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entered by Jody Moats
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Todd - posted 9/23/2007 7:04:42 PM
The last day of the walk went very fast. When we got to the Dubuque sign I found it hard to believe that Jody & Judy had pulled it off again - walked all the way across the state of Iowa! I just want to congratulate them for being so tough and determined and getting the job done. I also want to thank them for including me in this venture the last two years - I cannot put into words what a great experience it has been - the walking, the pain (mentally and physically), the grieving and the healing, and all of the wonderful people we met and new friends we made. I will always remember my many days of walking with Jody, Judy, Scott, McKenna, Jay, Jill, Salix, Jody's friends and family, and of course my wife Julia and my dad. God bless you all for your strong support and dedication. Thank you to EVERYONE who has supported this walk in so many different ways. We are forever grateful to all of you. I think we helped many people and raised awareness - goals that Jody wanted to reach. And we have raised a bunch of money for PC research to help those afflicted with this terrible disease. I am looking forward to the continuation of "Hike Iowa for Hope" in whatever form it takes for the future. I know it is in good hands with Jody and we look forward to your continued support! Roadkill tally for the last day: red admiral butterfly, bumblebee.
Jody - posted 9/17/2007 9:00:59 PM Yesterday was our last day of walking. After a nice quiet night in the hotel, we woke up to a cloudy, but decent temperature day. Filled my tummy with a Belgian waffle and waited for the rest of the walking crew to show up. My cousin Steph, Uncle Jerry, Todd, my mom, my friend Jenny and myself were the walkers for the last leg. Scott, McKenna, Julia and the rest of the Hogan family were our SAG vehicles and our cheering section. Our walk this year was cut about 3 miles short of what it was last year. The city of Dubuque actually put up a new sign on Hwy 20. So instead of walking 11 miles, we only walked 8. It seemed like a piece of cake after walking all of those other days. We even beat some of my relatives that were going to be there to meet us. Finally my aunt Nancy, my grandma Lila and my cousin Jeff's wife Jennifer and their two kids, Stella and Kellen arrived with my brother Jay. We sat for a while by the sign, talked and took everything in. It was an overwhelming sense of accomplishment for all of us. We did what we set out to do. We walked, raised money and awareness and hopefully a lot of hope. We said goodbye to the Hogan Family and my aunt, cousin and grandma. The rest of us set out to the Mississippi River. The stairs to the river were blocked off, so I sat down near it. It felt good sitting there and looking out into the river. I was happy that others could experience that with me. We finished the day with a good meal at the Bricktown Brewery. Then it was off to Sioux City. It is kind of amazing to drive back and see all that we walked. I remember different places where we met people, where we saw interesting things, where we visited the corn :). There were a lot of laughs, a lot of good stories, close bonds, sore feet, sunny and cloudy days and many steps walked. With every step, there was a little less anger, a little less grief, a little less sadness and a whole lot of hope. I want to thank all of my family, especially my husband, my daughter and my mom for being with me all of the way. My friends and other family members for walking with me or giving me calls or just giving an great place to rest my feet. Things could not be accomplished with out. I also want to thank the mystery person who put up the inspirational signs. They gave me the strength to keep going and let me know others were watching out and thinking of us. Thanks to everyone who donated money to this important cause. God bless the families who have lost a loved one, who have a loved one who has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer or who has a survivor in the family. This walk is also for you. I am hanging up my shoes for a while. Hike Iowa for Hope will continue, but it will be down a different path. We can't stop now, because the cancer will not. We will fight and fight until we beat it. I will see all of you down the road.
Peosta to Dyersville: 8.78 miles, 18, 568 steps
Jody - posted 9/15/2007 8:01:44 PM I know it is another day late, but once again I had some computer problems. For some reason, Mac does not like me to type in my journal. So I finally made it to the next town and the hotel has a computer that works. Yesterday, mom and I left Manchester after a nice stay at Chuck and Peg Ung's house. We were well rested and we headed to Dyersville. Another cold, windy morning, but the sun was shining. That made it nice after awhile. I never thought about bringing gloves with me, but some of these mornings I sure wished I had them with me. We left Manchester around 8:00 a.m. and were sent off by my college friend Melissa Coates and her three girls and Jack Klaus from the Manchester Chamber of Commerce. Mom and I relayed most of the way to Dyersville. It works out real nice and you seem to make pretty good time. Once again we were cheered on by some homemade signs. They were great to see and really kept us going. It is still a mystery who put those out there, but we really appreciated it. We kept all of them and real surely keep them for a long time. We made record time to Dyersville. We walked into the city limits around 12:30. I only walked about 17, 500 steps that day, while mom had more. She wanted me to rest my leg, since she knew I would want to walk a longs way today and tomorrow. We had a nice meal at the Country Junction in Dyersville and headed over to my friend Jenny Hogan's home. Jenny, Kevin, Olivia and Alexie were great hosts and we had another good meal. I slept on a very comfortable couch and was ready to get up and head to Peosta today.
Dyersville to Peosta: There was frost on the ground in some places as we left today. Mom drove the SAG vehicle while Jenny, Jenny's sister-in-law Deb, Jenny's friends - Joyce and Mary Nelle, and myself took off down a very scenic and beautiful trail. This trail lead us right to Farley. It was nice not to walk on the 4-lane for awhile. It was very peaceful and I heard quite a few birds as we walked. Once we arrived at Farley, Deb, Mary Nelle and Joyce took off and then it was just Jen and I. We took a quick break at Casey's and then headed to Epworth. We decided to walk on the 4-lane since it was a straight shot. It may have been quicker, but it was pretty loud and hard to hear the other person when they were talking. Mom had me take a quick break about a mile before Epworth. When they arrived, Jen and I made our way to Peosta. It was fun talking about different friends, high school days and about our families. We need to get together more often than just once a year. My goal is to get better at keeping in touch. When we reached Peosta, I had a welcoming sight. My husband Scott and my daughter McKenna were waiting with my Mom at the end. It was great to see them and to feel their big hugs. They drove a long way just to see me finish. They have been a great support system and love them dearly for it. Today we had a total of 27,472 steps. Walked about 13.5 miles and burned close to 958 calories. Tonight we are relaxing at the AmericInn. I am going to ice my leg and watch McKenna swim in the pool. Tomorrow will be an exciting and emotional day.
