Back in January, I was able to present the story of Shawnee Moon. She was the 50-year-old Cody woman aspiring to solo-walk from Ocean City, N.J., to Ocean City, Wash., after miraculously recovering from an unknown condition that had left her unable to walk without assistance for almost two decades of her life.

Based on feedback received from that story, I thought an update of sorts might be in order. After spending much of the month of March with family, Moon made good on her word, flew to New Jersey and, on April Fool’s day, walked into the Atlantic Ocean before turning around to begin a westward trek that, if completed, will take her more than 3,000 miles across this nation.

She’s been on the road for just over a week and her blog, Moon Walks USA, has received regular updates of her tales from the road. The early stories include Moon’s battles with the elements, blisters and more than a couple encounters with law enforcement — evidently a solo cross-country hiker pushing a stroller of belongings isn’t a common occurance along the East Coast. Suffice to say, if the first week is any indication, Moon is in for a bigger adventure than she ever could have imagined.

Those wanting to read all her latest tales from the trail and offer a message or two of support along the way can find Moon’s blog at http://moonwalksusa.wordpress.com. Be aware, however, that Moon plans to write a book about her adventure after safely arriving to the West Coast, so you might be catching a spoiler or two in the process of keeping up with her journey.

If all you’re interested in are her whereabouts in the country and her progress in advancing from Point A to Point B, her daughter has set up a website with the appropriate, albeit slightly family un-friendly, title “Where the f*** is my mother?” which provides a map of the United States with Moon’s approximate GPS coordinates and location overlaid. A link to that site is available on the Moon Walks USA blog (scroll all the way to the bottom to find it).

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Closer to home, the spring sports season has hit stride already and, thus far, Mother Nature has absolutely spoiled the teams with good weather. Any time the sports editor can wander into the office sporting a mild sunburn in early April, that’s a welcome event (if for no other reason than April sunburns typically hurt far less than the years where I’m forced to wait until June to bake myself).

This weekend should provide Panther fans with the opportunity to see the soccer and track teams in action, as well as possibly get a feel for just how speedy that new track surface at Powell High School might be for runners.

Soccer fans especially should head out. While the season might seem to still be in its early stages, there are only three home games remaining, and two of those are this Friday and Saturday.

Saturday’s varsity games will take place at Northwest College’s Trapper West field due to the Panthers also hosting a track invitational that day. The junior varsity games will be on the high school practice field as usual.