Like a rolling stone: Man comes through St. Joseph on near 3,000-mile walk to Washington D.C.
Cameron Montemayor
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — By the time he stepped foot in the city of St. Joseph, Missouri, walking carefully along the shoulder of U.S. Highway 36, Jacob Holiday had already traveled around 1,500 miles in his monthslong trek on foot across the United States.
With a small trailer and wagon, his dog Dexter and two goats in tow, it was the latest of countless cities and highways the 44-year-old Holiday was taking in as he approached the midway point of his journey to Washington D.C., a journey that began in July 2025 in Morton, Washington, a small town south of Tacoma.
“I started this journey then, but I’ve been doing this for over two years, and there has not been one day that I have gone hungry. My dog has been with me the whole time,” said Holiday, who wears a Racoon tail cap like Davy Crockett. “My goal is to go to the Capitol steps and sing the song “Imagine” by John Lennon. I’ve also thought about maybe singing the song “All you need is love.”
Jacob Holiday, 44, holds a sign while standing along U.S. Highway 36 in January near Stewartsville. The sign reads ‘Love is all U need’ a reference to a song by the Beatles he intends to sing in Washington D.C.
In a story that mirrors elements of Hollywood films like “Into the Wild” and “Forrest Gump”, Holiday, a Minnesota native unbothered by frigid temperatures, began his journey heading east on Interstate 90 through Montana before cutting down south to Colorado, and then east to Nebraska and Kansas before reaching Northwest Missouri.
With a thick wool cover, he constructs a makeshift tent each night providing enough insulation from the elements, from thunderstorms or recent snowstorms in Missouri. By the first week of February, he was past Cameron, Missouri, with a number of residents taking to social media to post about the unusual sight on the side of the highway.
“It really came down to being shown this option of walking away, and I just took it and I haven’t regretted doing it overall. I mean, there have been moments, but like, where would you rather be than in challenges and living life,” he said.
Over the course of his multi-year journey, one that has taken him across numerous states, he’s seen countless people stop to provide assistance like food, supplies and even money, including one truck driver who gave him a ride for several hundred miles into Colorado.
The journey is a deeply spiritual one for Holiday, a man who overcame an extremely difficult childhood, including sexual abuse from his own family, to work as a successful mechanic and construction worker. That was until two and a half years ago, when he made the life changing decision to give up almost all of his possessions and travel the country on foot, leaving his home in Cottonwood, Minnesota, after a series of pivotal events in his life.
“I discovered that most of the people in my life had lied to me. I had a traumatic brain injury in 2015 and things for me started really coming out. I had two choices. One, I could drown myself in a bottle of alcohol, or two, I could do what I did,” he said. “At 42 years old, I learned that I didn’t know who I was anymore. I had to walk away. I had to find god and I had to find myself.”
One of his few possessions is a book titled The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom, written in 1997. It teaches readers principles to live a life free of self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret, something he lives by now.
“I realized that I can’t take anything personally, or be offended by it or have my ego be offended by it, by anything that I’m living through or going through, whether it’s a storm or whatever. I always believe I’m where I’m supposed to be,” he said.
As his journey has evolved, his goal is to bring awareness to a rise in violence and hostility, and the growing number of people struggling with the demands of society, a core part of his message as he walks to Washington D.C. with his three trusted companions alongside him.
“The black Billy goat is named Elliot. I got him in Washington and Ariana I just got back in Nebraska,” he said. “I’m doing this by myself right now because I’m trying to show people, Let’s stop this. All this violence that is going on today.”
Jacob Holiday stands next to his goats Ariana, left, and Elliot, off U.S. Highway 36 near Stewartsville in late January in Missouri, the latest state in his 3,000-plus mile journey to Washington D.C.
All in all, he’s traveled over 5,000 miles since leaving his home years ago — all without any technology or cellphones — finding renewed peace in personal freedom and a greater appreciation for life and personal experiences with others.
He laments those who litter or show little care for the health of the planet, often picking up trash along the highway himself and storing it in his trailer until he can dispose of it in a nearby city.
“I can build you a building from the ground up. I can work on your car mechanically. And at the end of the day, I can cook you a steak at the end,” Holiday, who grew up working in kitchens as a teen, said with a laugh.
Holiday, who turns 45 years old this March, has learned to pace himself and take a day off if needed, particularly during the latest stretch of snow and frigid temperatures.
Instant coffee is a fixture of his daily routine as he travels a little more than a mile each day. While he may have goals to keep a solid pace — a natural trait of his lifestyle — he isn’t concerned in the slightest about how long it will take to get there.
“I’ll travel one day, sit for two, and I don’t necessarily want to, I want to get to Washington, D.C. I’m just learning here these last few years, my body is wanting to do what most 45-year-old bodies want to do, like slow down,” he said. “I have come to realize that I will take all the time I need, man, I am always where I’m supposed to be when I’m supposed to be there.”
A sign informs customers that the Pizza Hut at 811 N. 22nd St. is now permanently closed. 