Once again, not much roadkill: Baby muskrat and Dickcissal (bird) A lot of grasshoppers, not dead yet, but I was about ready to shorten their life if they didn't quit jumping on me. Jody - posted 9/13/2007 8:37:29 PM Another brisk cold day, but a nice one for walking. Mom and I got a great night of sleep at the Super 8 motel in Independence. Thanks to Martin Marietta again for the room. We traveled to pick up Bob and Donna Stowe at a local campground. They drove all the way from Sioux City yesterday to meet up with us to day to help us out with the walk. A big thanks goes out to them for doing that. Bob and I started our journey to the east toward our next destination - Manchester. It was going to be a 22 -23 mile hike today. The road was not too busy, but there was some traffic on it where you wanted a larger area to walk on. The sun made it warmer than it was, so it was good walking weather and shorts eventually felt good. I switched in and out with mom and Bob. Donna did a good job driving the SAG vehicle. We had some nice surprises along the way. Someone put up signs along old 20. They had some inspirational quotes and gave us great support. We greatly appreciate whoever did that for us. It was fun to see and also made our walk more special. I walked a total of 27,841 steps today and burned close to 970 calories. I am sure I made up for them after I ate my Heath blizzard from Dairy Queen. After we made it to Manchester, we were greated by some wonderful ladies that are on the board for the local American Cancer Society. We had a nice talk and was appreciative of their support. It was nice to see friendly faces when we approach towns. We received quite a bit of waves and even some money from passerbyers. I think they heard me on the radio today. The media has been pretty good in this area. Tonight we are staying at a fellow naturalist's house - Chuck Ungs. We greatly appreciate his hospitality and will enjoy another good night's sleep. It sounds like tomorrow will be another cold one. High of only 60. Good walking weather. We will have another 20 miles to Dyersville. I am hoping the left leg will make it - starting to swell a little. I already told myself that nothing is going to stop me from making it all the way. I just do not know if my leg feels the same. One new roadkill: Bobwhite Quail Jody - posted 9/12/2007 4:07:08 PM Can I just say that computers really frustrate me. I am sorry that I have not been journaling the last couple of days, but every computer I touch does not want to work or stay connected. Everybody keep you fingers crossed for this one to work. So I will just put our three walks we did in a nutshell/ Ackley to Parkersburg - rainy, cold and very wet. Wes, Todd, Julia and myself walked about 14 miles that day with trucks splashing us and the smell of worms in the air. It was our first real rainy day and everyone was not too happy to walk in it. But at the end, we gave ourselves at treat at Pizza Ranch. We walked close to 27,000 steps, 14 miles and burned close to 913 calories. I am sure I made up for some of them when I ate dessert pizza. Mom and myself had a great night of sleep at Wayne and Janice Weise's residence. We also had a great supper. I definitely felt like I needed to walk a lot the next day to walk off all of the mash potatoes I ate. We are off to Cedar Falls tomorrow. Parkersburg to Cedar Falls - A cool, sunny morning. It was great walking weather. Mom and I met up with Liz Anonson, Toni Nicol and Lynn Treloar. These girls were great. They walked the whole way, while mom and I switched on and off. It was good conversations down the road and not very big shoulders. We walked single file a lot of the time. My shin splint was starting to hurt again and the motrin I took did not seem to work, so the breaks helped a little. The route was close to 18 miles. I only took about 22, 345 steps and burned about 779 calories. Cedar Falls has expanded since I went to college there, so I suppose we did not have to walk as far to the city limits as I would have had to do about 13 years ago. Wow. It has been 13 years since I was a UNI student. Let me tell you, a lot of things have changed there, but a lot of things are still the same. My purple house is still standing, but Siberia parking lot does not seem that far of a walk now. Like many walks, we had to find a great place to eat after, so we all went to the OP or the The Other Place. Great subs there. My dad's work put me up in a hotel, so it was nice to lay down and relax for the night. It is just mom and I tomorrow, so we better get some rest. Cedar Falls/Waterloo to Independence - Just mom and I today. It was about 40 degrees when we started, but it was sunny. We started on the east side of Waterloo on 281. This was not too busy of a road, so it was nice walking solo. It was very peaceful at times and it was nice to look at all of the neat farm houses and yards. Mom and I switched off every couple of miles. This made the time go by pretty fast. The only town we walked through was Jesup. I remember this area from last year. Everyone really manicured their lawns. It all looked so nice. I also wanted to tell my friend Julie that the Longhorns are still there. :) The weather got a little warmer as we walked, so I was able to put on my shorts. It sounds like I may be wearing long pants the next couple of days. I hear the high temperature later on this week may be 59 degrees. Sounds cold, but great walking weather. We arrived in Independence around 1:00. I thought we made pretty good time. Today I walked close to 24, 080 steps. I am sure mom walked about the same. We had about a 20 mile walk today, but it did not feel that long. We will be heading to Manchester tomorrow. Another 20 miles, but nice weather. I am heading back to the hotel to put my feet in the hottub. My shin is showing some wear today, but I have to keep thinking whatever pain I may be going through is nothing like the pain my dad and others we Todd - posted 9/10/2007 6:33:25 PM Saturday, September 8 After 4 days off I was ready to walk again. I convinced my son Tyler to come along with me - he agreed as long as I would take him down to the ISU - UNI game, a decision I am sure he later regretted! After chugging coffee the whole way down to Webster City I had to visit the cornfield right away - I saw Judy aim the video camera at me but I think she had trouble turning it on in time so hopefully I escaped any embarrassing footage! Tyler and I walked until 1 p.m., just a little north of the town of Williams. It was a nice walk with great company. We especially enjoyed Lew's music along the way - it can't be easy to walk, play guitar, and sing at the same time, but he did a fine job, even making up new verses to apply to the walk. We noticed some gals in a pickup truck waving to us as we passed Williams. From a distance I did not recognize them, but found out later it was my cousin Marna and her daughter Cara. I am very sorry I didn't come over and say "hi," and we all appreciate your support! I must say I felt pretty guilty leaving the walkers early as I knew they still had a long way to go. Being a graduate of ISU, it would have been less painful for me to walk another 14 miles than to sit and watch that football game! Anyway, the few walkers that remained toughed it out to Iowa Falls and got the job done. Sunday, September 9 After the football game I stayed with our good friends Jeff and Kandi Burris and their beautiful new daughter Madison in Ames. We were up early and headed back to Iowa Falls. I was amazed at the great group of people waiting to take off for the walk. Tyler headed back home but my wife Julia joined us shortly after the beginning. It was a great day for walking, nice and cool with a good breeze. I took a little slack from the UNI fans about the game, but it was pretty good-natured. We kept a good pace and had plenty of good conversation with all of the walkers. Before we knew it, we were strolling in to Ackley. After our picture by the sign we took the "short" walk to Kum n' Go. Jodi's friend Kammi asked me how much further, and I pointed off in the distance and said "clear over that hill on the way out of town." She looked at me and uttered a profanity before I told her I was just kidding! The Pizza Ranch buffet really hit the spot. Another bright spot were Jill's two adorable daughters, and of course their adorable cousin McKenna. Also, Willis Kannegieter introduced himself to Jody at the Pizza Ranch. He is from Ackley and is a pancreatic cancer survivor. It is a great reminder to us of why we are walking - not only for those who have succumbed to this disease, but also those who are fighting it, and those few like Willis who have survived it. Stories like his provide hope to all of us. The only new roadkill today was a muskrat. And one to add to yesterday's walk - a cicada. Monday, September 10 When I went to bed last night it was raining and the weather forecast did not look good. We awoke to rain the next morning and knew it would be a rather damp walk. Julia and I joined up with Judy, Jody, and our friend Wes (former naturalist and now director of Hardin County Conservation). It rained the whole way to Parkersburg, but not real hard so it was tolerable. We didn't let the weather keep us down and had good stories and conversation as we plodded along. Our youngest son is named Austin so Julia and I were quite amused when we arrived in the town of Austinville (it doesn't take much to excite us). In Aplington we stopped at the Casey's and were a little disheartened when the worker there told us we had another 7 miles to go. Luckily sh Jody - posted 9/9/2007 7:17:57 PM I finally got to a computer tonight, so I will journal about today's and yesterday's hike. Yesterday was a long day. I think this might be longer than the Holstein to Sac City jaunt. It sure did feel like it. I don't know if it is just because all we see is corn and beans on both sides of us for miles or that it is actually 31 miles instead of 25. I think it is a mixture of both. We had a great crew with us on Saturday. Mom decided it was time to rest her feet so she drove one SAG vehicle with my cousin Bridget and Scott, Salix and McKenna were in the other one. We started off at Tasler's Pallet just east of Webster City at around 8:00 a.m. It was a little cool, but the sun was shining. Our crew consisted of myself, my two cousins - Todd and Jerry Hartnett, my brother Jay, Kammy Stowe, Trina Johnson, Lewis Major, Todd VonEhwegen and his son, Tyler. Once you get started down old 20 to Blairsburg, you see a lot of fields and a lot of wind generator wind mills. We kept on thinking we were past the windmills, but they kept on popping up every where. I think we had to at least walk 9 miles before the windmills would just disappear. Lew brought his guitar and sang some songs as we walked down the highway - "On the Road Again", "Walkin Blues", "Dead or Alive" and "Walking on Sunshine" were just a few that we sang and had good laughs over. Other entertainment were Todd and Jerry with their walking distance competition. Some times they walk, sometimes they jogged, but one or the other had to walk farther. We lost Lew at Boondocks - he went home to play a gig. And Todd and Tyler left after Williams to go to the Iowa State game (Yeah UNI!!). Trina left after about 15 miles to head home. All of their support and companionship was greatly appreciated a long this stretch of the road. It was just Kammy, Todd, Jerry, Jay and myself left. We decided to relay the rest of the way. This gave us breaks every couple of miles. We rested our feet and got ready for the hand-off. Once we got passed Alden, we all walked together into Iowa Falls. It was a welcoming sight to see the Iowa Falls Sign. We made it there by 5:15 p.m. I walked close to 44, 459 steps and just about 22 miles. Once again burned over 1500 calories. I am sure I made up for it with the beverage we all deserved after that long day. While everyone else headed back to Webster City, Scott, Kammy, McKenna, Salix and myself headed over to Wes Weise's house for supper and a place to rest. Tomorrow was not going to be so bad Kammy and I thought as we nursed our blisters. I had a nasty one in between my big toe and the one next to it. I made sure to bandage them up for the Iowa Falls to Ackley walk.
