Montana!

After Sunday night we were walking through Spokane, which was our last city in Washington state. Day shift on Monday crossed into Idaho through Post Falls, and that night I had the pleasure of walking through Coeur d'Alene. What a beautiful city... it reminded me a lot of Church St. in Burlington- lot's of cute little shops, pubs, and pretty restaurants. We walked past the Coeur d'Alene lake but unfortunately couldn't see it because it was already dark outside. Curt and I had a funny experience walking in the area-a group of people coming out of a bar asked what the heck we were doing walking through the city with rain suits on (rain jackets and pants...they're very flattering as you can imagine). We told them we were walking across the country and they all flipped out they were so excited (they were a little fired up lol). It was someone's birthday in the group and his friends started taking pictures and videos of him with Curt and me-it was laughs!
The rest of the night was good- it was a little rainy but not too cold. I can definitely feel myself getting stronger and into better shape- Curt is a fast walker but I was walking at his pace and we made good timing each 5 mile shift. Night shift is different from day shift in many ways but one significant difference is the amount of conversation that takes place while walking (and while waiting in the van- it's different from the day in that there is none). While walking through the city with all of the lights and people and activity Curt and I were chatting, but it seems like once we hit the highway and it's back to darkness everyone tends to grow silent with the surroundings. It's nice though- I like the peace and quiet, and the darkness too. It's fun during the day to see the places you're walking through and the landscapes you're passing by (I get a lot of use out of my camera during these times, especially while in the van driving to the next stop), but there's something really nice about walking through the night. Silent personal prayer sneaks up on you and before you know it you're in a state of deep contemplation. I've found it's a nice time to reflect on the day and to ask God to help me with those faults I find myself guilty of. In the peaceful silence I feel that God reveals to me the ways in which He is working in my life. I've found myself laughing a couple times thinking of how He has literally grabbed my hand and lead me to Crossroads. I have no hint of doubt that my being here is an integral part of His master plan for me, and I know that the challenges I will be faced with this summer are going to be (and have already begun to be) His little ways of presenting me with opportunities to grow in virtue.
We met Steve Sanborn, the founder of Crossroads, yesterday. His lovely family allowed us to shower at his house and then we had a chance to hang out with his kids for a little while. They were adorable and so sweet- there's something to be said about Catholic kids!! It's no wonder Susie and I were so very angelic 0: ) Steve told us that back in '95 he and 9 (I think?) other friends from Franciscan University of Stubenville decided to walk across the country for Pro-Life. They borrowed an RV from a friend and hit the road with not much of a game plan. They sort of winged it walking into parishes every now and then asking if they could speak during the mass and tell people what they were doing. A priest from Australia was walking with them and at one point he made a comment about the next year's walk and how it should be different in so and so way and Steve was like 'I'm not doing this again next year!' I guess the priest knew it would catch on, and obviously it did! Here I am 15 years later...but hopefully Crossroads won't be necessary for too much longer. Pray for an end to abortion! Every single day!
Steve said that there are 3 stages during the summer that each walker will go through. The first is the physical stage- one that we are all still in now. Our muscles are sore and our little feetsies hurt : ( 4 or 5 of the walkers are having problems with their achilles tendons- say some prayers for them! The second stage is personal- we're living 12 people in an RV for 3 months. The glamour will wear off soon. Enough said there. And the third is endurance- he said that at a point it will feel like everything is dragging on and going nowhere. These all make sense and I was expecting these types of struggles. Bring it on! I'm definitely in the physical stage right now but getting into the personal : / I get really frustrated when people talk when I'm trying to sleep! So my challenge right now is remembering that it's more important to practice patience with my group members than it is to fall asleep right away.
I'm pretty tired and I don't feel like reading through this entry to check for mistakes or to see if it even makes sense...sorry if I rambled! Leave comments if you have questions or want to hear more about something in specific.
Tata!

Oh yeah.... we're in Montana! Day crew crossed the state line yesterday afternoon and last night we continued the route on 90. We're in our 3rd state!!