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!

DAY TWO (Tuesday 6 OCT 25)

Good grief! We are cruising. After over 200 miles on day one, day TWO was almost as far. South of Springfield, IL, we went through an other small, interesting town.


The town of Carlinville, IL is another hidden gem along Rte. 66 that you might just drive through (or walk!) without thinking twice about it. Luckily for you, I checked it out on Wikipedia.org. Only three square miles big (downtown WRJ is 1.7), Carlinville is home to the largest single repository of Sears Catalog Homes in the United States. In the early 1900s an entire neighborhood was created with these homes! Of the 156 original houses, 150 of them are still standing.

Sears Houses under construction

Nearly complete!

Neighborhood Complete

Nice enough to visit, but we aren't staying long; WESTWARD!!!

By afternoon we would have arrived in St. Louis, MO, our second state along the journey! Of course one of the most notable landmarks here is the Gateway Arch, which we'd be able to see off to our left as we pass through town. Can't stay long, though...

Day two ends near St. James, MO. Another small town (4.29 sq. miles), it is notable for several award winning wineries, one of which is the St. James Winery. Oh, look! They have a Garden Cam!

(please note that I have no affiliation with St. James Winery. Link shared for informational purposes only!)

Get some rest!

Let the Journey Begin!

I'm certain that by now the suspense is killing you, right?
Hint:
"If you ever plan to motor West
Travel my way, take the highway, that's the best..."

That's RIGHT! Our Challenge steps will take us from Chicago to L.A. via Historic Route 66!!
We begin the trip at the Eastern terminus, downtown Chicago, IL.
Here are some tid-bits you can use at your next cocktail party:















On the FIRST DAY of the Challenge, we collectively logged nearly HALF A MILLION STEPS!!!!

HALF A MILLION!!!

Heading South along Route 66, one of the first gems that we see is the town of Lincoln, IL. This is the ONLY city in America named for Abraham Lincoln BEFORE he became President. Lincoln covers 6.4 square miles and has 14,284 (2013) people. By comparison, Rutland CITY is 7.6 square miles and has 16,495 (2010) people. MOST interestingly, however, is that Lincoln, IL, is home to the WORLD'S LARGEST COVERED WAGON! Measuring 24'H x 12'W x 40'L with 10' front and 12' rear wheels, it weighs 5 tons.

Our day ends near the town of Glenarm, IL, a suburb just south of Springfield. Get some sleep!

Day One. Chicago to Glenarm, IL

Inaugural Walking Challenge Overview

Thanks for participating in the October Walking Challenge v.2015!! Here's a bit of an overview of what's been going on so far: Twenty-six teams of three have signed up for the challenge. Participants track walking (or elliptical!) steps Monday-Friday and record them on a SharePoint site. The steps can be counted all day, not just at work. Groups do not have to walk together, but I do encourage groups to try to get outside together during the day and enjoy the fall weather.


Up until this morning (Day THREE), I wasn't sure about what to do with the logged steps. Should I just keep track of the totals myself, or find some way to share them with everyone? If I DID share the steps, how could I attach some sort of meaning to the data? For instance on the first day of the challenge, participants logged nearly 400,000 steps (not all participants have logged in yet, though. a-hem....).
What does that MEAN, exactly? How FAR IS THAT??? Taking a middle of the road number of 1 mile = 2345 steps, that makes about 170 miles! But Gene, how far is THAT? It is pretty close to walking from this facility to the West Haven, CT facility.


BOOM!


Then I thought, "wow. we have 20 days to walk. we can't just go back and forth to Connecticut. we'll all go crazy!" So I began to seek other distances; cross country? across Sahara? Gobi? All good ideas, but not what I settled on.


Come back again to see where we're starting and where we're headed, and get a glimpse at things we'll see along the way.


Be Well, gene