Crossing Borders

Just south of Tucson is the community of Green Valley. Famous as a retirement town, you'll still find plenty to do in this part of the state! Just close enough to Tucson to make a day trip easy, but far enough away to not get caught up in the big city hectic life. This view? I could retire with this...like they say about Arizona; "All beach, no ocean."

We've got enough time for a quick 9 holes, but that's about it. ONWARD!
Get your passports out!!! We're going SOUTH OF THE BORDER!
Nogales, AZ into Nogales, Mexico!OLE~!!

we're traveling RIGHT TO LEFT, though...

I hope at least a few of us speak Spanish! Our trip west WAS going to take us to the east coast, possibly all the way to Florida, but then I wasn't sure about the distance. This trip will take us to warmer climes. VAMONOS, MUCHACHAS Y MUCHACHOS!!
Here's what our good friends at wikipedia have to say about Nogales(s):

• "Nogales, Arizona, borders the city of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, and is Arizona's largest international border community. The southern terminus of Interstate 19 is located in Nogales at the U.S.-Mexico border; the highway continues south into Mexico as Mexico Federal Highway 15. The highways meeting in Nogales comprise a major intersection in the CANAMEX Highway, connecting Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Nogales also is the beginning of the Sun Corridor, an economically important trade region stretching from Nogales to Prescott, AZ, including the Tucson and Phoenix metropolitan areas."
• "On August 27, 1918, a battle between United States Army forces and Mexican militia - mostly civilian in composition - took place. Culminating as the result of a decade's worth of tensions originating from the Mexican Revolution and earlier battles in Nogales along the border in 1913 and 1915, the main consequence of the 1918 violence saw the building of the first permanent border wall between Nogales, Arizona, and Nogales, Sonora, along the previously unobstructed boundary line on International Street."

We come across some vaqueros (cowboys) crossing a river and are reminded that for the next few days, we'll mostly be in small towns an villages. 

The city of Magdelena is famous for missions/churches, festivals, and a giant painting of the "Virgen of Guadelupe" on the side of a cliff. People flock to Magdelena at the end of September for an annual festival commemorating their patron saint, San Francisco Javier.

Next we find the city of Santa Ana. "The main tourist attraction in Santa Ana is the church built in the 1900s to honor Our Lady of Saint Ana. Every year during the month of July, the whole town celebrates the day of their Saint with a fair and dances." (source)

Before we reach the end of today's adventure, we'll pass through a relatively NEW town. The town of Benjamin Hill was founded in 1942 and gained municipality status in 1952. To me, this is interesting because Mexico has been bustling with people for MANY YEARS yet is still founding new towns. I suppose we still do it here in the US, too, but still. The city of Benjamín Hill "owes its existence to the railroad. In 1939 it was just a ranch called San Fernando when the federal government chose it for the junction of the Ferrocarril Sonora-Baja California Ferrocarril and the Sud-Pacífico railways,

Trains in Benjamin Hill, Sonora, Mexico

which was finished in 1948. It was given municipal status in 1952. The name is derived from Benjamín Hill, the Sinaloan military leader whom President Venustiano Carranza appointed Governor of Sonora in 1914."(source)
I found a blog about the town here.
Just a few more miles to our first overnight in Mexico. Can you stand it?






Tonight we are staying in the village of Querobabi. The word in language Querobabi ópata means Milkweed Water and the Pima language means Gavilan Water. Northwest of the town is the Rancho El Suareño, the origin of this community originally called San José de Querobabi. In this place a building that was a station of errands ranging from north to south and vice versa, also built to house the servants of the ranch. Said construction was done under the orders of Don Jose Joaquin Fernandez and Suarez was founded in 1832.

The REAL day ELEVEN, and a FRESH START

Welcome to day 11. I'm about a week behind, but things have been crazy busy at work. We know how that goes, right?
So we're in Santa Monica, CA, on the famous pier. Let's HEAD EAST!!!!!
This route is going to take us along some 'unofficial' roads, and perhaps a ferry or two. Not quite sure yet. The distance we're looking to cover is roughly 2,276 miles, so keep those walking feet moving!!!
Now, let's see what interesting places we come across in our first two days.

