Day 99-Edgerton to Napoleon (34 Miles)

After sleeping in a bit and packing up my cart, I bid the Hemenway family goodbye and walked back to Highway 6 in 40 degree temperatures. I would run the day in sweat pants, two jackets and a pair of gloves for the first time.

Loading up on food at the local Subway I ran into Emily and Issac one last time as they stopped in for a post pumpkin patch snack. After lunch, I left town on Highway 6 for a few miles before dipping South on county roads. Despite the cold temps, it stayed pretty dry and crisp. Wooded areas changing into their fall colors were islands in the ocean of corn and harvested bean fields.

The 34 miles seemed pretty effortless until about the last few miles and ended at the Knights Inn just North of Napoleon. I was able to catch the second half of the Oregon State win before seeking dinner in town. When I left the hotel at 7 pm it was pouring rain, dark, and freezing. There were no restaurants within a quarter mile so I just decided to bust out my stove and cook ravioli while trying to not set off the smoke detector.

Peaceful county roads

Day 98-Rest in Edgerton

I started the day with every intention of making the run to Napoleon. I woke up to close the back door as rain was pouring through the screen. I downloaded the WeatherBug app, something I hadn't needed since Nebraska, and found that there were two bursts of rain expected for the day. The first one was just starting this morning.

Today was going to be a late start waiting out the second charge which was just starting up at 11 am. In fact, I probably wouldn't be able to finish before it started getting dark out. Jared and Emily very generously offered their home to me for another day and night which I gratefully accepted. Although it was only after four days of running, I was very tired from the three pretty long days and running in the downpour didn't sound fun at all.

We enjoyed a relaxing day with a driving tour of Edgerton, lunch of Tano's Pizza, and TV. Emily got me a t-shirt, water bottle, and chocolate bar from the second best OSU (Ohio State). I went to bed quite a bit earlier after a dinner of ribs. I was lucky to have had such hospitable hosts who offered me the chance to the recuperate.

Catholic Church just down the road from the Hemenway's

Day 97-Kendallville to Edgerton, OH (25 Miles)

After a great breakfast cooked by Bill, I said goodbye to Bill and Linda and continued down the forested hilly county road through the town of Waterloo. Just east of town, right as I had to get onto the much busier Highway 6, the rains started to pick up. Luckily, the new construction of Highway 6 included a huge shoulder with a rumble strip barrier.

I stopped for a lunch break at McDonalds in Butler just a few miles from the Ohio border. I had to camp out in the restaurant to let a downpour pass. After the rains I walked through town and started running on the wide shoulder into Ohio. After the border, the shoulder shrunk to two foot wide which led to getting sprayed by passing vehicles. It only last a couple of miles as I quickly made it to Edgerton.

I crossed the railroad tracks to the south side of town where I met Jared and Emily Hemenway and their boys Isaac and Mason. The Hemenway's graciously offered the guest area in their basement for me to stay in for the night after talking to my uncle Jason. Emily was a fellow Oregonian from Newport (although sadly she's a duck fan). Following an amazing steak dinner and watching TV, including the start of the ducks loss to Arizona, I crashed in the guest room.

Three states to go!

Day 96-Milford to Kendallville (36 Miles)

I woke up to Tom dispatching his First Choice crew to a job in Nappanee. Breakfast and a driving tour of his community and the summer camp along the shores of Dewart Lake followed. We later drove north into Syracuse to scout out how I would run through town when I got there in about an hour. Tom then dropped me off at the secondhand store he picked me up at yesterday evening and I started my run. As I passed Wawasee High School and head towards downtown, I ran into him again and bid him my final goodbye. It was great to meet and spend time with Tom and Esther and they were incredibly hospitable hosts.

After sticking to county roads, I crossed US Highway 33 through the campus of West Noble High School. Google Maps told me to cross through the campus to get to more county roads. A bearded homeless man pushing his belongings in a stroller drew the attention of the campus police and the stop proved to be quite the spectical for an outdoor shop class. The pit stop was just a minor inconvenience to take a route that would save a mile, but it ended up being for not as a road that was part of my shortcut ended up being closed.

I continued north to County Road 600 that would take me straight into Kendallville. Drivers along this road were either as good as they could be (slowing down, changing lanes, and/or stopping if there is an oncoming car) or absolutely terrible (staying the course as if I wasn't even there). As the traffic picked up, I turned south onto the busier divided State Highway 3 which had about a 10-ft wide newly paved shoulder. I turned back east after a mile to Waits road where I climbed and descended the two biggest hills I've seen in Indiana before arriving at the Routsong home.

