Day 27 Mile 323-340

Into Burns

Wrapped up camp and filled my water. Visited with other folks who were taking a break from Route 20. Met Brian and Bobby who were from Olympia WA and had rode their Harleys all the way to Mexico for their daughters wedding. Walked the rest of the way into Burns and gave the Koler’s a call. They brought me back to their home. Denis and Alice are actually living in Arizona now but were up here visiting their daughter Jan and their grandkids, Angel, Kati, Jerimiah, Little Angel, and Joshua. Jan her husband and their daughter Angel were away in Portland at the hospital where Angels 15 month old son was at to be treated for burns to his hands. The sweet child will have surgery on Monday and the Walk For Progress community prays for his speedy recovery so that he may return to the joys of babyhood and discoveries. The church in the community provided dinner for the Koler family while Jan was away and when Little Angel asked Grandma Alice why the church was bringing them food she responded that “This is how the people of God show their love for one another.” I jumped on the Trampaline with Little Angel and Joshua and realized that even though I am getting in great shape from the walk that some things still get me winded. Denis and Kati drove me out to Crane which is about 30 miles south of the 20 to see Kati’s school. It is the last remaining public boarding school in the nation. Because Harney County is so spread out and thinly populated, it would be too expensive to bus all the kids in from such long distances so students who are more than 30 miles out get to live in dorms at their school. Kati told me that in Harney County, there are more cows than people by a large margin. The school is great and the dorm environment builds such a sense of community among the kids. I got to hang out with a whole group of them and they all were like family. Sports are really big in Crane and almost all the students are involved in them every term. It is really cool that even in after school hours the kids are engaged in activities and with each other instead of returning to an isolated home and watching TV. The kids are involved in activities in the afternoons and for fun go out and shoot field rodents. In the dorm, the girls are upstairs and the boys downstairs and its lights out at 10 o’clock. Darren, the Patron is there to keep all in order. We headed back to the house and I put my laundry in with Jerimiah’s and chatted for a bit before crashing out on the crash.