Mile 1 Through 4, Rte. 957, Lander

Since joining the Curves Program at the end of February 2013, I have made it my goal to walk at least 10,000-12,000 steps per day.  Because I'm a teacher, during the school year most of these steps were accomplished during the course of working each day, and then I would make up the rest of the steps when I got home.  These walks would generally be pretty short; just a walk around the block or a trip down a nearby walking path.

Now that I'm on summer vacation, these walks have to be more purposeful.  The steps cannot be accomplished without a lengthy, purposeful walk, and it is extremely easy for me to procrastinate and neglect the walk altogether.  I've gotten up early and walked before the Texas heat would be too much for walking.

After my first week of vacation and not quite getting in the steps I was wanting (despite my early walk), I decided I needed to just plan on walking 4 miles per day.  Hmmm, if I'm here 20 days, I guess I'll be walking 80 miles!  I hope to walk a different 4 mile route every day and share photos of the gorgeous scenery that is the place where I grew up.

Right now I am in Pennsylvania visiting my parents in the beautiful region of Warren County..  There is no prettier place on earth to go on any number of 4 mile walks.  Today it was my first morning waking up in Pennsylvania, and I asked my Dad to just take me 4 miles down the road and "drop me off".  So, he literally drove 4 miles according to the odometer, then pulled over alongside the road and dropped me off.  I left with 2 bottles of water in hand, an apple and a container of yogurt.  The time was 8 am.  I was hoping I could get back to my parent's house within an hour.

This was my first picture.  My walk took me past the house where I grew up.  It's the house behind the tree that is white on top with brown trim pieces (German-inspired).  My parents still own that house; they have renters living there now.  Over a decade ago, they moved to the house that had belonged to my grandparents.  The walk from this house to theirs is one I made many, many times.  One time, in fact, I even made the walk on stilts!

I loved this picture, too.  I actually walked to this farm a lot when I was younger, also.  A long-time childhood friend lived there.  This is a farm country.  We have many farms of all kinds:  dairy farms, sheep farms, pig farms, horse farms, and farms that simply grow crops.  The story of Charlotte's Web could totally have taken place here.

The rest of the way to my parents' is all uphill.  For you local folks, I am standing at the low dip in the road below Eisenhower High School.  At the top of the hill is my parents' house.

And finally, I arrived at my parent's house.  Isn't it pretty?  This had been the home of my Dad when he was growing up, and the whole time I was growing up, it was my Grandma and Grandpa's.  Oh, and in case you're wondering, I made it in about 55 minutes!