Howdy from Arizola, AZ!

Run Stats:

Day: 518

Miles Completed: 1797.7

Miles to San Diego: 302.3

Avg Miles/Day: 3.5

Marathons Completed: 68.6

Longest Run Streak: 15 days

Shoes: Skora Fit/Skora Tempo

Playlist Favs: Eagles, Little River Band

Bible Verse of the Day: "So I replied by sending this message to them: 'I am doing a great work! I cannot stop to come and meet with you.' Four times they sent the same message, and each time I gave the same reply." - Nehemiah 6:3-4 (NLT)

Run Reflections: It's been a while since my last post due to a combination of business and personal travel and the reality that the blog site (travelpod) that I had been using was closing down. With their help I was able to archive all of my previous posts and found this new site (offexploring) to continue this narrative. The offexploring folks were a great help in getting all of the previous posts migrated over and I'm looking forward to continuing this with them.

Despite the ups and downs, I was able to log over 94 miles in May and am close to the 1800 mile mark. From a virtual map perspective, I've reached the small town of Arizola, AZ, have departed I-10 and am now heading west on I-8 towards San Diego. For this post, although I've marked the map at Arizola I'm going to focus on the Picacho state park I virtually passed through after leaving Tucson. Pictures and information are from wikipedia.

Picacho State Park: The Picacho state park surrounds Picacho Peak and is located about 45 miles north of Tucson. The summit rises to 3,373 feet and is visible from downtown Tucson. The place name is redundant as "pichacho" means "big peak" in spanish (different from pikachu, a species of Pokemon.) I've included a picture of the peak.

The park is celebrated for wildflowers that appear mid-March to early-April following good winter rain. The park's west face posesses an unspoiled view of the Sonoran desert setting and their are two trail heads that can be hiked to reach the small flat space on top of the spire. Hikers on the trails are aided by cables and catwalks making these trails one of the few "via ferrata" (Italian for iron road) routes in the United States. Apparantly these kind of guided trails are more common in Europe.

In terms of history, Pechacho or Pichacho Station was a stop on the Butterfield Overland Mail route that existed in the 1870s. The park is near the site of the Battle of Pichacho Pass, one of several American Civil War era engagements to occur in Arizona territory. In this battle, a Union cavalry patrol from California skirmished with Conferedate scouts from Texas, and three men were killed. The battle was the second westernmost battle of the Civil War and every year during early March, there are reenactments of the battle.

Wikipedia also reports that Pichacho Peak features prominently in the novel "The Host" by Stephanie Meyer, serving as a guide to the main character in the first act of the story. Much of the action of the novel takes place in or near the state park.

In addition to the photo of Pichacho Peak, I hope to be able to also post a picture of the wildflowers, a view of the Sonoran Desert and a picture with a sign commemorating the battle. If I can't figure it out (i.e., you don't see them), you can just look up the park in wikipedia.

OK, this is a wrap of the 1st post on the virtual run using the new travel site. My continued thanks to those who are taking the time to read these, I hope you enjoyed it.

God Bless,

Pat