Trail of Hope

Over the past two days I have walked 60 miles. Yesterday ended quite late in the evening. It has been exhausting even though the heat has been in the lower 90s instead of the upper 90s. I’m walking through the eastern part of Springfield and am delighted to be able to find abundant places for food and even rest. I’m looking forward to visiting a battlefield nearby as well as exploring the area tomorrow.

Today I’ve only walked about 12 miles. There was a huge thunderstorm that lingered though the morning before finally passing over. The rain helps to cool things down a little bit but the humidity still lingers.

As I walk though Springfield, I think it will be nice to be in a larger and more populated area for a short time. I’m looking forward to possibly meeting and sharing a bit about the Trail with people I meet in Springfield as well as hear a little of their story as well. It will be enjoyable being among a little civilization after spending so much time walking on back country roads surrounded by nature.

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The territory known as Missouri was included in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803.

Soon after, the Delaware Native Americans received treaty land where Springfield’s Sequiota Park and the antique stores of its Galloway Village stand today. To the west, 500 Kickapoo Native Americans built wickiups on the prairie that still bears their name.
Missouri became a state on August 10, 1821, and in 1833 the legislature designated most of the southern portion a single county. It was named for Revolutionary War General Nathanael Greene, largely through a campaign by Springfield’s founder, John Polk Campbell.

The origin of the name Springfield remains unclear; however, the most common view is that the city was named for Springfield, Massachusetts. One account holds that a James Wilson, who lived in the then-unnamed city, offered free whiskey to everyone who would vote for naming it after his home town of Springfield, Massachusetts.

In 1883, the historian R. I. Holcombe wrote, to the contrary, “The town took its name from the circumstance of there being a spring under the hill, on the creek, while on top of the hill, where the principal portion of the town lay, there was a field.”
Springfield was incorporated in 1838. That same year, Cherokee Native Americans were forcibly removed by the U.S. government from their homelands in Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina and Georgia to the “Indian Territory.”

Their route became known as the Trail of Tears due to the thousands of Cherokee deaths on the journey and as a result of the relocation. The Trail of Tears passed through the Springfield area via what is known today as the Old Wire Road.
The city of Springfield is mainly flat with rolling hills and cliffs surrounding the south, east, and north parts of the city. Springfield is located on the Springfield Plateau of the Ozarks, which reaches from Northwest Arkansas to Central Missouri. The majority of the plateau is characterized by forest, pastures and shrub-scrub habitats.

Many streams and tributaries such as the James River, Galloway Creek and Jordan Creek flow within or near the city.

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Fruits of Solitude
Vision

A vision can revolutionize, build, and at times, even motivate. However, sometimes we may feel very secure in our comfort zone. We close ourselves off to new ideas and stubbornly bask in the familiar glow of monotony. Our reality could use some spice but we believe it is just fine the way it is. It becomes easy to stay in a familiar zone while waiting to receive a vision. This waiting is futile. You do not have to wait until you receive a vision. A vision can be created at any time and can be changed if you so desire, but never live a day longer without a vision of your own.

A wise person once said, “We see what we want to see, unless we make a conscious effort to see what is really there.” This is true, in fact, at times the blueprint to our own vision is laid before us and we don’t even recognize it. It is always our personal choice as to how we want to see the world. If we chose to see setbacks than we’ll become enslaved by setbacks. If we choose to see opportunities, than our opportunities will multiply.

We must remember that only true and authentic visions will provide us the power to change behaviors and pave our path to success. We must not only create these visions, but believe they will grow and prosper as well. We have to discover the beauty of our creativity, personal strengths and talents to build a vision powerful enough to impact the things we believe. We must believe with our whole heart and soul and mind. Only then can we combine our desires and our vision to create a new reality.

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Yesterday I spent the day resting in the little town I was staying in. Unfortunately there were no 4th of July parades or fireworks. I was a little bummed out since I had to miss out on a small town parade due to a lack of accommodations in the town I was in previously.