Iowa Falls to Ackley started with a very brisk morning. A little cloudy and a little cold. We had tremendous group with us this morning. My sister Jill, my brother Jay, Julie Spore, Deanna Schulz, Alli Appel, Lori Hartnett, Matt Roden, Todd and Julia, Gordy Harms, Isaac Harms and his girlfriend, Kammy, two wonderful ladies from Webster City who are in charge of the relay for life and I am so sorry that my mind has gone blank with the names, and myself. Lori and Matt were are pace cars for the walk. There was no way I was going to catch up with them, so I just walked my own pace and talked with different people. It was not a busy stretch of road, which was really nice for a change. Cars and drivers were pretty respectful. I think Matt and Lori gave them heads up we were coming up soon. They got people to wave and horns to honk. They weren't just the pace cars, they were our cheerleading squad too. Mom, Bridget, Scott, McKenna, Keara and Camryn were our SAG support. We wal Jody - posted 9/7/2007 11:01:37 PM I am back! A big thanks goes out to my mom and John and Jean Kayser for walking the two days I had to be gone. They hiked their way from Sac City to Rockwell City on Wednesday and Rockwell City to Fort Dodge on Thursday. According to them they made it to both places in record time. Maybe I walked a little slower last year or their strides are longer than mine. The two days they were walking, the media showed up. The Rockwell City paper did an interview and the Fort Dodge Messenger did a nice article in today's paper. Today was the 19 mile walk from Fort Dodge to Webster City. I decided I wanted to walk the whole way. I had two days of rest and thought my body and feet could handle it. I wrapped up my toes and made sure I had plenty of mole skin on them. The brave souls that walked with me today were my mom and my cousin Bridget's son, Chris Roden. Mary Dinsdale helped us out by driving the SAG vehicle. We took off about 8:00 and it was raining. It was not suppose to rain, but I do not think the clouds listened to the meterologist last night. Chris and I started off with the rain blowing in from the south. That only lasted about the first couple of miles and then quit. We were joined by Mike Bradley soon after. He is a resident from Fort Dodge who is planning to do a walk himself. It was fun to talk to him about his walk and give him a couple of pointers to help him along with his journey. Don Seamonds soon joined the group and followed us with the pickup truck. That helped out, but sometimes did not stop the cars from coming by fast. I had a nice close brush with a minivan that kept me closer to the side of the road soon after. I do not even know if the guy noticed I was there. It can be a little scary sometimes. Chris mentioned on our walk that he was surprised to see Duncombe so soon. I told him to not to get too excited. You may see the water tower or the grain elevator in a town in the distance, but it is still a long ways away. Toward the end of the walk, he started to believe me. Janaan Harding joined us just west of Highview. She worked with dad at Martin Marietta. It was nice to see her again. Mike went the distance he could go and left the group at Highview. The rest of us went on to Webster City. Once we got Webster City, we stopped at Casey's where we were greeted with some free pizzas and money. We ventured over to Pleasant View Elementary School and did a little talk for the 3rd and 4th graders and then walked over to Whoopdidos. This is a new restaurant my cousin's opened up indowntown. They have excellent wraps - my favorite being the Chicken Casear Twirl. They prepared one of those for me and off we went to Bonebright Park. The Fire Dept decided to follow us with one of their fire trucks down Superior Street. I felt like I was in a parade. A lot of people waved and we raise quite a bit of money just today. All around it was a successful and fulfilling day. We have another long day tomorrow. We are off to Iowa Falls, which is about 27 miles. I am confident in our crew tomorrow. Before I forget, today we walked 43, 474 steps and actually burned over 1544 calories. Also to add to our roadkill list after 3 days of walking: Mink, Little Brown Bat, Deer, Skunk, Purple Martin, Opossum, Viceroy Over much debate, we decided that we also found a Smooth Green Snake. Did you know that smooth green snakes turn blue when they die???? Interesting!! One more thing, John said he saved a sole on the trip. He held up a bottom of a shoe. Jody - posted 9/4/2007 8:45:06 PM Well we made it. We walked all 30 miles from Holstein to Sac City. Our legs are a little tired, faces and necks are a little burnt and our bodies are a little dirty from the wind and passing vehicles. The day started off with some cool weather, so it was quite pleasant for the first few miles. A friend and fellow naturalist, Victoria Shamblen, braved the long day and started out with me for the first leg. My mom decided to take a little break and drive this time. After awhile, Victoria and I would switch with mom and take a break ourselves. Close to about lunch time, my cousin Amy brought us lunch. Broasted chicken, mashed potatoes, salad and fruit. Very good and it hit the spot. My cousin Tony came soon after and joined us for the walk. Bless him for walking all the way to Early without a break. I know his feet were hurting, but he sure toughed it out. With many switch offs, we finally made it to Sac City by 4:50 p.m. We did pretty good for just 4 people walking 30 miles. Victoria and I walked 20 miles today, while mom and Tony picked up the 10 miles. My pedometer said I walked 6 hours, walked off 1580 calories and walked close to 43,000 steps. My body sure feels it tonight. Thanks to mom, Victoria and Tony today. They helped out so much. I will be taking 2 days off, while mom and her friends walk for me. I will helping with getting my daughter to kindergarten these next couple of days. I will be back on the road on Friday, September 7 when we walk from Fort Dodge to Webster City. Remember anyone can join us! If you see mom and her friends along the road, don't forget to honk in support. Not too many new roadkills today: 13 lined groundsquirrel American goldfinch House sparrow and many Monarchs who will not make it to Mexico this year :( I will start my journal again on Friday. Todd - posted 9/4/2007 10:14:38 AM September 3, 2007 We had a relaxing evening last night at Little Sioux Park campground. My dad stopped in for a couple hours and we shared some stories with Jody & Judy about Darwin’s and Carolyn’s battles with pancreatic cancer and some of the trials and tribulations we went through. Not a real pleasant subject but it is comforting to talk about it, especially to those who have been through it. The next morning as we started walking out of Correctionville Jody and I continued that same conversation for a while. You always tend to second-guess yourself and wonder “did we do enough, did we do the right things, should we have tried this or that.” It is human nature. One thing is for sure, pancreatic cancer is a killer and there needs to be a method of early detection and more effective treatment. That is one of the main reasons we are walking, and that is why donations to this cause are so critical. It was a beautiful day for walking, although a little on the warm side. My legs did okay but I’ve got a strange blister on my right heel that is giving me fits. We made it to I headed for home at around 2 p.m., feeling good about our three days of walking but bad about not being able to help out with the LONG walk to Road kill update (new ones in bold): Reptiles: garter snake, fox snake, snapping turtle. Amphibians: chorus frog, leopard frog, bullfrog. Mammals: raccoon, whitetail deer, mole, mouse, fox squirrel, opossum, cat. Birds: barn swallow, pheasant. Insects: butterflies - monarch, sulpher butterfly, tiger swallowtail butterfly. Other - grasshopper, katydid, a strange beetle, and some white moths.
