Sunday Feb 17, A Safe Haven

Dear All, It is rare when I leave a host family that I have another to pick me up at the end of the day but this is a unique situation. After my walk today Stacie Eichinger will be meeting me at the intersection of N. Casa Grande Hwy and E. Missile Base Road.
Stacie is a fellow walker. She walked across the United States in 2013. She walked from the Pacific Ocean at Ocean City, WA to the Atlantic Ocean at Savannah, Georgia. Stacie walked for Beads of Courage. The Beads of Courage program is designed to help children facing life threatening diseases. Each child is given Beads of Courage for procedures and surgeries, etc involved in the treatment of their illness.”Their Beads of Courage experience begins when each child is first given a length of string and beads that spell out their first name. Then, colorful beads, each representing courage during their treatment experiences are given to the child by their professional health care provider as determined by the Beads of Courage Bead Prescription. As beads are added to their Beads of Courage collection, children and teens can RECORD, TELL, and OWN their stories of courage.” https://www.beadsofcourage.org/the-beads-of-courage-program/
I got a message from a friend of mine on facebook, in 2013. The message said that a woman was walking across America and she was close to my house. I know how important hosts or trail angels can be to a solo walker so I contacted Stacie that day. When my friend Shayne and I met up with Stacie, she was 8 miles outside of Wilbur, WA crossing the desert. Stacie walked with a cart instead of a backpack. We loaded up her cart and took Stacie back to the Blue House in Deer Park. Stacie had a fever and was feeling achy so she stayed in bed resting and healing for two days before she went back out to the road again. Because Stacie had a safe place to stay she didn’t have to push her heavy cart she could carry her light backpack with just the things that she would need for a day’s walk. Shayne and I took her out to her route in the mornings and then picked her up in the evening. Shayne knows members of the Hutterite community out near Reardon. The Hutterites invited Stacie to spend an evening with them. She had a wonderful time meeting the folks in the Hutterite community. It was a unique and rare opportunity to spend sometime with a fascinating group of people.
We picked Stacie up again in Airway Heights. She walked all of the way through Spokane and Post Falls, Idaho before we dropped her off for the last time and I watched her walking east toward the foothills of the Rocky Mountains pushing her big cart ahead of her with each step.
This time it is Stacie picking me up from my route and being my trail angel! I am anxious to see her again and feeling blessed to have a safe place to sleep tonight!