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Doug Goes on a Walk, Opelika, AL (2026)

04/24/2018

253 more miles in the bag! From Phenix City to Meridian, thanks to nice weather and even nicer people, I was able to cross Alabama with relative ease. I wrapped up my trip heading a few miles beyond the Mississippi state line, where I'll be catching a bus home.

While these walks have had their fair share of tough spots, the upside of meeting interesting people, seeing the sights, and exploring this country by foot has far outweighed them!

Thank you so much for all the support along the way. We will see when the calendar lines up to cross Mississippi, but hopefully sooner rather than later!

Until then, keep your minds and hearts open to the world around you; you never know when some strange dude with an orange backpack might walk on through!

04/22/2018

Belated update, but the night I was planning to stay in Cuba became the night I officially crossed Alabama, albeit not entirely on foot!

After putting up my tent in Cuba's town park, a couple of locals became uneasy with the idea of me sleeping there and ended up calling a couple of Sumter County's finest! After a quick conversation, both officers understood I posed no threat beyond needing somewhere to camp.

They ended up driving me west on Highway 80. When we reached the state line, they let me out of the car so I could take a quick picture. Honestly, with a backstory like this, I like it better than if I had crossed the line on foot!

We found a spot and I ended up staying in Toomsuba, Mississippi, just a short 13 mile walk to my final destination: Meridian!

04/22/2018

Cuba! The Front Door of Alabama or, in my case, the back door if you're walking from Phenix City. Just miles from the Mississippi state line, Cuba marked my final night in Alabama...sort of.

As I got closer to town, I met a man on a bike named Dan. He has been biking across the US along almost the exact opposite route as me! He bikes a bit during the day and then heads back to his truck to drive ahead so he doesn't need to carry along his gear. He offered me a ride to Meridian, but I wanted that moment of crossing out of Alabama on foot. I ended up passing him a few more times after that!

I originally wanted to stay at the Baptist Church in town, but couldn't reach anyone by phone. While I was sitting there, Roy (pictured!) pulled up. I asked if he had the reverend's number, which he did. So he called and asked but I got a no citing liabilities. Oh well! Roy called someone else in town who suggested the fair ground/community park. Works for me! Roy dropped me off there and came back a while later asking if I wanted to grab some Arby's. Obviously I did so we headed out and grabbed a bit together.

Roy was in the Navy from 1976 to 1997. I asked him about the fall of the Soviet Union and what it was like being at sea. He was nervous at the time. It felt like one day they were there and the next day they weren't. But, more to the point, he was worried about what would happen to the Soviet nuclear arsenal.

He teaches logistics at a nearby navy academy where pilots earn their wings. He said the spot was chosen in the middle of nowhere so if anything goes wrong, planes are just crash landing into fields or trees. Makes sense!

My day in Cuba was par the course, but my stay there warrants two posts after what happened that night. More to come on that, but thanks so much for the thoughts and support as I reach the end of this 230 mile trek! @ Cuba, Alabama

04/21/2018

After my stay in Demopolis, I set out for Bellamy - a small, unincorporated town whose residents worked mostly at the nearby paper mill. I had two goals for this leg: make it to town before sundown and, more importantly, figure out why there were so many rooster allusions in the area.

Happy to say I accomplished both!

The walk itself was a pretty holly stretch of about 19 miles. I worked in breaks alongside the road here and there, but there weren't any gas stations, which meant I had to be pretty stingy with the water. That is, until a stranger rolled up and handed me a bag with a bottle of water and two (warm) Dr. Peppers!

Highlights of this stretch include this reflecting pond pictured first and, drumroll, discovering why all the roosters! A bit is included on that sign, but I passed over a huge bridge spanning the Tombigbee River known as 'The Rooster Bridge.' This is the second of such bridges, the first of which was originally located downstream.

