Ho, Ho, Ho! I'm at Santa's House!

If you read yesterday's journal entry, you know that I was unable to get up to the Arctic Circle due to the road conditions. So, there was a change in plans for the final 137 miles of this trek, and those changes were outlined in yesterday's journal. If you haven't read that, you should. I am currently at North Pole, Alaska - a place that is like Christmas 365 days each year! Scroll to the bottom of this page to see a picture of the Santa Claus House!

It's not everyday that you get a chance to see an amazing location, but today I got to visit Santa's house at North Pole, Alaska. What a neat place! His reindeer are really cool and I made sure to take some pictures and videos! I'll work on getting those posted tonight. I really enjoyed my time in North Pole, but had to continue down the road today. It was an easy day of 15 miles and the partly cloudy skies, and 50-degree temperatures, were good running conditions. I had to run through a construction zone at the beginning of the day and one road worker wasn't very thrilled with my running through their work zone, but I talked to him and got through it. After wrapping up the day I had lunch with my parents and then visited Santa's store! There were so many toys and fun things. I really liked reading many letters that Santa has received from children around the world. He has many hanging on the walls of his place. Unfortunately, Santa wasn't at home when I was there, but I had a good time seeing his house and getting pictures. I believe he is on a little vacation with Mrs. Claus. Anyway, it was a fun time and if you're ever in Alaska you should visit North Pole. Tomorrow I'll be back on the road for a 30-mile day. I have 122 miles left to go until reaching the finish line in Delta Junction. Whew!

Some Thoughts About The Teams' Progress...

I've been looking over the team mileages that leaders have submitted and am so encouraged by what I see. In fact, so far there are 49 teams that have already logged at least 500 miles (which is the total distance I'm doing). Also, there are currently 27 teams that are within 100 miles of making it to the 500-mile mark. That's awesome! Remember, the trek officially ends next Tuesday afternoon, May 12. Of course, teams can keep on running past that date to log miles and get even more fit. Great job everyone!!

I Cannot Thank You Enough...

I know that there are many of you who probably look at the fact that I have just over 100 miles left to do in order to complete this difficult Alaska trek and think 'No problem... he's got this thing beat.' However, after pounding through the terrain I have for the past 2˝ weeks I can tell you that there are still challenges ahead. The body and mind get weary and "Bob" never gets easier to push with each step. So, I want to thank everyone who is taking two minutes out of their day to either sign my guestbook, send me a personal e-mail, or taking time to send me some pictures of their students in action running and walking. Those things mean more to me than I can ever express. There are certainly times when I'm all alone and wonder if my steps and effort are really making any difference. Then, as I sit with my feet in ice at the end of the day I read nice thoughts from teachers and students about how P.A.C.E. Trek does make a difference. Those moments truly fuel my spirit and get me back on the road each morning. Thank you for running along with me. I know that you're only with me "virtually", but your personal words of encouragement and appreciation truly make me feel as though each of you are right here with me.

Have You Seen All Of The Music Slideshows So Far?

If you haven't seen all of the music slideshows I've posted on this web site so far (which contain many pictures from this journey), you can do so by clicking on the following links. Remember, these are all in Windows Media format (.wmv files). Those trying to play these on a Mac system will need to have the right codecs installed to view them. Here's the shows:

Slideshow Posted April 22, 2009

Slideshow Posted April 24, 2009

Slideshow Posted April 26, 2009

Slideshow Posted April 27, 2009

Slideshow Posted May 5, 2009

If you want to save any of the music slideshows above to your computer's hard drive, just right click on the links and select "Save Target As" from the pop-up menu that appears. You can then save the individual files to your computer and play them. That is suggested for the best viewing. You won't have the slideshow pause at all as it's trying to download and play at the same time.

Some Little Known Facts About Christmas:

Annually, Santa gets over an estimated 100 million letters.

There are approximately 25 to 30 million real Christmas trees sold in the United States every year.

Dayton C. Fouts is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest run of dressing up as Santa (1937-1997). At age 85, jolly old Fouts took his last sleigh ride to the great toyshop in the sky.

Stille Nacht! Heilige Nacht! (Silent Night) is without doubt the world’s best-known Christmas carol. It has been translated into nearly 300 languages and dialects. Created by two Austrians, Fr. Joseph Mohr first wrote the lyrics in 1816 and Franz Gruber later added the melody in 1818. This most beloved carol was first performed in Oberndorf, Austria in 1818.

In the United States, there are more than 21,000 Christmas tree growers. And, Christmas trees take an average of 7-10 years to mature and are grown in all 50 states, including Hawaii and Alaska.

In 1856, Franklin Pierce (the 14th President of the United States) was the first President to place a Christmas tree in the White House.

Every year since 1947, the people of Oslo, Norway have given a Christmas tree to the city of Westminster, England. The gift is an expression of good will and gratitude for Britain’s help to Norway during WW II.

That's all from this Alaska milepost! Thanks for stopping by and be sure to run back here tomorrow.