I slept most of my holiday and had a much needed rest and recovery. I was basically like a vegetable all day. It is so interesting how my mind and thoughts are completely isolated while I am resting.

I wish I could rest for a little bit more but I know I have to keep on walking. The weather is looking like it will be in the low 90s which is excellent compared to what the weather has been. I’ve been walking along State Road which is quite busy at times. I am about 50 miles outside of Springfield.

The landscape is just small rolling hills. There are no houses or stores. It would be nice to see a little civilization but the nature is nice to walk through. My spirits remain high as I continue along the Trail.

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Fourth of July is Independence Day

Independence Day honors the birthday of the United States of America and the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. 

On July 4, 1776, United States claimed our independence from Britain and Democracy was born. 
Every day thousands leave their homeland to come to the “land of the free and the home of the brave” so they can begin their American Dream.

Drafted by Thomas Jefferson between June 11 and June 28, 1776, the Declaration of Independence is at once the nation’s most cherished symbol of liberty and Jefferson’s most enduring monument. Here, in exalted and unforgettable phrases, Jefferson expressed the convictions in the minds and hearts of the American people.
 The political philosophy of the Declaration was not new; its ideals of individual liberty had already been expressed by John Locke and the Continental philosophers. What Jefferson did was to summarize this philosophy in “self-evident truths” and set forth a list of grievances against the King in order to justify before the world the breaking of ties between the colonies and the mother country. 
The United States is truly a diverse nation made up of dynamic people. Each year on July 4, Americans celebrate that freedom and independence with barbecues, picnics, and family gatherings. 
Through the Internet we are learning about and communicating with people of different nations, with different languages and different races throughout the world. Bringing the world closer with understanding and knowledge can only benefit all nations. 

Yesterday was another hot day. I’ve been walking more along the state highway than the back country roads so there are limited opportunities to enjoy the shade. When I do find shade, I feel such a great relief!

As I travel along the Trail, I tend to plan my overnight stays at least a week in advance. If I can, I’ll contact the motel just to make sure they still exist as a motel. That is my biggest concern since I don’t want to go to a place and find there is nowhere to stay at the end of the day.

As I was planning my 4^th of July break, I found a motel in a little town. The town was going to host a 4^th of July parade. I was kind of excited because I’ve never been to a 4^th of July parade and was curious how the small town would celebrate. I called the motel and I got the feeling that it wouldn’t be 100% guarantee that if I arrive on the 4^th there would be a room for me. The man on the phone was sort of beating around the bush regarding details.

The day before my arrival to this town, something told me to call him again. I called and the guy started getting kind of flakey. He asked me to call him again the next day because he wasn’t sure if the room would be ready in time for me. I called him back a little while later and a woman answered the phone. Her story was completely different from the guy’s story. She told me that the room was ready; it’s just that people were staying there and she wasn’t sure if they were leaving in time for me to check into the room. She asked me to call back later.

I called back for the 3^rd time and the guy told me at the last minute that the room wouldn’t be ready. There was a hotel nearby but they only had openings for the night of the 3^rd not the 4^th. I was really upset but I tried not to make a big deal of it. He messed up my plans. So I won’t get to see a parade and I’ll just keep walking to another town.

I just don’t understand why some people, so often in life, have to make excuses and play little games instead of being honest and telling the truth upfront.

Tomorrow, I’m taking the day off to rest for a bit before continuing the Trail in this heat.

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Yesterday started out great. I had spent the night in a little Inn. The lady innkeeper had a room set aside for bikers and walkers. She said it was a one bedroom but the room was large enough to sleep about four people. She gave me a great deal on the price and even cooked breakfast for me in the morning. I was grateful to start my day with such a great feast.

I was excited about the day because I was going to walk to the site of a Lenape Village. It used to be called Lenape Village but the name was changed to Delaware.

