The Humble Walker

WOW Wanderlust on Wheels – Traveling thru Utah

Posted on May 20, 2026May 20, 2026 by mewalsh1

We headed west out of Grand Junction towards Utah. The landscape was baron but still more interesting than the landscape in western Kansas and eastern Colorado. There were hills and hues of yellow and red. We turned on our audio book, “Project Hail Mary”, and the adventures of Dr. Grace and Rocky helped the time pass as we drove. At times I actually felt that I was on the Hail Mary or on on Adrian in the Tau Ceti System.

As we drove down the long pass into into Provo, Utah we started to see dark clouds on the horizon. We drove through Salt Lake City and as we reached Ogden, we started getting severe thunderstorm warnings on the radio. At one point google maps told us there was a severe storm between mile marker 130 and 142. We were at mile marker 129. We saw very dark clouds ahead and quickly got off the next exit and headed south. We found a grocery store and made it inside just as it started to pour. We saw the flashes of lighning thru the windows. We took advantage of the stop to do our grocery shopping for the next week and by the time we finished our shopping, the thunderstorm had stopped. There were branches down everywhere.

We drove a little further and found a state park on a bay on the Great Salt Lake called Willard Creek State Park.. There were very few campers there as it is off season and we found a beautiful site on the lake. It looks like it is quite busy in the summer. We had supper and took a nice long walk thru the park after. We are trying to get in 10,000 steps even on the days we drive a long distance,

John Comtempating Life (or on his phone)

WOW – Family Fun in Colorado

Posted on May 18, 2026May 18, 2026 by mewalsh1

Part 1 Visit with Dan, Lisa and Mae in Arvada

The next morning we headed out for Denver at 6:00 am. After multiple episodes of stalling we finally made it to Dan’s house. We dropped off our camper in front of his house and drove to Ford dealership. Unfortunately, they told us the mechanic scheduled to look at it went home sick and they were unable to look at it until Monday. We were disappointed but I was happy to spend a little more time with Mae.

Mae’s favorite piece of playground equipment

We spent the weekend riding bikes, at the playground, reading, gardening and enjoying the company of a very inquisitive 19 month old little girl By the time we left, Mae had learned a bunch of new words. .

We got a call on Monday afternoon letting us know our truck was all set ($1200 for new spark plugs, cables, update etc. ) But most impotantly the truck is fixed and we can continue our adventure. After giving Mae a tour of our camper and letting her push the button to put the awning in and out a number of times, we said goodbye and headed west. We will be back in 6 weeks and are looking forward to a week of camping with Dan, Lisa and Mae.

Part 2. Visit with Molly and Andy in Grand Junction.

We left Arvada and headed to Grand Junction for a visit with John’s daughter Molly and her husband Andy and two dogs, Banjo and Daisy. We set up camp at Camp Eddy, on the Colorado River. John headed to Molly’s house with the truck. (and our laundry). I decided to ride my bike to their house as there is a great bike trail almost directly to their house from the campground. They live in walking distance to the famed Lunch Loop mountain bike trails and there is a paved bike path from the campground all the way to the Colorado Monument. Next time we will head in that direction.

We spent the afternoon with Molly and then had dinner with Molly and Andy in Fruita. Molly and Andy are expecting a new addition to their family in about 6 weeks.

After a nice visit, we headed back on the road – towards Utah.

WOW – Traveling thru the Heartland – Missouri and Kansas

Posted on May 17, 2026May 17, 2026 by mewalsh1

We left Mammoth Cave after our tour and traveled thru northern Kentucky into Missouri. We hoped to travel 6 hours and make it to the other side of Saint Louis. Because we are towing the camper with heavy bikes on the back, we usually only go 60 mph. The speed limit is closer to 70 and 75 mph so it generally takes longer than we estimate from Google Maps. I found a campground in East St Louis of all places and because we were quite tired we decided to stop there It had good reviews for safety and cleanliness – two things important to us. I started looking for a BBQ restaurant south of St Louis so we could eat before we arrived at the campground as we were hungry and tired. I stumbled on a local restaurant called Good Ole Days that had excellent reviews so we got off the highway to check in out.

