With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams...

walked 3.5 miles with Wyatt and 4 with MR.

Went for a walk with Terri around her hood and got to see lots of the damage from the storm.  Glad for her (and us) that her power came back on.

Delicious dinner of Steak & home made macaroni & cheese from Chef Monica.

Got to run with Terri today.  Best run I've had in a long time.  All because of the best company.

We ran on the Rail Trail.  So nice to have a paved trail, no cars, bathrooms & water fountains.  

Later MR & I rode the bikes on the C & O Canal Trail in Harper's Ferry.  Beautiful.

spent all day in the car.  got to walk around the rest stop once, and ran to the bathroom a couple of times.  Here's a photo of our travel sherpa at the rest stop:

Woke up early and went on a quick bike ride around the campground/park before getting back in the car.  We stayed at Summit Lake State Park in Indiana.  Beautiful place to visit if you're ever in the area.

Another early morning and another bike ride around another State Park before getting back in the car.  Looking forward to less travel and more doing.  Stayed at Prairie Rose State Park in Iowa.  As far as I could tell, other than tasty corn, this is the best thing about Iowa.

Finally got to exercise!!  Went on a bike ride with MR & his Pops, then MR & I went on a run around the RV park and golf course.  It had been so long since I'd run that it was a bit of a challenge.  Altitude may have had something to do with it, but I'm pretty sure it was just too much time doing nothing.  It was cloudy and overcast and dare I even say a bit chilly out.  Nice break from the sun & heat.

Hart Ranch just outside Rapid City, South Dakota.

It felt so good to run the day before, so I went out for another run today.  It was great!  I saw some wild turkeys with their babies :-)  MR rode his bike with me.  I was exhausted after 6 miles, but it was that good kind of work-out exhaustion.  I haven't felt that for a while.

Knee was a little sore from the running, so I didn't run today.  MR and I did go on a awesome bike ride on the Michelson Rail Trail in South Dakota.  We started at the trail head in Hill City and rode 14.6 miles up to the Mystic trail head.  Took a cheetos break and then rode back to Hill City.  29.2 miles total, and half of that was a good climb.  8 miles of gradual incline, 6 miles of steep down.  Turn around and 6 miles of steep climb with 8 miles of gradual decline.  A good workout and a beautiful ride.  We got to ride through 2 different tunnels.  The trail was gravel/dirt and in really good shape.  It costs $3 a person per day to ride, and it 100% worth every penny.  I wish there were trails like this where we live.

Here's a photo of MR and I in front of one of the tunnels.

More time in the car, but we did get in a good hike at Devil's Tower.  We took the outer loop and the side loop through Prarie Dog Town.  Beautiful views.  We had a great time getting out of the car!  

Woke up and the sun rise over the mountains.  We were camping at Buffalo Bill State Park, Wyoming, and it was a little cold and windy.  Beautiful sunrise!

Then we spent the rest of the day at Yellowstone walking and hiking the trails and seeing the cool stuff there.  Drove through Jackson and got to see the Tetons.  I've never seen them before and they are truly amazing!

Stopped to camp for the night at Allred Flat campground in Bridger National Forest.  Not much there, but we were tired and just needed a place to lay down and sleep.

Here's a photo of a geyser erupting on the people who were standing on the bridge waiting to watch old faithful.  It amused me.

Another driving day. 

Bike ride and jet ski day.  I didn't know riding a jet ski would make me so sore!

About a 7 mile hike up in The Canyons with RAD and her super cool family.

Ran some of the Park City Marathon trail with RAD (the end of it).  MR was a good water boy and helped us spot some good treasures!

Feeling Foxy?

Skunk.  Was it one that had it's head cut in half, or two separate heads?  I'm not sure I want to find out.

Then MR and I rode our bikes from the hotel in Kimball Junction up to Park City and back.  Got a nice rainy ride in on the way back.  Other than making the trail a little slippery, it was pretty nice.

Hiked Timpanogos with Bye-Wing's family.  Always impressive, and a good workout to boot!

Happy Birthday to RAD's little guy today!

