Update June 22nd

This will be my last update for a while and the saddest to write. John has been to three doctors in the last 10 days, the last one being a rheumatoid arthritis specialist. John has rheumatoid arthritis and the doctor told him to continue to walk would be very foolish. The walk has been put on hold. Starting at Capistrano Beach, California on February 19th and walking to San Antonio, New Mexico, on June 2nd, we walked 800 miles. What is not on hold, is our effort to place a deserving family in a new house in Hot Springs. We ask for your continued support. Checks may be sent to Garland Co. Habitat for Humanity, PO Box 171, Hot Springs, Arkansas 71902. Mark "Coast to Coast Walk" in the memo section.

Carol and I are working our way back to Arkansas and John and Ruth are staying out west to visit family and friends. We welcome your prayers for a quick recovery. So until then,
stay tuned ........

Monday, June 2nd

We got an early start today as we were on the road by 5:30 am. It's a beat the heat thing. We started at the intersection of Highway 1 and Highway 380, going east(my favorite direction) on 380. We soon came to the Rio Grande which was fast flowing and full, almost out of its bank. From there it was uphill and out of the valley. We are now in the badlands (mal pais). There is nothing here except antelope and a few cattle and lots of rocks. It was an uneventful walk today and a short one, ten miles. I found a tweezers, a spoon, a New Mexico license plate and .17 cents. Stay tuned.....

Sunday, June 1st

We went to the First Presbyterian Church this morning at 9am. We have noticed in the Southwest US, where it gets very hot, church services start early. John had an opportunity to say a few words about what we were doing for Habitat. After lunch, we moved the RVs to the Bosque Bird Watcher's RV Park, just a few miles from San Antonio.

Saturday, May 31st

No walking today or tomorrow. Ruth is in Arkansas visiting family and
friends and John went to Las Cruces to visit daughter, Jonna and her family. Carol and I went to Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Preserve. Bosque del Apache is Spanish for "woods of the Apache". Tens of thousands of birds, including Sandhill Cranes, Arctic geese and many kinds of ducks, gather each autumn and stay through the winter. The Preserve diverts water from the Rio Grande to create wetlands and bottom lands. We checked in at the visitors center, watched a short video and started the auto tour. There are also many hiking trails. I added six birds to my list and we saw several mule deer. Then we went to the Owl Bar and Grill in San Antonio for lunch. Great hamburgers, check it out on Goggle. Their speciality is a green chile cheeseburger. We are moving the RVs to San Antonio tomorrow, so it looks like I'll get a chance to try their speciality.

Thursday, May 29th

We got up extra early today, 4:30 am. We had a long drive to the starting point, marker 118, and we wanted to beat the heat. When we started, it was still a little dark but there was very little traffic. We are walking beside the Magdalena Mountains on the LaJencia Plain. There is also the Magdalena Fault between John and I and the mountains.We saw two groups of antelope today but not as many as we have seen in the past. About the 8 or 9 mile marker we heard an explosion somewhere in the mountains and then about a half hour later another explosion. My theory is that there is some sort of mining going on. On we walked through Water Canyon and our stopping place for today, marker 134, we walked 16 miles. Today I found a hemostat, four beer can openers, two pocket knives in dubious condition and two coyote teeth. We know they are coyote teeth because John found the skull and I did a little dentistry work and got the teeth out. Stay tuned ....

PS: One week ago, John and I walked through two days of rain, sleet and snow at Pie Town, New Mexico. Today in Socorro, New Mexico the temperature reached 99 degrees.

Friday, May 30th

We started at marker 134 today, just a few miles outside of Socorro. We walked into Socorro and had to say good-bye to Highway 60, our old friend. We have been on Highway 60 for weeks, since Vicksburg, Arizona. We passed by the RV park we are staying and both John and I took a bathroom break. As I was joining John, Audrey was waiting for us. Audrey is a reporter for the El Defensor Chieftan, one of two local papers in Socorro. Audrey took our photo and as she already had much information about our walk, bid us a safe trip. We walked on about 4 miles and came to the small community of Luis Lopez. This is a farming community on the Rio Grande, which runs south through Socorro and this community. We had a few encounters with dogs here, but they seemed to be friendly, seemed being the key word. "Good fences make good dogs". On we walked until we came to another small town, San Antonio. San Antonio is a farming community also. Irrigation ditches from the Rio Grande provide the water for farming. San Antonio, Texas has it's River Walk and San Antonio, New Mexico has it's Irrigation Ditch Walk. It is also the birthplace of Conrad Hilton, the founder of the Hilton Hotel chain. Paris!, are you getting this!. About a mile before we finished, a lady named Pat, pulled over and chatted with us. She had seen us walking with Jolie Blonde in Magdalena. She said that she and her husband owned a spa resort in southern New Mexico. John gave her a brochure and told her what we were doing. We walked on to the junction of Highways 1 and 380 where Carol was waiting. Monday we turn east and into the desert. I found a fork in the road today and took it. Stay tuned....

