northern walk, represent!

wow, a ton of updates from us northern walkers, nothing from anyone else?? come on, guys! howdy, y'all, it's rosanne from the northern walk. we've tried calling y'all but your phones aren't working? *shrug*

this weekend, we are in souix falls, south dakota. it's been blustery all day (thank you, winnie the pooh). we prayed at the ONLY planned parenthood in south dakota that performs abortions. how awesome is that? and south dakota has passed a new law requiring women to see an ultrasound before having an abortion. thank God!!

lots has happened in the last week. we picked up a "transient walker" (as Tim (north leader 07) calls them) - nate - who walked 5 weeks of the northern walk in 05. that was pretty awesome and it took off some stress on getting our miles done. the night shift has hit some pretty heavy storms this past week, so it's been like a hard punch because it makes it a little harder to get miles in when it looks like there's about to be a tornado. on tuesday (i think? i've been on night shift for two weeks, it's messing with my head lol) the sherrif for sturgis, south dakota stopped on the side of the highway and it turns up he found a place for us to stay - at a baptist church! how cool is that? they were so open and welcome to having us stay there!

we also were hosted for a few days in pierre, which is the capital. we've had a few newspaper articles about us, and monday we have a radio interview. this weekend, the bishop of souix falls said mass for us at the cathedral and we didn't quite have a place to stay yet.. and a guy walks up and offers us a place to stay alright - in a hotel!!! it's sooooooo nice here!!! i'm not used to having a queen sized bed and a tv and a personal shower and such!! so, in short, there have been many blessings upon us as of lately - we just got another walker from here to chicago - erin - she walked last year. nate left today, which made us all sad, but that's okay.

the pranks have been on! we've taped things to the ceiling of the rv (day crew's toiletries) and some things we picked up were left at mile markers.. so we turned around the next week and got the day shift with a prank (wow i can't even remember what - i'm so out of it haha) and a suprise ambush with waterguns on the side of the higway. oh and we found the faith sign - for those who have seen the picture pointing towards "faith" - it's in south dakota.

anyhow, i fear this is getting long-winded, so i shall let you go do what you do best!

let's rock and roll and stride and stroll!!
peace out from the north,
rosanne

ps - call us!!!!

Northern Walk - Fourth Week

The Northern Walkers are staling in seasonal Rapid City, South Dakota, having drove ahead of our walking stop-point near Broadus, Montana.

We have fallen back to "just" being on schedule after a rough couple of weeks - to wit, we were hailed upon quite severly this week, having endured a night of golf ball-sized hail stones while we waited out the storm in the RV.

We're off to check out Mount Rushmore before heading off again for another week of walking - of course, this week we're joined by Crossroads alum Nate this week, a welcome presence to cover miles and rosaries with us.

Pax,
Andrew
Wired and Tired Leader, Northern Walk

northern walk (part 2)

so we made a video for the snow day.. here it is!

.....yyyeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyy!!!!!

Sup y'all, it's Rosanne and Erin from the NORTHERN WALK!!!! So, the weather outside is no longer frightful. The stove fire was so delightful. Since we had a place to go (like... DC), let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!! Well, let's start from the beginning. It all began a long long time ago in a galaxy far far away known as Montana. One day, in June, it was really warm. The next, not so much. It started hailing, which then turned into a wintery mix. The next day was a blizzard. Not just a dairy queen blizzard, but actual SNOW! (Rosanne and Bess being from the south were very excited about the fact that we had three inches of snow). After that, it was warm again. Just a lot of wind. Now, tell me... what is up with that?? We thought it was supposed to be SUMMER!!!

Crossroads... we didn't sign up for that!

Anyways, walking has been pretty fun. We are in Hardin, MT right now, and hope to make it to Wyoming on Thursday and South Dakota on Friday. Three states in three days... pretty cool (eh? - our tribute to the wired and inspired intrepid Canadian leader Andrew). We hit our first 40 mile shift last week as well. We have finally climbed on top of the RV and jumped around quite vigorously. We've been pulled over twice for tickets, and we've been stopped by the cops countless times.

In Billings this weekend, we were praying at the abortion clinic Saturday morning and a cop drove by. He turned around and we were like.. ohh boy.... and when he drove by again he gave us a thumbs up! So then we saw Thumbs Up Cop Dude at mass later that evening and then at breakfast at this nifty little place called Stella's the next morning.

