Smoky and the Season Ahead

Willow Creek Fire

For over a month now, the Willow Creek Fire has been burning a mere 10 miles south of Fairbanks. It was discovered as a three acre fire, yet not snuffed out then. WHY? The last few days have been really windy (around 30mph) and fanned the fire. Now it is HUGE. I took the above photo from Matt's office last night. Now the entire town is blanketed in smoke. I'm secretly hoping for heavy rain. My personal weatherman tells me that rain looks good for today. Let's pray that he's right. Days of exposure to this smoke give me terrible headaches, ones that nothing but clean air can cure. HOWEVER, I am leaving for New Mexico tomorrow evening, so it doesn't matter for me. It makes my kitty start to wheeze and makes my patio garden wilt though.

Now that the summer solstice has come and gone, I'm planning out the rest of my year.

RACES :
July 25 - Gold Discovery Run
This is the race that Matt took months convincing me would be "fun". We'll see. Using it as a training long run--not going for fast.

August 7 - Santa Claus Half Marathon
My third Santa, and where I hope to kill my previous PR.


August 22 - Run LuLu Run 5K
End of summer 5K to see if I really have gotten faster. Not gonna train for it, just wing it.

Sept 18 - Equinox Marathon
My first trail marathon, and it's gonna be HARD. People who regularly run this marathon say that you should add 30 min to an hr to your usual marathon time to get an estimate of what yours will be for this one. I'm just looking to finish and use this as a tune-up for the next one. Anything under six hours will be good.

Nov 7 - Rails to Trails Marathon
My final big race of the year and a celebration of being a 5-year cancer survivor. I head back to Marshfield for my final checkups (and hopefully, CAKE!) and to run this marathon. Hoping for a PR if the Equinox doesn't let all the wind out of my sails.

I am also very fortunate to live in running community that provides races nearly every week between October and April, free of charge. Usually there's only a group of 10-15 of us who brave the cold all winter long, but they're fun and have hot chocolate and cookies at the end.

TRAVEL :
July 14-19 : Central New Mexico to visit my brother at his summer internship and to experience hiking at 9,000+ ft.

July-Sept : Random trips in Alaska, soaking up what will HOPEFULLY be our last summer, although that's what I said last year too.

Early Sept : Taking advantage of Condor Airlines and flying direct from FAI to Frankfurt, Germany. Spending a week abroad. And for the first time, visiting a country where I don't know the language. Worries me a little bit.

November : Back to the UP and Wisconsin. Making a grand tour of all the parents and grandmas. Always whirlwind, always awesome. That's how we travel : endurance style.

*Sigh* Quiet Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year here. AGAIN.

10 Mile Race Pace

What started out as a terrible run ended up propping me back up by the end. Matt and I did a 10 mile loop run (basically looks like an out and back) running the first five miles into the 30mph wind. It was impossible to stay near my 1/2 mar. goal pace of 9:00/mi. After the turn, it felt warmer and we cruised, the wind gently nudging us along...and by cruised, I mean an 7:45-8:20/mi. The entire remaining five miles!! 7:45/mi is faster than my current 5K PR. Needless to say, I was totally ecstatic by the results. I hopped on the computer and calculated what a 8:55/mi average would be : 1:56. Break two hours? PLEASE!!

Being an Adult (the fun part)

This morning, Matt and I ran a grueling run up and down Ester Dome, starting at EQ mile 9 and following it to Henderson and taking that back. It was 13 miles with 7,000ft of elevation change. ...and it was the most difficult run of my life. Up until this run, I was feeling pretty confident in my trail running. Somewhere near the top of Ester Dome, drenched in sweat, gasping for air, and wondering if my heart would explode... I lost my confidence. If you find it cowering in the bushes on the way up to the top, return it to my house. I miss it dearly.

