Man makes Rawlins a stop on his cross-country journey

RAWLINS, Wyo. (AP) - A stranger showed up in the small Wyoming city of Rawlins.

William Chapman arrived in town Thursday morning, seven months after leaving Bellingham, Washington, on foot.

Chapman told the Rawlins Times (https://bit.ly/1A6lJLW) that he left on his 50th birthday last Oct. 1 to “do a Forrest Gump” after working 25 years without a vacation.

“I just needed a vacation,” Chapman said.

The trip has taken him to California, Texas and the northern tip of Maine.

“My mom says I’m nine kinds of a fool,” Chapman said. “She might be right.”

Chapman said he has had many encounters with people, from highway patrol officers to families on vacation.

In Texas, a hearse driver paid him $20 to help bring a body to a funeral home.

Chapman said his favorite encounter took place in Colorado.

“There was a historic caboose down by the river,” he said. “Some kids were taking a visit for school and the tour guide gestured to me and said, ’and here’s our local hobo.’”

He said the kids asked him a “a bunch of questions” and he “just got a kick out of it.”

“The guy apologized later for pointing me out, but I enjoyed it,” Chapman said.

He’s pulled weeds and washed windows and dishes in exchange for food and money, sleeping in motels or camping on public land.

Although in Rawlins, Chapman was considering a culvert because he had trouble finding a place to stay.

Chapman said many people tell them they wish they could travel the country like he does.

“I tell them all the same thing,” he said. “Close out your bills. Close out your house. And just go.”

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Information from: Rawlins (Wyo.) Daily Times, https://www.rawlinstimes.com