The Good Ole Days was a great find! They were having a special of all you can eat fried chicken with all the fixins for $12.99. We both decided on that. They also have delicious looking pies and cakes but we were quite full at the end of our meal. If you are ever traveling to St Louis, we highly recommend this old fashioned family restaurant!

The next morning, we headed out thru the St. Louis rush hour traffic. I had wanted to stop at the St Louis Arch but it seemed like parking with our camper would be a challendge since it is in downtown St. Louis, Instead we settled on pictures from the car and continued on our trip.

Our plan was to drive a few hours and then take a bide ride on the Katy Trail. The Katy Trail is the longest continuous rail trail in US. It is 240 miles long and follows the Missouri River for much of the way. Many people do the whole trail and there is a developed network of campsites and inns along the way. I called one of the camprgrounds, The Katy Roundhouse, and asked if we could park our camper there for the day at a reduced rate. It is still the off season and I knew there were plenty of sites available. The owner told me I could park in his lot for free while we rode a section of the trail. We set off and rode 16 miles. We would love to return and do the entire trail. It is in Missouri so almost all flat :).

Old railroad station along the Katy Trail

We headed off again. We found a county park outside of Topeika, Kansas called Lake Shawnee Campground and headed there for the night. The campground was very clean and well landscaped – another great find. We had a site on the lake, and made dinner, took a walk, did laundry and enjoyed the sunset.

Lake Shawnee Campground – view from our site

We left Topeika and headed west toward Colorado. Once we went thru Kansas City, it was another long day of driving across a flat boring stretch of highway, We had downloaded “The Hail Mary” audiobook and listening to the story made the drive much more manageable. Our goal was to make it to the very western edge of Kansas and have only a couple hour drive to Dan and Lisa’s house the next day. Of course we were very much looking foward to visiting Mae who is now 19 months old already.

Unfortunately, as we got closer to Colorado, our truck started acting up. Each time we slowed down to get off exit ramp for gas or a break the truck would stall/\. We were able to restart only if we waited 10 or 15 minutes. This was not good or safe as it happened on exit ramps and at traffic lights etc. We finally made it to Goodland, Kansas and camped at a KOA just off the highway, The claim to fame of Goodland, Kansas is that it has world’s largest easel.

We called a Ford Dealer and made an appointment for the next day at 10:00 am. It was a Saturday and we wanted to be sure to get there early so we had a better chance of the car being fixed that day. We limped in to our site after stalling every time we slowed down. We headed into town for a pizza for supper (no issues with truck when not hauling camper) and met a nice couple from Alaska who were traveling back home from New Orleans. We had a nice chat with them and then headed back to our site and bed. We planned to get up at 5:00 am and drive to Denver.

WOW – Mammoth Cave National Park

Posted on May 16, 2026May 16, 2026 by mewalsh1

Our next stop is Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky – about 6 hours away. We drove back over Newcomb Pass pulling our trailer this time. It was very windy and steep in parts but because our camper is small we made it over and down into Gatlinburg with no problems. There were definitely a lot more people on this side of the park. We drove up and down many hills in Kentucky till we finally made it to Mammoth Cave.

The park was really pretty with bike trails, hiking paths and trees – a nice surprise. For some reason I was expecting dirt and rocks . We set up camp and after dinner went to find the showers. There were no showers at Deep Creek and while we took brief showers in our camper to conserve freshwater and not overload our gray water tank, we were looking forward to a longer (3 min for 25 cent) shower. We had reservations the next morning for The Historical Tour of the cave. The cost was $22 and the tour was 2 hours long. I’m glad I booked ahead as most of the tours were sold out.

We headed down into the cave thru the “historical entrance” following our tour guide ranger with about 50 school children. The ranger was excellent and described how the cave has been there 10 million years – way before the dinosaurs. It was heavily mined for saltpeter used to make gun powder in the War of 1812 and we saw original mining pipes and cars on our tour. The ranger stopped often for questions and the kids in the group asked a lot. I asked if they do safety checks and was told – yes, the first tour of the day ( ours) was the safety check. The cave has over 400 miles mapped and interestingly is too far down to even feel an earthquake. I would definitely comeback for an old fashion lantern tour and some above ground bike riding.

