The PowWow Grounds were quiet when the camp awoke today.... all of the Gourd Dancers were gone... the Drum was silent... but not all of Tahlequah was finished Walking with the Sacred Hoop of 100 Eagle Feathers !! As the Walkers were packing away the tents and supplies, people from the Community began arriving. There were familar faces.... sisters and relatives of John White Shirt, People who had brought us food and walked with us or came to the Conference. There were also some new young faces. Runners... from the nearby Sequoyah High School.

There was also another very pleasant surprise. Rhonda Cochran had arranged for a van to assist us with the tents and supplies that we carry for our camp sites. Snookins Honena returned home to Idaho during the time we have been in Tahlequah... so we were really in need of the assistance they offered.

After the vehicles were packed and ready.... the Sacred Hoop and the silhouette of Brandy Jo were smudged and then the People from the Community of Tahlequah walked from the PowWow Grounds and into the City. When the Walk was over... it was difficult to leave. This has been a tremendous time of sharing with this Community... we have all learned much from the Speakers at the Conference... from the Dancers at the Wellbriety Pow-Wow... and from one another. When the feelings are strong between people... and the committment to a cause unifies them... one of the most difficult things to do is to Walk Away.

We hugged... we shook hands... we exchanged parting words and parting smiles and we left for our next destination.... but out of the rear view mirror you could see the People... still huddled there... still waving in our direction. If I close my eyes now... I can still see the People of the Cherokee Nation and the Tahlequah Community. So, we didn't say 'good-bye'... we said 'see you later'.

We were heading to a camp site arranged for us by Rhonda Cochran and the people she worked with on our travels thru Oklahoma and the Conference in Tahlequah. Highway 64 is our chosen route to Sallisaw today. It's a good road to walk... room on each side for both walker and relay driver except for a section that weaves thru some hills toward the south. We met for lunch at the Red Bird Smith Health Center in Sallisaw... they were out in front of the building 'waving us in '.... so it was easy to find. They welcomed us inside and we took all of our 'lunch fixings' inside and had a really nice meal in the Conference Room. Thank you for the hospitality and support !!!

We camped tonight at the Brush Creek State Park. The site reserved and paid for as a 'donation'... was right on the edge of a beautiful lake. We set up the tents and the 'camp kitchen'. And then set about the task of what to have for dinner.

Have you ever made 'rock soup'? My Grandmother told me the story about a poor woman who had nothing to make soup with... nothing. She needed to feed her family and some visitors.. but she had nothing in her cabinets to cook. She put on a pot of water over a fire in the yard... and she selected a rock from her garden... she washed the rock really well and she put it in the pot. One of her visitors said "we have a couple of potatoes for that soup"... "good - bring them and I will put it in the rock soup".... said the old woman. Soon a neighbor strolled over to see what was going on. "I have some carrots" said the neighbor. "Good - bring them for the rock soup" said the old woman. And so it went.. a relative from down the road stopped by and offered a chicken.... another neighbor offered some corn... and the old woman would thank them and add their offering into the pot of rock soup. By the end of the evening all the visitors and neighbors agreed that was the 'best soup' they had ever tasted. And the old woman smiled and when the people all left... she removed the rock... washed it again... and placed it back in her garden. As she set down the rock she smiled and gave thanks to Creator for the 'recipe' He gave her years ago... for 'rock soup'.

As I was telling this story to Mouse... she was preparing to cook soup... and we were going thru our supplies to see what we had on hand to put into the pot. As we were discussing this... Darren Stites came by our camp and brought to us some meat ... we put it in the soup. Some visitors gave us some corn and an onion... we had a can of vegetables and some potatoes. I'm not kidding.... that was the best pot of soup I have eaten in years. Everyone in the camp.. all the walkers .. and our visitors all agreed that this pot of soup was exceptionally good. During the evening people kept returning to that pot... getting one more cup.. one more little bowl. As I was turning in for the evening... around midnight... I watched as one more person dipped a cup of soup from that pot.

The story of Rock Soup ... the 'recipe' that was given to the old woman in the story told to me by my Grandmother... it's not just about soup. It's also about how much we have when we put our contributions together. When we unite for a purpose... when we put all of our 'gifts' together... we can have a powerful impact. We can have a Wellbriety Movement. When people add their donations of time, energy, money, and prayers to this Journey... we thank them... because without their contribution... we would not be able to make this Journey. We are never alone and always taken care of by the Blessings of Creator thru the People that are sent to add their contributions to this Movement. That's the lesson of "Rock Soup".