Jody - posted 9/3/2007 6:39:17 PM It was a little warm today. It was a beautiful blue sky, but a very hot sun. Not much shade along the roadside. I do not mind walking in light rain or wind so much, but the hot temperatures really get to me. We went through a lot of water today. Sounds like it will be warm for the next couple of days and then we will get a little cooler. We walked to Holstein today. It was about a 12 mile trip. The pedometer said we walked about 27, 310 steps. It felt a lot more than that. Still some hills to climb, but we are soon getting to the flat area of the state. The feet are holding up well. Just a few small blisters, but nothing too major. It was just Todd, Mom and myself today. Mom took a little break and had some Advil. She swears by it now. A couple of miles later, she was booking it down the road. I have a feeling she will be taking a couple everyday. Todd is taking a few days off after today. He will be back on Saturday. Tomorrow Mom and I will be heading to Sac City. It is a 30 mile journey. The walk is long enough, the heat may make it feel longer. A lot of water will be packed. A fellow naturalist, Victoria Shamblen will be joining us at the beginning. My cousin Tony will be meeting us toward the middle. We hope maybe a few more will join us along the way. It will be a long day. I will be taking a Wednesday and Thursday off, to help McKenna get to school. Mom and her friends will walk for me. I will be back in the shoes by Friday. Tonight we are staying at Janet and Louey Volkert's near Holstein. We are going to have a nice meal, a warm shower and a good night's sleep. We can't thank them enough. See you down the road.
Todd - posted 9/2/2007 8:58:59 PM September 2, 2007 As I was packing and getting ready to leave this morning I heard rain on the roof, and then thunder and the first thing I thought was "Jody & Judy didn't go to church last night and Darwin is mad!" I drove to Moville to meet them and sure enough, I was right, they missed church! Scott suggested it was safe to go and as soon as the words got out of his mouth a lightening bolt shot out of the sky with an immediate thunder clap, so we decided it best to wait a while. The weather started looking less threatening and we hit the highway at around 8:40 a.m. The road was a little rough today as they have resurfaced it and the road shoulder is not finished. But we pushed on and had a good walk. Jody provided some excellent entertainment as we walked by some farm turkeys and she started calling to them (and she is an excellent caller by voice). She got the Tom turkey all fired up and he was gobbling like crazy! We exchanged some turkey hunting stories and the next thing we new we were heading up the long steep Correctionville hill. I felt great at the start but my legs and feet were really starting to hurt by the time we got to Correctionville. It wasn't a very good day for roadkills but we did get a few. Roadkill update: Birds: barn swallow, pheasant. Insects: katydid, a strange beetle, and some white moths. Mammals: fox squirrel. Jody - posted 9/2/2007 8:47:22 PM Had a little computer trouble tonight, but finally outsmarted the computer. Well, the forecast called for no rain the night before, but guess what we woke up to this morning. A little thunder, a little lightning and a little rain. We waited about 40 minutes and then took off from Moville. We did joke with my husband that maybe he should walk with us since he is the tallest. Maybe the lightning would be attracted to him first. :) The rain did quit about 2 miles into the walk and then it was a pleasant day. The cloud cover did keep it at a pretty decent temperature. The first half of the walk was a pretty tough one for my body. I think the mixture of a stuff nose, not much sleep and a sore toe kind of slowed me down, but by the end of that big hill near Correctionville I was loosened up a ready to walk more. Todd and mom were the only other companions that I had. We had some good talks and some good alone time. The road was well paved, but the sides were a little dangerous - big rocks, big trenches and mud. We walked close to 13 miles today and a lot of hills. About 30,000 steps again. We had a wonderful Casey's pizza for supper and I am ready to soak the feet and head to bed. For a little bit tonight, we will be selling glow in the dark Hike Iowa for Hope bracelets to the little kids at the campground. If we sell one, they all seem to come running. I wonder if Mom is getting bombarded now. Tomorrow we are off to Holstein. Another 13 miles and another day of hope. Jody - posted 9/1/2007 10:23:52 PM It seems just like yesterday that we walked this road. I can't believe it has already been a year. Well the road and the distance is still the same, but the feeling of accomplishment is even better. We walked about 14 miles today, burned a bunch of calories and took about 30,000 steps. A wonderful crew started out this beautiful morning. We had friends and family send us off and walk by our side. It was a perfect day. Todd and I added to our dead animal or road kill count. I am sure he gave you the numbers. Many mutilated beyond recognition ones. It was nice to get out and walk again. My feet are a little tender tonight, but I bandaged them up for tomorrow's walk. Mom, McKenna and I will be staying in a wonderful camper tonight, courtesy of Mark and Jeanne Peterson. It will give us a wonderful night sleep and some air conditioning. I can not thank them enough. I also wanted to thank the media that was out there today promoting our hike. We greatly appreciate their support. Thanks to everyone that walked with us - Todd, Mom, Stacey, Heidi and the June Nylen Cancer Center crew. A special thanks to Scott and McKenna for helping with SAG vehicle. Every step you guys walk is another step for hope. It is bedtime for me. I will hopefully get to a computer early tomorrow. Todd - posted 9/1/2007 9:44:26 PM September 1, 2007 I cannot believe it has been one year already since the last Hike Iowa for Hope. Time goes way too fast! I drove over from Forest City early this morning and did a lot of thinking on the way about my mom and last year's hike and what a great experience it was. By the time I got to Correctionville I was really getting pumped up to get walking again, see old friends, meet new ones, honor our loved ones and raise awareness about PC. I pulled into the old Wal-Mart parking lot and Jody's mom Judy was already there, ready to go! Soon Jody and other walkers began to arrive, and after Jody did a couple TV interviews we hit the road and were on our way. It felt good and right to be doing this again and I hope we are able to raise a bunch of money and help a lot of folks along the way. It was a beautiful sunny day and the walk went pretty fast. My dad Jerry Von Ehwegen walked with me almost to Theo's and we were also joined by two walkers from the Nylen Cancer Center who also walked to Theo's. A couple of Jody's friends walked all the way to Moville with us. Jody's husband Scott and daughter McKenna provided excellent logistical support for us as always. After the walk we stopped at A&W in Moville and the root beer floats really hit the spot! We got a great start on our roadkill tally today - here is the first roadkill update of the walk: Amphibians: chorus frog, leopard frog, bullfrog. Reptiles: garter snake, fox snake. Mammals: raccoon, whitetail deer, mole, mouse. Insects: monarch, sulpher butterfly, tiger swallowtail butterfly, grasshopper. Todd - posted 9/19/2006 12:14:37 PM My last journal entry is a little late for a couple of reasons – I’ve been trying to catch up with everything at work and home, and I wanted a little time to reflect on this great experience. It looked like rain Sunday morning as we started our last walk. We all donned our rain gear but in a matter of minutes the skies cleared and the sun came out. Perhaps We had a nice group of walkers and it was a very enjoyable and casual walk into We stopped at Menard’s for a water break and my dad joined