Greetings from Lordsburg, NM!

Run Stats:
Day: 448
Miles Completed: 1550.1
Miles to San Diego: 549.9
Avg Miles/Day: 3.5
Marathons Completed: 59.2
Longest Run Streak: 15 days
Shoes: Skora Fit/Skora Tempo
Guest Runner: Annie the dog

Bible Verse of the Day: "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." Ephesians 4: 29 (NIV)

Run Reflections: I've had a little extra time to run this week because I've been off a few days while Jody and the kids were on spring break. The up and down running schedule has continued around a head cold that I can't seem to shake. Running highlight so far this week though was a 6 mile run on the beach in mid 70's weather and pretty flat sand. That evening, we also had our first fresh white corn on the cob, a great reminder that summer is approaching. Tomorrow I have the privilege of participating as a virtual runner in the World Water Day 5K race. The race is sponsored by Living Water International, a non-profit focused on community-based projects to provide clean water to those in need around the world. The actual race is taking place in Houston, TX, tomorrow morning and, at last report, had over 500 people signed up and over 80 virtual runners from locations all around the world. Entry fees for the race will be used to support their ongoing projects. I'd encourage you to check these guys out at the web link below to learn more about them and see if there is a need or area that you might like to support.

Living Water International: Home

In the overall virtual run, I'm getting pretty close to the NM-AZ border, still heading west through the desert. Here' some info on a town I passed through earlier this week.

Lordsburg, NM: According to wikipedia, "Lordsburg is a city in (and the county seat of) Hidalgo County, NM. The city was founded in 1880 on the route of the Southern Pacific Railroad. Lordsburg is the birthplace of the official New Mexico state song, O Fair New Mexico. It was written by Lordsburg resident Elizabeth Garrett, the blind daughter of famed sheriff Pat Garrett. In 1917, Governor Washington Ellsworth Lindsey signed the legislation making it the official state song. In 1928, John Phillips Sousa presented Governor Arthur T. Hannett and the people of New Mexico an arrangement of the state song embracing a musical story of the Indian, the cavalry, the Spanish and the Mexican."

Some other interesting facts about Lordsburg include:

• In 1938, it's municipal airport was the 1st airport in New Mexico and, in 1927, was one of the stops on Charles Lindbergh's transcontinental "Spirit of St. Louis" air tour.
• During World War II, Lordsburg held as many as 1,500 Japanese Americans in an internment camp. Apparently, shortly after opening, two Japanese American internees were shot and killed under questionable circumstances by Army sentry Chalres Burleson. A military investigation and court-martial found the shooting to be lawful.
• Lordsburg is the final destination in the movie "Stagecoach", the 9th greatest Western film of all time according to the America Film Institute, starring John Wayne in his breakthrough role as the Ringo Kid, and directed by John Ford.
• For many years, Lordsburg has been a popular rest stop for people traveling to and from the west coast by car. At just over 600 miles from Los Angels (and 549.9 miles from San Diego), Lordsburg can comfortably be reached by car in less than one day. In the mid-20th century during the end of legal segregation, Lordsburg had one of the few hotels in the SouthWest that would accept black guests.

I had some trouble finding a recent picture of the town of Lordsburg but I did find some interesting vintage postcard pics. In reviewing tripadvisor for interesting things to do, I learned that there are several ghost towns in the area including one named Shakespeare. Currently part of a privately owned ranch (and sometimes open to tourists), the town was founded as a rest stop along a stagecoach route. In November 1881, Old West outlaws "Russian Bill" Tattenbaum and Sandy King, both cattle rustlers and former members of the Clanton faction, were lynched in Shakespeare, and their bodies were left hanging for several days as a reminder that lawlessness would not be tolerated. The two had been captured by gunman "Dangerous Dan" Tucker, who at the time was the Shakespeare town marshall. I've included a picture of Shakespeare from wikipedia. Don't know about you but this picture allows me to almost visualize these old wild west stories :-)

Another local attraction is the Lordsburg Hidalgo County Museum, a non-profit, free museum that contains thousands of artifacts, photographs and equipment from the life and times in this area dating back to the late 19th century. Exhibit areas include a Prisoner of War Room focused on the WW II Japanese internment period, a railroad history room, a mining room and a western village. I've included a picture of this museum as well. A final area attraction is the Chiricahua Desert Museum. Located in nearby Rodeo, NM, the combo museum, botanical garden and wildlife sanctuary celebrates the diverse wildlife of the region. Review of this web site showed some beautiful desert scenery and lots of pictures of snakes. I don't know about you but I am definitely on the Indiana Jones side when it comes to snakes so this is a good reminder to keep my feet up when I'm jogging down the virtual road out here :-).

Guest Runner Cameo: I had the opportunity last weekend to go for a jog with one of our dogs, Annie. It was just a short run to get her some exercise on a sunny Sunday afternoon but it qualifies here for a spot as a guest runner in this blog series. We got Annie on Valentines day a few years ago from the adopt-a-dog truck at PetSmart. She's been a great addition to the family and an occasional running pal. She likes to dig and lie in the dirt and, along with our other dog Buddy, is a faithful member of the team to wake up the kids in the morning. Her favorite runs are the barefoot runs on the big grass field at Frank Brown Park and she has completed a virtual 5K - one of the RunforGod (RFG) seasonal series. I've included a picture of her and one with Mia Grace, Buddy and me from the RFG race.

I'm always looking for folks to run with - either in person or virtually - so let me know if you'd like to join me some time for a run and/or share a running or race story as part of this blog. I continue to value and appreciate the support and encouragement from the folks that are taking the time to read these. I hope you have a great weekend! It's time for me to head out and see if I can get a few more miles in and get closer to the AZ border.

God Bless,

Pat