We head back into San Bernardino, but then turn slightly southeast toward Palm Springs!! Of note:

• "When the United States entered World War II, Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley were important in the war effort. The original airfield near Palm Springs became a staging area for the Air Corps Ferrying Command 21st Ferrying Group in November 1941 and a new airfield was built ½ mile from the old site. The new airfield, designated Palm Springs Army Airfield, was completed in early 1942. Personnel from the Air Transport Command 560th Army Air Forces Base Unit stayed at the La Paz Guest Ranch and training was conducted at the airfield by the 72nd and 73rd Ferrying Squadrons. Later training was provided by the IV Fighter Command 459th Base Headquarters and Air Base Squadron. Eight months before Pearl Harbor Day, the El Mirador Hotel was fully booked and adding new facilities. After the war started, the U.S. government bought the hotel from owner Warren Phinney for $750,000 and converted it into the Torney General Hospital, with Italian prisoners of war serving as kitchen help and orderlies in 1944 and 1945. Through the war it was staffed with 1,500 personnel and treated some 19,000 patients. General Patton's Desert Training Center encompassed the entire region, with its headquarters in Camp Young at the Chiriaco Summit and an equipment depot maintained by the 66th Ordnance in present-day Palm Desert." (source)

East of Palm Springs is pretty much low desert. Move along, not much to see here. See?

Are we there yet??? Nope.  KEEP WALKING....We cross into Arizona at Blythe, a bit more fertile than we've seen for the past hundred miles or more thanks to the Colorado River.

Mt. Lemmon, AZ

We're headed directly for Phoenix (a name which i ALWAYS need to look up in order to spell), but we'll turn southeast before we get there. The place is one big, hot, flat parking lot with a few mountains sprinkled in to make it an adventure. We traveled quite a ways across the desert to get here but we'll continue a bit more until we reach Tucson. I used to live there (1991-1993), and would move back someday. The southern most ski area in the US is located just north of Tucson in the Catalina Mountains. 

Also in Tucson is Sabino Canyon, a WONDERFUL place to hike, play, eat, and try not to be eaten.

try not to get eaten

Of note is the Military Aircraft Boneyard. When I lived there, one of the areas wasn't fenced off and we would ride our mountain bikes around among the planes for hours and hours.

Get some rest. But first, some FOOOOOD.

Day ELEVEN.

Leaving San Bernardino, we really only have a relative PAR 5 to get to the ocean. We should be there by mid morning...if we leave early enough.

Since we're all eager to get there, Here are some scenes from the greater Los Angeles area:

Downtown LA, as seen from the Sn Bernardino area. Roughly...

What shot of LA would be complete without this?

I want to take a moment here to thank all participants of the challenge. You have surpassed my expectations!!! When I was choosing a route to follow, I picked this one because the distance seemed nearly attainable. Well, we've reached the beach, as it were, in only TEN DAYS.  As I write this, I show 2547 cumulative miles in 10 days. There are missing numbers, so it may be even fewer days than 10, but let's stick with that for now!
Route 66 is 2,451 miles long. We made it!!! Now what??? Tune in MONDAY to find out where we're going for the remaining two weeks. I leave you with some images and information about Santa Monica Pier.

"Many simply imagine it just runs right into the Pacific Ocean. And while that may sound silly, that's pretty much exactly right. In an effort to end the epic highway on a high note, the Route 66 Alliance and the Santa Monica Pier Restoration Corp. got together and on the 83rd anniversary of the highway's inception, declared the end of the Santa Monica Pier the official stopping point of Route 66.

The landmark is identified by a mysterious sign that showed up, perhaps as a movie prop, on the corners of Santa Monica Blvd. and Ocean Ave., and then about 50 years ago, just as mysteriously disappeared. The sign in question said “Santa Monica” above a bold “66”, under which it plainly stated, “End of the Trail.”When the pier was officially designated as the last stop for Route 66, it only made sense for a replica of the long-missing sign to be erected at the very end, looking out over the Pacific in a symbolic display of what was the destination of so many travelers over the last century." (source)

Days NINE and TEN and then some.VEGAS, BABY!!