us there. He had his orange vest on and some folks thought he was a Menard’s employee and asked him where the windows and doors were!! As we strolled the final two miles and neared our destination I felt a lump forming in my throat. As we crossed our final highway bridge and the end was in sight (“Welcome to I want to thank everyone who supported us and provided us their hospitality along the way. Thank you to members of my mom’s family for meeting us in Webster City and walking with us, my wife for walking by my side every day, my dad for walking with us and lending his support throughout the hike, and Scott for his great “sag” support. I especially want to thank Jody for envisioning and organizing this event, and inviting me and my family to participate in memory and honor of my mother. It was an experience I will never forget. I am very proud of Jody and admire her tenacity for pulling this off. Her family and friends were wonderful supporters. Julia and I had a great time with Jody, Scott, McKenna, Judy, and Jay and enjoyed getting to know them better as we walked away the long miles. I believe this hike accomplished what Jody and the rest of us Jody - posted 9/18/2006 7:36:51 PM I know this is a day late, but I did not get home until late last night. My mind and my body was a little tired and I thought I would type better with a good night's sleep. Dubuque was finally in sight yesterday. We started in Peosta close to 8:00 a.m. The morning looked quite rainy and it did start to spit rain when we began. I did not want to end the day on a rainy note. One mile into the walk, the clouds began to part and the sun shined through. Todd and Julia joked that dad was kidding us with the rain and that Carolyn told him to knock it off. I just think we had a lot angels on our side to end our incredible journey on a positive note. I had a great support group yesterday. My husband Scott, my mom Judy, Todd and Julia, Jerry (Todd's dad), my friends Julie Spore and Deanna Schulz, My uncle Jerry Dake, cousin Kerry Dake and cousin Stephanie Donnelly. We were joined at the 4 mile mark by two other ladies - Dana and Stephanie. Stephanie's mother passed away from pancreatic cancer last year. We were very happy to have them join us on our last leg. It was a short walk compared to others that we took during the 17 days. It was about 8.5 miles, which was close to about 17,000 steps. I do not think my legs wanted to go another day, so I am glad that we ended when we did. My right leg had terrible shin splints, but I hobbled my way to the finish. I was not going to stop when I was so close. We ended at a nice spot near a Dubuque welcome sign. In the distance, I saw my Grandma Lila, Aunt Mary, Aunt Nancy, brother Jay, Scott and two other ladies - Jodi Stuart and Beverly Stuart, who were there to support the cause. I can not explain the rush of emotions that came over me, but it was amazing. I was proud, sad, happy, and relieved. I would have not finished it any other way. I could not imagine finishing without the people that were there. My friend Jenny Hogan and her husband Kevin and daughter Olivia came right at the end too. The support that we had throughout this event was unbelievable. It was everything I thought it would be and much more. We met some amazing people along the way, raised awareness and also raised some good money. $5100 and counting. I think that is pretty good for the first year. One of the last things I did before we left was Dubuque was dip my toe in the Mississippi River. I was sad to see it end, but happy for our achievement. I believe we helped some people along the way and also helped ourselves heal. I want to thank everyone who donated money, walked with me, drove the SAG vehicle, gave me place to sleep, fed all of us, stopped to just give their support, Martin Marietta for the hotel rooms, Peak Performance for the shoes, Casey's for the gift certificates, Chesterman and Company for the water and powerade and for all of the prayers. We walked for many people and I wanted to list the names that we know were affected by pancreatic cancer. I know there are many more out there and we definitely walked for them and their families too. God bless everyone and thank you again. Our angels and courageous survivors: Darwin Hartnett, Carolyn VonEhwegen, Lola Marron, Ruby Hauptman, Wilson Murley, John Mac George, Robert Kupeferschmidt, Betty Meints, Bill Simpson, Kevin TenNapel, Robert Butler, McClary, Duane Haley and Jim Toillion. I know there are others out there and I know there will be more that will be added in the future, but I hope what we did in the last 18 days will make a positive difference in their lives. Make sure your legs are ready to go in September 2007! Todd - posted 9/16/2006 9:41:07 PM Saturday, September 16
We woke up to Judy calling upstairs to tell us it was time to get ready to go! After rolls and coffee we took off on Highway 20. My legs felt much better today. As Jody stated it was very windy and the traffic was heavy, but we pushed on. A very kind woman stopped by and gave us a donation - she is the local Chair for the Relay for Life event in Dyersville. Partway through the walk I had to grab my radio so I could listen to the big ISU/Iowa game. Julia and I are Cyclone graduates so we were rooting for the 'Clones but it wasn't meant to be. It was a great day for roadkill, we picked up all kinds of newly squashed critters! We walked the exit into Peosta at around 1 p.m., right to the Americinn. It looked pretty inviting so we decided what the heck, let's stay there. I'm glad we did because the hot tub felt great. My dad made the 5-hour drive from Sioux City to Dubuque today so he will join us for the finish tomorrow. I can hardly believe we are almost done. I know Jody and Judy prayed hard for no rain tomorrow so hopefully their prayers will be answered!!
I have updated the roadkill list below, with new entries in bold:
Mammals: raccoon, opossum, cat, deer, muskrat, fox squirrel, skunk, beaver, mink, woodchuck, dog, pocket gopher, meadow vole, house mouse, little brown bat Birds: goldfinch, coot, house sparrow, nighthawk, morning dove, barn swallow, grey partridge, common yellowthroat, unidentified shorebird Reptiles: garter snake, fox snake, painted turtle, snapping turtle Amphibians: American toad, tiger salamander, leopard frog Insects: Butterflies - monarch, painted lady, red admiral, sulphur, tiger swallowtail; grasshopper, green darner dragonfly, preying mantis, paper wasp Arachnids: Daddy long-legs Mutilated beyond recognition: several! Todd - posted 9/16/2006 9:22:58 PM Friday, September 15 Well, Julia and I had 4 days off so I figured I'd be ready to roll. I was for the first four or five miles, then my legs really started to ache, and so did my hips. It stinks to get old! Julia felt good though, and once again Jody's mom Judy set a good pace. It was a beautiful day and we arrived in Dyersville at around 1 p.m. Picked up a couple nice roadkills (common yellowthroat warbler, a pocket gopher, and a dog, which was sad). We had a great late afternoon meal, and then headed to the Hogan's. Scott was ready to look for a trout stream for a little fishing, and I joined him. We headed up to Colesburg and onto a windy gravel road through some beautiful country. We did a little trout fishing and Scott's dog Salix got to take a swim. Scott caught a small rainbow trout and while I was unsuccessful I did enjoy soaking my feet in the cold water! We got back to the Hogan's and Julia and I headed out to see the Field of Dreams - the gift shop was closed but we enjoyed seeing the famous baseball field surrounded by corn. The Hogan's provided a delicious meal of grilled steak and chicken breasts and then left their own home to stay with Kevin's brother and his wife while we slept in their beds - WHAT GREAT HOSPITALITY!! We greatly appreciated that! I think we all were tired and slept pretty well. Jody - posted 9/16/2006 2:55:34 PM This is last night's journal. Sorry, but we had computer problems again.
