Greetings from Tucson, AZ! (Part 1)

Run Stats:
Day: 490
Miles Completed: 1720.0
Miles to San Diego: 380.0
Avg Miles/Day: 3.5
Marathons Completed: 65.6
Longest Run Streak: 15 Days
Shoes: Skora Fit/Skora Tempo
Playlist Favs: The Afters, Chicago
Guest Runners: Molly Donovan

Bible Verse of the Day: "For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT)

Run Reflections: Today I have the privilege of participating in the World Vision Global 6K Run for Water. This is a virtual run designed to raise visibility on the distance (6 kilometers) that the average children in the developing world walks each day to fetch water for their families. A large portion of the sign up fee for this race will go directly to support children and families in need of clean water. As part of participating in this race, I was provided a child to run for. His name is Pratick Tukaram, he is 9 years old and lives in India with his parents and 1 brother. His father and mother are both farmers and they struggle to provide for their family. They live in a poor rural community in India where the typical homes are made of mud with tile or thatched roofs. Pratik is in primary school and enjoys literature and traditional games. I have included a picture of Pratik with this post. If you'd like to try and help a kid like Pratik and his family, I'd encourage you to check out the race web site below where you can find out more information on the global water challenge, make a donation or even sponsor a child.

6K for Water - Team World Vision

In terms of the overall run status, it's been a good running week so far including a couple of runs with Molly (who is now on a plane heading for New York). I've crossed the 1700 mile mark and arrived in Tucson, AZ. Early in the defense contractor chapter of my career, I had the opportunity to travel to Tucson many times and it's one of my favorite places. Based on this, I'm going to cover Tucson in 2 separate posts. Today I'm going to share some of my favorite memories from my visits there and next week I'll share some of the history of Tucson and highlight what's going on in their local running community.

Tucson, AZ: Tucson is a beautiful place, it's located in a desert valley with the Santa Catalina Mountains around it. When traveling to Tucson, I would often go to a place called Sabino Canyon to run after work. After that, we'd meet as a group to enjoy some great Mexican food. I spent enough time out there when the kids were little that I often brought back souvenirs. Here's a little more info on each of these topics.

Sabino Canyon: Sabino Canyon is a significant canyon in the Santa Catalina mountains and is a popular recreation area for residents and visitors providing convenient places to walk, hike or ride (horses). The earliest human occupants of the canyon were the Native America Hohokam people. Wildlife in the canyon includes deers, javelinas, skunks, tortoises, rattlesnakes and mountain lions. The canyon has many trails but one of the largest, known is the Bear Canyon trail which includes a tourist tram ride. I remember running up that trail one day and noticing that all the people ahead of me were stopping. When I reached that point I saw a giant rattlesnake slowly making its way across the trail. Once it passed, we all kept going - no biggie, just another day in the canyon. I've included two pictures of Sabino Canyon - one of the canyon itself and another of the Bear trail.

El Charro Cafe: Another great thing about visiting Tucson was the variety of great Mexican food. Of all the places we went, one of my favorites was the El Charro Cafe. One of the things that I remember about it was that they reportedly cooked their carne asada meat on the roof under the hot desert sun. There are several cafes in the Tucson area and they have a pretty interesting history. Here's some info from their web site:

Established in 1922 by Tia Monica Flin, El Charro Café of Tucson, Arizona is The Nation's Oldest Mexican Restaurant in continuous operation by the same family. Tia Monica, a true entrepreneur and burgeoning chef, came to Tucson via France in the 1800's when her father Jules, a famous stone-mason, was commissioned to build the city's pristine St. Augustine Cathedral. Jules, whose signature work can be seen throughout Tucson's Historic District, also built the families residence in 1896. This same building is now home to the Original Downtown El Charro Café location on Court Avenue.

Featuring Sonoran and innovative Tucson-style Mexican food, El Charro has won the Tucson Lifestyle Reader's Poll Gold Medal as Best Mexican Restaurant nine years in a row or since the award was began in the local lifestyle magazine and was named in 2010 as one of America's Top 50 Restaurant Icons by Nation's Restaurant News.

The Home of the Chimichanga: Legendary Tia Monica Flin, is well-known as "The Inventor of The Chimichanga." While frying her now famous El Charro ground beef tacos, she accidentally dropped a burro into the frying pan and when the oil splashed up she was about to lash out a common Spanish cuss word starting with "Ch" but because she was amongst her young nieces and nephews, changed it to "Chimichanga", the equivalent of "thingamajig." Thankfully for all of us, Monica was a controlled and creative cuss.

El Charro Café Below Sea Level!: El Charro was honored when the United States Navy named the galley on the U.S.S. Tucson Submarine as "El Charro Down Under." Yes, you can eat at an El Charro at 1,000 feet below sea level, but you'll need to enlist first!

I've included a picture of the original cafe and a picture of one of their famous chimichangas. I can tell you from personal experience that they are awesome!

Frank the Coyote: As I mentioned, the kids were pretty young when I was traveling to Tucson so it was always fun to bring them back a souvenir. Over the years these included Christmas ornaments, and dream catchers. Of all the things I brought back, probably my favorite was a series of children's books by author Jillian Lund that celebrated the nature of the western desert. The books centered around Frank the coyote, the coolest coyote around. I've included a picture of the initial story, Way Out West Lives a Coyote Named Frank." Here's the book intro: "Whether he's hanging out with his friends, chasing rabbits, mixing it up with a Gila monster, or pondering the setting sun, coyote Frank is one smooth character. so grab your shades, because you're in for a bright and colorful cruise through the desert with Frank!" After reading these books, my trips out to Tucson became known as "going out to see Frank" and the kids would always ask me if I saw him when I got home.

Sorry for the length of this post (and thanks to those who made it this far) but it was fun for me to think back and document these memories. I hope you'll consider checking out World Vision and seeing if there's a need or opportunity you'd like to support. Hope you have a great week!

God Bless,

Pat