow night then Mom will pull the camper along while Gary and I walk toward Pie Town on Thursday. Sometimes it feels like Mom has a magic wand. She has boundless energy. She routinely is making my life better out here.

She does my laundry, heats water for me to soak my feet in Epson salts or to wash my face or hair, gets groceries and supplies, fixes meals, empties the porta-potty (not at the same time as meal management), moves the camper to our next site or drags it along as we walk if the logistics require that, listens to my woes, keeps the debris swirl in the car and the camper from swallowing us alive, mails packages and postcards to my kids, maintains everything so that our car doesn’t die, and a million other things that aren’t coming to mind right now. She also offers her wisdom, her patience and her encouragement. I couldn’t imagine life out here without those resources. As I recall all of the advantages I have had in life, the advantage of having her as my mom is unsurpassed.

Gary settled into his tent and I continued to work on a journal entry here in the camper when Mom returned. She retrieved some supplies from the car and distributed them to Gary and me as needed. Gary watched a movie for a while on his computer in his tent. Mom and I settled in and had some mom-daughter bonding time. Soon I suggested that she had to sleep. She called out to Gary, “Gary, when my children didn’t figure out it was time for bed, I would send them there.” Gary said, “Does that mean I’m supposed to go to sleep now? How did you know I was still awake?” Mom said, “Moms know a scary number of things and, yes, it is time to sleep. 4:30 will come earlier than you prefer.” Gary said okay then I heard his computer shutting down.

Gary called out from his tent, “Mary, I think I need a bedtime story.” She said, “I can’t think of one.” I said, “I’ll tell you a bedtime story. There was a bunny that crossed the road and it got squished by a car. All of the other bunnies were smart enough to learn that crossing the road was not a wise choice to make and they lived happily ever after.” Mom said, “Yuck. That wasn’t a great story.”

Gary called out again, “Tomorrow night I want to hear the chapter that says if the bunny had insurance and whether or not the spouse and kids did okay.” We all laughed then said good night.

The next thing I knew, Gary was snoring on my left loudly enough that I could hear it through his tent wall and my camper wall (okay, it is just two pieces of canvas) and Mom was snoring on my right in her bunk. I guess that message is that it is time for all of us to sleep. I will comply. This has been the best walking day Gary has had since I met him. He is growing stronger every day and it is marvelous to be witness to his transformation into a restored, healthy man poised to inspire a nation to seek a healthier way of life.