MAY 25TH 2010 - JUNE 3RD 2010 DAYS TWENTY THREE thru THIRTY TWO

I apologize that these blogs will be condensed into one. This is going to be a long one, so bear with me. I wish I could blog every night but it is not always possible. I am going off memory, so this might jump around a bit. With that said, here we go. Day 23 started early with me entering into the hardest legs of the journey to date. The reason for the difficulty is because it was a three day leg of pure desert, with no water sources and no shade and no relief. I had to carry five times as much water, which made the load extremely heavy. I took a trail to the railroad tracks and skirted the tracks to cut down on the road distance. traveling through the heat, I found the only shade possible, and it was located under the railroad tracks where they cross over the washes. They are very short, so I had to climb in on my hands and knees and drag my equipment in behind me. You can imagine that with the heat and no shade anywhere else, it was a little crowded under there. I just made a deal with the other occupants that if they would stay on their side, I would stay on mine. Kind of risky, but worth the risk to me in my present situation. I ended up down on the road that I was trying to avoid, and decided to call my buddy Leo for water resupply. Leo and his wife and kids drove out to my location from Ft. Irwin. We decided to do an old military trick that we had both executed countless times over the years. Leo drove his truck out in front of me and tactically placed caches at 10 and 15 miles. He would leave me a reference point on the ground with a distance and direction to where he buried the water. Leo and his wife and kids were lifesavers for me that day.

I ended up setting up camp in at the base of the Black Buttes in the middle of nowhere. I was happy to get in the tent and catch some rack. I was glad to not have to listen the trains roll over the top of me every 10 minutes. It was quiet and peaceful and a beautiful night. The next day began with me having to make a decision, carry all that weight an extra 30 some odd miles, OR, try to get a ride over the end of the pass that was walled in by mountains with no other way through. I had talked to a couple of my buddies and they told me that I needed to try for the ride, I agreed that they were probably right and decided to stand by the isolated and rarely used off ramp. I was literally in tears that I had to do this, not to mention, embarrassed beyond belief. I ended up standing there for five hours of people driving by acting like I wasn't even there. Its amazing to me that no one would even stop to ask if I was alright. This was in the middle of a very hot day so you would think that someone would stop. I finally saw a truck with a Marines front license plate and did the unthinkable. I ask my Army brothers to forgive me before anything else is written. Okay, I looked at the Marine driving the truck and he looked at me, as we established eye contact, I mouthed the words, "Semper Fi" to him and he immediately pulled over. I told him the truth about me not being a Marine and that I was an Army guy but I appreciated the lift just the same. He took me to recover the rest of the caches and drove me over the remaining portion of the pass. I had him drop me off on the other side and continued on. I ended up going to a rest area off of the freeway, where and was once again surprised by the kindness of some people. I was met by a group of three people who were part of a program that looked after rest areas. They were very helpful to me by letting me charge my cell phone and by bringing me a bag of snacks to take with me. The supervisor was named Uylanda and her team consisted of Malakai and William. All three were very professional and were a big help to not only me, but to all the visitors of the rest area.

As I left there, day turned to night and I walked on the highway to a truck stop, gas station place. I went in and asked if they would care if I sent up a tent in the surrounding property that they owned. The man running it said it would be okay if I went out in the desert area of their property. I also met the owners son that night, he was busy helping out. His name is Johnny and his dad is named Slim. Johnny was very helpful by telling me where the parking lot ran out and the desert started. I went out, set up and got some sleep. The next day began with me getting packed up and moving out and along the way I ran into young Johnny again. Johnny is a very motivated and intelligent ten year old boy who lives in a house on the property. Johnny was very curious about what I was doing and where I was going, so I stopped and talked with him about it. He began with a series of question about my equipment and what each item did. I began to explain to him what everything did and gave him the opportunity to try all items out. He decided that he was coming with me and began to build his own rig and tie his equipment off to his dads fly fishing vest. He found a walking stick and was ready to go. His father explained to him that it was going to have to wait and that he would have to finish school first. We came to an agreement that I would move on solo but return to visit him on my way back. We spent five hours together talking and learning from each other. When it came time to go, Johnny broke my heart as his eyes welled up with tears and made me promise him that I would come back. That is a promise I will keep. By the way, I gave him one of my cards with my phone number before I left and within a 1/2 mile my phone was ringing and it was johnny calling to make sure I was okay. I continued on until darkness and set up for the night, but before I did, Slim and Johnny drove out to bring me dinner and help charge my phone. I appreciated their kindness and was glad to make two new friends. Their pictures will be posted up on the blog. The next day began early near an abandoned store that was probably built 50 years ago. I used the shade of the old porch to refit and repack.

