His goal is a simple one; to get people talking.



On August 8th 2016, recent college graduate Chris Andrews took to America’s roads to highlight the value of face-to-face conversation.



He’s walking across the county on a 3,000 mile journey, one step at a time.



His route started in Washington D.C. and Midland is more than halfway to his finish line of Las Angeles, California.



In his 200 day trip he plans to converse with thousands of strangers with the hope their interaction will inspire his new friends to stop relying on the convenience of instant messengers and impersonal texting.



While his aim isn’t to bash the benefits of social media and instant communication, he wants to share his message by reminding people how important it is interact in person.



“I’m a bearded man walking with a cart across the United States, I think that people think all sort of things and I’m ok with that.”



He realizes his mission may be far-fetched the the people he encounters, but it’s his passion for sparking conversation that keeps him pushing along, literally.



“It’s such a large issue, it’s something that is hard to measure, and something that’s abstract, but I think it’s something that really needs to be defended today.”



The cart he pushes is a dog stroller he’s converted into a push-a-long suitcase equipped with the necessities of cross-county traveling.



“I got corn starch, it goes on my feet everyday, cornstarch and silk sock liners, that’s the key to no blisters.”



He originally planned on sleeping in his tent most night but never expect what he says is a tremendous amount of generosity from the people he meets along the way.



One of those people is Midland native Read Johnston, the two got connected through CouchSurfing.Com, the website dedicated to international hospitality.



“Somebody walking across the county, that’s a dream a lot of us have, and I wanted to find out all about how he’s doing it, how he’s camping.” Johnston said.



But he doesn’t do it alone, he says his girlfriend currently studying at his alma mater the University of St. Andrews in Scotland helps him navigate the logistics of a cross country trip.



He says he loves her very much, and couldn’t do what he’s doing without the support from her and his family.



His food, shoes, and other objects that make the traveling possible are sponsored by companies he contacted who support his mission.



Once his nine month journey of sharing his message through talks at schools, libraries and public spaces is over he doesn’t plan to stop.



“Whether it’s writing a book and then using the trip and the book as a platform to speak and reach out to people, hopefully I can continue to build the Let’s Talk message and continue to get people to think about it.”



He’s documenting his journey with pictures and journal entries of stories along the way on his website at, letstalkusa.com there you will find links to his multiple social media profiles.



He leaves Midland Monday morning to head to Andrews, Texas. Anyone willing to host him while he is passing through can contact him at, chris@letstalkusa.com