Matt recently received special cash awards for his extra projects at work and we decided it was time for some adult furniture, brand new from the store. Up until this point, we've purchased really cheap used furniture or found it at the dump. We definitely didn't have anything that looked really nice. It was time for a new couch. We perused the two furniture stores in town, and followed Craigslist for awhile and were deciding on two couches at the first store. Today, we returned to that store, still unsure what we wanted to get. One couch was on 8-10 wk back order, and the other could be shipped from Anchorage in 10 days. Of course, we decided on the back-order one. As we were making our final decision, the sales lady kept pushing us to make a decision. "What are you afraid of?" Um... dropping that kind of money on one thing? How about that? Being really cautious about our spending is how we're able to pay for stuff with cash and aren't in any financial trouble. I like being apprehensive. As we put down our 20% deposit, I couldn't help but feel a sense of pride as we didn't have to go through the "financing" line before the cashier. So sometime near my birthday, we will have a beautiful, brand new brown couch. It comes with matching pillows, too. I like this part of being grown up! Furniture that you don't have to lift out of a dumpster! :)

Tourist in My Own Town

As if 15 miles of mountainous hiking wasn't enough, I convinced the Mark and Joel that we could see some Musk Ox if they went for a 4 mile run with Matt and I. Joel ran the GB marathon with us, so I knew he was in shape. We convinced Mark to ride alongside us on Matt's mountain bike. A mile into the trail, we found a little lost duckling. I literally ALMOST squashed him as I ran. We didn't find his mother. He started following us down the trail, when we returned, he was nowhere in sight. Something will find him, either Mama Duck or a fox.



Mark nearly flew off the bike when he hit a big tree root at full speed. NDE #5, he had all he could stand of our crazy adventures. When we got to the LARS (UAF research farm) we whipped out cameras and binoculars for a closer look at the giant buffalo-like animals.


In the three years of living in the Golden Heart City, I have spent my time avoiding the tourist places, especially in the summertime. Today, I got to experience how outsiders view my home. We went to the visitor's center, and I have to say, their exhibits are better than the Museum of the North at UAF. The visitor's center has hourly movies and exhibits as well as the typical brochure and travel information. And it's all free! The museum most definitely is NOT free.

We also visited Pioneer Park. I've been to the park many times, but this was the first summertime excursion--when the riverboat was open. Inside were small scale models of a lot of the Interior villages. Very well done. Also, there were old photos of Fairbanks and information in the engine room on how the ship worked and what it was used for during it's glory years. Joel rides the bucking Salmon.



Recently, Joel has gotten into Geocaching. He talked us into looking for a few. Although we attempted to locate four geocaches, we only found two of them, one by the visitor's center, one near our house under the Chena River bridge. It was like treasure hunting and a lot of fun. Joel also got to drop a tracking coin into the cache, one that can be tracked on a website and so far has only been found in different caches in his town in Michigan. Now it's in Alaska.



What visit is complete without ice cream? We took them to our local homemade ice cream place, which (luckily or unluckily--how you think of it) is located less than .25mi from our place. It was delicious. We returned home for our tiebreaker Euchre tournament, which Mark and I kicked butt, and went to sleep. They return to Michigan in the morning.

Heading Home....

The rest of the Denali Hwy drive was pretty uneventful. It was sad knowing what it looks like in perfect sunny weather and not being able to share it with our friends.


It did leave our car pretty dirty though :



When we finally reached the Denali Park area, the sun came out, and we decided to give the Alaska Range one more chance to impress us. We had lunch and perused the tourist shops and then headed into the park. One of our more memorable hikes in DNP was at Savage River. We lured Mark and Joel into one last hike by saying they had an 80% chance of seeing Dall Sheep there. Most people we know have seen sheep there, us included. We hiked in on the path that even little old ladies can do. Then a trail, presumably a sheep trail, continues on deeper into the gorge. We passed a couple with a small child. They backed up our theory of seeing sheep, claiming they saw seven! We continued on and never did find any sheep. The amount of people probably frightened them onto higher ground. Or those people saw patches of snow, not sheep. We did see some ground squirrels.


The park was beautiful anyways :


Back to Fairbanks!!


PS- Fairbanksans call Anchorage "Los Anchorage" because of it's size, traffic, and general dirtiness--all derogatory city aspects. I love there's a sign for it.