From standing on the corner, we continue west to Flagstaff, Arizona. BEFORE we get there, though, we walk through Winona (Why-nona). In the Route 66 song, it is the only location that is mentioned out of order. Did you also know that, "the singer Wynonna Judd adopted her name upon hearing "Winona" in "Route 66.""

Flagstaff is just up the road, so we'll check in there for a bit.Why not, it is snowing (apparently)...







Kingman is the next big town, and if we were staying on Route 66, we'd be heading into California. HOWEVER, since we've been kicking butt and taking names from the very start, let's take a little detour NORTH for a bit. Whadda ya say??

Can't stay here too long, though, as we have many miles to go before we sleep. We'll fill up at one of the many buffets, then head south west, back toward Route 66.

Barstow, CA takes up 41.4 square miles. By comparison, the town of Hartford (which includes WRJ, Hartford Village, Wilder, West Hartford, and Quechee) takes up 45.9 square miles. Our area doesn't quite look like this, though, does it?

We'll stop for the night in San Bernadino, CA. Here is some trivia for you:
"A well-known landmark of the San Bernardino Valley is the arrowhead that sits high on the mountainside. Clearly visible since long before the white man came, the figure has many legends concerning its origin. The Indians, well aware of the medicinal value of the hot springs, often gathered there to bathe in the hot springs. The Mormons called the mark the "Ace of Spades".
Measuring 1,375 feet long and 449 feet wide, the arrowhead is visible from as far away as 30 miles on a clear day. Although it was commonly believed at one time that the Indians had made the arrowhead to mark the location of the hot springs, geologists now say that it is a natural phenomenon, a natural uplifting of the soil."(source)





Honestly, at the rate we're going, and the steps we've ALREADY logged, we'll  be in the ocean on my next post....
Today's edition covered this distance:

Amazing.

Days SEVEN and EIGHT (10/13 and 14)

Well, not ALL of day eight. But when you realize where we're stopping for the night, you'll more than likely understand why.
Leaving Encino we make it to Albuquerque, home of Kirtland Air Force Base.
Seen from the air, the city looks like this:

 
"What chance would I have of actually seeing the city from this perspective," you ask? If we were to have been there last week, we would have been able to take a ride in a hot air balloon during the world's largest hot air balloon festival. The festival averages over 500 balloons each year.

Let's skip the smallish towns along the way, as we have two biggies to mention today. Actually, ONE of the smallish towns is Thoreau, NM. The town was NOT named after Henry David Thoreau, and "Practically all residents pronounce the town's name like "thuh-ROO" (similar to "through" or "threw") and not like "thorough" or "throw" (source).

The next city we're passing through is Gallup, New Mexico (you just sang that in your head, didn't you?) Gallup sits at 6,468 feet, which is more than 1,000 feet higher than Mount Washington. Yep. "Gallup was named as the winner in the 2013 Best of the Road contest by Rand McNally as the "Most Patriotic Small Town in America 2013."




Gallup is also known as the "Heart of Indian Country," as it is in the middle of Navajo Nation and is also home for many Zuni and Hopi tribe members.

Let's get going. Remember the ear-worm I planted earlier? I have another one for you today. This one is from the Eagles, though. Perhaps you've already seen this picture? Get it? Do you have the song playing in your head yet? 

For me, though, that's not the most interesting thing to be found in Winslow. Winslow is also home to the 9-11 Remembrance Gardens, a memorial honoring those who lost their lives during the September 11 attacks. The memorial was constructed using two beams recovered from the wreckage of the World Trade Center towers.

Before we camp for the night, I'll let you in on the secret above. "I'm standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona, such a fine sight to see; it's a girl, my Lord, in a flat bed Ford, slowing down to take a look at me." Now do you have the song in your head? Good. My work is almost done here.

Standing On a Corner Park. Winslow, AZ.