The bridge itself has a pretty cool history! The Dixie Overland Highway, now US Highway 80 (my main route on these walks), extended from the Atlantic in Tybee Island, GA to the Pacific in San Diego. Apparently, this point crossing the Tombigbee River was the final piece to connecting the coast-to-coast route! A local man helped fund the construction of the bridge by holding an auction of roosters donated by famous personalities. Over 600 roosters (and one hen, donated by Helen Keller) were auctioned including one donated by President Wilson, which sold for over $44,000. Combined with state and federal funds, the bridge was completed in 1925!

And good thing it was or else making it to Bellamy would have been much more difficult. I stayed the night behind the one shop along the highway. The next morning I sat inside with the shop's owner, Donna, who treated me to a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich! We had a good conversation about how drug abuse is and has been hurting small towns like Bellamy for quite some time. It's a tough topic, but she was just pleased that people were finally talking about it as a real issue.

The next town would be my penultimate: Cuba, Alabama! More to come on those stories! @ Bellamy, Alabama

04/21/2018

I'm two days removed from my stay in Demopolis, but it was a good one!

A fellow named Bruce (not pictured!) caught me at the McDonalds in town and we chatted for a bit. His family donated some land outside of town in an area known as Freetown. After emancipation, many freed slaves lived in the area, but population decreased during the Great Migration in the 20th century.

I stayed the night at St. Leo's, the local Catholic church. Father Larry (pictured!) told me the only catch was that I had to be up and packed before adoration at 7am. Done and done! I joined them at 7:30am for the rosary and stuck around for service at 8am. Afterwards, an older couple came up to ask where I was travelling. When I explained I was walking across Alabama they gave me $10 and told me they would say an extra prayer!

Afterwards, Father invited me to join him and some of the others in the gathering hall for coffee. In addition to Father, we were joined by Sam - a transplant from Mobile - and Oscar - an almost-94-year-old veteran from Demopolis!

Sam was only there for a bit since he had to get a haircut, but Oscar and I chatted about travelling. He was in Prague after WW2 ended when the lines were being drawn for the Cold War. He said the situation was already tense and made more so whenever Soviet troops would fire shots over their camps. Apart from the military, he has travelled the globe, hiking around the US with his son through Boy Scouts and flying from country to country on his own adventures. When I mentioned I was from SD, he said he wanted to visit the Black Hills so keep your eyes peeled!

Father asked about me and my plans. When I mentioned law school, he - being a good Catholic - told me I needed to apply to Notre Dame! All in all, though, he implored me to finish education sooner rather than later.

One good conversation (and about four cups of coffee later) I set out from Demopolis towards Bellamy. On my way out of town, I passed this large rooster along the main road. It means something, I am sure, but give me a second to figure out exactly what! @ Demopolis, Alabama

04/20/2018

Woke up yesterday morning to see my cell service had lapsed. Could've sworn I signed up for auto-renew! Whatever the reason, I had to dart around downtown Demopolis looking for free wifi so I could get things sorted out. Customer service wasn't in until 8am!

No free wifi anywhere in town! But all's well (as you can tell from this post). The time was in Eastern, not central so we were able to sort things out.

And I got to see a lot of historic downtown Demopolis in record time!

04/19/2018

Making really good time this leg that is in no small part to the beautiful weather! But I've also been working in plenty of history stops on this trip.

As I mentioned earlier, the stretch of US80 between Montomgery and Auburn is the route taken by marchers to the steps of the capitol to win the Voting Rights Act during the Civil Rights Movement. Needless to say, there are a lot of things to see along the way!

The first picture here is from the Lowndes County Interpretative Center. It's a rest area along the route that also serves as the museum for the historic trail. It was a nice, self-guided exhibit that did a great job focusing on stories of those individuals who gathered together to fight for voting rights. Did you know that before the Voting Rights Act, despite making up a majority of the county's population, not a single African-American voter was registered in Lowndes County? The literacy tests used to keep them unregistered often relied on difficult or even arbitrary questions like: how many bubbles are in a bar of soap?

The second picture is of US80 looking west. Marchers would have been heading towards the camera on their way to Montgomery. Another site along the road was the memorial to Viola Liuzzo pictured third. She was a white marcher who came down from Michigan to help. After the march, she was shuttling people between Selma and Montgomery when a car of four Klansmen spotted her, chased her down the highway, and ultimately murdered her along US80. The memorial, though, was very nice and placed so that it is very visible from the road for travelers to visit.

