Heidy Ho from Sonora, TX!

Run Stats:
Day: 283
Miles Completed: 1022.4
Miles to San Diego: 1077.6
Miles to El Paso: 363.6
Avg Miles/Day: 3.6
Marathons Completed: 39
Longest Run Streak: 9 days
Current Run Streak: 0 days
Shoes: Skora Fit/Skora Tempo
Playlist Favs: Caedmon's Call

Bible Verse of the Day: "I know the LORD is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me." - Psalm 16:8 NLT


Run Reflections: Last week I crossed the 1000 mile mark on this journey and if I can stay on the current pace, I should reach the half way point by the end of the month. The weather has started to get a little cooler and it's been nice to be able to run whenever I can fit it in as opposed to waiting until the evenings when it gets below 90 degrees. I hope this also allows me to add in some longer runs. I remain thankful that I am physically able to do this.

Sonora, TX: Sometime late last week, I passed through the town of Sonora, TX. According to wikipedia, Sonora is the county seat of Sutton County, TX and is one of the leading speed trap cities in the nation, writing over 48,000 citations per year, mostly to out-of-state travelers along the I-10 corridor. I think with the pace that I have been running, I'm probably safe but I'll be on the look out anyway :-)

In the "history" section; wikipedia identifies that, on the night of April 2, 1901, William "Will" Carver, a member of Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch, was shot and killed in Jack Owen's Bakery in Sonora by Sherrif E. S. Briant and his deputies. Brian was trying to arrest Carver on suspicion of the murder of Oliver Thornton in Concho County. Today, you can visit the Old Ice House Ranch Museum to see a special exhibit about Will Carver as well as "a wonderful array of old artifacts to educate and entertain the visitor about ranching in the late 19th and early 20th centuries." Additional information including pictures of some of the exhibits can be found at their web site.

Some other fun facts about Sonora include the fact that Dan Blocker, who portrayed "Hoss" on the TV show Bonanza, was a high-school English and drama teacher in Sonora before he was cast in the NBC western series and that the Sonora high school Broncos have won the most TX football state championships in their division (2A).

I've included some pictures of Sonora including a picture of the downtown - both today (from wikipedia) and in 1898 (from texas escapes courtesy of the Sonora Chamber of Commerce). I've also included a picture of the Sutton County Courthouse courtesy of Mr. Barclay Gibson. You can see the courthouse in the top of the picture of 1898 downtown shot.

Perhaps the thing that Sonora is best know for is the Caverns of Sonoma which are located about 8 miles west of the town. The caverns are formed in 100-million-year-old (Cretaceous) Segovia Limestone and are a National Natural Landmark that provides a "stunning array of calcite crystal formations, especially helictites" - which have a curving or angular form that change direction at one or more stages during growth. One formation is so densely packed with helictites that it has been called the "snake pit." For some reason this reminded me of the scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark where Indiana Jones looks down into the cavern and states: "Snakes, why did it have to be snakes?"

The Caverns of Sonora have a pretty interesting history. The caverns are located on the ranch land of the Mayfield family and were discovered when an opening in the rocks was found when a dog chased a raccoon into the small opening. Locals began exploring the cave in the early 1920's and, since then, over 7 miles of cave area have been discovered. The cave includes 2 miles of developed trails that have been commercially operated by the Mayfield family since 1960. I have included a picture from wikipedia of some "cave bacon" which is a type of flowstone from the caverns but I would highly encourage you to check out the cavern web site at the link below to see a lot more about the caves including additional pictures, video clips and a virtual tour.

Welcome to the Caverns of Sonora :: Caverns of Sonora

I hope you've enjoyed learning a little about this town and seeing some of the amazing pictures of these caverns. I continue to enjoy seeing what each new town has to offer and teach me and have been amazed each time by how each place is so unique and special. I was talking to my dad recently about this project and he asked me if I was considering a road trip to actually visit all these places for real. That's certainly an interesting thought to consider but, for now, I'm happy to explore what's coming up next. I really appreciate all of you who are sharing this with me.

Hope you all have a great week!

God Bless,

Pat