DAY 7
October 9
 
Texas John, a man who came to walk with us from California, met me a few miles into the walk and accompanied me until we finished in Orem.
 
“So, you live in Texas then?” I asked when I first met him on Sunday.
 
“No, I live in California. Why would they call me ‘Texas’ if I lived there?” he replied.
 
“Good point.”
 
Texas John is good company and we passed the time talking about music and politics. Soon we found ourselves at the destination for day 7. We planned to meet there the next morning and parted ways. This was his first time in Utah and so far we’d only walked through a vast desert of strip malls and Wal-Mart parking lots. I assured him that this was not an accurate view of our state. I did promise him that tomorrow would be more interesting. We’d be walking through the most conservative county of the most conservative state in the U.S. I was a little nervous about how we’d be received.
 
I stayed the night at a friend’s house. They fed me well, I tended to my feet and took a shower. Now, I’m dead tired and going to bed. Everyone tells me it’s going to be a hard day tomorrow. Somehow, I think it’s going to be OK. We’ll see.