9/10/14
The sounds of trains chugged through the night as there were tracks next to the Dateland RV park. The surprising thing is that they were not annoying. I barely noticed the Southern Pacific cars. What did provide a nuisance in the desert though were the flying insects. Where did all the flies come from? Tiny buzzing creatures could not be deterred. The flies, while annoying, seemed tame compared to the bite of the, even tinier, mosquitoes.
The mosquitoes didn’t surface until the evening 13 miles in. Then suddenly, from seemingly nowhere, I was attacked from every angle while on the run. First I felt itching on my back. Then my leg. When I looked down, there was blood on my CEP compression sock. I realized they could eat my flesh through my clothing. I had to suck it up and go faster. The scent of stagnant water invaded my olfactory passageway and I knew the culprit was close. When I continued my run I couldn’t help but notice the carcass of a fox and one of a desert mouse. They must not have been freshly deceased because they didn’t have that familiar scent of a dead animal on the side of the street.
We called the day at the Yuma/Maricopa county line. The safe bet was to recharge and preserve energy for the next day’s event. Hello Dateland Elementary!
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