Had a great night of sleep last night at the Days Inn in Manchester. My friend from college, Melissa Coates and her two girls stopped by to see me last night. It was wonderful to see her and catch up with each other lives. I woke up to another beautiful day. Lots of sunshine and a little breezy. My mom, Todd, and Julia joined me for the walk to Dyersville. We started off at a Baum Park where Melissa, her daughter Makenna, and Jack Klaus with the Manchester Chamber of Commerce wished us luck on our 20-mile journey. As we started off through town, a friend of my father’s, Gene Weirheim, joined our group. It was fun listening to his stories about dad and his wild times. They sounded like they had a lot of fun back in the days. I remember when Gene came to visit my dad when he was sick. That was the last time I saw my dad laugh really hard. He seemed to forget about his pain at least for a little bit. I thank Gene for that. I walked the first 4 miles and decided to give my feet a little rest. So my mom, Todd and Julia walked for a while. I jumped in the truck with Scott. Salix and my brother Jay. I always feel a little guilty taking a break, but my legs told me to rest just a little so I can make it the last two days. I joined the group with 3 1/2 miles to go. We entered Dyersville by 1:00 p.m. We made excellent time. We joked about using the corn for a restroom near Dyersville. We did not want to go in there and have a team member from the Chicago White Sox be in there to surprise us. A couple of new road kills: pocket gopher and common yellowthroat. We are staying the night tonight at friend’s house in Dyersville. Jenny (Chambers) Hogan was a friend of mine from high school. Jenny, Kevin and their daughter Olivia were kind enough to open their house up to all of us. We had warm showers and excellent food. People ask if we lose weight when we walk, but I do not think we do. People feed us with excellent food! A couple of things I did notice when I hiked these last couple of days, is that everyone out in the country have beautiful manicured lawns. Things look very neat and tidy. Everyone’s lawn looks so pristine. The other thing I noticed was that we become entertainment for farm animals. Cows stop chewing, horses come running, sheep start to baa and dogs bark. The only animal that does not care for us are the pigs. They usually run from us. It might be because we are usually hungry and let them know bacon sounds really good. Jody - posted 9/16/2006 2:48:25 PM We walked to Peosta today. It was close to 14 miles, which equals to about 27, 901 steps. My legs were feeling it a little today. We all had aches and pains in different parts of our body on this journey. Jenny (Chambers) Hogan, her sister-in-law Deb, Jenny's brother Ryan and his wife Mary joined myself, my mom and Todd and Julia on one of the windiest days of the trip. It was blowing very hard against us, plus we were on the 4-lane Hwy 20 so the semis created even more wind. Jenny and I stayed at our own pace, while the rest walked a little faster. It was fun to talk about old friends and old times in high school. We decided we need to get together more often with each other so our girls can play more. We left the Chamber/Hogan gang at Farley and hiked our way to Epworth and then to Peosta. We added a few more roadkill animals to the list: snapping turtle, dragonflies, little brown bat and a shorebird that was a little too smushed to correctly identify. (Sorry auduboners) Tomorrow is our last day. Their is a lot of emotion building and it amazes you how far you have come when you look at a map. This has been a great journey and healing experience so far. They are calling for rain, but I hope it holds off until we are all done. I am going to church tonight and asking for a little favor. I figured I have some pull! To Dubuque tomorrow! Jody - posted 9/14/2006 11:06:43 PM I forgot to let you know the steps we took today --39,881. My shoes are holding up great. Thanks again to Peak's Performance! Jody - posted 9/14/2006 9:18:37 PM It was another beautiful day. I had a great night of sleep at the VanRaden's home and was ready to walk this morning. I did not get to start until 8:30 a.m. I waited for the fog to burn off before I took off down the road. Sometimes people do not know I am there on a clear day, so I was not going to risk it on a foggy day. My destination was Manchester, IA. I walked to the first 10 or so miles by myself. My mother-in-law Bernita and my husband's cousin Mary Jo were along for the ride again. It was nice to be able to listen to some tunes as I walked. I just walked to the beat of the songs that were on the radio. I was lucky to find a station that played some 80's tunes. So I strolled to AH-HA, Billy Joel and Bryan Adams. I was singing to and caught myself waving my arms every once in a awhile. I am sure people were wondering who the crazy woman was walking on the edge of the road. My cousin Rick joined up with me just pass Winthrop. We had another 10 miles to go, so we talked a lot about family, my dad, his dad, our cousins and Ireland. I will be seeing a lot of my cousins in a couple of weeks at a family reunion. I am sure Tony, John, Todd, Jerry and Rick will compare their blisters, sore legs and battle scars of the walks they did with me. I do think that Jerry beat everyone in mileage, but Todd comes in pretty close. My right leg was showing a little wear today. I think the shin splits were setting in. My left foot still has blisters on the toes, but they are still functioning. I tell myself and my body that I have three days left. My will is making my body survive every day. Tomorrow I may have to take a little break. My mom and Todd and Julia will be back to walk to Dyersville. Time to put the feet up and watch a little more T.V. Jody - posted 9/13/2006 9:15:21 PM What a beautiful day. It was great that the sun decided to shine today. I had enough of the clouds, mist and rain for the last four days. I was getting a little grumpy. My friend Julie Spore, her sister-in-law Chelsea and my husband's good friend Mike VanRaden joined me for the long walk today. We did close to 20 miles, but it didn't feel too bad with the weather being so good. Maybe those that walked with me today may feel a little different. The road to Jesup was a little long and we kept on being told that it was right around the corner. It was right around the corner a couple of times!! We took a nice break at the Casey's in Jesup. I bought myself some corn nuts. I haven't had those forever. You start to crave some weird things when you walk long distances! We headed out to Independence soon after and was told it was right over the hill. Once again, it was right over the 5th or 6th hill!! We eventually made it to Independence after some discussions of sore legs and feet. We arrived close to 3:00 p.m. It was a good time hiking with Julie and Chelsea and identifying road kill for them. We discussed high school, old jobs and family. I had a great time and it took my mind off my sore body. It is fun to have different people hike with me along the way. You hear so many different stories. I forgot to ask Julie the final mileage on her pedometer. I forgot mine in my mother-in-law's car. I will get it again tomorrow, so I can not tell you the number of steps I took. I am assuming 28 to 29,000. Once again my feet feel it. Luckily, Mike got me a pedicure from a nice lady named Linda Lau. It was perfect and so relaxing. I was a little embarrassed of my non-sexy feet, but she treated me like a princess. My feet are ready for another 20 miles tomorrow, plus will also look quite pretty doing it! Jody - posted 9/12/2006 10:59:19 PM Took off from Parkersburg this morning at around 8:30 a.m. I had a great walking partner this morning, my good friend Sara. She walked with me most of the way and then had to leave after about 13 miles. My husband had to go to a meeting in Des Moines, so his mother Bernita and cousin Mary Jo volunteered to be my SAG vehicle. I believe they had a great time and I think they will be back on Thursday to help out again. They may have had too good of a time! After Sara left, I had a few miles walking by myself. As I was walking up I noticed a red car with two ladies. They got out of the car to greet me. One happened to be my father's cousin, Jo Ann Kluesner and her friend Dolly Kreger. Jo Ann walked with me for a little bit. It was nice to talk to her about dad. They had some fun times together when they were younger. It was great that she came out to find me and I appreciate her support. I know dad would have loved to see her. I arrived in Cedar Falls around 2:30 p.m. I wanted to walk to the UNI-dome, but my legs were getting a little tired and I decided to stop at 19 miles. It equaled close to 27,500 steps. I enjoyed driving around UNI. I had a great time here, when I was in college. The purple house I lived in on University Ave is still standing and still purple. Tonight I went to the Brown Bottle restaurant with Scott and a another couple. There was a very nice lady waiting to talk to me. Her name was Marcia Simpson. Her husband, Bill Simpson, lost his battle with pancreatic cancer in April 2005. It was a great pleasure to talk to her about her husband. Meeting people like Marcia and knowing that they are behind you 100%, makes the pain in the legs, the long miles and blisters all worth it. I know I have another angel looking down on me and helping me in my journey. I also want to thank the owner of the Brown Bottle for giving me a wonderful meal. I ate enough carbs to last me