Hot, windy and relatively flat, Kingman is a big city in the middle of the western Arizona desert.

The first running team this morning ran through Kingman, and on the way was welcomed by the Boys and Girls Club where Mayor Monica Gerter read out a wonderful proclamation. Noreen Frisch, the Director of the Club, was very happy to have us visit.

Dan Winder a Fireman in Kingman stopped us as we were making our way into City Hall and then onto the Palo Christi School. It turned out that three of Dan's kids attended the school and would be attending the ceremony.

The runners then proceeded to the Palo Christi School and were welcomed by hundreds of children, teachers and Principal Steve Hite. He made some wonderful comments on our journey and in the end wrote that the students really enjoyed meeting people from other lands. We are always energized with hope and enthusiastic energy whenever we come to school like this where the children spontaneously receive us with joy and excitement.

Dan enthusiastically offered to run four miles with us and kept us on pace as we made our way out of Kingman.

Leaving Kingman, there were long, steep climbs on the hills towards Lake Mead. Reaching the Hoover Dam, an awesome sight greeted us. Perched high on a hill, our view of the Dam below gave us a perspective of how enormous this natural power plant is. Harnessing the energy supplied by moving water in the Colorado River, this immense structure supplies electric power to many of the southwestern states. This gives me a deeper sense of appreciation and gratitude for the simple but powerful element we call water. I also appreciate it much more when we are running out here in the hot and dry desert areas when a little water is all you need to cool down and quench your thirst. In terms of physical harmony, I think water stands alone in its ability to offer our lives almost all that we need to survive.

Running down the switchback hills and over the Hoover Dam was quite easy and fun and there were lots of tourists who inquisitively witnessed this unusual spectacle. But I knew that what ‘goes down must go up’ in terms of hills, and it was not long before I struggled for the next four miles up hill towards Boulder City, Nevada.

Once we reached Boulder City, we were greeted by over 400 excited children and staff at the Martha P. King Elementary School. The mayor was there to greet us as well, reading out a proclamation which welcomed us to his wonderful city. A congressional aid also attended and greeted us with kindness and sincerity. The children had many wonderful banners and artwork prepared for us and held them high as we ran into the schoolyard.

After the ceremony, the mayor, the congressional aid, Principal Lee Esplin and some of the teachers enthusiastically ran with the torch out to the street as we made our way to the Youth Centre at the nearby ABC Park. There we were greeted by Debbie Barth, the coordinator of the Youth Center, and about 25 children, some of whom held up signs of welcome for us. After a short ceremony, we all had a run through the parking lot with the children, which for them is a little taste of what it is like to run together for harmony and friendship.

As my team of Morris and Goran and myself ended our day’s run by the beautiful Lake Mead with rolling terrain and mountains surrounding this deep blue body of water, I realized that some days we are offered so much more than we give in terms of the kindness and harmony that is inherent in all the people we meet and in nature itself. Today we met with hundreds of people, young and old. We also saw some amazing landscapes which gave us tremendous joy. We will carry this all with us as we make our way north and west to the Pacific Ocean and keep trying to share all the goodwill and harmony that we have received.

Our final gratitude for the day goes to the St. Jude’s Ranch for Children which is dedicated to the care and treatment for Nevada’s children who may be abandoned, abused or neglected. Nestled into the base of the River Mountains overlooking glorious Lake Mead, St. Jude’s Ranch has been a safe haven for the children of Southern Nevada since 1967. They so kindly offered their wonderful facilities for visitors to us for the night which will never be forgotten in this spiritual and natural refuge. Dave, one of the staff here, was very welcoming to us as we arrived. We thank him and the rest of the staff for their kindness and generosity.

Arpan and Team Harmony

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