I had high hopes that I could find something in the village that would reveal some Indian history. The only thing I could find was a sign with the name of the place. There were no houses, no historical markings, nothing except a small cemetery.

I went to the cemetery, again with high hopes that I’d find some trace of Indian history. It wasn’t a large cemetery so I was able to look at every tombstone. I noticed that most of the people buried there had died in the late 1800s. The Lenape had inhabited the area in the late 1820s. I concluded that there was no chance that this cemetery was for the Lenape. It must have been a pioneer cemetery.

That was kind of another disappointment. However, as I was walking though the cemetery, I found a large feather. It looked like it belonged to a falcon or a hawk. It took me by surprise and I instantly felt a spiritual connection. It was as if something was trying to tell me that I was in the right place after all.

There is not much in the history books about the old village but I knew about it previously. I was hoping to find something, even a plaque from a local historical society, yet there was nothing. I didn’t have the chance to meet anyone in the area because there were no houses or people around. The day before, I had a chance to talk to a few people when I was about six or seven miles outside of the village. To my surprise and display, nobody really knew anything about the Indians that had lived there many years before.

Fortunately that feather had lifted my spirits. I plan on carrying it back with me to Philadelphia. After visiting the cemetery, I continued along my way. There were no places to stop for food except a gas station later in the day. I picked up a frozen pizza to enjoy for dinner. When I reached my motel for the evening around 6pm, the thermometer read 100 degrees. Even the evenings are pretty hot!

I settled into my hotel and ended my day on a good note with that delicious frozen pizza.

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At different times Missouri was inhabited by the Osages, Missouris, Iowas, Sacs, Foxes, Kickapoos, Shawnees and Delawares. In 1810 there were an estimated 20,000 Indians in Missouri. In 1823, the Delawares built a town in Christian County, they also lived in Stone County.       

Under the pressure of a constantly advancing white immigration, the Indian tribes which had originally occupied the Illinois country migrated west of the Mississippi River. Several fragmentary tribes pitched their wigwams within St. Louis County.

The Osage were longtime residents of the regions in Missouri south of the Missouri River and in northern Arkansas. They lived north of the Missouri River as well but were forced out by the Sauk and Fox nations by the late 1790s. The Osage were divided into three bands. One band, the Great Osage, lived in what is now southeast Bates County in Missouri, the Little Osage that lived near the mouth of the Osage River and the Arkansas band on the Verdigris River, a tributary of Arkansas.

In 1808, the Grand and Little Osage bands signed a treaty with the United States at Fort Osage. They gave up any claims the land to the east of a line from Fort Osage south to the Arkansas River, north of the Arkansas to its mouth, west of the Mississippi River to the mouth of the Missouri and south of the Missouri back to Fort Osage.

Even though the Osage had ceded the land to the government, they still used the land for hunting and saw the Delaware as intruders. The Osage were exception horse thieves and stole many Delaware horses. They attacked a Delaware hunting party in 1824 and made a horse-stealing raid in 1826. These events caused the Delaware and the Kickapoo to unite against the Osage. Government intervention was required to prevent a war and a treaty was signed in St. Louis by all the parties in 1826.

The Delaware Indians were forced to move westward for many years. In 1818, the Delaware remaining in Indiana signed the St. Mary’s Treaty ceding all of their land in Indiana and agreed to move west of the Mississippi. They were given land in southwest Missouri and moved to the James River in that area between 1820 and 1822. A town was established on the James about ten mile southwest of Springfield, but other villages were scattered up and down the James and on the banks of Wilson’s Creek. Many homes were built of logs with wood floors and some even had two or three rooms.

In 1829, the Delaware still in Ohio ceded their land to the government and agreed to move west and join the Delaware already in Missouri. Yet the Missouri Delaware didn’t know how they could feed another 100 mouths so they agreed to give up their Missouri lands and move to a reserve in Kansas just north of the Shawnee.

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