Greetings from Felicity, CA - the offical center of the world!

Run Stats:

Day: 568

Miles Completed: 1975.6

Miles to San Diego: 124.4

Avg Miles/Day: 3.5

Longest Run Streak: 20 Days

Marathons Completed: 75.4

Shoes: Skora Fit/Skora Tempo

Playlist Favs: Human Race podcast, Storybrand podcast

Bible verse of the day: "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out all fear" - 1 John 4:18a ESV

Run Reflections: Well, as this post picture shows, I've (virtually) made it to California! The path is continuing west along I-8, still passing through mostly desert. It's been a good running week so far, I'm on a 9 day streak right now and am on target for a 100 mile month. Today's post is about the small (and unusual) town of Felicity, CA, and a couple of other local attractions that I thought were interesting. The majority of the information and pictures are from the roadside america web site.

Felicity CA: Wikipedia reports that Felicity is an unincorporated community in Imperial County, CA. Founded on May 11, 1986, the town "Dedicated to Rememberance" was named for his wife by founder Jacques-Andrew Istel. Roadside America has a great write up on Felicity which Mr. Istel has designated as "The Official Center of the World." I have included some photos from their story in the photo album associated with this post including a picutre of Mr. Istel in front of the town and a picture of the actual center of the world marker. Provided below are a few more details.

Mr. Istel found this area while serving as a Marine in the Korean War. Using money from his successful parachute schools (maybe associated with the Yuma proving grounds from last post), he purchased thousands of acres of desert land from I-8 north to the Chocolate Mountains. He decided to build a city on this land and make it "entertaining." He wrote a children's book to help convince the leadership in Imperial County to legally recognize a spot on his property as the Offical Center of the World. Around the spot he built a giant (21-foot tall) pyramid and later a large church on a hill (see photo album).

Mr. Istel named the town after his wife (Felicity), claiming that: "To our knowledge, it's the first town in America named for a Chinese lady." After establishing the town, an election was held and Mr. Istel became the first (and thusfar only) mayor of Felicity by a unanimous vote of 3 to 0. There's a lot more info on the roadside America site including how the county allowed a vote by an invisible dragon (I'm not kidding) to count as part of this. I highly encourage you to take the time to find this and read it. It certainly made me smile :-)

Since I was on the roadside america site, I took a look around to see what other things of interest might be in this area. I came across the Quechan (American Indian) Paradise casino which is shpaed like a giant diamond ring and the ruins of the Imperial Dunes Plank Road. Located in nearby Winterhaven, CA, the remains of the plank road date back to 1916 where the city of San Diego funded the construction of a one-lane road of wooden planks to be laid across eight miles of sand. The goal was to lure people from the east to San Diego by the most direct route. The speed limit was 10 mph and, if there was a lot of traffic, it could take up to two days to travel the eight miles. The plank road was the original Route 80 and lasted for a dozen years until it was replaced by an asphalt road. I've included a picture of the remains which can be seen from a roadside picnic area and a picture of the casino in ths photo album.

I don't know about you but if I was actually running (or passing) through this area, I think it would be fun to jump the fence and try to run along the remains of the plank road - just to say I did. I know I probably say this about every other post but it's stories like the ones I've come across here that have helped make this project so worthwhile and fun. I hope you think so too.

Thanks for tuning in this week and sharing the journey with me. Have an awesome week!

God Bless,

Pat