Day 18 Mile 183 - 204

Sisters - Bend

Showered up at the KOA and ventured out into the central Oregon Plains. I sung along with the Western Meadowlark, Oregon’s State Bird. There are less streams and rivers and more irrigation canals. The air is more arid on this side but the weather has been holding so well for me. I felt the air around me warm up and it started to rain... weilding my walking stick and sending out vibrations to the earth I asked for a cool breeze to come around me and create a rain shield. The clouds ahead became higher and whiter and the clouds behind became heavy and dark and I walked into fair weather. I pushed up one last big hill into Bend. I’ve never seen a town with so many hotels. I talked to some folks outside of the Applebee’s and asked them the way into downtown. West Bend is a long string of more national chain stores and restaurants. Between this area and downtown I walked through an area where the problems of homelessness and unemployment were evident. Several men with backpacks directed me to the local mission where I could get a meal and offered suggestions for where I could stay tonight. I headed over to The Shepherd’s House Mission and offered to volunteer the next day to help out with their operations. I met the team that had built the Shepherd House and the mission over the past year. They started of doing crisis counseling and had just recently opened the day mission where they feed, clothe and minister to the local population. I sat down for some chile and cornbread and to visit. I met Michael who has been a trail man for years and has walked the whole Appalachian trail and many sections of America’s other great trails. He recommended I head out to Trail Days in Damascus Virginia. I was invited back to the Shepherd’s House group home where I hung out and watched the tube for a bit and listened to the residents discuss how they reconciled science and religion with faith. Special Thanks to Don Winter for inviting me out and giving me a bunk to sleep in. I will be up early in the morning to go over to the mission to help out how ever I can.

Here is a google map of my tentative next two weeks.