Day SIX (10/12)

Today was Columbus Day and Indigenous People's Day, which meant a day off for many people at our facility. And we didn't spend it sitting around!
The first day of the challenge we all walked 574,380 steps, and a week later we walked 452,753. Those two days combined are just over ONE MILLION STEPS or roughly 438 MILES. ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? I never imagined that we'd take all of these steps!! Blown away, I am. Which is presenting a bit of a challenge for me with the challenge.
I decided that we'd walk along Route 66 to see if we could make it from Chicago to LA. Well, we will make it there WAAAAAAY ahead of schedule. So what will we do with the remaining days? I'm working on ideas, so stay tuned and keep walking!
Ok. Where are we now? Yesterday we made it to Shamrock, TX, and by the end of the day today (through Monday, 10/12/2015), we have made it ACROSS TEXAAAAAS. Yep, the stubby part at the top.
We breeeezed through Amarillo, TX, but not before we stopped at the Amarillo VAMC. Why? Because their version of our Route 5 is ROUTE 66!!
From their public site: Approximately 25,000 patients are treated annually.  The health care system maintains 55 acute care inpatient beds for general medical, surgical, and intensive care.  Geriatric and extended care is provided in the 120-bed skilled nursing home care unit.  A modern ambulatory care center and medical arts building facilitates the delivery of primary care, specialty care and preventive health services." The Amarillo VAMC is roughly 1100 miles from our starting point in Chicago. Whew.

Lots of cool stuff coming up as we finish out day six...the first thing we come to is the famous Cadillac Ranch. Ten old caddies stuck into the ground up to their dashboards.. Here's a short video made by some guy I don't know. I watched a few videos before I chose this one, mostly because it was the only one that some talks during.



Fill up on snacks soon, because we're headed to Tucumcari, New Mexico for our next brief visit. Not staying there, though, just a visit. Tucumcari is at about 4,090 feet in elevation, (for reference, Camel's Hump in Vermont is 4,081 feet tall) but their record snowfall for one month was only 26" in December 1923 (source). In Tucumcari Rte 66 diverges into two routes, one heading north toward Conchas Lake State Park, and the other is the same as Highway 40, which we've been following off and on most of the way. Because we're from New England, we'll head up to the lake for lunch. To see some great pictures of this high desert location, click here.
As luck would have it, tonight we're stopping in Encino,NM. Our challenge members will nearly outnumber the full time residents in this town that time has forgotten. According to the 2000 Census, there are only 94 people in Encino. Images show it to have once been a bustling town, but likely has fallen apart after Route 66 was all but abandoned. Admittedly, though, the travel junkie in me wants to visit this town that lies just over an hour (by car!) to the west.

house in Encino, MN

former store and post office in Encino, NM

Day FIVE, and the end of the FIRST WEEK.

That's right! We're in TEXAS, Y'ALL!!

Texas is our FIFTH state, and we reached it on the FIFTH day of the challenge. How cool is that? Very cool, actually.

Friday the 9th was a raw, rainy day here in Vermont, and that put a damper on the number of steps that most people walked. No worries, though, as we're cruising along Route 66. 

When we hit Texas, the first town we come to is the town of Shamrock. Some interesting early history AND some pop-culture history there as well. Let's check it out...

Shamrock, TX was first settled in 1890 when a couple running the local mail from his dugout

sample dugout on the prairie

were given the opportunity to name the town. They named it Shamrock because is mother had told him to always count on a Shamrock to bring him luck. Shortly after they made the decision,  to name the town, his dugout was destroyed in a mysterious fire and he was never able to open the post office.

At its peak, in 1930, Shamrock had a population of 3,778. Despite some rebounds, the city population continues to fluctuate. According to the 2000 census, the city population has dropped to its lowest recorded point with 2,029 residents.

For the pop-culture reference, I'll start by saying, "KA-CHOW!" That's right, Disney/Pixar's film Cars got some inspiration from Shamrock. I'll let Wikipedia tell the story...
"In 1936, the U-Drop Inn was built at the corner of the U.S. Route 83 and the now historic Route 66. At the time of opening, the U-Drop was the only café within 100 miles of Shamrock, enjoying brisk business and becoming a successful establishment. Once considered a beautiful and impressive example of Route 66 architecture in Texas, the U-Drop Inn fell into disrepair with the decommissioning of Route 66. Referred to as "one of the most impressive examples" of Route 66 architecture by the Texas Historical Commission, the U-Drop Inn was added to the National Register of Historic Places. In May 1999, the First National Bank of Shamrock purchased the then closed U-Drop Inn and gave it to the city of Shamrock. With a $1.7 million federal grant, the city was able to hire a firm specializing in historical renovation to restore the building to its original glory and adapt it into a museum, visitors' center, gift shop, and the city's chamber of commerce. The revived U-Drop Inn was featured in the 2006 animated film Cars as the inspiration for the fictional Ramone's body shop."