We were able to see the Wood Creek fire, burning 10 miles SW of Fairbanks. It was responsible for the smoky days near the summer solstice.




After some unpacking and showers all around, Matt and I made one last attempt at showing them some wildlife. We used to live in a valley outside of town and saw moose on a daily basis in one particular spot. So we drove out to this place at midnight, and just as we arrived, there was a moose!!!! Actually, twins! They were young, but completely comfortable with us watching them. When we'd move through the grass, ears would perk up, but then when they realized we weren't a threat, they'd go back to eating.



A photo of each moose.

The Descent and Gulkana Glacier

After a few late-night trips to re-anchor the tent in the wind, Matt and I slept like babies,... or I did anyways. I awoke at 5:30am (much earlier than I usually do), ready to start the day. Matt didn't agree.


I heard some noise from the other tent, so I convinced Matt to wake up so we could entertain our visitors. Breakfast was delicious and the view, despite some clouds, was great as well.


We quickly made it back to the lowest shelf and stopped there for a break. Matt wandered around looking for a bathroom spot. Miraculously, he found the trail!!! Our three hour ascent was shortened by two hours to one hour on the way down. No twisted Alder route. We laughed at how much easier it was to take the trail. I was beginning to think there wasn't a trail at all. :)

Our next stop was a visit to the Gulkana Glacier. We followed an unmaintained road to the trail head. About 1/2 mile from the start, we decided the road was too treacherous for our poor little Focus, so we walked the rest. Phalen Creek is about 1/2 mile down the trail and has a cable bridge to get across. It wasn't too scary, even though there was one broken step in the bridge.


Right next to the glacier was about 15F degrees colder than by the car. The temperature differences of the air and the ice created an icy breeze, much like stepping into a refrigerator. Joel and I decided to climb the rocky moraine to get a better look. Moments after I explained to him that if he heard a noise above, IMMEDIATELY look up for falling rocks, we heard a rumble a hundred feet above. Rocks slid down the icy surface, landing just inches away from the place Mark had just been standing. The rocks were no bigger than a fist, but they were speeding fast enough that if they made contact with a body part, it would most certainly result in a broken bone. Mark's NDE #2.


We decided to climb up a different spot, a more stable spot. The ice was a typical blue, rather than dirty brown. Perfect for that stereotypical "Alaskan Blue Glacier" shot. Somehow we convinced Mark this was safer.

Here he had is NDE #3.

Our hike back was uneventful. No vegetation grew on the glacial moraine except for the algae in this pond. Gross, but made a really neat contrast in the photo :


We headed out the Denali Highway. The first 30 miles were somewhat beautiful. But with every passing mile, the clouds got lower and lower.


Summit Lake (town) and Gulkana Glacier from about Mile 10 Denali Hwy.

Our campsite was a small gravel pullout near Mile 60. The clouds lifted slightly and we were thankful to set up the campsite without rain. A small jeep trail headed down the hill, so we followed it for a bit more hiking. At dinner time, we had quesadillas. I was cook. I finished all but my own by the time a downpour hit. The boys ran to the car to eat dinner, leaving me in the downpour with the stove. When Matt finished, he relieved me and I took shelter in the car. He delivered my quesadilla to my door in a steaming frying pan and quickly shut the door to keep the car dry. Mark joined him outside to clean up and pack the stove. He took the pan from me. It slipped in his wet hand and I heard a sizzle of evaporating water. He ended up with two burns. NDE #4.
We passed the evening in the car, playing Euchre, something they often did together in college. We stayed in the car until making a dash for the tent at bedtime.

Rainbow Ridge

((Let me start out by saying that I have done this backpack trip before. We found this trip in a local hiking book that was written in 2007. According to the book, the trail head was near the small pond at a bend in the highway. This pond no longer exists because a fiber optic cable was installed in 2009 and the area is completely different. We have never been able to find the trail head. This was also my wettest backpacking trip EVER where the rain stopped for only 30 minutes the entire weekend.))