WOW (Wanderlust on Wheels) – Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Posted on May 16, 2026May 16, 2026 by mewalsh1

We left West Virginia and headed south thru a bit of Virginia and into Johnston City, Tennessee and the Smoky Mountains. Great Smoky Mountain National Park is the most visited park in the country and when I revised my trip Deep Creek Campground was the only campground in the park I was able to book. It is located in the southern part of Great Smoky Mountain National Park, in Bryson City, NC. It turned out to be a good choice. It is much less busy than other parts of the park. There was a trail to 3 different waterfalls from the campground. My daughter, Adriana and her partner Micah met us at the campground and set their tent up next to our camper. We had a great visit.

Deep Creek Campground opened for the season the day we arrived. While we were setting up camp, we met a wonderful couple a little older than us from Vermont. They told us they had been in a motel in Gatlinburg for a few days while recovering from an illness and that it was very crowded and commercialized. They were very happy to be in this part of the Smokies. We had a lot of fun talking with them multiple times during our stay and even exchanged addresses the day we left. We met another young guy who told us about a great campsite in Olympic National Park we should check out and a WW II D-Day alumni veteran who told us how he used to come to the campground all the time with his wife who had recently passed away. We enjoy meeting other campers. Most folks are friendly and they are always impressed that we love in Maine 😊🌲

On one of the days there, we took a ride up to Newcomb Gap and hiked a bit of the Appalachian Trail on the border of Tennessee. The views were amazing.

Appalachian Trail in NC – only 1972 miles till Katahdin!

Newfound Gap – border of NC and Tennessee

Great country folk duo with baby (and Sasquatch)

Fun times with family in the Smoky Mountains

Exploring New River Gorge: Our Adventure in West Virginia

Posted on May 11, 2026May 11, 2026 by mewalsh1

Our plan was to leave Maryland and drive to Watoka State Park in West Virginia to ride our bikes on the Greenbriar Rail Trail which is supposed to be awesome. However, we woke up to pouring rain and as we looked at our route saw there were a lot of mountains and a two lane windy road to travel on in the driving rain. With at least 12 hours of rain in the forecast, we revised our plans and decided to drive directly to the New River Gorge National Park on the interstate. We will come back someday to do the Greenbriar Rail Trail.

Rainy Day in West Virginia with terrible visibilty –

There are only backcountry campsites at the national park so we decided to camp at a private campground adjacent to the park. The Outpost at New River Gorge Campground did not disappoint. It was a great campgound, with trails directly into the park. It is run by some really nice young guys who also have cabins for rent and weekly bluegrass music throughout the summer. While it wasn’t completely wooded and our site was in a field (well landscaped), the bathrooms were very impressive – I would even call them spa like. :). We would definately return to The Outpost at NRG campground and recommend it to others.

The Outpost was in the town of Fayetteville, WV (also known as the “coolest small town”) which is in the northern part of New River Gorge National Park – in walking distance to the impressive bridge over the New River. The bridge spans the 876 foot deep New River Gorge and was built in 1977. It is the longest steel arch span in the western hemisphere and the third highest bridge in the US. The first morning we were there,the sun came out and we took a walk from the campground to the bottom of the bridge. It was a bit steeper and longer than we had planned but we took plenty of breaks. We met a guy on the trail whose company had supplied the steel for the bridge. For those who enjoy heights, you can walk across a cat walk just undernearth the top of the bridge that is 2 feet wide (for $80 ). They attach harnesses and cables for safety. The guy we met on the trail and his wife walked across the day before. While John wanted to walk across, we decided to pass. My palms were sweating as they were talking about it.

Look closely and you can see a group of walkers under the bridge

We checked out the Visitor Center later that day and drove down a small one way road to the bottom of the gorge, over the old restored bridge, and up the other side where we ended up back at the campground. It is hard to believe before 1977, this was the only way to get across the gorge.

A bit of Maine at the bottom of the New River Bridge!

We feel so small next to this giant RV – but we like ours better 🙂

We really liked our time in West Virginia and hope to be back. There are so many natural resources there to explore!