See?

Conoco's U-Drop Inn

Ramone's Body Art Shop

Look how far we've come!!!

Day FOUR (10/8)

"Oklahoma City looks mighty pretty..."
Are we having fun yet? Better to ask that question rather than, "Are we there yet?"
As of 10/12, numbers that have been reported that Monday-Thursday have netted us 2,020,534 steps or nearly 860 miles. I'm certain that more people will submit their week's numbers when they get back to work on Tuesday, so stay tuned for updates!

We blew through Oklahoma City during this last effort, and here are some tid-bits (source):

• Oklahoma City is the principal city of the eight-county Oklahoma City Metropolitan Statistical Area in Central Oklahoma and is the state's largest urbanized area. Based on population rank, the metropolitan area was the 42nd largest in the nationas of 2012.
• With regards to Mexican drug cartels, Oklahoma City has traditionally been the territory of the notorious Juárez Cartel, but the Sinaloa Cartel has been reported as trying to establish a foothold in Oklahoma City. There are many rival gangs in Oklahoma City, one whose headquarters has been established in the city, the Southside Locos, traditionally known as Sureños.

"Field of Empty Chairs"

I would be remiss without taking a few moments to remember the lives lost and forever changed as a result of the domestic terror attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building on April 19 1995. "The blast and catastrophic collapse killed 168 people and injured over 680. The blast shockwave destroyed or damaged 324 buildings within a 340-meter radius, destroyed or burned 86 cars, and shattered glass in 258 nearby buildings, causing at least an estimated $652 million worth of damage." You can visit the memorial's web page here.

As we continue to "motor west," we'll stop for the night in the town of Bridgeport, OK. Those of you who have an interest in ghost towns might find this place fun! As of the 2010 Census, there were only 116 people living in this once bustling town. It is now considered to be a 'ghost town', and has a pretty rich history from the early railroad days. You can see many pictures of the abandoned buildings as well as learn about the town's sordid past on the "AbandonedOK" website. I found the part about the sunken train to be fascinating.

No, this is not the sunken train.

Sleep tight!

DAY THREE (10/7/15)

Amazing. Today (friday) i have all but 3 or 4 people's steps accounted for monday and tuesday, and EACH DAY was over HALF A MILLION steps.
Let that sink in for a moment....
The total for those two days was 1,109,951 steps. FANTASTIC!!!

Miles traveled for the first three days is around 680. This places us roughly here:

Big Cabin, OK

To get here, though, we had to travel through a very small section of Kansas.Kansas is the only state along Route 66 that is NOT mentioned in the song. There are only 13.2 miles of Rte 66 in Kansas, which just begs for a half marathon. Am I right?
Today we are going to stop for the night in Big Cabin, OK. One might think that the name implies we'll find something like the World's Largest Cabin here but that's not the case. The town got its name from a local landmark that existed near the place where the Missouri, Kansas, and Texas Railway built a switch in 1871-1872 (source). So we don't get to see an actual big cabin, but one of the truck stops does have this to offer:

Another notable fact for Big Cabin OK:
In 2004 Big Cabin raised nearly three-fourths of its revenue from traffic citations for speeding. The state of Oklahoma enacted a law in 2004 that penalizes towns where the citation revenue exceeds 50% of the annual budget. As a result of a complaint filed by a local business, Oklahoma's Department of Public Safety designated the town a speed trap, and prohibited the town's officers from writing traffic tickets for six months. The police department maintained that enforcement lowered the annual rate of traffic deaths. Rather than speed along, let's stop here. I have to admit, though, roads like this just beg for speed...

Get some sleep, remember to hydrate!