Howdy from Roosevelt, TX & September Charity Reveal!

Run Stats:
Day: 274
Miles Completed: 990.6
Miles to San Diego: 1109.4
Miles to El Paso: 395.4
Avg Miles/Day: 3.6
Marathons Completed: 37.8
Longest Run Streak: 9 Days
Current Run Streak: 3 Days
Shoes: Skora FIT/Skora Tempo
Playlist Favs: Downhere, Willow Creek CC Podcast, Elton John Shuffle

Bible Verse of the Day: But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! - Galatians 5:22-23 NLT

Run Reflections: Greetings from the virtual road. I'm still on I-10 in the middle of TX. I looked back in my records and I have been running in TX since the end of May. Looking ahead, there are still close to 400 miles to El Paso so, at this rate, I'm likely to be running in TX for the remainder of this year. That's OK though because I am learning a lot about this state and this area of the country. That said, I've set a goal to try to reach or get past El Paso by the end of the year and have added a mileage tracker to the run stats. Who knows, perhaps, I'll ring in the new year in Rosa's Cantina!

Earlier this week, I virtually passed through the town of Roosevelt, TX. In researching the town, I came across an amazing website called Texas Escapes that contained all kinds of cool pictures and information about the towns and history of TX. All of the pictures in this post are from this site and photographer Barclay Gibson who graciously allowed me to share them with you. I'm also going to share some info on the charity I've selected to support this month.

Roosevelt, TX: Wikipedia described Roosevelt as a "ghost town" located 16 miles west of Junction, TX (location of last post) on State Highway Loop 291. Being in the middle of the wild west conjured up all kinds of images in my head about what a ghost town might look like; however, wikipedia defines it as "an abandoned village, town or city, usually on that contains substantial visible remains."

Wikipedia goes on to define that: "The establishment of Roosevelt happened when Alice C.E. Wagoner was appointed postmistress and a post office was established on August 22, 1898. Wagoner applied for the community as a different name, but the U.S. Postal Service named the town Roosevelt. It is presumed that the postal service chose the name for Theodore Roosevelt, who had made headlines the month before on July 1, 1898 with his charge up San Juan Hill with the Rough Riders. Roosevelt's 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, known as the Rough Riders, was organized and trained at San Antonio on May 9-19, 1898.

Roosevelt was a shipping point for feed and grain for local sheep and goat farmers. Horses were bred in Roosevelt for the U.S. Calvary, and also for the national polo market. In the early part of the 20th Century, Roosevelt hosted polo matches."

I have included 3 pictures of Roosevelt from the Texas Escapes web site. This first is just a road sign to the town that also includes an I-10 sign. I thought this was fitting to document this road run journey. Next is a picture of the actual post office referenced above, I thought it was cool that it was still around today. Finally, I've included a picture of an abandoned house near Roosevelt. To me, this was a perfect image of what a part of a TX ghost town might look like. Together, these pictures captured the essence of part of what I want to share with this blog - to see for real the actual sights that i would come across if I was doing this run for real.

I'd encourage you to check out the Roosevelt entry on Texas Escapes web site. In addition to additional pictures, there's a pretty interesting story sent in from a Texan recounting some stories her father and his friends using guitar strings to fish for Gar and what happened after they caught them (you'll have to read that for yourself). I also think I found the next job for my photographer friends Scotty and Richard because I can see them teaming up to provide a similar site called Panhandle Escapes.

September Charity: This month's charity is the Panama City Rescue Mission (PCRM). The PCRM Mission statement is: "To provide an environment where the compassion and love of Jesus Christ heals and equips people to be successful in overcoming life's adversities." Their goal is: "To provide a 'continuum of care' for homeless and needy individuals while providing ongoing living in a recovery-oriented environment through transitional housing." Per their web site, they provide over 86,000 meals/year, 6,300 hours of job training/month, 40,000 nights of shelter/year and $27,675 in clothing/month to those in need in our local community.

I was able to run 105.3 miles in September and am pleased to be able to donate $105.30 to the mission. I know they rely heavily on donations to make all of what they do happen and there are a variety of different ways where interested people could engage with them. For example, they are currently looking for people to create and donate decorative Christmas trees and wreaths for their annual Festival of the Trees event. I encourage you to check the PCRM link and consider where and how you might be able to help.

Well, that's it for this post, hope you enjoyed it. Have a great week!

God Bless,

Pat