Early this morning, we made a last minute decision to make our first night a backpacking night. This added about an hour more of packing, but by noon we were finally on the road. We made a quick stop in North Pole to meet Santa. We saw some of his reindeer, sat in the sleigh--just couldn't get anyone to pose for a photo with Santa. Really, I thought he was a little scary. After one more stop at the Knotty Shop, we made our way to Rainbow Ridge. The colorful ridge loomed above us, bathed in sunshine. I was excited to find out what the area looked like when it wasn't immersed in clouds.

We searched for the trail, expecting to finally find it if we looked hard enough. After about 20 minutes, we decided to blaze our own path up the twisted alder covered mountain. We crawled on our hands and knees, grasped alder branches like ropes and somehow we made it to the first shelf, drenched in sweat from the effort and warm day. Each of us had a few places where we lost our balance and were glad the alders were there to hold onto. At the shelf, the breeze felt nice. We continued on through two more large, steep alder patches when a scree slope replaced the brush. We welcomed the terrain change, but it meant that nothing would break our fall. Since Mark is considerably less athletic than Matt, Joel, and I, he had the toughest time. We joked that he needed to have five Near Death Experiences before he could get on the plane home. Alders on this trip were NDE #1.




At the top of the bowl we'd been climbing for three hours, we chose a camping spot. It was sunny, and beautiful views were in all directions. There was a constant 20mph wind that tried to pull down my tent. Strong wind means no bugs, so it was alright.



By late evening, I retreated, windburned, to the tent while the boys sat outside enjoying the scenery. They called me out to see a giant rainbow that had formed over Rainbow Ridge.



It was beautiful and almost cliche in it's appearance over that particular spot. Rainbow over Rainbow Ridge. Alaska was showing off for our visitors, for sure. I couldn't miss this, so I dragged out the sleeping bag and enjoyed a somewhat sheltered view from my nest.



Fantastic first day.

Level the Playing Field

Matt's college friends, Joel and Mark, were set to arrive at 8pm tonight, so we were determined to quickly cram the rest of our weekly runs before their arrival. We set out at the start of the Equinox M. trail, each of us armed with a granola bar and a full tank of water in our running packs. The forecast promised us a hot day, so we were prepared for it.

The first quarter mile goes straight uphill, 200 ft, and is so hard it leaves me gasping for breath at the top EVERY SINGLE TIME. The hill stripped me of all my confidence and I questioned whether today was really the day to do the run. I had just run consecutive days of 800 repeats, 9 mile 1/2mary race pace, and a 40 min tempo. After this run, I'd surely be wrecked. Matt said that we needed to run this run to "level the playing field" for our less-experienced visitors, whom we'd surely kill with fatigue by the time we tired ourselves. If this hill didn't help do that, I don't know what would.

The run went smoothly. We rolled along the now-familiar first six miles of the course without a problem. Since I hadn't run miles 6-9 in over a year, it was exciting to rediscover the trail again. I had a few problems with my backpack, too. I couldn't adjust it enough to relieve the chafing from the shoulder/chest strap area. Finally, I decided to move the entire chest strap below my boobs and IT WORKED! It looks ridiculous, but I guess that my boobs are just a little too big for this backpack. I wonder if other women have this problem too. As an added bonus, the adjustment provided for even better stability in the pack.

We alternated trail and road miles until #9, at the foot of Ester Dome. Here, we turned around and followed a different trail back to our car. The sunny, 70F day and a slight breeze left us with huge grins on our salt-covered faces.

When Joel and Mark arrived, we had a quick dinner and set out for some 11pm disc golf. They were pretty jet lagged, but were happy to be walking around. Also, they were amused by the fact that they could play disc golf at all hours of the night.

Insanity?

Am I really considering running a third marathon before winter?

http://www.railstotrailsrace.com/

It's only an hour from my doctors, whom I have to visit for the final time, in November. It just seems too good to pass up. The course is mostly flat, on an old railroad bed--the very same place Matt and I honeymooned. I used to spend summers camping and biking here too, as a child. Seems perfect. Also, what better way to celebrate 5 years of remission than gallons of lactic acid built up in my legs? If I can figure it out logistically, it's all mine. That means the Equinox will become more of a training run and less of a "I have to run hard so I get a respectable time and don't embarrass myself" race.

