WALKING TO WINNETT

 “The world reveals itself to those who travel on foot.”

Werner Herzog

Like the rest of us, this writer began life as a walker. It took years before he took to riding a bike. But, he has found walking always available day or night with no expense involved. Immediate benefits include fresh air and sunshine, basic exercise – moving the joints and parts, and opening up opportunities for random social contacts. Like the ones with these young United States Air Force security men on our Winnett Walk.

We must throw in that bicycles and automobiles have a number of drawbacks. Besides initial cost – which can be huge these days, they break down sooner or later. Then, the repair bills can be intimidating. Sometimes the breakdowns occur at very disturbing moments. The writer has had a few of those with bicycles, which helped him to give up his brief cycling career and “keep on walking.” 

But those times were nothing to compare with the troubles an old friend, Jon Coxwell, experienced years ago when he entered a cycling event at the Big Sky State Games. The bicycle race involved a round trip from Billings to Molt, Montana – a tiny town 22 miles west of the big city. 

Jon was surely prepared physically for the event – but certainly not for the 7 – yes, seven – flat tires he experienced on the road. Neither expensive nor harmful, but certainly symbolic of his personal life. You see, Jon was then going through a divorce!!!!!!!

Walking, in any case, has clearly gone out of style in America. Most everyone has one kind of motorized vehicle or another. Folks who can’t afford an “expensive rig” or are just “slowing down” now get around in ATVs or golf/utility carts. Even youngsters rarely walk or pedal bicycles any longer. Many of them have electric bikes or electric skateboards.

Advanced technologies and money to spend are not necessarily good for our health and well-being. They have been part of the phenomena which have replaced the “poor man” diseases of the past with those of the “rich man.” 

“Use it, or lose it.”

Anonymous

There are many reasons for using one’s lower limbs for locomotion. If none other than they are always available. With the price of gasoline rising and rising, and the threat of wider war in the oil rich Middle East, there are likely more people thinking about walking – if not yet doing so.

This writer has come to the conclusion that in the present days – most people rarely walk more than from their residence to their motor vehicle and back – on the way to work or play and back. 

Dare we take the time to use our bodies and not rely more and more on machines to move and travel, learn and grow. Machines can help us in wonderful ways – but they can also prevent us from using our own natural God-given gifts – hands and feet, lungs and hearts can do so much more than pampered moderns now imagine. We have lost much along the way.

Along the Walk to Winnett, there were all sorts of gifts for this lone man. On our recent short expedition, we experienced things that people who only drive cars or pickups or tractors rarely if ever do.

Walking the road gets us in touch directly with the Elements. Earth under the feet – even with asphalt in between – can be quite exhilarating as well as enlivening. Look up the process called Earthing online.

Water – although sparse at times in eastern Montana – is cleansing, purifying, and so much more. One can’t have too much when on the road. Water is the great solvent as well as the symbol of Spirit.

Fire of the Sun is all the more purifying. (This walker never has a campfire.) Our God is a consuming fire and life giving, to be sure. Vitalized and electrified by the Sun, we can do almost anything.

Then, there is the Wind. Although it can be brutal, the Wind is refreshing and inspiring. What would we be without that “breath of fresh air.”

Dare we take a moment to suggest that Earth, Water, Fire and Wind are all alive, living forces which intimately and mysteriously share with us their own life.

• There were nights sleeping next to trees under the stars. Many folks might think that crude and distasteful. But, we are all part of the natural world – however artificial our lives have become. 

• We watched the Sun come up in the morning without a house or a car within miles. The same thing can happen at the other end of the day.

• Then, there were slow moment-by-moment panoramic views of the countryside being transformed from hills and trees into mostly prairie and grasslands.

• Besides passing wind towers for miles, there were encounters with cows and horses along the way. I had intended to play my harmonica to such critters one day – but it didn’t happen this time around. 

• How about meeting a camel along the way. Thanks to veterinarian Greg Carlson near Lewistown.

• Another benefit from the walk was the QUIET for many miles and minutes – mostly in the late evening or night. That was when the highway had lost its machinery racing noisily and hurriedly in one direction or another.

