The Walk West: A Walk Across America 2

by Peter Jenkins, Barbara Jenkins

Beginning in New Orleans, Peter Jenkins continues his walk across America--with his bride Barbara. Lavishly illustrated with 48 pages of full-color and black-and-white photos, here is the story of the journey that captured a nation's heart, now available for the first time in trade paperback.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Memoir, Adventure, Biography, Outdoors, American

350 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

Born July 8th, 1951 in Greenwich, Connecticut,

Peter is the eldest of the six children of Frederick and Mary Jenkins.

Graduated from Greenwich High School in 1969.

Attended Woodstock in summer of 1969.

Graduated from Alfred University in 1973 with a BFA, majoring in Sculptor/ Ceramics.
Began his Walk Across America on October 15, 1973 in Alfred, New York. It ended in mid-January of 1979 in Florence, Oregon.

When not traveling and exploring he lives on a farm in middle Tennessee . He is the proud father of six children, Aaron, Brooke, Rebekah, Jedidiah, Luke and Julianne and is married to the former Rita Jorgensen of Michigan .

Reviews

[Danm · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a shame that "A Walk Across America" and "The Walk West" don't get more attention. If these books had been written today, opposed to the 1970s, they would likely be much more popular. However, I'm glad they were written in the 1970s because the references take you back to that time. What really stood out most was how hospitable the people across America were to Peter and his wife. While this was the case everywhere, Peter mentioned that Texans (rural) were the most hospitable. Would that be the case today? I don't know. A lot of people think humanity is somewhat lost in America, but I'd like to think it's still out there.

This book goes well beyond walking and nice people. You really get to see the different ways many people live, from the bayou to the mountains of Colorado. And there were some dangerous scenes thrown in there as well. This must have been the journey of a lifetime, and Peter can truly say that he has lived -- opposed to have existed.

To give you an idea of how good the first book was, I searched every book store for the sequel (this book) and couldn't find it. Eventually, I found it in the local library system. And I usually don't use the library due to the lack of reading options.

I would highly recommend "A Walk Across America" and "The Walk West" to all readers. If you don't like them, I'll eat crow. Yes, giving out good recommendations is important to me. I want to remain a trusted source.

[Joyce Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Peter Jenkins is a bit of an arrogant twit. while the book was entertaining enough, the fact that he walked 100' in front of his wife halfway across the United States is a testament to his character.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 stars ...

Not nearly as interesting as the first one. 🥱

[Laura Meinhardt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Re-reading a book I read as a teenager. Interesting, but now that I am adult I kept thinking "Why aren't they more prepared? Why are the walking through the hottest part of the summer, and then through a snowstorm?"

[Kale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting to read a book from a time period just before I was born. I particularly enjoyed the stories of the people they met who were born around 1900. It was in a way, a great "real" history lesson of the West for me. The primary author often got bogged down on mundane things, but as a person who also lived in a tent for long periods of time, I can understand how that might happen. The book started slow, but the last quarter was pretty good.

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

He walks through blazing hot Texas to blizzard cold Oregon with his new wife Barbara Jenkins. I thought it was a must read for those who read his first book A Walk Across America. It was fascinating to read about all of the people he meets and about the nature he witnesses. He goes from New Orleans all the way up through Texas, Colorado, Utah, Idaho and lastly Oregon. Alot of things happen to Peter and Barbara especially something very exciting at the end (don't want to spoil it). If you never read his first book I recommend getting it. If you enjoyed his first book you will enjoy his second The Walk West: A Walk Across America 2.

[Nicpo · Rating 1 out of 5]

I actually couldn't get all the way through it. I'm so tired of listening to Peter be a total misogynist. I know this is from the 70's, but Peter is a total ass and treats his wife terribly.

