Getting Close to Being Near to Leaving Montana

Arlo, my walking buddy

Susan suggested that I post a picture of Arlo, which is appropriate because Arlo goes on almost all of my walks with me. Susan also told me that I could walk as far as I want with Arlo, even though he is kind of small, because I would wear out before he would. I have not tested this to its limits, but so far it appears to be correct. He has no problem keeping up with me.

I decided to change my walking goals a little bit, now that I have more than seven months of experience. First, I will try to walk at least 10,000 steps every day, which I have been doing anyway,  rather than just averaging 10,000 steps per day, which was my original goal. In the last 100 days, I have only missed 10.000 steps once.

Second, I want to average 11,000 steps for the whole trip and finish in 636 days or less, rather than the original 700-day goal. That should be pretty easy - I have averaged 11,600 steps this year. I am behind the 11,000 steps pace for the whole trip because of my slow start last year, but I should be able to catch up within the next few months.

I am less than 25 miles from Broadus, Montana, and less than 90 miles from the Wyoming border. As I write this, I realize that leaving Montana feels like a huge milestone. It's a nice enough place, but I'm tired of writing about being here.

A few random notes:

• I bought two nice pairs of walking shoes yesterday. Hopefully they will be good for my feet.
• I passed 1,167 miles today, so one-third of the way to Miami after more than seven months.
• Right around Broadus, I turn and start to walk much more south as well as continuing east. Until now, I have been walking toward New York City, which to my surprise is at about the same latitude as Eureka, California. The East Coast is farther south than the West Coast, more than I knew. Did you know that all of Florida is south of all of California? It's true.
• When I plug Cape Flattery to Miami into Google Maps now, it gives me a different route than it used to. It would have me in the middle of Wyoming now, a few hundred miles south of where I imagine myself to be. The new route would get me to Miami two hours quicker. I could jump to the new path, of course, but I prefer to stick to the path I have already travelled. I just tell Google I want to go to Broadus on the way, and we're back on track.

Below is a photo essay of the mushrooms I saw on one walk, and a look at the extent of my knowledge of wild mushrooms.

This is a morel. You can eat it.

This is not a morel and so may be deadly poisonous. Don't take a chance. Don't eat it.

Also may be deadly poisonous. Don't try it.

Same.

Same.

Same.

Same.

This is a rabbit. You can eat it if you want.

I definitely would not try this one.