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Pat's Virtual Run Across America
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- North America
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Location Date California 1503702000 Arizona 1500073200 New Mexico 1490914800 Texas 
1486166400 Louisiana 1463698800 Mississippi 1457740800 Alabama 1456012800 Florida 1453507200 -
Location Date El Paso 1486166400 Fabens, Tx 1485561600 Fort Hancock 1483142400 Sierra Blanca
1482537600 Van Horn 1481932800 Balmorhea 1479772800 Fort Stockton 1478822400 Sheffield 1477090800 Ozona 1476486000 Sonora 1476054000 Roosevelt 1474758000 Junction 1474066800 Kerrville 1472857200 Boerne 1472252400 San Antonio 1471647600 Seguin 1470438000 Luling 1469833200 Schulenburg 1469228400 Columbus 1468623600 Katy 1467932400 Houston 1467414000 Mont Belvieu 1466204400 Winnie 1464994800 Beaumont 1464390000
Mele Kalikimaka from Sierra Blanca, TX!
Run Stats:
Day: 359
Miles Completed: 1299.4
Miles to San Diego: 800.6
Miles to El Paso: 86.6
Avg Miles/Day: 3.6
Marathons Completed: 49.6
Longest Run Streak: 9 days
Current Run Streak: 8 days
Shoes: Skora Fit/Skora Tempo
Playlist Favs: Eagles, FM Static, Serial Podcast
Guest Runners: Molly Donovan
Bible Verses of the Day: For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Might God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. - Isaiah 9: 6-9 (NLT)
For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him." - John 3:16-17 (NLT)
Run Reflections: Yesterday afternoon, I virtually passed through the small town of Sierra Blanca, TX. After some down time earlier in the month, I'm currently on an 8 day running streak and enjoying running in some unseasonably warm weather. The high today (Christmas day) is projected to be 77 degrees. I've enjoyed having Molly as a running buddy during the holiday and will miss her when she goes back to school.
Sierra Blanca, TX: Information for this post came from wikipedia and texasescapes websites.
Sierra Blanca is the county seat of Hudspeth County, TX and is part of the trans-pecos region of far western TX. The town is named after the Sierra Blanca mountain which is located just NW of town. The name came from the white poppies which grew on it (sierra blanca is Spanish for "white range".) Since I'm running along the white range, I guess you could say that I got a virtual White Christmas this year :-). I've included a picture from wikipedia of the town with the mountain in the background. If you look closely, you can see the letters "SB" in the top right corner of the mountain. These letters are apparently clearly visible as you pass the town/mountain along I-10.
Texasescapes reports that the town came into existence when competing railroads for a second (southern) transcontinental railroad line came within 10 miles of one another in 1881. The two different railroad companies were able to work together to connect the respective railroad lines in what would become the town of Sierra Blanca, providing one continuous line to the Pacific Ocean. Jay Gould, the famous railroad magnate and robber baron, drove a silver spike commemorating the event on Dec 15th, 1881 and on Dec 16th, 1881, transcontinental railroad service across the U.S. was inaugurated - a pretty darn good day to inaugurate something if you ask me.
The town sprang up around that spot. I've included a picture from texasescapes and photographer Barclay Gibson that commemorates this spot which also marks the intersection of the only two paved roads in town and a 2nd picture from photographer Sarah Reveley, showing a train traveling through the area. I thought that was fitting since train travel was such a part of this town's history. In recognition of Christmas, I've added another picture of an old town church taken by Barclay Gibson.
A couple of other interesting facts about Sierra Blanca are that the town has the only adobe courthouse in the state of TX and there appears to be a history of musicians having drug-related problems with law enforcement here. Wikipedia reports that Sierra Blanca is the site of a pretty active U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint. In September 2012, singer Fiona Apple was arrested at the checkpoint for possession of small amounts of marijuana and hashish, and spent the night in jail here. A few weeks later, a Nelly tour bus was stopped at the same checkpoint, and ten pounds of marijuana were found on the bus along with heroin and a loaded gun. Nelly was not arrested but a member of her entourage was. Previously, musicians Snoop Dogg and Willie Nelson as well as actor Armie Hammer had all been arrested separately for drug possession in Sierra Blanca. I didn't see any police checkpoints or pulled over tour buses when I virtually passed through.