Wonderful run on the Lehi JRP with a beautiful group of women- and MR too!

Wendy, RAD, Becca and Smooth kept me going :-)

They even helped me find my treasure for the day :-)

After a great run, RAD rode out to the north end of the trail with us, and then she took off for home and MR and I rode back to the car.  It is beautiful out there on that trail.  We rode around 11 miles total.

A few hours later we hiked Red Butte's trails.  Not sure on the distance, but they were nice trails and not too difficult.  Love the gardens and all the flowers & trees.

Went for a bike ride with MR in Green River.   Explored around town, rode up to the big white block statue trying to figure out what it was for....at the top of the hill, there are no answers.  But there is a pretty good view of the little town.

We rode out of town and past lots of fields, when MR got a flat tire.  3 thorns in the tube.  That extra tube we had was still in the car, and  rather unhelpful.  So I rode back and got the car and picked up MR before heading back to the campground.

Treasures we found:  Lifeguard Jim, a license plate on the side of the road, the longest horns on a longhorn cow I've even seen, and Pirate Drive.  I didn't know until the next day that the school mascot for Green River High School is the Pirate.  I feel like I'm at home!

Woke up and went for a 4 mile run in Green River.  Found the High School at the end of Pirate Drive!

Hiked all over Arches today.  Wore the Garmin and we totaled just over 11 miles for the day.  We were glad we had nice air mattresses to sleep on and rest for the night.

Went on a 3 mile hike at Arches before driving to Goblin Valley and hiked another 6 there.  Our legs & feet were so tired & worn out by the end.  20 miles of hiking in 2 days.

Quick bike ride, set up camp, showered, and had dinner.  Then we went for another longer bike ride as the sun was setting.  Awesome lightening show in the distance before bed.

One more shorter hike in Goblin Valley before driving home.  Took the long route home & went through Delta.

Went for a bike ride with MR, but after 4 miles, his patched tire got another different rip in it.  So that was the end of the bike ride.  

Nice morning for a race.  Not too much sun, a little overcast, and a great crowd.  I had not trained or prepared for this run in any way, shape, or form.  I wanted to run my best, but I knew there wasn't any way it would be my best because I was out of shape for the run.

Got to hang out with RAD and Bye-Wing at the POP line.  Good times!!

 The race was really pretty good.  I like downhills, and I like crowds to cheer me on.  I wished I would have had some water- I got thirsty/dry mouth more than I'd like.  I had to walk a little at the mile 5 water stop.  I had been running faster than I normally do and it had caught up with me. 

In the end I was happy with my time considering how unprepared I was.  I got to see Bye-wing finish, and I got to see RAD run across the finish line 3 times with her kids. 

When everyone finished, I had to run one more time - to MR waiting in the car.  Time to drive home :-(

Sitting in the car for 12 hours a day for 3 days does not help one stretch out and work out the sore muscles.  I wish I would have walked and stretched out a little more before leaving.  But if wishes came true, I'd still be with the girls running in Zion. 

driving & hobbling around rest stops with my sore legs

driving & hobbling around rest stops with my sore legs

Got to run out to Johnny Cash's house with my friend who lives in his neighborhood.  The house burnt down a few years ago, but the property & brick work & stair rails & pool slide are all still there.  Across the street is his son's home.  It's got a huge sign out front that says "Cash Country."

We'd watched Walk The Line the night before, so it was neat to see the place.  

Then back in the car for another 12 hours :-(

Sleeping in, doing yard work, and looking for parts to fix a leaky water pipe fitting that created a swamp in our front yard over the last month.  

2 mile walk with MR in the evening.

It was actually cooler this morning and nicer outside than I'd imagined it could be in July.  I went out around 5:40 and ran 4 progressive miles.  9:40-8:50 spread, going 20 seconds faster +/- per mile. 

Rode my bike to work- had to take the shorter route due to time, so it was 4.95 miles.  I'll ride it home as well.  Just short of 10 miles on the bike total.

almost 10 miles as I rode to and from work.  The rides home yesterday and today have been quick, because it looks as if it's going to start downpouring any second.