Wanderlust on Wheels – Rolling Across America – Driving our truck, pulling our camper, and riding our bikes!

Posted on May 11, 2026May 11, 2026 by mewalsh1

John and I are off on another adventure. This time we are driving across America in our Ford F-150 pick up truck, our Geo Pro 15 FBS camper and on our Aventon E-bikes. Of course, we will also plan to walk and hike as there are so many places to explore. We are also hoping to visit family and friends along the way as we travel. Most of all, we are hoping to unplug from stress and get back to nature. We have been planning this trip for several years and have postponed and changed the dates and itineraries a number of times for a variety of reasons. Last month, John had a small stroke (he is doing well and didn’t need therapy) and this motivated us to move forward with our plans – despite the rising gasoline costs. We adjusted our route for shorter days and removed a few stops. Despite this, we are planning on traveling 10,000 plus miles across the country and back with a few zig zags along the way. But most importantly we will be flexible and change our plans, routes as needed. We hope you can join us on our adventure!

April 27 – 28. Maine to Maryland

After doing some last minute packing and securing the bikes on the back of our camper, we left around noon on Monday April 27 full of excitement about our upcoming adventure. We drove through Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts and spent our first night near Newburgh, NY at a KOA campground. Many campgrounds in New England are not yet open for the season. There were very few campers in the campground as it is still early in the season but it looks like the place is hopping in the summer. They have several pools, miniature golf, wine shop etc. It looks like it would be fun for kids. We cooked supper and had a walk around the grounds.

The next morning after a quick breakfast, we left and headed south thru New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. It was a long day driving thru traffic, construction etc. and we were very glad when we made it to a campground in Maryland. We called ahead to get a site and when we arrived, the office was closed but information about our site was left on the door. As we looked around, we saw that almost every one of the 250 sites had a camper on it but there was not a vehicle or a person to be seen. It was like everyone vanished. I felt like I was on an episode of the twilight zone. In hindsight, it appears that most people who stay at that campground had seasonal sites and since it was a Tuesday in late April, no one was there. We made the best of the situation and headed off on a bike ride. We were looking for the C and O Canal Towpath that ran close to the campground. We found the Western Maryland Bike Trail first – a beautiful paved bike path thru the woods that runs parallel to the C & O Canal Towpath for 28 miles. From there we did find the C & O Towpath and rode on that for a while. The C @ O Towpath is mostly dirt and stone and runs 184 miles from Cumberland Maryland to Georgetown, D.C. There are lots of primitive campsites on the trail. Interestingly, the path was built for the mules that used to tow the boats thru the canal.

Breakfast in the Camper – its cold outside1

The next morning after a quick breakfast, we left and headed south thru New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. It was a long day driving thru traffic, construction etc. and we were very glad when we made it to a campground in Maryland. We called ahead to get a site and when we arrived, the office was closed but information about our site was left on the door. As we looked around, we saw that almost every one of the 250 sites had a camper on it but there was not a vehicle or a person to be seen. It was like everyone vanished. I felt like I was on an episode of the twilight zone. In hindsight, it appears that most people who stay at that campground had seasonal sites and since it was a Tuesday in late April, no one was there. We made the best of the situation and headed off on a bike ride. We were looking for the C and O Canal Towpath that ran close to the campground. We found the Western Maryland Bike Trail first – a beautiful paved bike path thru the woods that runs parallel to the C & O Canal Towpath for 28 miles. From there we did find the C & O Towpath and rode on that for a while. The C @ O Towpath is mostly dirt and stone and runs 184 miles from Cumberland Maryland to Georgetown, D.C. There are lots of primitive campsites on the trail. Interestingly, the path was built for the mules that used to tow the boats thru the canal.

Riding on the Western Maryland Bike Trail — Western Maryland Rail Trail

Camino del Norte – Stage 35. Santiago de Compostela!!! We made it 😀

Posted on May 23, 2025July 27, 2025 by mewalsh1

We woke up excited to walk the remaining 11 k to Santiago. Thankfully, the rain held off for much of the morning. There was a different feeling about the walk today – excitement that we were almost at the end of our trek mixed with a little sadness that our adventure was ending. We walked for a while with a group from Israel who were there walking at their 50th reunion of officers training academy. They walked the last 100 k on the Camino Frances as many people did. It is necessary to walk at least 100K is to get a Compostela. We also walked with a young man from Malasia who was also walking the last 100 k.