Walking allowed time and space for unimagined moments and meetings. Like with the US Air Force security men, travelers from far and wide, locals out for rides, farmers heading to their fields …

And most especially our encounter with Marilyn Monroe – in the flesh.  If you missed that story, I refer you our July blog called Movie Stars in Montana.

We could go on and on with the wonders of Walking to Winnett – and of similar excursions from the past. But maybe we can say that walking simply and readily provides wholesome face-to-face contact with the planet, life and other beings.

Comments, questions & suggestions are always welcome at theportableschool @ gmail dot com

FOOD FOR THE ROAD

Food was not a big concern when I hit the road in June. Especially since over the past few years this walker has limited his food intake more and more. These days, my diet is almost entirely fruit, milk and yogurt, tea and soda. Being a vegetarian most my life, the change to being a fruitarian has been incremental and not particularly difficult.

Along the way, I have had people tell me, “I couldn't live without beef.” Well, I gave that up decades ago. And then many other victuals slowly over time. Walking down the road, my only real concerns were for water and dry places to nap and sleep. Only once did I resort to filling a plastic bottle or two with water from a pond on the side of the highway. 

As for food, I nibbled or sucked on almonds, berries, and the pods of gum plants along the way. Carrying “real” food would have just added to an already overweight backpack. I should throw in that I had one “meal” thanks to Pastor Matt when he took me to a weekly senior citizen’s luncheon in Winnett. I skipped the meat entree and settled for some mashed potatoes, a little bread and a few green beans. Apple spice cake topped off the meal. Then, some kind benefactor shared a box of fresh cherries to interested folks. I was interested and picked up a handful. Later, I wished to have taken more.

I must admit to indulging my predilection for sweets on a few occasions – and then I found tasty treats and some quite curious caterers on the road. This is the real reason for this blog. You see I ran across some out-of-the-ordinary food shops along the way.

The first was the Big Sky Grocery which seems to have gotten bigger and better since I had visited years ago. It was a short jaunt from the gazebo at Eddie’s Corner where I slept my first night on the road. It is owned and run by an Amish colony. Details about how they appeared in Montana are lacking, but this Amish effort includes a full grocery and a deli as well as a “selection of homemade quilts, clocks, and outdoor furniture and gazebos.”

It appears that the Amish are spreading their wings from Ohio and Indiana to the West in search of less expensive land and wide open spaces. Google says that the Amish numbers have grown from around 180,000 in 2000 to 410,000 in 2025. Montana’s Hutterite colonies number just above 50,000 members. They are growing, but nothing like the Amish.

I didn’t indulge much at the Big Sky Grocery. I just picked up a soda and a little berry pie that looked like a scone. The Amish must make them. The pie didn’t last long as I headed back to the east. I do recommend the Big Sky Grocery – they were quite friendly folks. And, I recently discovered that another Amish group has just opened a store on property in the nearby ghost town of Barber. Google hasn’t discovered the outlet yet. But, locals have been there.

Before long on the road, Lewistown appeared on the horizon and walked through quickly except for a stop at the Post Office and the Central Montana Variety Store. I got another soda and some treat – but its taste did not stick in memory. The weather got rugged and windy again on the way out of Lewistown, and I held up in a huge barn owned by the veterinarian Greg Carlson. I enjoyed visits with him and his brother Jason. I slept on top of a stack of hay bales in the building and didn’t head out until the clouds lifted the next day.

Back down the road a few days to the east, the miles turned into more miles as I eventually crossed the “Montinental Divide.” I thought maybe there would be something of a climb and I would have to gear up. But the hills and trees merely drifted away and the prairie took over the space. Google calls the DIVIDE “a playful, informal geographic concept used in Montana to describe the 520-mile-long drainage ridge that splits eastern Montana. This local divide separates the Yellowstone River and Missouri River watersheds.”

Down Highway 200 somewhere in the middle of nowhere, I espied a little shed in front of a large corral. There was no sign except for OPEN. How could I not stop and see who and what was inside?

It was just a tiny place with no one “at home,” just a sweetly arranged collection of baked goodies and some items of apparel for sale. Well, I had to buy a few of Gramma’s Cookies and an apple muffin or two, leaving my cash in a container placed by the door. 