Do you think I'm nuts? I'll be ready to take it easier for the winter. Less miles at -40F always sounds good. :)

Anniversary Gift

In addition to a wonderful dinner at Gambardella's, the only place in town that it seems almost acceptable to dress up, Matt got me a really cool anniversary gift. It came in the mail yesterday. Check it out!!!



We have a long trail run scheduled for Thursday so I get to try it out!! Hopefully it'll become my new best friend. (Sorry Matt)

16 mile day

Somehow I committed myself to running twice yesterday : the 7.2 mi Spruce Tree Classic with B. and O. and a 9 mi training run with the husband. My new running buddies, B. and O., usually run quite a bit slower than me, so I thought I could pull it off. They ran considerably faster than I expected and I was more tired than I should have been after such a slow time, 1:16. We did get lost when we took a wrong turn, but that's beside the point. :)

My later run was with Matt a few hours later. The weather was nice and windy. A giant thundercloud loomed overhead, but we never got wet. A downpour began just minutes after we were safely inside. I love when that happens. It was a little slower than my 1/2mar goal pace, but considering the trail run that morning, goal pace should be easier when I'm not already 7 miles tired. My goal? I intend to break 2:00. My current PR is 2:01 and my previous 2:02, the 2:00 really is near, but I haven't broken it yet. I feel this is my year to just KILL IT. Pray to the running gods to keep me uninjured through training and I'll be fine.

After a 12 hr sleep (broken up a little bit when I had to convince myself at 3am, 5am, and 7am that it was too early to get up, go back to sleep!), and a two hour nap...I think I'm ready for the day.

Happy Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary to the most wonderful husband ever! As sappy as it sounds, I love him more each day and hardly ever regret my decision to marry him. (The regret part comes when he leaves huge messes all over and waits for me to clean them up.) Three years and still lovey dovey. Nice. :)

Happy Solstice!

We began our final morning with a short run along Resurrection Bay. The town was still quiet and it felt as though the whole place was ours alone. It was another beautiful day. Matt joked about calling in sick for Tuesday and staying an extra day, but he decided against it, saying he was a bad liar.



We left at 8am and enjoyed a gorgeous three hour drive to Anchorage. Everything that was shrouded in clouds on the drive there was now visible. Glorious snow-capped peaks reflected in the many lakes lining the road. On a mile to awesome view ratio, the Seward Hwy is, by far, the highest in all of Alaska.





The best part about these photos is that they were all taken at different places, on different lakes.

We stopped in Anchorage for a few big city errands. I got a new case to replace the 35mm one (which is older than I am!). We also had lunch at Pt Worozorof and enjoyed views of Cook Inlet and the city skyline. The buildings sparkled like jewels in the midday sun. It was so mesmerizing that I forgot why I'd never want to live there. It seemed great! Then I realized, it was the first of fifteen total days that I had spent in Anchorage that it was sunny. On the way out of town, I was brought back to reality (and disliking the city) when I was nearly sideswiped by an ENORMOUS RV toting a Suburban. I think you should need a special license to drive an RV that size, who's with me?

We stopped for the requisite Blizzard at DQ and headed up the 249 mi to Fairbanks. Home at last. Thanks South Central AK for a great trip!!

Sunny Seward!

Sun! Glorious, wonderful sun!


The rain stopped the blue sky and sun appeared! We took advantage of the beautiful weather by heading to the Exit Glacier and the Harding Ice Field.



The trail zigzagged up the side of a mountain through a thick forest--similar to yesterday's hike. About mile two, we popped above treeline and were rewarded by beautiful mountains on all sides and a glacier below. The trail lead us over many snowy patches and climbed until the non-snowy patches were unusual.




June Snowman.

I was glad to be wearing my hiking boots! We had lunch on a spot overlooking the top of Exit Glacier and the beginning of Harding Ice field.