I hope you enjoyed learning a little bit about the history of this town. I also hope that you and your families have a very Merry Christmas and enjoy a restful, joy-filled holiday. As referenced in today's Bible verses, today is a day to celebrate how blessed we all are - not just for the "what" of Christmas but also for the "why".
Merry Christmas and God Bless,
Pat
Run Stats:
Day: 359
Miles Completed: 1299.4
Miles to San Diego: 800.6
Miles to El Paso: 86.6
Avg Miles/Day: 3.6
Marathons Completed: 49.6
Longest Run Streak: 9 days
Current Run Streak: 8 days
Shoes: Skora Fit/Skora Tempo
Playlist Favs: Eagles, FM Static, Serial Podcast
Guest Runners: Molly Donovan
Bible Verses of the Day: For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Might God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. - Isaiah 9: 6-9 (NLT)
For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him." - John 3:16-17 (NLT)
Run Reflections: Yesterday afternoon, I virtually passed through the small town of Sierra Blanca, TX. After some down time earlier in the month, I'm currently on an 8 day running streak and enjoying running in some unseasonably warm weather. The high today (Christmas day) is projected to be 77 degrees. I've enjoyed having Molly as a running buddy during the holiday and will miss her when she goes back to school.
Sierra Blanca, TX: Information for this post came from wikipedia and texasescapes websites.
Sierra Blanca is the county seat of Hudspeth County, TX and is part of the trans-pecos region of far western TX. The town is named after the Sierra Blanca mountain which is located just NW of town. The name came from the white poppies which grew on it (sierra blanca is Spanish for "white range".) Since I'm running along the white range, I guess you could say that I got a virtual White Christmas this year :-). I've included a picture from wikipedia of the town with the mountain in the background. If you look closely, you can see the letters "SB" in the top right corner of the mountain. These letters are apparently clearly visible as you pass the town/mountain along I-10.
Texasescapes reports that the town came into existence when competing railroads for a second (southern) transcontinental railroad line came within 10 miles of one another in 1881. The two different railroad companies were able to work together to connect the respective railroad lines in what would become the town of Sierra Blanca, providing one continuous line to the Pacific Ocean. Jay Gould, the famous railroad magnate and robber baron, drove a silver spike commemorating the event on Dec 15th, 1881 and on Dec 16th, 1881, transcontinental railroad service across the U.S. was inaugurated - a pretty darn good day to inaugurate something if you ask me.
The town sprang up around that spot. I've included a picture from texasescapes and photographer Barclay Gibson that commemorates this spot which also marks the intersection of the only two paved roads in town and a 2nd picture from photographer Sarah Reveley, showing a train traveling through the area. I thought that was fitting since train travel was such a part of this town's history. In recognition of Christmas, I've added another picture of an old town church taken by Barclay Gibson.
A couple of other interesting facts about Sierra Blanca are that the town has the only adobe courthouse in the state of TX and there appears to be a history of musicians having drug-related problems with law enforcement here. Wikipedia reports that Sierra Blanca is the site of a pretty active U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint. In September 2012, singer Fiona Apple was arrested at the checkpoint for possession of small amounts of marijuana and hashish, and spent the night in jail here. A few weeks later, a Nelly tour bus was stopped at the same checkpoint, and ten pounds of marijuana were found on the bus along with heroin and a loaded gun. Nelly was not arrested but a member of her entourage was. Previously, musicians Snoop Dogg and Willie Nelson as well as actor Armie Hammer had all been arrested separately for drug possession in Sierra Blanca. I didn't see any police checkpoints or pulled over tour buses when I virtually passed through.
I hope you enjoyed learning a little bit about the history of this town. I also hope that you and your families have a very Merry Christmas and enjoy a restful, joy-filled holiday. As referenced in today's Bible verses, today is a day to celebrate how blessed we all are - not just for the "what" of Christmas but also for the "why".
Merry Christmas and God Bless,
Pat
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