As I got closer to Selma, I met Tim, who's known around town as Drano! The last picture is of us together at his mom's house in Selmont. He took me on a history tour of Selma, showing me monuments, memorials, and - pictured fourth - the Edmund Pettus Bridge where Bloody Sunday took place. Bringing history into the present, during those events, the town was led by Mayor Smitherman; even after the Voting Rights Act, Smitherman was elected for over 30 years. Tim actually worked on his final campaign in 2000!

Later on, I stayed the night outside of Selma after meeting with Father Richard at a community meal downtown. In conjunction with the Catholic church in Selma, the Edmundite Ministries provides over 1,000 meals - lunches and dinners - each day. Very humid night that night, though.

Glad to have things warming up as I sprint towards the finish line! Tonight I'll be in Bellamy and tomorrow in Cuba, the last town before the Mississippi border!

04/18/2018

Stayed last night in the town park at Lowndesboro. On my way from Montgomery, I was stopped at a gas station by Carla, her mom Betty, and granddaughter Aliyah. They gave me a ride the final leg into town and shared the following story:

Lowndesboro is full of old pre-Civil War manors. The town sits on top of a hill where planters built homes. According to my tour guides, when General Sherman approached with Union troops, the town doctor met him at the limits and lied, saying they had a typhoid outbreak and the whole town was quarantined.

I couldn't verify that story and it sounds like, actually, Union troops did occupy the town, but the homes were spared, which made for some historical sightseeing.

But before I got to sightseeing, I stopped by the Highway 80 Cafe where Mary and Willa Mae (pictured) treated me to a lunch special of roast turkey, collard greens, baked beans, cornbread, and peach cobbler. They even gave me a coffee for the road!

Next I headed into town to try to find a place to stay. After walking and snapping some pictures of the houses and churches, I sat down in their town park. Linda and Richard came by with their dog rose and explained that I shouldn't have any trouble staying in the park and that, if I did, I was to say take it up with Linda and Richard!

Later on, Paul, who lives next to the park, came by with his dog, Chase. He explained that he had grown up in town in the house where his son lives now. His grandparents had lived across from the park and now he loves next door in his aunt's old home. During the 1900s, many people led cattle operations, but now people mostly commute to Montomgery or Selma.

Finally, Jay came by with his dog. We chatted and he told me the mayor lived across the street and is a candidate for Commissioner of Ag in Alabama this year!

Sleeping in the park was a-ok. Coyotes tapped for a bit, but not too long. I woke up the next morning and saw Paul again. As he was leaving for work, he came over and gave me another cap!

Then I took off after breakfast at the restaurant. Down US80 towards Selma, where I'll be staying tonight!

04/16/2018

I spent an extra day to history-nerd out in Montgomery a bit. I went downtown to see the state capitol and several Civil Rights monuments, but what struck me most was how much history took place in such a small area, illustrates by these last four pictures.

The first is of the Alabama State Capitol. The second is looking west from its steps. The third is looking east from just two blocks away. And the fourth is a picture if the Dexter Ave Baptist Church, a UNESCO World Heritage Site nominee. The fifth picture was a few blocks away at the Greyhound Station museum marking the site of the riot and assault of the Freedom Riders.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was pastor and had an office in the Dexter Ave church, where he organized the 1955 Montomgery Bus Boycott. Less than ten years later, the Freedom March from Selma to Montgomery passed right by the church on its way to the Capitol steps, an event that paved the way for the Voting Rights Act. Looking out from the Capitol shows you what King would have seen delivering a speech there. But it also has a deeper past as to why King had to speak there in the first place. Those steps in front of the Capitol were also the spot where Jefferson Davis was inaugurated as President of the Confederate States.

