Wassup from Van Dorn, TX, Part 2

Run Stats:
Day: 351
Miles Completed: 1259.8
Miles to San Diego: 840.2
Miles to El Paso: 126.2
Avg Miles/Day: 3.6
Marathons Completed: 48
Longest Run Streak: 9 Days
Current Run Streak: 1 Day
Shoes: Skora Fit/Skora Tempo
Playlist Favs: Serial Podcast, Season 2
Guest Runners: Molly Donovan

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: After finishing my run today, accompanied by my daughter Molly, I have reached the town of Van Horn, TX. I'm still heading virtually west on I-10 but, after Van Horn, the road starts to head north on the final stretch to El Paso. I don't think that I will be able to make it all the way to El Paso by the end of the year but I'm going to try to get as far as I can and also see if I can break my current consecutive day running streak. The weather here continues to be unseasonably warm which is really helping with mileage. An office colleague was leaving yesterday to head to Michigan where the temp was 10 degrees! I can't imagine how folks up north can train in these winter months.

Van Horn, TX: The town of Van Horn is the county seat of Culberson County, TX. It is the westernmost incorporated community in the central time zone. I've included a picture from wikipedia of the main drag through town. I'm thinking I probably need to check out Chuy's Mexican restaurant while I'm here.

According to the website texasescapes.com, Van Horn was named after a Union Officer, while Culberson County was named after a Confederate. The towns slogan is identified as - "The Town so Healthy We Had to Shoot a Man to Start a Cemetery." The web site states that this slogan was suggested by a local rancher named Bill Goynes. He was killed by his brother-in-law a short time later and in fact became the first occupant of the cemetery. The dispute that led to his demise was apparantly over water (like access to water rather than a drink) and had nothing to do with the need to start a cemetery.

Texasescapes goes on to identify that the history of Van Horn begins with the discovery of Van Horn Wells, south of town near the present ghost town of Lobo. The credit of discovery goes to Jefferson Van Horne (with an "e"), an Army Major who lear commanded Ft Bliss. The town of Van Horn was a stage stop on the San Diego - San Antonio Mail Route.

During the Civil War, the wells were captured by Confederates. The Union Officer in charge was James Judson Van Horn, who was no relation to the Major Van Horne who discovered the wells. The town is named after him, not the guy who discovered the wells. With two names so similar, it kind of makes you wonder how they decided.

In 1881 when the Texas & Pacific railroad came through, the town grew along the tracks and the wells were left where they were, providing water and later irrigating cotton fields and vegetable crops. The railroad put in wells of their own and in 1886 saw the post office established as well as the towns first store. By 1890 the population was almost 500.

Tourism became an important industry in the 1930's with the opening of nearby Carlsbad Caverns and the establishment of the Guadalupe Mountains National Park. Tourism remains one of the main industries of the city and both wikipedia and the Texas State Historical Association report that over 11,000 people pass through Van Horn daily.

Another local attraction is the Sierra Diablo Ranch, a working cattle ranch that is the largest Dude Ranch in West Texas. The ranch is family owned and is home to a variety of wildlife including mule deer, antelope, coyotes, desert quail, roadrunners, jackrabbits and praise dogs. Ranch activities include cattle drives, hiking, horseback riding, kayaking and wagon trips. I've included a picture of the entrance to the ranch and the picturesque desert backdrop.

Blast from the Past: To finish off this post, thought I'd share another picture of little Pitter from the Donovan family archives. This photo shows me decked out in my Camp Springs Boy's Club football gear, ready to head out to the gridiron for battle. You can see that we had nothing but the best equipment including forearm pads which were awesome for doling out some serious forearm shivers! My brother and I were fortunate to play football as part of this Boy's Club for several years, mostly on the same team. We got a chance to play on some pretty good teams and made a lot of good friends during those years. We still occasionally talk about a club road trip to Georgia where the game announcer highlighted the play of "the Donovan boys from Maryland."

Well, that's a wrap for this post. I've got to virtually head over to Chuy's for some chips and salsa and a cold cervesa. Thanks for reading this and sharing this journey with me. I hope you have a great week!

God Bless,

Pat