What a difference a day can make...

Day 136
7-21-2006
Started: Independence, MO
Finished: Red Bridge Rd., MO
Today's Miles: 15.0
Total Miles:1913.5

What a difference a day can make! A 35 degree difference! That's right, when we woke up this morning the temperature outside was 35 degrees cooler than it was the afternoon of Sheri's meltdown. Don't you love it when a plan comes together! We managed to rehydrate and refuel Sheri's empty tank, the cool down we were hoping for came to be and we made it to a major league sporting event. As a matter of fact it was the late night at the ball park that led to a late start this morning. We had such a good time watching a little MLB action in the big town of Kansas City. Kansas City, Missouri that is, we won't get to Kansas City, Kansas until some time early tomorrow. The plan when we woke up this morning was to make it all the way to Kansas today, but once again we had a "right where we are supposed to be" moment that has us staying in Missouri for one more night. The hiking today was all road walk. At first it was mostly an urban setting in Independence and Raytown, but as the day went on we could tell we were getting farther outside the heart of town. The most beautiful natural areas of the day were found in an area known as Swope Park. The park houses the Kansas City Zoo and a nice Nature Center. The Park is heavily covered with forests, a lake and an area called the lagoon. The Blue River flows through the Park and for the second half of our day we followed Blue River Road alongside the River. Randy was missing his golf clubs today as we passed by multiple golf courses. The rains that forced us to stop and put on our pack covers and rain gear had scared most people off the links, but there were a few die hards still swinging their clubs. As we neared the state line we reached an intersection at Red Bridge Road where a passing train had cause the traffic to line up, seeing as how we would have to wait for the train anyway, we decided that we would take a short break and get off our feet. This was where our "right where we are supposed to be" moment occurred. A lady had noticed us sitting in the grass, waiting on the train, and she decided to pull out of the line of traffic and see what we were up to. She asked if we were just out hiking or something and when we responded with the answer of a coast to coast hike the next words out of her mouth were, "would you like to come to my house for some dinner?" The internal debate said, "state line? or home cooked meal?" The answer practically jumped off our tongues, "sure we would!" The Missouri Trail Angel was a nice woman named Donna. Donna told us she was off to pick up her kids but that she lived only a short distance down the road and her husband, Tom would be home if we beat her there. We put our shoes back on, packed away the power bars that were about to be dinner and made our way down the street to Donna and Toms. When we arrived the Cole family greeted us like we were old friends. They had planned on burgers for the kids and made us an excellent Indian cuisine. The house was full of activity. We were offered showers and laundry and the kids were all playing games or watching movies on laptop computers that are an essential piece of their home schooling equipment. Donna, Tom and Dan, a missionary visiting with the Cole's, were all preparing their portion of the tasty dinner. After enjoying two full servings of the great food we were asked to join some of the family for some sightseeing. Tom drove us to a nearby Santa Fe Park where you can still see evidence of the wagon trains that used the Santa Fe Trail. The park is very close to the Blue River and as the wagons crossed the river and climbed up the nearby hill the wheels created ruts in the ground. Rainfall would wash away the loose sediment that the wheels would churn up and as a result large swales, ditch like features, were left behind and they still remain today. After enjoying the Santa Fe Trail Park for a while we were taken to IHOP, and no they don't serve pancakes. This IHOP is the International House of Prayer, and it is more or less the Cole's home away from home. The facility is quite impressive. It is designed to be a place of worship that has prayer taking place twenty four hours a day, seven days a week all year long. When we walked in there were at least ten amazing musicians on stage playing incredible music that was improvised to match words taken from scripture. Shortly after we arrived the musicians on stage had all been relieved of their instruments by a new, equally talented musician, and the music never stopped. When the keyboardists were rotating out, the guitars and singers and drums played the lead and when the drummers rotated out, the keyboard played the lead, it was really impressive. We were told that the keyboard companies that they purchase equipment from won't honor the warranties for them anymore. The warranties weren't intended to cover instruments that get played twenty four hours a day, every day. The facility had several rooms that were designated for specific types of prayer, a room for Iraq for example, and one for the United States. Every two hours the main stage in the theater size room changes it's theme or format, but the worshipping never stops and one session flows right into the next almost seamlessly. Donna shared with us the story of her life and how she came to find her passion for worship and then Donna and another Missionary prayed for our journey to be safe and rewarding, all the while music was jamming and other worshipers were pacing the isles or singing along with their arms raised to the ceiling. It was a very interesting scene and we enjoyed seeing the Cole's passion first hand. Our long day of hiking was catching up with us and Donna could tell, so we loaded back into the car and headed back to the Cole's house for the night. We can't thank the Cole family enough for the fantastic dinner, great tour around the IHOP and the soft bed for the night. We definitely have enjoyed our last day in Missouri and are grateful to spend it with such kind "Trail Angels". Hopefully the "magic" will follow us into Kansas tomorrow!

Your Friends on the ADT,
Randy and Sheri
Follow our Journey at www.treckusa.com