My uncle Jason had connected to Bill and Linda through church about hosting me for the evening. They were wonderful hosts and had a beautiful old home in the woods a few miles outside of town. After dinner, I went with them to meet several members of their ward at the church and took a driving tour of the town. The rest of the evening was spent relaxing with conversation and TV. The survivalist show we watched reminded me that it has been since the Mississippi River that I have spent the night outdoors. Great hosts like the Routsongs have made it possible.

Lake Syracuse

Day 95-Walkerton to Milford (37 Miles)

I woke up at 7:15 to the Martin kids getting ready for school. This was my first time waking up in the Eastern Time Zone and I wasn't ready for it. After they left for the school, I fell back asleep on the couch for a nap before starting the day. I said goodbye to Brandon, April and a fussy Lincoln before heading into the main part of town. It was awesome to meet such a great family through a chain of events that all started with striking up a conversation with someone in a Timbers jersey.

I took county roads north of Highway 6 until I passed through the town of Bremen where I dipped south of the busier highway. I continued east on County Road 1350 which went through the heart of Amish country. Cars on this road were used to dodging Amish bicycles and horse buggies so I felt pretty safe despite the slightly higher traffic. Any tourists passing through could have easily mistaken me for being Amish with my cart and beard. I have a mustache with my beard though. I was surprised to see so many Amish riding in vans. I later learned that if 95 percent of the world was Amish, the other 5 percent would be drivers.

Near the town of Milford, I gave my host for the night, Tom Henderson, a call to take him up on his offer to pick me and my cart up. Tom was another church connection from my uncle Jason who I was lucky enough to host me for the evening. He picked me up and we traveled to the larger town of Syracuse where we picked up a couple ingredients for dinner.

We later arrived to the extensively remodeled Henderson cottage a short distance away from Dewart Lake. Tom cooked a delicious soup and we were joined by his wife Esther who was just coming back from the high school girl's soccer game. After dinner and Esther went to bed, Tom and I watched TV with a fresh batch of cookies.

Those buggies are fast

Day 94-Valparaiso to Walkerton (35 Miles)

The noon checkout time for the Best Western was the latest I'd seen on the run. It gave me plenty of time to meet up with Andy, the cyclist who I had met outside of Frankfort on his ride from Iowa. He brought with him a Gazeteer for the state of Indiana which he generously donated to the cause. In return I gave him the food leftover from the Octoberfest feast my aunt Christie had left me two days previously.

I left the motel earlier than I had to in order to make a long walk through Valpo. I really enjoyed my stay here and it was a really cool town that I hope to find my way back to soon. After the walk, I got to the outskirts on the opposite side of town to start my run on county roads. The run itself seemed very long. It had been four days since I'd run more than 30 miles. An extra hour was added to the time consumed by the run as I crossed into the Eastern Time Zone.

I arrived to the Martin home at about 6:30-one of the latest finishes to a run for this entire trip. Brandon was a friend of Craig who I'd met in Valparaiso yesterday. He worked the night shift as a police officer in South Bend, home of Notre Dame, just a few miles to the north. Fortunately he had tonight off.

Brandon's wife April cooked a delicious dinner of spaghetti bake which we enjoyed together with their four kids. Once the kids had all gone to bed April, Brandon and I stayed up a bit longer in their finished basement where I showed off my terrible video game skills. Brandon had to stay up the whole night to get re-acclimated to his work schedule but I could only last to about 11:30.

Soybean Harvest

Day 93- Rest Day in Valparaiso

I started the day not intending to do very much other than veg out. I woke up to feed from the continental breakfast before starting a load of laundry that was in pretty desperate need of washing. Once this was done, I decided to take my maps and laptop with me into the main part of town to camp out somewhere and get some "work" done.

After about a mile walk into the main part of town, I struck up a conversation with someone wearing a Timbers jersey, the soccer team in my hometown of Portland. During the conversation his friend Sam walked by and invited me to come watch the Bears-Packers game just across the street. Sam was a Bear's fan, but I got to enjoy the Packers rout with his friend Craig.

After the game we went to Sam's apartment above some downtown businesses where we shot some pool. They claimed it was the coolest apartment in Valpo and, although I hadn't seen any others, I believed it. The spear that killed the world record largest hog via spear was one of the many decorations on the walls. I went to dinner at the Figure Eight Brewpub where Sam worked.

I extended the already eventful day by taking a walking tour through the beautiful campus of the university in town. I arrived back to the motel just after sunset and fell asleep to rest up for the resuming of the run tomorrow.

Valparaiso University