Cant Run, Cant Drive...

Bummer weekend. BUT, Coulda Been Worse. Rich and I were all prepared to run the Moab Other Half Marathon http://www.moabhalfmarathon.org/other/other_half.html - trained hard and were ready. Until, we got struck by the bug. The cold wet camping trip did me in as I had begun that with a cold already and Rich caught a bit of the flu. We headed down to Moab, anyway, hopeful that a couple of good night's sleep and we would be good enough to go. Nope. A short trial run convinced me to hang it up and Rich tried an easy bike ride but soon discovered that he couldnt breathe and had no energy. Oh, well. I got in a very nice hike with Jen and Patti on Saturday anyway (see pics) and Rich got to try out his new single speed a little. But then, on Sunday, we were ready to get home and be home and hop in the hot tub and warm up and be comfy... alas, the van died. The alternator decided to quit and leave us stranded. Fortunately, Jen and Patti could get us back to SLC, however, we had to wait about 4 hours for them to finish the race and be ready to go! Now we have to travel back down to Moab next weekend to get the van. One the good side: the mountains got a couple of feet of snow! And, yes, that ski picture was taken this month!

Rain, Snow, Sleet and Hail

And a good time was had by all! Camping for 4 days with our 7th grade students on the first of their 3 adventure experiences. The kids were amazing - such great attitudes in the face of some really hard weather. They were soaking wet and cold and didnt have all the best gear, for sure. The focus of this adventure was backpacking as a skill, and WWII as curriculum as that is what they are studying in their expedition classes. The camping trip was designed to give them an empathic idea of what it would be like to be a soldier. They spent the first day in "basic training" where they learned map and compass skills, basic first aid, teambuilding and physical training. They also learned backpacking skills. The weather didnt permit us to do our overnight backpack, but we made the best of it. The students went out anyway, for day trips to fulfill their "missions". They had to use their compass skills to find the food that was "dropped" in the wilderness, and to find the "enemy camp". They ate real MRE's for dinner and journaled from a soldier's perspective. It was a great learning experience and even though it was difficult they had a great time!

Cyclocross!!

Saturday, the 6th, started cyclocross season. Rich went out and played in the snow and rain and mud. Cyclocross, for those of you who dont know, is one hour of all out riding without stopping, with mud pits and barriers thrown in the way. Rich loves this stuff! Me, I am the dutiful pit crew, standing around handing my stallion a water bottle as he passes. hahahahaha. Anyway, cross races are super fun. Rich did well, although, his bike didnt cooperate, chain jumping off at unexpected times and causing him delays. This week he is opting out of racing in lieu of a long ride to get some miles in before his half Ironman in November.

It's SNOWING!!

SEPTEMBER 29! 4-6 inches in the mountains, who knows how much here. Low of 30 tonight. These pics were taken about an hour ago, and it's still coming down hard! Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!! Hopefully this is a sign of a good winter!! Alta, here we come!

Jackson, WY

A trip to Jackson is always so incredible. We decided to take the vanagon and go to Jackson for the weekend to get away before fall got away. With the dry temps and drought this year all the leaves are well on the way to turning color. With rain and ? snow predicted at the end of the weekend we figured this would be a great time to go. We spent friday night driving their, arriving at about 11:30 and parking in a road turn off to sleep. Then got up early on saturday to eat and start touring. As you can see we timed the color changing pretty well and saturday was perfect temperature wise. After making a loop of the park we decided to head back toward town and camp out Gros Ventre road. We got settled in and rested then went off to run. I started about 2 min after Karen when I met her coming back to the car after 0.1 miles and she was breathless telling me to get the cameras because a monster moose was at the entrance in a small strand of trees. As you can see this was the largest moose that I have ever seen. The antlers on his head must have weighed 200lbs. When he stood his back was easily taller than me. Impressive. They stayed for the rest of the weekend in the trees, mostly lying down, much to the flock of photographers standing in the field dismay. After a windy drive home we hurried to edit pictures and see what we got. For the weekend, lots of great colors, mtns, 3 moose, tons of antelope, deer and fun!!

Fall Colors and 11,749 Ft.

The beautiful fall colors were evident as we hiked up to the summit of Mt. Timpanogos, the second highest peak in the Wasatch Range at 11,749 feet. Three friends from work and I headed out at 8:00 am on a beautiful, but chilly Saturday morning. Four hours later we were sitting on top of the mountain looking at amazing views in all directions. To our west we really got a peek at some fall color as the reds were remarkable. The temps at the top were near freezing, (yes, 32 degrees) with the wind chill, as the wind was blowing about 30 miles per hour with gusts to 40. Fortunately, the wind was blowing into the mountain, instead of blowing us off of it! We ate lunch at the saddle prior to the final push to the summit and then, after a brief, very cold, few minutes at the top, headed back down. Total time on the mountain: 8 hrs. 15 min. About 7:45 of hiking time. Afterward a couple of beers and some food at the Porcupine - a great day!

Apple Pie and Happiness

Ahhh, what a lovely life, indeed. I was thinking about that as I was varnishing the molding for the livingroom, Rich was doing yard work, and Aerosmith was playing on the boom box. A lovely weekend, indicative of a lovely life. Friday, good friends Tammy and Ian and Kathy came over for dinner, very relaxed, a little salmon on the grill, sweet potatoes and corn on the cob, a nice glass of wine and great conversation started the weekend off right. Saturday gave us perfect weather, a great long run and a very productive day working on the living room, routering and staining the baseboards and molding, with a well deserved break to Dairy Queen in between coats. A relaxing evening reading and relaxing. Sunday was great, get up early, read the paper (our Sunday ritural), then a great breakfast that Rich fixed - spinach and feta omelette, fruit, and an English muffin. Some gardening for me afterward - harvesting herbs, weeding and pruning, then both of us went off for a bike ride. Rich headed south for a more intense training ride, and I headed north for a more relaxed recovery ride, a perfect day for it! Temps are now cooling off to a very perfect high 70's to mid 80s. After the ride, back to work varnishing, running errands together, and more varnishing. Then, the most lovely part of all... the apple pie! Rich and I made it together, Rich picked apples from our tree, he peeled, I cored, we sliced in our new food processor ( a gift from Dad and Jane), and mixed, Rich added his handiwork with a woven crust top, and wha-la! Well... I think it's high time I get down there and have a slice, Rich should be about out of the hot tub by now. Adios, for now! Hope you all had a lovely weekend as well!!