the rest of my trip. It is off to Independence tomorrow. Jody - posted 9/11/2006 2:36:15 PM We started out with another misty day. Had a great night of sleep at my friend Wes's house again. Wes and I started off a little after 8:00 a.m. on the east side of Ackley. Talked about college days, friends and family. Had a few gagging moments by a dead deer and a wet cow lot. That was enough to make us a laugh for a few miles. It was a total of 15 miles today and 27, 663 steps. Once again Scott and McKenna were our cheering section and SAG vehicle. Will be walking to Cedar Falls/Waterloo area tomorrow. I will be joined by the other Hardin County Naturalist - Sara. I am sure I will have a few more laughs with her. I think my mother-in-law will be the SAG vehicle tomorrow since Scott has a meeting. It will be nice to see her. She is also good for a few laughs. My left leg seems to get sore a lot quicker than my right leg, but I am able to hobble to the end. We got done today at 1:00 p.m., so I am off to get cleaned up and take a little nap before our 18 mile journey tomorrow. Six more days left before I get to Dubuque. The days seem to go by quickly, but when you are walking, the miles seem to take forever. Jody & Todd - posted 9/10/2006 8:49:50 PM I am typing this entry for both Jody and myself today, since she doesn’t have access to a computer. We were treated to an excellent meal of breakfast burritos, bacon, fruit, and coffee from Wes and Lisa to start the day. We started our walk in Gordy, Jody, Judy, my wife Julia, and I walked from Even though we all wore rain gear, we were all pretty soaked a couple miles into the walk. Jody noted that the air smelled like worms! We all had wet feet and Jody said the squishy feeling was like walking on a fen (a rare wetland that has very spongy soggy ground). As we were walking Jody told me her dad Darwin could smell out a Catholic church no matter where they were, even when they were traveling and on vacation. He was very insistent that they made it to church every Sunday, and Jody theorized that perhaps We kept a good pace and made it to Ackley before Tomorrow, Wes will join Jody on their walk to Aplington. We pray for a safe journey for them. Roadkill update (new critters in bold): Mammals: raccoon, opossum, cat, deer, muskrat, fox squirrel, skunk, beaver, mink, woodchuck Birds: goldfinch, coot, house sparrow, nighthawk, morning dove, barn swallow, grey partridge Todd - posted 9/10/2006 8:48:58 PM
Saturday, September 9 My wife Julia and I were excited to get back to the walk. We arrived at Judy’s (Jody’s mom) house at around The highlight of the day for Julia and I was seeing my Aunt Linda and Uncle Mike McGuire, and my Aunts Toni Larson and Mari Hall. Linda, Toni, and Mari are my mom’s sisters. Linda and Mike were able to walk with us for the first 3.5 miles, and their granddaughter Kara (13 years old) walked with us 15 miles all the way to her hometown of Williams, where her mom (my cousin Marna) and brother Dawson picked her up. Kara was a great walker and didn’t have a single complaint!! . It was a LONG walk to After the walk we had a delicious meal of grilled bison fajitas prepared by Wes and his girlfriend Lisa. They were VERY gracious hosts and we had a great night’s sleep at Wes’s farmhouse in the country. Jody - posted 9/10/2006 8:48:13 PM Saturday, September 9 We are sorry to not get this to you until Sunday, but once again we had some computer problems. I figured out today walking, that Today was the day I felt the burn. I do not know if it was because I had a day of rest and my body was telling me it needed one more day or if it was the dreary weather. I finally took care of my two toe blisters on my left foot and now I have one forming on my right heel. Hopefully I have them bandaged up for tomorrow’s walk, which will be at least 15 miles less. I took a short break and walked about 24 miles today. My pedometer says 41,801 steps and my body agrees. Everyone did a great job today and I think they surprised themselves how well they did. Their bodies may be telling them a different story though. Tonight we are staying with a good friend, Wes Wiese. A shower and roof over our head is all we need. Thanks again to everyone that walked today. I hope I did not forget anyone. Just in case anyone was wondering – my massage was wonderful!! Jody - posted 9/7/2006 11:12:01 PM Six counties and 7 days later, we finally made it to Webster City. This is my hometown and it was a wonderful walk. We took off from Fort Dodge at 8:30 a.m. this morning. Joining me today was my friend Kelly Sonnichsen, Todd and Lori Hartnett (my cousin and his wife), my sister Jill and Jim Toillion. John and Jean Kayser helped with the SAG vehicles today. Jim called me last night at the hotel and ask if he could join the walk. He had pancreatic cancer 4 years ago. He is one of those blessings that is in the 5% survival group. It was a pleasure and a honor to have him walk beside us. I enjoyed listening to his stories and admired his attitude. We all walked to Duncombe, where Jim had to leave us. We also had a very nice lady named Heather that stopped and handed us donation. It was very nice of her. Highview was our next destination. During this journey more people stopped along the road and donated to us. It was great! This is where my mom, my aunt Edna and Art Tolle joined us for the walk into Webster City. Eighteen miles later we arrived at the west edge of Webster City. It was an emotional walk through the downtown. Dad was always talking to us about supporting our downtowns. He did what he could to make sure the mainstreet looked nice and inviting. We decided to walk to Bonebright park, where they have flags flying in honor of my dad and his dedication to the armed forces. When we arrived, the fire department was there with two trucks and many of the men. They presented me a check and we took a few pictures. My father was a fireman for awhile and then became a volunteer fireman, so this would have meant a lot to him. I know he would have done the same for other people. My blisters have been worked on and my feet are feeling pretty good for walking close to 137 miles. Today it was close to 36,000 steps again. My left calf was starting to tell me to take a break, but I knew I wanted to finish this leg of my journey. So tonight, I am relaxing at my mom's house and hopefully catching up with Days of our Lives!! Tomorrow is my day of rest, so I am going to get a massage and just relax. So if you do not hear from me, I will be back when we head to Iowa Falls on Saturday. Thanks to everyone who has donated and have had us in their thoughts and prayers. Jody - posted 9/6/2006 5:22:12 PM We hiked our way into Fort Dodge by 2:30 p.m. today. Mom, John and Jean Kayser picked me up at the Green Acres Motel at around 7:30 a.m. and off we went. Mom set a good pace for us for about 10 miles. We kept up that pace after she had to leave. I took and was told to take a little break for awhile. John walked a few hours by himself, while Jean and I took care of our feet. I walked close to 36, 098 steps today. My blisters on my two toes are still there, but did not bother me too much today. I had a some bandages around them and covered with mole skin. Seemed to work throughout the whole day. My friend, Kelly Sonnichsen, joined up with us about a mile out of Fort Dodge. She will be with me for the next couple of days hiking. She picked a good night to stay with me, because the Country Inn and Suites gave me a hotel room for the night and Applebee's is going to pay for my supper. I thank both of the managers for that gift. We had some peaceful times on the road today without much traffic. Those are the times when you can enjoy the sounds of the outdoors - like crickets chirping, meadowlarks singing and just the grass blowing in the wind. Then a big semi-truck zooms by you and leaves a whiff of pigs and you are back to the reality that you are walking along a highway. I also noticed that Iowa is a very pretty state and has many nice people in it. You do not notice that when you are cruising at 60-65 miles per hour. This walk allows me to enjoy the state at a slower pace. Tomorrow we are off to Webster City. It will be an 18 mile journey. I am excited. One more good hike and then its a day of rest. Keep us in your thoughts. Jody - posted 9/5/2006 4:40:39 PM Made it to Rockwell City by 2:00 p.m. today. Hiked about 32,888 steps. Beautiful day to go 17 miles. My parent's friends, John and Jean Kayser from Webster City joined me today, along with my mom, Judy. Jean, my mom and myself hiked to Lytton together. Mon had to go back to work, so it was Jean and I for awhile. At our next break, I had to take a break in the nearest cornfield. I did not know that I dropped my pedometer and took off walking. After awhile, I realized I did not have it. At this time, Bob and Donna Stowe showed up. Bob and I went back to the cornfield to look. He said it was easier to track a deer than to find a small pedometer. Guess what - we found it and we were on our way. John, Bob and myself did the rest of the journey. We had a great lunch at a local restaurant - meatlof dinner ( I never eat meatlof, but it sounded good after 17 miles). I have a few blisters forming on two of the toes of my left foot, but I do not think it is the shoe's fault. I believe it is because we tend to walk on a slant and my toes are getting pushed to one side. I am taking foot advice from John seriously and will be soaking and pampering my feet soon. John and Jean got me a room in Rockwell City at the