A line of hikers heading to the finish in Santago

Friends we met from Israel celebrating their 50th anniversary from graduating from Army Officers Training

Mementos, prayers and memories of loved ones

Placing a shell from Maine on the memorial for an acquaintance from Maine who always wanted to walk the camino but is unable to.

We also placed shells from Maine with loving thoughts and prayers for family members no longer wupith us and for the health of our kids and our grandaughter.

The A 8 highway runs across the northern coast of Spain. We crossed it on bridges and went under it in tunnels multiple times on our walk

We made it to Santiago de Compostela just after noon. We were excited to walk under the tunnel entrance to the Plaza del Obradoiro to traditional bagpipe music. It is a festive atmosphere for all as it culminates the end of weeks of walking. It is a maginificent plaza and cathedral complex. We took the necessary pictures and found a cafe for lunch. While we were eating, we had a text from Slyvio and Eugeneo. While they made it to Santiago the day before, they returned to the cathedral for a few hours while waiting for their flight. It was nice to see them one last and final time.

Pilgrims are usually greeted with bagpipe music entering the cathedral complex

A nice couple who grew up in the old town in Santiago de Compostela. They let us share their umbrella when the rain started

Eugenio and Sylvio the day they made it to Santiago de Compestela

The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela began construction in 1075 and was completed in 1211. It is quite old. It is located at the end of the Camino and the destination of pilgrims since the Early Middle Ages. It is the burial place of Saint James the Great, one of the aposcles of Jesus Chris. The crypt, below the main alter houses the relics of Saint James and two of this disiples. It is available for viethewing. The cathedreal offers pilgrm massess at least twice a day at noon and 7:30 pm. The Botafumerio, the largest inscense burner in the world is often used at pilgrim masses. It is 180 lbs and measures 5’2 in height. It is attached to a pulley mechanism in the dome of the church and is swung above the heads of the parisioners dispensing incense by 8 men in red robes. It reaches speeds of 50 mph. It is quite a site to see.

The Botafumeiro hanging from a rope – It is over 5 feet high and weighs 180 lbs. It is filled with 88 lbs of charcoal and incense and is a site to see swining over heads of parishioners.

After lunch we checked into our hotel, The Santa Filomena. When I was planning our trip, I saw the Hotel Santa Filomena and made a reservation as that is my mother’s name down to the spelling. It was a nice simple hotel that is a converted convent. We then headed over to the Pilgrim’s Office. As I mentioned in a previous post, we each had a credential that we had stamped at each albergue and pension we slept at for the entire 35 days. We also received stamps at numerous churches and cafes we visited. At the pilgrims office we showed our credentials and were given a Compestela and a Distance Certificate. We had walked 828 kilometers (mostly up and down hills and mountains) over 35 days on the Camino Del Norte! We are already taking about returning. 🙂

Camino del Norte – Stages 33 and 34. Arzua to Lavacolla. Another rainy walk but really close to Santiago de Compostela now. 😊🇪🇸🥾

Posted on May 20, 2025July 27, 2025 by mewalsh1

We woke to rain and realized that we left the windows in our attic room open and had a flood of water on the floor and into the hallway. After cleaning that up with all of out bath towels, we packed and headed out. This morning was different than other mornings as there was a river of pilgrims heading out on the path. Most were wearing large colorful ponchos that covered them and their packs. Because of the rain people were walking with a determined pace. Cafes were few and far between and because of the rain, many people were stopping. Usually in cafes on the Camino Norte we might see two or three other pilgrims. Today there was a line at each cafe and finding a table under an awning or umbrella was a challenge. But it is all part of the experience. ! We ended the day at an albergue in A Rua run by a very nice couple it was super clean and thankfully, we both got lower bunks. We met Jonathan and Victoria from Michigan who were walking 2 weeks of the Camino with the Jonathan’s parents. But his parents were staying in hotels on the way not albergues. Victoria was a birth doula and Jonathan was in video production. We had a really nice conversation with them. We headed out for dinner for a typical pilgrim meal of soup, pork cutlet and French fries at the one local restaurant thst was open and were asleep by 9:00 pm.