Anyhow, that's it for this night shift (Joe, Liz and Andrew are all here too). Off to make Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese for dinner!
Peace and Love
Erin and Rosanne (your residential tree hugger - Rosanne that is)

a rainbow after a bunch of rain

snow at a gas station

our duck taped feet

most of the group with Jim and Kathy, who provided breakfast for us one morning after mass

Me and Bess with our snowmen

Southern Walk Destination: El Paso

Hey everyone!We're just finishing up a weekend in El Paso, Texas and are getting ready to drive back to where we left off walking just past the Arizona-New Mexico border. The weekend has been amazing!!! The people here are so beautiful. We've been staying with the Madrids who insist on treating us just like familia. They took us out to dinner where we finally got authentic Mexican! They cooked us multiple meals, did our laundry, and have just in general been so sweet to us.Yesterday morning we went to an abortion clinic. There were sidewalk counselors there who had a saved life earlier that morning!! Please keep them in your prayers. Their ministry is so important and they do such good work.Last night we had dinner with some people from Project Gabriel. It was a backyard barbeque (also authentic Mexican!) with young and old all laughing and talking together.We are so close to the border (we were actually afraid we'd accidentally drive into Mexico a couple of times). Everyone speaks Spanish and many of us have gotten to practice our attempted bilingual skills.Chief (Brendan) left us yesterday for St. Louis. He spoke at a parish there and then flew on home for the week. It was extremely sad to see him go but luckily he'll be back next weekend, hopefully for good!! Adam is our new fearless leader. We gave him the name Shepherd or Shep. He seems to be a little unsure of his new name so please encourage him in its awesomeness. Oh, and as always, keep us in your prayers. We love and miss you all. Take care!God bless,Molly

Northern Walk 2008 - Third Week

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The Northern Walk has posted a video on YouTube, created by Northern Walker Rosanne:

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The Northern Walkers are proselytizing in Billings, Mt. this weekend, which happens to be the hometown of our own Nicole who has been of great assistance in coordinating the panoply of events surrounding the Walkers' weekend.

The Walkers are a durable and high-spirited bunch, keeping each other - and those they encounter in their adventures - entertained and in good spirits while keeping sight on the mission of the Walk itself and never quitting...regardless of how many times in a day they lost their way in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.

The Northern Walk remains on schedule and free from undue strife, in league with the other Walks; nonetheless, prayers and intercession (thank you, St. Anthony of Padua!) are always welcome and needed: man reaps, but God gives the increase.

Pax,
Andrew
Inspired and Wired Leader, Northern Walk

Central Walk 2008

Hello from Ely Nevada! We are almost finished with the treck across America's lonliest road - highway 50 and we are aiming to reach Salt Lake City, UT this weekend! We have travelled through all sorts of terrain: From the vineyards of Nappa, to the heights of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and now across the desolate yet beautiful land of Nevada. We have been well-recieved in each of the cities on our route so far: San Francisco, Sacramento, and Reno. Our group leader Carlos keeps us all laughing and in good humor. Trish our assistant walk leader looks after us, keeps us supplied with the essentials, and reminds us to stay on schedule. Jeff, also know as "minnesota", kicks out mile after mile on his long legs and is sure to get us to daily mass on time. Katie is always brightening up everyones day with her smile and you can't be around her long without hearing her contagious giggle. John is ready and willing to help whenever and however - especially when he has had his coffee. Clare, the newest member to our team, spreads her energy enthusiasm as she runs through her shift and keeps us talking and smiling during breaks. We miss our faithful departed Anne and Cristie - though they had to return to the world and leave our band of walkers, their hearts are still with us in spirit and prayer. We miss you Anne and Cristie! I help with little odds and ends and while everyone else is working I am chill'n and blogging ;-) Keep us in your prayers as we work our way across the country! All the best to the Southern and Northern walkers! You are in our prayers! See you in D.C.! PAX, Michaela

Northern Walk - Second Week

The Northern Walkers entered Idaho circa 05h00 and are staying for the evening at Mary House in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. We are on schedule and plan to sally forth in the coming weeks and months, to cover an increasing amount of ground every day and night we walk.

The Day Shift walked into rain today, and the dreary weather promises to plague the Night Shift in turn. The Walkers are understandably tired but spirits remain high; while Idaho may not be cleared in a day, the pace continues to be brisk.

Pax,
Andrew
Intrepid and Inspired Leader, Northern Walk

Northern Walk 2008 - First Week

The Northern Walkers are presently tarrying in seasonal Spokane, WA for a weekend of visiting local parishes to give brief Crossroads presentations, having walked eastward from the Space Needle in Seattle day and night since Monday morning. We've walked as far as Wilbur, WA and plan to enter Idaho on Tuesday morning.

As we have been (more or less) telling the local parishes, the Walk is part activism, part asceticism, and part athleticism, and that all who participate in the Mystical Body of Christ are walking with us and us with them, one and all using our gifts to weave a common pattern stronger than the sum of our individual strands.

In the meantime, the Northern Walk is going quite well and we look forward to sharing stories from the road as time and inspiration permit.

Pax,
Andrew
Fearless and Intrepid Leader, Northern Walk