TEBBETTS, Mo. - Brett Bramble sat on top of a picnic table along the Katy Trail, taking a break from his 3,000-mile journey.
Domino, his 2-year-old black Lab, rested underneath the table, clad in an orange safety vest. A three-wheeled cart was nearby, filled with supplies and enough space for Domino to ride. Bramble is pushing that cart from Delaware to San Francisco.
Tebbetts is one of many stops Bramble has made on his cross-country trip he calls "Walk Across America." He said he is walking to raise awareness of drug overdoses.
"I'm doing this in honor of my sister Brittany," he said.
Brittany Bramble died from a drug overdose on March 15, 2014.
"She was using pain pills for her back pain, and then she went through a stressful part of her life and started to use more," Bramble said. "I guess addiction grabbed a hold of her, and it wasn't long until she started using heroin, and that killed her pretty quickly."
Bramble, 31, began his trek March 13 next to the Atlantic Ocean. He said he walks roughly 20 miles each day and already has been through seven states. Bramble plans to finish in October at the Golden Gate Bridge.
He thinks about Brittany and her struggle almost every step of the way.
"After Brittany died, I started to learn about all the other people that were affected by drug overdoses," Bramble said. "In fact, in 2014, the average number of people dying from a drug overdose was 129 per day. I wanted to do something."
In his hometown of Atlanta, Georgia, Bramble started smaller efforts to raise awareness.
"One time I rappelled off the side of a building for a fundraiser," he said. "I'd meet people, go to events. But still, it wasn't enough. I got the idea to do the 'Walk Across America.'"
He said he spent the next 10 months researching, walking, reading and preparing for his coast-to-coast walk. Then he stored his belongings in a friend's basement and went to Delaware.
"Ever since I've started, it doesn't matter if it was the mountains, the beach, the city, the suburbs, the country, good neighborhood or bad neighborhood - everyone I encountered and talked to about my cause told me their area was affected by drugs pretty bad," Bramble said.
He said the idea for the trek came to him last year.
"I just played with it and toyed with it, but it just wouldn't go away," he said. "So it just stayed in my brain and then it clicked: 'Walk across the country for your sister; raise awareness.' As soon as I had that idea, I knew I would do it."
Bramble planned his trip around the American Discovery Trail, which stretches from Delaware to California.
"The Katy Trail is a part of it," Bramble said. "That may be why you get so many cross-country hikers and bikers through here. I'm not sticking to it turn for turn, but I'm using it as a guideline."
Bramble said he has met several people walking and riding around the country, as well as other people who are interested in his cause.
"In Olney, Illinois, I met up with another cross-country walker named Chris West," Bramble said. "He's about four days ahead of me now, but we walked together for a while. He's walking for anxiety and depression, and our two causes go kind of hand-in-hand because one usually leads to the other, so we were a great team. A few random people will walk for a mile or so every now and then."
During this trek, Bramble has thought a lot about his past, which included his own drug use.
"I used quite often, about anything that came in front of me, from the ages of 16-22," Bramble said. "I was getting in trouble - spent two years of my life in jail. I wasn't using when I was in jail, and when I got out I continued to be drug-free."
Bramble said more motivation came when he learned he was going to be a father.
"That's when it was time for me to set up house," he said. "I started hanging around a more professional crowd and started doing better work. It was easy for me after that."
Bramble updates his website, brettbramblewalks.com, regularly with stories from his hikes.
"Most of the time I get motivational comments like 'You're doing great work,' 'Keep it up,' 'Thank you' - things like that." Bramble said. "A lot of times I'll get private messages from people describing their personal struggle with addiction or their loss, and they thank me for doing something about it."
He took a deep breath and looked into the distance.
"I feel like I'm being carried across the country with the support I'm getting," he said.