We finally realized why people live on the Kenai. We slid down the snowy parts on our butts! It was a lot of fun! Almost as good as sledding, but without having to carry one uphill.



Closeup of the glacier's crevasses.

For the last night of our trip, we planned to stay in a motel, but found a cabin instead. It was dry, had a bed, and best of all, A SHOWER! Washing off four days of mud and personal filth never felt so good! That evening, we walked to the beach, cooked a pizza, and watched Beethoven on TV. Perfect last day of our trip. Can we stay just one more day? Time to rest my sun/windburned self.

Ptarmigan Creek and Mt. Marathon

Three days of 50F and periods of everything from drizzle to full-out rain and I can say, without a doubt, I'm glad that I don't live in Coastal Alaska. The cold dampness is awful! The drive from Portage to Seward was nice. It was rainy and foggy, so the mountains were almost non-existent. Good thing I've seen them all before, right? We stopped briefly at Moose Pass Summer Solstice Festival. As it was only noon, the festivities had only begun. I thought of the Fairbanks festival, which I've never been home to attend in the three years that I've lived there. The festival is a big deal. Lots of free music, food and a 10K race people dress up in costume to participate. Maybe next year.

We hiked the Ptarmigan Creek trail. It was muddy, but heavily wooded, so we didn't get as wet as we could have. We didn't get as far as the lake because I got hungry and sick of being muddy, also the spot overlooking the lake would surely be a let down. It was nice to see some different wildflowers--some not found in the Interior. I couldn't get over the amount of lush greenness everywhere! The trees were HUGE and towered above us in a great canopy. Lower bushes, grasses and moss blanketed the forest floor. Rainforest-esque.





By some miracle, we found a covered and enclosed picnic shelter in SE Seward. It provided us a dry lunch spot! I was exceptionally grateful. A spot of less-foggy sky convinced us to abandon our rainy plan of the sea life center for a stroll downtown. We had cherry cheesecake and hot chocolate at the Bakery Cafe. Good, except tourists looked down at our muddy pants and boots and gave us dirty looks.

We decided to brave the rain again at Mt. Marathon. Each July 4, brave runners climb this 3,000 ft mountain, 3 miles straight up and then straight down. too steep to run much of it at once, above treeline it was all a scree slope. We began on the runner's course, but switched to the waterfall spur trail when the trail turned to a river of mud. Also, the fog was too thick to make the trek to the top very rewarding. I suddenly had a new found respect for the people who DO run the race.



The waterfall trail was steep too, but didn't summit the mountain. The waterfalls weren't steep, but gently rolled for half a mile along the trail.







Look how thick the foliage is!! ^^

We spotted several avalanche paths. some even had snow mounded at the base of the slope. Buried in the snow, we found many trees, pulled down the hill in the deluge of snow. Scary. Nobody stands a chance in an avalanche's path. The highest point we got to was about 1,500ft, and halfway up the mountain. It offered modest views of town, veiled in fog, of course. Would have been breathtaking on a clear day.

Wetter

We awoke to low clouds--but no rain. drove to the tunnel to Whittier--2.5 mi tunnel and just like Tunnel Trails, carved out of a mountain and only one lane. A regulated schedule on 15 min intervals is set to let traffic going each way get through safely. We just missed a trip by two minutes and had to wait for the next traffic flow.





So we checked out the Byron Glacier trail--pretty, but not too exciting on account of the weather. Portage side of the tunnel : no rain. Whittier side : fog city and constant mist of rain and looked like this :


WETTIER.. GUH! We were prepared for a full downpour--rain pants, jackets, and waterproof boots.

Town was divided into two parts : tourism and locals. We watched the ferry leave for Valdez, had lunch at a place on the water, err...foggy abyss? We took a tour of Main St and came across the town's lone grocery store. Prices comparable to FBX on some things but a gallon of distilled water was $2.59. There was also only one type of milk (whole) but eight different flavors of wet cat food, even more if you count the dry food. I'm not going to ask why there's so much wet cat food. Hopefully they have picky cats, not poor people who eat the stuff. We found a cove on the city map and decided to check it out. After bottoming out the car on a sketchy dirt road laden with potholes, we arrived to fog and rain. Still. the rocks were covered in orange seaweed. Really pretty, but almost as slippery as ice. We took every step carefully.