Today I start my leg on US 80 between Montgomery and Selma, the reverse course of the marches after Bloody Sunday, which led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act. Crazy how much history you can cram into such a concentrated space! @ Montgomery, Alabama

04/16/2018

After leaving Auburn, I made my way through the national forest to Tuskegee. Not a whole lot along the road, but I did meet a woman named Kristi at the Floral Park Motel who told me about the town and asked to keep in touch as I went farther along.

Once I got to town, I spent some time looking around. Pictured here is the Macon County Courthouse, marking a location where quite a few civil rights cases came to pass, as noted on the accompanying sign. A few people came up to say hi and one man, George, gave me $5 to go get some Church's chicken - gladly! I ate and then walked through Tuskegee University's campus, founded by Booker T Washington and the only to be listed as a National Historic Place in the US. I took some good pictures, but they didn't save to my phone! It was a very beautiful campus.

I stayed the night in town and then set off towards Montomgery. A man named Paul met me on my way out of town and offered me some mixed nuts in exchange for a neat story from my walk, which I provided! The highway out of town was fairly uneventful until I got closer to Shorter where a group of supporters were hosting a BBQ party for the election of a probate judge in the area. As I got closer to the Interstate, David (pictured in his truck), offered to give me a lift since there were some pretty serious thunderstorms coming. Sounds good to me! Along the way to town, I asked how to pronounce Mt. Meigs, through which we were passing. Was it with a long e or i? He said neither: it's pronounced 'Megs!' I told him about the Pierre vs. Pier pronunciation in South Dakota as another example of how locals often give something a pronunciation that befuddles outsiders! As we were leaving, he asked for my name so he could pray for me on my trip. A very nice man!

He dropped me off at the Shoppes at Eastchase, a newer spot in the city developed for commercial use, which acted as the catalyst for bringing national retailers to town in the early 2000s. Rather than placing everything into a mall, Eastchase is an open-air center, which meant tons of traffic, woo!

I waited out the storms indoors and the spent a day nerding out downtown on Sunday. More on that later today! @ Tuskegee, Alabama

04/14/2018

Busy couple days of walking!

After leaving Columbus, I made my through Phenix City to Salem, where I arrived after dark. I stayed by the volunteer fire department that night!

Kept on until I hit Opelika. After crossing over the interstate, I bumped into Cici and her husband (whose name I forgot!). They also had backpacks and asked for directions to Talladega. Apparently, they were travellers on their way to the Rainbow Festival at the national park there this month. They'd been going since Florida, where the first festival of the year was held and they've been following it since! We walked in the same direction until they split to head north.

I kept heading to Auburn, which is connected to Opelika. On my way, I passed by a bar and grille, Derailed. A group out front called me over asking about my trip. We chatted for a bit and they even bought me a complimentary PBR! One of the group, Martin, shared some info about Tuskegee, where I told him I was staying the next day. I stayed overnight in Auburn, but not before checking out campus!

Today was a HOT day (got into the 80s!). I kept on and reached Tuskegee where I'm staying near the Catholic church tonight. More info to come! @ Opelika, Alabama

04/12/2018

Back at it! I started walking again yesterday, picking up where I left off in Columbus, Georgia. This time, I'll be walking across Alabama.

These first couple of days have been slow-going. Greyhound delays chopped off half of my first day. I had to pick up some supplies I neglected to consider. For example, there is a winter storm coming in South Dakota so the last thing on my mind was mosquitos. But here they are! After grabbing those extra supplies I made my way across the Chattahoochee into Phenix City, Alabama. I passed through Smiths Station before arriving in Salem.

It was after dark by the time I got to town, so I just put up my tent near the volunteer fire department. Not the quietest night! 150 feet in one direction was the very busy US Highway 280, 50 feet in the other direction was a railroad track! But I slept soundly and set off this morning for Auburn. I'm hoping to get into town with enough sunlight to poke around campus.

I'm looking for places to stay tonight. One church has given me tacit permission so long as I'm out by 7am. But, hey, if you know of anybody down at Auburn, put us in touch!

Thanks for keeping up with this and for the support! Gotta break myself back in to the process, but hopefully that will come sooner rather than later!

Doug Goes on a Walk

04/24/2018

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