Transcontinental backpackers reach Pacific Ocean
A New Hampshire couple, who spent a night last September at the Roy Houdyshell homestead at 250th and U.S.-56/77, have reached their goal of crossing the United States on foot. They followed the American Discovery Trail, the nation's first coast-to-coast recreational trail.
According to an Associated Press story, Peter and Joyce Cottrell of Whitefield, N.H., began their journey in March 2002 at the Atlantic Ocean in Delaware and ended it Aug. 19 at the Pacific Ocean near San Francisco.
The article stated the couple quit their Wal-Mart jobs to undertake the journey. They wintered in Colorado and worked in Wal-Mart stores there until continuing on to the West coast in February. They were the first to walk the entire trail. Both are in their 50s.
A local story about the couple's stay at the Houdyshells was published in the Sept. 18, 2002, edition of the Marion County Record.
More can be learned about the American Discovery Trail, its route through Kansas, and the Cottrell's experience at www.discoverytrail.org.