[Lizzy Cunningham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Peter Jenkins second book where he includes his wife in on the writing. They walked for several years and this is their story. This book was faced paced when they were walking but slower paced when they stopped to get jobs. (Which they had to do multiple times before completing walking across America) I think reading this book now in 2026 hits different than it would’ve wanted originally came out. They did the majority of their walking in the late 60s early 70s when America was very different. Both his first and second book shows us a very unique insight on very small niche communities. We are now more connected in the world due to social media, but prior to social media a lot of what he discovered was based on experiences with real people. People in Texas Being drastically different than people in Idaho. His wife started out, absolutely dreading this walk, and by the very end was just as dedicated as Peter. The whole first half of the book is kind of on her dread of everything about this walk. Peter definitely has a more colorful way with words and is able to paint a picture. A VERY DRAMATIC picture and Barbara’s words are more plain and straight to the point.

[Chrystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this second and final book in the series, Peter Jenkins finishes the walk across America that he started in October 1973 in Alfred, New York. The second leg of his journey begins in New Orleans, where he meets his wife Barbara who joins him on the walk that ends in January 1979 in Florence, Oregon.

As in the first book, Peter focuses on the amazing, generous people he meets in the towns and bayous of the American South, and in the prairies and mountains of the West. These books are his love letter to America. I would recommend these to anyone who needs to be reminded that there are good people everywhere.

[Gina · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book isn't as good as the first installment. Peter's new wife Barbara is very annoying. All she does is complain about the walk- she knew what she was getting into when she married Peter, and quite frankly, I think that would be the coolest honeymoon ever. So if you can stand Barbara's nagging, you'll probably like this one.

[Eva Seyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely liked the first one better. It seemed this one rambled on interminably at times about cowboys, oil rigs, and cowboys. I did enjoy it though in spite of that.

I think my favourite aspect was the growth of both P and B as individuals. They were tough. They had to be to walk across the country. Amazing.

[Jeffrey Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have really enjoyed everything Peter Jenkins has written. I like the nonfiction travel genre and he tells the story very well.

[Mrs. Bacher · Rating 3 out of 5]

I lost my love for Peter Jenkins after the first book. This one just didn't capture me sadly!

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great follow up to "A Walk Across America" written by Peter Jenkins with his wife,Barbara, who he met while on the 1st section of his "A Walk Across America"

[Jim Kulhawy · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the follow up installment to "A Walk Across America", Peter Jenkins takes us with him for the conclusion of his journey across the United States. From the backwaters and bayous of Louisana and Mississippi, through the killer heat of Texas and New Mexico, up into the beautiful Rocky Mountains of Colorado and across Idaho and, finally, into the surf of Oregon, Jenkins shows us the beauty of the land and the people of this country.

Jenkins has a new companion for this portion of his journey, he married a young woman, Barbara Jo Pennell and she ater much sould searching, agreed to complete his journey with him. Along with Peter's discoveries and adventures, we get a look through Barbara's eyes as well and how this journey streched her limits, but eventually took hold of her as it did Peter.

While this is an excellent book, and a phoenominal story, of two people and their quest to get to know the people and the country as they work their way across it, I find it slightly less enchanting than the first volume. It has nothing to do with the story, the action or the people they meet. The writing is superb, again, but it's just not as "mystical" as the first part of the journey, from New York to New Orleans.

All in all, it is a MUST read if you have finished the first volume. For me, it's one of those "series" that I have come back to year after year and read over and over again. For me, it's timeless and something to treasure, no matter how many times I have read and the characters are as familiar as old freinds that you can never seem to get enough of. My ten year old read the first volume and is now starting on the second and loves every moment.

Truely, the circle is never broken...

[Andrea Elkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part 2 of Jenkins' walk across America includes a few sections written by his new wife, Barbara. His focus is primarily on the places and people he encounters along the way, and how the experience shapes his views of the world, but it's still very much a travel memoir and not an introspective bore. His "tramp" experience took place in the late 1970s, and I found myself often wondering how different such a journey might be today, four decades later. So the book was inspiring, which was doubtless his aim.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Peter sets out to continue his walk across the US, from New Orleans to Washington. His faithful travel companion is no longer Cooper the Half Malamute, but his wife, Barbara Jo. Unfortunately, adding a complex human relationship to the mix necessitates a shift in perspective; instead of emotive sensory meditations on the landscape and its inhabitants, the reader finds herself embroiled in the frustrating intricacies of the newlyweds' relationship. Still, the book is replete with fascinating characters and wonderful descriptions of the American west.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love books like this. Not only do you get a peek inside one person, you get to explore another time, place,and culture in a way that history textbooks will never match.
If you liked this book, I would recommend Diary of Two Motorcycle Hobos and Flight of Passage: A Memoir.

[Shelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy this one as well as the first but I'm glad I read it. A little more disjointed than the first and sometimes puerile. I guess I was expecting his insights to be more matured and prudent since he was supposedly wiser after this walk. I had to keep reminding myself that this was the late 70's so social views were very different. However, the people he met were fantastic and it was rewarding to read about them and their lifestyles.

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book as much as his first book, which chronicles his journey across America. I found the people that he meets along the way, his experiences, and the history of the areas he walks through fascinating. Much like Bill Bryson's "A Walk thru the Woods", but Peter has more history and a variety of experiences from alligator hunting to being a cowboy in Colorado and Idaho. Worth almost a 5.

[Glenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not quite as good as Walk Across America, but Jenkins' continuing quest for adventure and down-to-earth folk — this time accompanied by new wife Barbara — again makes for a fun read. Nothing profound. Just great tales, impressive resilience, cool people, and youthful idealism mixed with youthful romance. The Jenkins' religiosity can get irritating…but perhaps faith helped them survive Texas heat and winter in the Cascades.

[Sarah Reinert]

Well worth the .09¢ I paid for it!
The book was OK, the journey behind it remarkable and the glimpse into an America that had yet to experience cell phones or Facebook, 9/11 or Deepwater Horizon was fascinating.

How much different would a journey like theirs be today (if possible at all), was a question I kept asking myself.

I also find I now want to add a copy of the first book and the National Geographic issue featuring the first part of his walk, to compliment my copy this book. :}

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

After the first book I was hooked. I had to keep walking with Peter and now his new wife Barbara. They took me through Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Idaho and finally through Oregon. I learned a lot, especially about Louisiana and Texas since I know so little of these states. It was great to see the good people who stopped to help the walkers and invite them into their lives.

[Bobbi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book that chronicles the continued original walk of Peter Jenkins. Only this time, he takes his wife with him who is a southern belle and hasn't done much of anything athletic at all. A great story from her perspective as well. They finished in Oregon together after a pretty difficult start out of New Orleans for her.

[Megargee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had not read Walk West 1 and wished I had prior to reading this volume in order to better understand what motivated Peter to attempt this journey. The sections on their stopovers at the oil rig and the cattle ranch dovetailed nicely with Jean Laskas' Hidden America which I read about the same time.

[Melissa Markham · Rating 5 out of 5]

The end of this walk across America was as fascinating as the first book. It didn't have quite the same adventurous feel that it had when it was just Peter, but it had more heart. Going through this walk with Peter and his wife was a thrilling adventure with good times and bad, happy and sad! What a legacy they have left for us all!

[Jen Owens · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a HUGE Peter Jenkins fan, so it was no surprise that I enjoyed this book, a follow up to his first book about walking across America. He has an ability to meet people and be welcomed into their lives that I admire and enormously respect. Not quite as good as the first one, but still a great read. Find his book on Alaska if you want to check him out!

[Rickard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book to be an interesting historical portrait of a US long gone. It is about 35 years ago his walk took place and both people and places have changed a lot since then. It is a great read in the winter to inspire you for some summer travelling, this time by foot!

[Emily Wolfenbarger · Rating 5 out of 5]

A moving story of the diversity found in the mid-west to far west coast as Peter Jenkins and his wife travel on foot, visiting with "real Americans" and experiencing the wildness and diversity of the land first hand. What a wonderful story teller!

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book by Peter Jenkins and his walk across America. This time it includes a wife that he met in the South during his walk and married. She finishes the walk with him to the west coast. Interesting book.