PS: I would love to hear from you. If might be easier to email Carol and I, instead of making a comment on the blog. Our email address is dickcarol.mattson@gmail.com

Wednesday May 28th

No walking today, instead Carol and I did the laundry and made an appointment for Jolie Blonde to see the vet, she has an ear infection. Also, we need to go to the post office and see if we can get our canopy fixed. In the evening we were going to go see the new Indiana Jones movie, but Carol wasn't feeling very well, so we'll go it some other time.

Monday, May 26th

Ruth dropped us off at marker 86 today.It was chilly and windy. We are still walking in the San Agustine Plains. It is flat pastureland where cattle and antelope graze. After a few miles we came to the VLA, Very Large Array. The VLA is the most powerful, flexible and most widely used radio-telescope in the world. It consist of 27 antennas in a Y-shaped configuration. The VLA in an interferometer, which the data from each antenna can be combined electronically so that the array effectively functions as one giant antenna. We walked on with the VLA watching our every step. This is jackrabbit day. We have seen more jackrabbits today than any other. It is also a very windy day. We have fought a very strong crosswind all day and it takes more energy just to walk straight. Carol picked up two very tired walker today at marker 102. I found an "over-size load" sign today and a penny. Stay tuned.....

Sunday, May 25th

John and Ruth cooked breakfast for everyone this morning. Egg, ham, bacon, biscuits and gravy, orange juice and coffee. Thanks, it was delicious. And for lunch, we grilled burgers with beans, potato salad and deviled eggs. Two great meals. After lunch, we decided to go to the Kelly Ghost Town which was a few miles out of Magdalena. In 1870 miners discovered lead, zinc, silver, copper and even some gold.

In 1870 a post office was established and at it's peak, Kelly had 3000 residents. But like so many western towns, Kelly was plagued by indian attacks until Magdalena was established. A railroad was contructed from Socorro to Magdalena to carry ore down to smelters in Socorro. Today nothing is left but the ruins of the mine and a few foundations. After touring the Kelly Mine, Ricky and family said their good-byes and headed back home to Las Vegas. Tomorrow we start walking again. Stay tuned ....

Saturday, May 24th

I got up this morning and went over to John and Ruth's RV for breakfast. They graciously invited me over for an egg sandwich and coffee. Thanks! Ricky, their son, was eating breakfast also. Ricky, who is an F-15 pilot in the US Air Force, is joining us on our walk today. After breakfast, we were off to the starting point. The point was were we rescued the elk yesterday and was near mile marker 70. We started in a valley that contained dozens of elk. After about six miles, we came to the small town of Datil. There was a gas station/convienence store there and we went in to buy an ice cream bar. There was also a very nice, rustic western style restaurant. We ate our ice cream bars and Ricky ordered a cup of coffee. John struck up a conversation with a young man that said he had just come back from Bahrain and was stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas. He knew about Habitat and gave John $2. toward the building of a house in Hot Springs. Then Ricky asked the waitress how much he owed for the coffee and she said there was no charge. You can meet a lot of nice people walking across the United States. On we walked and came to the Plains of San Agustin. We are out of the mountains and the Plains of San Agustin are pastureland, high altitude pastureland. It was once an intermountain lake. We saw dozens of antelope grazing, but they had to share the pasture with herds of cattle. We came to marker 86 and Ruth and Carol picked us up. I didn't find anything today, but we did walk 16 miles. A word about Ricky. I don't think there are very many people who can wake up in the morning, decide to walk 16 miles and then just go out and do it. Good job Ricky! Stayed tuned .....