Wazzup from Ocotillo, CA!

Run Stats:

Day: 582

Miles Completed: 2026.9

Miles to San Diego: 73.1

Avg Miles/Day: 3.5

Marathons Completed: 77.4

Longest Run Streak: 20 Days

Shoes: Skora Fit/Skora Tempo

Playlist Favs: North Point Community Church Voices series podcasts

Bible Verse of the Day: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take." - Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT)

Run Reflections: Hello, from the virtual road. Today I'm checking in from the CA desert in the small town of Ocotillo. Back here in Panama City it is stormy and raining :-( Despite several days with lots of rain, I've been able to find some windows to get runs in without getting too wet. Due to the rain I've been running without a watch (not waterproof), ipod or glasses and trying to focus on my running form and avoiding cars. Had a "Run Forrest" heckler this week, which I haven't heard in a while. Also had a day recently where I found close to 50 cents in change :-) OK, on with the post. Main sources this week were wikipedia, trip advisor and desert USA web sites.

Ocotillo, CA: Ocotillo is located on a site that originally sat on the edge of ancient Lake Cahuilla and is the traditional terrotiry of the Kumeyaay (American Indian) tirbe. The town originated as a retirement community. As you can see from the blog picture, it's a pretty small town but there are several cafes, a small market and the Lazy Lizard Saloon. One of the cafes, Red Feather Off Road Market & Cafe, reports that they have the best burger in the country and trip advisor comments all had good reviews on the food. I've inlcuded a picture of the Lazy Lizard and the Ocotillo (combo) motel in the post photo album. I also included a picture of a solitary road through the desert near Ocotillo to provide a perspective of what it woudl look like to actually run through this area.

Ocotillo is also the home of the Imperial Valley Desert Museum that provides displays about the desert terrain, flora, etc. and artifacts from the Kumeyaay culture. For example, their web site advertises an "Evening with an Expert" where you can learn about the tribe traditions and medicinal desert plants. Wikipedia also reports that Ocotillo was devastated by floods from Hurriance Kathleen in 1976 and a documentary about the disaster called, "The Ocotillo Flood of 1976" can be found on YouTube.

In addition to the sites and sounds of this small own, the web site Desert USA reports that there are two other "nature-related" points of interest near Ocotillo - Painted Gorge and Fossil Canyon; both are located in the nearby Coyote Mountains. Painted Gorge consists of sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous rocks. Heat and movement over tiime has created fantastic shapes and colors in the rocks that are highlighted and brought out by the sun. There are apparantly lots of hiking and walking trails with good views of the geological structures and beautiful desert scenery. I've included a couple of pictures in the photo album to give you a glimpse of the area.

That's it for this post, I hope you enjoyed this snapshot of the CA desert. Thanks for tuning in, have an awesome week!

God Bless,

Pat