Green Acres Hotel. It will be nice to sleep in a bed instead of the hard ground, plus maybe watching some t.v. I have kind of lost track of the world. The only news I have heard is the bad news about the crocodile hunter! I want to thank the Sac County Conservation Board for letting me stay in their camping cabin last night at Hagge Park. I slept well and it helped me make it to this next destination. Onward to Fort Dodge tomorrow for a 24 mile trip. Wish us luck! Todd - posted 9/5/2006 12:50:34 PM Todd’s Journal Entries (Sunday & Monday, Sept. 3 & 4) As Jody stated, we had a little computer trouble on Sunday night so my journal entries are late as well. Sunday: After a campfire at Little Sioux Park and sharing some hunting stories with Jody’s husband Scott, I hit the tent and slept like a rock. My wife Julia was planning on heading home Saturday night, but decided to stay and keep walking for the next two days, which I was very thankful for. I also want to thank our sons Tyler and Austin for being responsible young men and taking care of things at home while we walk for this important cause. Jody, her mom Judy, Julia, and I took off from Correctionville in good spirits. It was a beautiful morning, and we kept a good pace all the way to We ran into some rain on the last leg into Monday: Knowing we had a big day and a LONG walk ahead of us, we got an early start. Thirty miles is quite a jaunt, so the plan was to do a little “relay walking.” We had someone walking all the time so there were no breaks to slow us down. Jody and I started for the first 6 miles; Julia, Judy, and Jill the next 6, and then Scott, Jody’s cousins, and Jill strolled another 8 miles into Early. I was ready to go again so took off from Early with Julia and others soon joined us for the 10-mile walk into Sac. We started at 8 a.m. and were in This will count as two journals. We had some trouble with computers last night, so we apologize for those of you that have been following our journal. Correctionville to Holstein was only about 12 miles, but it sure seemed a lot longer, especially when it was raining. The highlight of our walk was visiting with Lola's family again. They had a beautiful sign made for us with balloons flying. We were very touched by their support and feel real good that Lola is smiling and watching over us. Rain seemed to get harder as we got closer to Holstein, but finally let up when entered the city limits. Close to 30,000 steps later, we arrived. We had a nice lunch at a little drive-up and stayed at Janet and Larry Volkert's house. What wonderful hospitality and beds!! We appreciate their kindness and conservation. Janet and Larry are the parents of Audra O'Neill. Audra is the wife of Sean O'Neill, who I use to work with when I was a naturalist in Sac County. Once again, the walkers included Todd and Julia, my mom Judy and myself. On to Sac City! It is a long walk from Holstein to Sac City!! 30 miles. So today Todd and I started off for about 6 miles and then we took a little break. My mom, Julia and my sister Jill high-fived us and took over for another 6 miles. We met my cousin John and Tony, who live in Storm Lake, at the Schaller turn-off and they joined my husband Scott, while the rest of us ate a wonderful lunch brought to us by John's wife Amy. Good chicken and potatoes! My husband led the pack of John, Tony and my sister Jill to Early. While we waited for them to arrive, we received a great suprise from the Duane Haley family. I was so excited to hear that Duane has survived pancreatic cancer for 17 months. It is refreshing to hear a story like that and even more refreshing to meet him in person. We visited him in Loring Hospital in Sac City. What a loving, wonderful man. He had strong faith and a very supportive family. I was so happy that they came to find us. When you meet people like this, you just feel you are doing the right thing. It also feels good to know that they are praying for you and are on your side. God bless them. I decided to join the group from Early on to Sac City. Others that joined us were Sandi Huster, a good friend of mine, Jerry Von Ehwegen, Todd's father, Steve and Marsha Hummel and toward the end, Shirley Phillips and Laura Zimmerman. This has been the day that my legs have been tired. I have a feeling I will be taking aspirin and going to be early tonight. Today only about 28,000 steps. Tomorrow of course will be more. It will help me burn off the pizza I ate tonight with all of my friends in Sac County. Thanks a bunch to them. Thanks to all that are thinking of us and hope to see you down the road. Day 2: I would like to thank the Woodbury County Fairgrounds in Moville for the relaxing and wonderful stay at their campgrounds last night. The restrooms and shower facility was immaculate and refreshing. It wasn't too bad today, just a little cold and rainy. Actually, I think it made us walk a little faster. We arrived at Correctionville at 1:00 p.m. Fifteen miles we walked today with little breaks and that equaled close to 34,000 steps. Todd and his wife Julia, my mom Judy and myself were the walkers today. Once again, my dedicated husband was the SAG driver along with my daughter McKenna and our dog Salix. Some of the highlights were all of the people that honked at us. We wondered if they knew what we were doing, just being friendly, thought we were the garbage clean-up crew or it was just their way of telling us to move off the road. Only one big spray of water from a semi. One of the main reasons we are walking is of course to raise awareness and money for pancreatic cancer, but we also wanted to meet people and share stories with them. When we arrived in Correctionville, we had a very nice woman approach us and invited us to lunch at Club Cosmos. Her husband's mother just passed away 2 weeks ago from pancreatic cancer. We had an enjoyable lunch talking about what are families have been through and shared many stories. They were wonderful enough to buy us lunch, which we greatly appreciated. But most of all, we just wanted to let them know that they are not alone and that we are thinking of them. Their names are Rod and Julie Marron and their nephew Jeffrey Marron. We are now walking for Lola Marron, who was taken too soon from her family. It does make me feel better that we have an extra angel watching out for us along our journey. Tonight we will be enjoying a nice night at Little Sioux Park. Thank you to the Woodbury County Conservation Board. We appreciate your hospitality. It is time for me to ice my feet again!! This is Todd speaking now: Wow, does time go fast when you walk the days away. It has been a wonderful two days. We had a great send-off in Sioux City, and I want to thank all of the wonderful people who came to show their support and walk with us. When my family went through the experience of losing my mother to pancreatic cancer, we felt very alone. As time went on, we began to meet others who had been touched by this terrible disease. For me, it helps to share my experience with others, and listen to their experiences as well. That has been the most beneficial thing for me on this hike - to talk to Jody, her mom, and to others about what happened to them and how they dealt with it. Today, we met a wonderful family in Correctionville. They offered to buy us lunch, and as we visited with them we learned they lost their mother two weeks ago to this deadly cancer. They told us their story, and they mentioned that they had not really talked to anyone about it before they met us. I hope our visit together helped to soothe their pain a little bit. They are wonderful people and we really appreciated their kindness! It is interesting walking along Highway 20 - you see so many things on the highway, like gas caps, socks, bungee cords, vehicle parts, etc. etc. Jody and I, being naturalists, are enjoying trying to identify all of the road kill we see along the way. We are getting quite a long list! The traffic is loud and fast but as time goes on you get immune to it. Well, my legs are tired so it is time to go back to the campsite for a fire, a little conversation, and then early to bed. I'm sure I will sleep well! Well we made it Moville. We had wonderful weather and a great crew of walkers. I appreciate everyone that walked with Todd and myself today. I would like to list the brave souls that sacreficed their feet on Hwy 20: Pat Hubbard, Cindy McClary, Melinda McClary, Bob Stowe, Victoria Shamblen, Julia Von Ehwegen, Todd Von Ehwegen, Jerry Von Ehwegen, Dawn Chapman, Rick Schneider, Mark Peterson, Anne Shaner and Karen VanDe Steeg and Judy Hartnett. Most of the walkers stopped at Theo's and about six of us went the whole 17 miles. You never know how big those hills are until you walk them! I can say that my shoes gave me great support and my legs still feel good. Thanks Peak Performance! When we arrived at our destination, I took a look a my pedometer. It stated that I took 36034 steps. I am going to try and keep track of the number of steps I take each day and calculate them at the end of our journey. It is time for me to ice my legs and rest my feet. Before I sign off, I want to thank my wonderful husband, Scott. He has been a great support and did quite well driving the SAG vehicle today. I could not do this without him. Also a thank you to Casey's. They donated gift certificates for all of the gas used to drive across the state. Thanks to all and tomorrow will be another day we will be telling pancreatic cancer to take a hike! |
Darwin with daughters Jody Moats and Jill Anonson in Ireland