But, where was Gramma? I tried to find out. Across the highway was a farmhouse, so I ventured over to find a young man named Kahle. He told me little except his long German-sounding last name, that he was a rancher and “Gramma” was his girlfriend. He pointed to a young woman out in the distant who seemed to be doing some gardening. But, I could not induce him to introduce me. Apparently, Gramma and her friend just wanted to make and sell goodies and remain incognito. I still would like to find out more about Grandma. She would make for a good story.

Then there was an even better story down the road in Winnett, MT. I slipped into the tiny town late one night and snuggled up in my sleeping bag next to an empty storefront, but not before noticing the nearby coffee shop. It took time to get my bearings in the morning, but I soon found my way to the Punchy Paint Coffee Shop. Quite a novel name for a place which serves “coffee with a wild western spirit – fueling faith, community, creativity & connection.”

Punchy Paint takes up the first floor of the Old 55 building which was moved a couple blocks in 2023 to open the space where the Petroleum County Community Center was constructed. “Paint” is a perfect name for the imaginatively decorated interior. It was a treat just to sit and take in all the colors as well as the many horses “painted” on the walls. Colors, colors and more colors.

Katie Lund, the proprietor, provided that and much more – most especially Kindness to this traveler and surely many others who cross her path. That first morning in Winnett, Katie served me mint tea and a cinnamon roll. She tracked me down a couple other times with tea as well as finding me a better resting spot one night. 

 

Besides being a look-alike for Julia Roberts and proprietor of Punchy Paint, Katie does extra duty working with Winnett ACES and handles bookkeeping chores for other businesses. She has five young children, a nearby ranch, obvious horse interests, and her rancher husband J.R. to round up her many duties, chores, and loves. Katie employs a number of local women to make baked goods and serve coffee. They also offer breakfast sandwiches and hot comfort foods as well as fruit pies and Wilcoxson’s ice cream to please customers.

Before closing, I must comment that there are many truck stops on the road which have little more than manufactured “foods” in cans and plastic bags. To be sure, there are others which provide respectable foods and service. These three places on the road are extraordinary. I recommend them highly and suggest you keep an eye out for them the next time you drive to the east in Montana on Highway 200.

CHURCHING ON THE ROAD

 part 2 of a series

This writer has reflected back on his five past cross-country walks a number of times, besides writing a whole book on the first one to New York City. One recurring thought has been that on the road I spent more time in bars than maybe the rest of my many years combined. The main reason was that in many small towns, the only places open for business during evening hours are the bars. Some villages have little more than a bar, a cafe, and a post office. Some less than that. So when entering a small berg in the evening, the choices have been few and I experienced another view of life. 

Well on my recent brief excursion, I had more “churching” times than those in bars. Oh, I did spend a few moments at a bar as the rain was falling as the sun disappeared on my first night out. A traveler in a Mercedes Benz – my first ever ride in a Mercedes – appeared suddenly and drove me up the road a couple miles to the Bar 100 in Judith Gap. I had a pleasant time with the bartender and two folks who lived in nearby Buffalo, MT. 

Then I did go to the Winnett Bar and Grill twice. The first time, I sat with a man named Randy who was passing through from the East. He made his income trading stocks and spent much time traveling the road and geocaching. During our visit, I sat with a ginger ale and listened to his story.

Unexpected as much of my excursion turned out to be, I spent a fair amount of time in church and churching – so to speak. I had not churched for a decade or more. While in Grass Range, I walked by its two churches a number of times as I “camped” two nights in the park just down the hill from the churches. 

One of the churches in Grass Range was the United Methodist. I had grown up in the Methodist tradition and nearly attended the seminary under Methodist candidacy. So, I got the urge to look up the Methodist minister. Which I did. 

Besides preaching to me and telling about his pathway into minstry late in life, Pastor Matthew did me a number of good turns during my brief time in Grass Range. One was to introduce me to Winnett via their weekly senior citizen luncheon at the Petroleum County Community Center. After the meal, the pastor drove us on a quick circle of Winnett. Since the town has less than 200 citizens, the tour didn’t take long.

The first church service which I attended was a bible study led by pastor Bill at the Christian Community Fellowship on a Thursday evening – which I mentioned in the previous blog. Bill’s Sunday service apparently uses music freely to gather people in the pews and hold interest during services. There were all sorts of musical instruments and sound equipment spread around the little building. 

