Las Animas, Colorado (Day 13--June 19)

There's a myth that the name, Las Animas, derives from bloodshed. A group of Spanish priests were killed by a Native American tribe, and in commemoration of their deaths, the city was named after the "lost souls," or las animas, that passed away.

During the night of our stay in Las Animas, my host Pam Valdez was worried that the story of the name would make Las Animas appear haunted or spooky. In my own short experience, however, I found that Pam had nothing to worry about, and that Las Animas was indeed a charming and warm town for us to stay.

Las Animas was the first city in which our group was divided among host families. We ocassionaly split up the group among hosts, and even though it's kind of sad to break up the team (even if only for a night), doing so allows us to interact more closely with the communities that welcome us.

In Las Animas we were separated into groups of two to three riders per host, and Kasaundra and I stayed with Pam Valdez, a mother of three. Pam is a chiropractor in Las Animas and has been for the past 26 years.

That night we had a pot luck dinner at Pam's church, and we gave a presentation about Texas 4000 and its cause. I was one of the three presenters, and I mentioned my inspirations for riding. I was touched when my own teammate, Abby, shared her major reason for riding: her friend Will Devonshire, who had passed away from cancer when he was only in high school. Even though I spend day and night with my teammates, I still learn more about them each day.

After the presentation, Pam drove us to her home, where we were able to chat and learn more about each other.

Pam's best friend, Brenda, had passed away from pancreatic cancer just a year ago. I didn't probe with too many questions, because Pam seemed sensitive about the issue.

That night, Pam also offered to "adjust" Kasaundra and I the night before. I had never visited a chiropractor, so I was pretty excited about the whole event.

Pam popped almost every joint in my body: the bones of my neck, the bones all along my spine, both of my wrists, as well as my ankles. She also moved my stomach downwards. According to Pam indigestion may result from a poorly positioned stomach; mine was positioned such that it was scrunched up towards my esophagus.

I also couldn't help from laughing the entire time. I'm extremely ticklish, so everytime Pam tried to adjust parts of my back or my ankles, I would squirm and giggle. Pam said that squiriming from ticklishness is actually a defense mechanism, because ticklish areas are points of nerve damage.

I felt pretty good the next morning, and was well-prepared for the 85-mile day to Pueblo. That day, Kasaundra and I rode in Brenda's memory. It was an honor to do so.