It was a very neat day from start to finish. In the morning as I packed up, I met a group of visitors from Switzerland that were traveling our country in order to photograph trains. Later I met a wonderful couple from near Bullhead City. They were out for a drive and stopped to say hello. They gave me some local knowledge and even gave me a local map. We spoke for a while about numerous things, we had something in common, the military, he was a World War II Veteran. After speaking with them they drove off and I was still figuring how I was going to charge my phone. About 15 minutes later, they returned and offered me their "throw away" phone. I was hesitant but they insisted and I promised to return it in person because they invited me to visit their house when I arrived in Arizona. I was so glad to meet them and they really made my day. I had no time but do plan on visiting on my way back. I also was visited by a local in a golf cart who offered to take my phone and charge it. I accepted his offer and an hour later had two phones. I was also visited by Slims mom, sister and niece. We spoke for a while about Mackenzie and the Bible and church.

It was great meeting them and their help was appreciated beyond anything I could write. After making my way through Needles, I crossed the Colorado River and entered Arizona. It was quite a moment. I stopped at the sign that said welcome to Arizona and took numerous pictures of Kenzies picture and Froggy and the stick and condo. As I stood there basking in the moment with cars blowing past me for the long weekend at the river, a white van pulls up with the Mojave Indian Tribe seal on the door and the couple inside asked me if I wanted a ride. I replied that I didn't know what i was doing and that I was caught up in the moment. They told me to get in, so I did. We drove due north, which was fine by me because it wouldn't effect any of the journey east. They took me to a buffet on the reservation and I was introduced to many of their friends and ate my first real food in days. they were very kind and I will never forget them and look forward to seeing them again.

I ended up in Laughlin Nevada that night and Jeff came out to visit one last time. Buddha also brought his family out the next day and on his way, he picked up one of my best friends that I served with in Iraq. I was so happy to see him and that he would actually come all the way from Georgia to assist me through the desert in Arizona. He will drive a vehicle with water and supplies to allow me to move through faster. I am glad he is here. I wont go into detail about the rest of the evening. We hung out together and spent the holiday weekend as a group of vets reunited.

The next day we picked up another friend of mine who we served with in Iraq, Bryan. Bryan and Kevin and I were inseparable in Germany and picked up where we last left off. Nothing has changed and we all said that it was like we had only been apart for a day. Its amazing that we are all together again and I am honored to have them here for a day or two weeks or whatever it may be. We left the next day and ended up in mountains for the night and we made a fire and set up our tents, ate and talked about all the things we used to do, it was perfect. The next day, which was today, we left again, very early to avoid some of the heat we have been experiencing (107 degrees) but only 102 today. We were making serious progress when we ran across a guy named Tobiah who is also walking across the country. He is dressed as Jesus and carrying a giant cross with wheels on his back. We talked with him for a while and I even walked with him for a while. He is a great person and I wish him the best of luck on his journey. Thank you Mackenzie for bringing all of us back together and for introducing me to all of the new friends we make along the way. I will post all the pictures soon. Thank you for being a part of days 23 through 32.

*Mackenzie loved Pugs, she wanted one but never had the chance to get one.

*Mackenzies favorite food that I made was something we called Meat a mac and the funny part is that Kevin taught me how to make it in Germany.

*Like her dad, Kenz didn't like tomatoes or onions on her food

*Mackenzies favorite band at the time she left us was Paramore. I like em too

*Mackenzie loved the water, she was a fish, like her dad. Once she got in the ocean , pool etc. it was impossible to get her out

*Mackenzies favorite class was Art but she also loved her French class. She planned to use it while studying in France

*When Kenz was a little girl, her favorite thing to eat was peas and carrots, I despised peas and still do

*Mackenzie could text under the table without seeing the phone. It was quite an expensive skill.

*When Mackenzie was little, she fell on the bars on the playground at school. Her foot slipped and she ended up landing on the bar very hard and it ended up slamming her groin area. When I picked her up and the nurse said she was okay. I asked her what happened and she said she had fallen in the splits and landing on the bar and that she had hurt her "jamina" it was sad but funny in the end

*When her dog was being put down, Mackenzie was the only one that would go in while they did it. She kept her hand on Roxie and when Roxie passed, she still had one eye open, watching over Mackenzie. Kenz then, reached over and closed her eye and kissed her and walked out. She was about 12 years old.


Lance's Daily Blog by Lance Frazee
In Loving Memory of Mackenzie Frazee

www.mackenziesmissingmiles.org