There were also numerous churchy books in racks along the back of the sanctuary waiting for eventual readers. I found a little New Testament provided by the Gideons which caught my attention. I picked it up and have just a few pages left to finish the read. Like church going, bible reading until recent moments has been a thing of the past.

At one point, I told Pastor Matthew that I would attend his Sunday service – here or there. The pastor has a three-point charge of Grass Range, Winnett and Roundup. By the time Sunday came, I was in Winnett and walked over to the church. What followed was a surprise – and then some.

You see, attendance at the “church service” turned out to be the smallest I have ever experienced. It also turned out to be the longest one. There were just two of us – only 2 – who sat and shared in the church which probably could accommodate 100 people. So, two in the pews was surprising as well as a perplexing. The two of us sat for almost two hours together – neither praying nor singing hymns nor reading scripture – but just “churching and communing.”

I arrived just a bit early and found a woman getting out of her car in front of the church. It took time for introductions as we settled into one of a dozen pews. Somewhere in the course of our conversation, the churchwoman told me the story of her nickname and other key points in her life. I wish I had had a tape recorder with me. 

Squirrel created her own nickname for reasons too involved beyond saying that: Squirrel didn’t like her given name – which was made famous in movies decades ago – and chose a new one based on some personal habits. Squirrel had many stories to tell – details are forgotten or avoided here. The middle-aged woman had grown up in a distant state, spent time in the military, and somehow landed in tiny Winnett a few years back.

Namesake from birth - in a famous movie series

Church and the Bible were important to her as she had become the Sunday assistant for Pastor Matthew who was on the way to Great Falls to attend to family business. At one point when she was especially attentive to the Bible, another pastor had challenged Squirrel to confront a key issue for her in the context of the scripture. She then went to work on the issue and changed her life dramatically. Ask her for details. 

The Bible was still important to her. But no more so than the Book of Revelation which was of keen interest. While I missed out on particulars, Squirrel seemed prepared to brave the still relatively undiscovered territory of St. John’s Apocalypse with her own involved interpretations.

Squirrel and I covered quite unusual territory on that Sunday service which I will not forget. It may go down as one of my favorite churching moments.

There have been others. Let me share a few. Just walking the roads, often without cars or houses in sight, can be humbling moments thanks to Nature, which Goethe called “The Garment of God.” 

Sleeping under a huge old tree, which may have been growing since George Washington appeared at Valley Forge, is another time to ponder in awe, wonder and praise.

Sensing the elements of Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind can take one’s breath away.

So, there are many ways to Church on the road without entering a man-made building.

Movie Stars in Montana

Who would have guessed!

I began my 6th Walk Across America on June 10. I had no idea what or whom I would encounter on the journey which was intended to cover thousands of miles. Nor did I have any hints as to how rugged the weather would be along the way.

I have covered almost 5000 miles altogether on my previous jaunts. This one was planned to be longer than all those travels put together. But … “Life happens, while we make plans.” This brief walk – which may become chapter one of a longer version –became harder and harsher weather-wise than any of the previous ones. It also became quite unusual for the extraordinary people I encountered in a relative few days. 

Before I walked out the door, my neighbor Walt Scotson prayed over me and my flag-waving venture. But on the road things were different. Immediately, I walked a few miles up the hill on Highway 191 – not a problem by itself, but the wind was blowing and blowing. I had to furl my flag rather than fight it and the wind at the same time. Before long, I dealt not just with wind but also rain and relative cold – the nights felt more like early spring than almost summer. 

Along the way, I encountered all sorts of folks who stopped to visit for one reason or another. Two sets of young Air Force Security Policemen – Smith and Milone, Lyles and Snovel - stopped on different days to say “Hello” and take photos with me and the flag. These fellows keep track of some of the 150 missile silos spread around Montana.

One day, Layton Kelly from Circle who was on the road from Helena learning to be a Combination Inspector stopped for a friendly visit on the side of the road. The same day, Fergus County Deputy Curry checked on me as I rested next to the highway in the borrow pit. 

There were several more that I met along the way – most notably the Carlson brothers on the edge of Lewistown. I “camped” one night in veterinarian Greg Carlson’s huge barn to avoid the chilling rain. Then, the Hobbs in the middle of the road. Nicole and Dirk were on their way from Indiana to visit family in Washington state. They stopped to talk about my walk and flag, and Dirk’s work for the Naval Weapons Station in Crane – third largest naval base in the world in the middle of Indiana. Before we parted ways, photos were taken and Nicole prayed for the benefit of the Walk. 