A steady stream of pilgrims in rain gear

We ended the day at an albergue in A Rua run by a very nice couple it was super clean and thankfully, we both got lower bunks. We met Jonathan and Victoria from Michigan who were walking 2 weeks of the Camino with the Jonathan’s parents. But his parents were staying in hotels on the way not albergues. Victoria was a birth doula and Jonathan was in video production. We had a really nice conversation with them. We headed out for dinner for a typical pilgrim meal of soup, pork cutlet and French fries at the one local restaurant thst was open and were asleep by 9:00 pm.

Pilgrim Meal of bean soup, pork cutlet and of course French fries

We woke up the next day and decided to beat some of the rain that was forecast so we stopped at the cafe and got a take-away coffee and croissant. A lot of cafes we had been to on our journey did not offer take away coffee but this is probably one of the benefits of walking with hundreds of others. According to the official pilgrim website, 2400 pilgrims per day were arriving in Santiago. I am sure this number is double in the summer. I’m glad we chose early spring to start our walk.

We almost beat the rain to Lavacolla, our destination, but just as we arrived into town, it started pouring. We ducked into a cafe and ordered a couple coffees to wait out the heavy rain. As we were leaving our Italian friends Eugenio and Sylvia walked in. We didn’t think we would see them as they had arrived in Santiago the day before. They actually walked back to Lavacolla that morning as they were staying in an albergue there. We agreed to meet them at 8:00 pm for one more pilgrimage meal. They were headed back to Milan the next day. As we headed out for dinner the sun came out and the sky was beautiful. It was a perfect way to spend the last night of our Camino-dinner with new friends and a beautiful sunset. Tomorrow we reach Santiago de Compostela – only 11 kilometers away. 🌅

Heading back from our final pilgrimage dinner with Eugenio and Sylvio

Heading back to our Pensión and to sleep

Camino del Norte – Stages 31 and 32. A rainy night in an old monastery, and a rainy 24k walk.

Posted on May 19, 2025May 19, 2025 by mewalsh1

We arrived in Sobraro before we could check in so we stopped for a coffee. As we walked in, we were pleased to see Sylvia and Eugenio. They were just finishing their coffees It was nice to see them as we didn’t think we would run into them again on the trip. They were not staying at the monastery but we’re going another 8 kilometers. The Monasterio de Santa Maria de Sobrado was founded in 951 and was handed over to the Cistercian monks in 1142. In 1954, the Cistercian (Trappist) monks began reconsruction. The monastery is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The hostel is located in the cloister. It is very clean and organized and also very cool to stay in the monastery (also literally cool). It has a huge kitchen and we prepared pasta and salad for dinner. We met abril from Ukraine and a guy from Barcelona. They met on the Camino 3 weeks ago and have walked together every day and shared a bottle of wine each night. Romance on the Camino ;). At 7:00 pm we attended vespers service at the chapel.

Monasteries de Santa Maria de Sobrado dos Monjes

Heading out for a walk to buy food for supper.

Friends from France ready to head out in the rain

Our destination the next day was Arzua. It was a long 24k walk in the rain. I walked most of the day with a 78 and 76 year old couple from France. They walk on Camino every year for at least 6 weeks. They firmly believe that walking has helped them stay healthy. We were happy to arrive at the Albergue San Francisco and dry off. It was a little jarring as Arzua is the place where the Camino Frances, the Camino Norte and the Camino Primitivo all join together. Many pilgrims begin their walk at the 100k mark which is the minimum needed together a compestella showing you have completed a Camino. For much of the last couple weeks we saw pilgrims on the trail only intermittently. On some days we only saw 8 or 10 the whole day. We saw more in the evenings at the albergues. Now there was a steady stream of pilgrims walking into Azure. It will be a different experience for the next couple days with all the extra pilgrims walking. We now have only 38.5 left to reach Santiago.

Iglesia de Santiago de Boimorto