Thereafter, I remarked about her preaching potential. Nicole responded by saying, “Oh, I only preach to him.”

Of totally unexpected and keen interest was a meeting which occurred as I turned off the main highway toward Grass Range. At that moment, a woman pulled up to the stop sign in a Jeep and yelled out to me. I crossed the quiet road. Then, we introduced ourselves and talked for a few minutes. The driver told me she was – believe it or not – Marilyn Monroe. Interestingly, she admitted to living at the Ayers Hutterite Colony back down the road a few miles.

Surprisingly, I saw Marilyn again a couple days later. You see, I attended a Bible study group at the Christian Community Fellowship led by the pastor Bill Plouffe. Nine of us sat around a couple large tables and commented on the material presented in a book that the members had in hand. After the pastor said a closing prayer, I joined Jim and Kathie and Sam for a visit to Marilyn at the Ayers Colony.

Marilyn Monroe, aka Marilyn Stahl, is an extraordinary woman. She must have set the leaders of the colony back on their feet more than a few times. Marilyn certainly caused this outsider to wonder as she is a single woman in her 70s, never married, has her own home and drives a car – which belongs to her good friend, Sam Holmes, who is a retired Pennsylvania railroad man. All those peculiarities distinguish her from other Hutterite women. 

The group chatted and laughed back and forth for about an hour before Marilyn bid us goodbye and we returned to Grass Range. The current day Marilyn Monroe is something of a marvel – Hutterite or otherwise. But, there was another “star” yet to be met down the road.

In the meantime, I spent a few days in Grass Range getting to know a variety of people – a councilwoman, an auto mechanic, the new owners of the Little Montana Campground, pastor Plouffe, and 90-year-old George Dengel who acts as the Master at the Captain Scott Masonic Lodge. George might be due a story of his own, but …

I ventured on to Winnett and covered about 25 miles in one good push. Arriving after dark, I rolled my sleeping bag out next to a vacant building some time after midnight. In close proximity was a handsome structure which turned out to be the Old 55 which had been moved a couple blocks to open the space where the massive new Petroleum County Community Center was constructed in 2023.

Surveying the territory, I was pleased to find a coffee shop inside the Old 55 – now located at 107. I quickly determined to drop in for some hot tea in the morning. And so I did. Delighted I was to meet the owner of the recently opened Punchy Paint Coffee Shop. “Paint” was a perfect name for the imaginatively decorated interior. It was a treat just to sit and take in all the colors as well as the many horses depicted on the walls.

Then too, I kept turning to read a sign running at the top of one wall. It said, “Fueling Faith, Community, Creativity, and Community.” Katie Lund, the proprietor, provided that and much more – most especially Kindness to this traveler and surely many others who cross her path. That first morning in Winnett, Katie served me mint tea – and tried to give me a cinnamon roll to boot. I gladly ate it, but insisted on paying for it despite her intended kind gift. 

In the midst of our first conversation, I had an AHA and had to say, “You look like – you could be Julia Roberts.” She smiled and laughed, then said, “I have heard that before.” So in a few days on the trail in rural Montana, I had met Marilyn Monroe and Julia Roberts. What a deal!!!

Of further keen interest, I got to meet and spend time with Katie’s aka Julia Roberts’s husband who is quite fittingly named J.R. J.R. is a rancher whose full name is Justin Ronald. When my time in Winnett was up, J.R. gave me a ride back to Harlowton. He wouldn’t even let me pay for the gas.

Ah, I shan’t forget one more “star.” Actually, I think of her as an angel. Radiant and generous, thoughtful and busy. Heidi Hanson does not have a Hollywood name or look-alike. But, she did remind me a little of the Heidi in the children’s novel by the Swiss writer Johanna Spyri written in 1880. Heidi Hanson has seven of her own children to tend even while she works many hours a week at several quite physical jobs. Heidi added another dimension to my stay through her several gifts, glowing face, and shining spirit.

Who knows what celebrity or angel may be around the next corner!

I close by saying that Winnett might well change its name to Kindness, Montana.