Notice how Matt demonstrates the proper icy rock crossing technique.

Then it was time to head back through the tunnel. Still no rain on the Portage side. WTF. Note to self : Never move to Whittier. 174 in of rain per year = too much!

We returned to our previous campsite--it really was that awesome!--for our 10 mile run. We happened upon a nice trail, with boardwalks and a great running surface. We followed it five miles and turned around. Just as I found my groove, Matt says "umm...Honey, ...BEAR!!!" and us without our camera or bear spray. We came to a halt. A well-fed black bear looked back at us, square in the middle of the trail. With dense trees lining the trail, we had nowhere else to go but back the way we had come. We backed away slowly, to avoid being charged, and after rounding a corner, we restarted our run. We were forced to join the highway traffic until we could jump back on the trail. That quickened our pace a little bit. Wish I had my camera to share, but the image of Pooh staring me down will forever remain only in my memory.

A quick campstove shower and I was officially grumpy and frozen. We headed to Girdwood for dinner. We took a chance on an unusually-empty-for-Friday-Night place. We hit the jackpot. Only locals, and really cute : Maxine's Bistro. The menu was really weird, only one item from about 10 different cultures. Mexican, Italian, Thai, Chinese. Matt and I both had a burger, the American item. It was probably the best burger I've ever had! So yummy.

As we returned from Girdwood, where it wasn't raining, we saw a dark cloud over the place we were planning to camp. Matt joked, "I've always wanted to try sleeping in a cloud." not funny. We returned to our favorite spot for some zzz's. Realized later that it was the same spot we had stopped with Craig, two years ago. Odd. :)

DQ, Run, and Off-Road Camping

Sleeping on the ground in a campground is no fun. Gravel never makes for a comfy night's sleep. That is why coffee is necessary. On a whim, we bought a french press (woo! REI!!). I haven't perfected my skills yet, but I make a really great mocha ! :)
My spirits finally lifted, we set off on our way. Not five miles out of the park, I nearly hit a mama moose and two young calves as they scurried across the highway. My photo collection was missing a good shot of a cow and babies, so I pulled over--Nascar-style-- and whipped out the camera and fired away. No cars were nearby when I pulled off, but moments later, 3 RVs and two cars of tourists were clumped around us. some didn't even bother to pull off the road to take pictures. Dangerous, considering most people go 70mph on that part. I sped away, buzzing off my coffee and victorious camera moment. The drive through Broad Pass was the most uneventful ever. Fog and low clouds covered all the mountains. I pitied the tourists that never get to see it in all it's glorious beauty.



Fast forward to Wasilla. One giant 10 mile long strip mall, the beginning of "civilization", where from here to Anchorage it's all urban, like driving on a Lower 48 freeway outside of a half-mil city. the reason I love Wasilla : DAIRY QUEEN! WE have stopped every time we pass. BLIZZARD! YUM! My coffee buzz was gone and I got cranky! A trip to Kohl's couldn't fix it (though some new Levi's helped). Matt and I agreed that we needed a run. Also, it kept us off the highway at rush hour--great, because we're not used to heavy traffic. So we found the TK Coastal Trail and pounded out a few miles. It was very familiar, being it was the same route our marathon took last year. This was at mile 24-26, and my legs felt much better running this stretch this year. I also wasn't cursing at myself for deciding to run my very first marathon. It was all runner's high this time. Matt and I were impressed by how many people used the trail. Bikers, walkers, runners, bladers---even people walking from hole to hole on a disc golf course. This network of trails is one of the many reasons I love to visit Anchorage.



After a quick sponge bath at the H.S. parking lot (the marathon finish), we paid a visit to REI. somehow we made it out with only $17 less than when we entered. That must be a new record low for us!! :) My other favorite part of the trip is Turnagain Arm--arguably the most beautiful part of the Seward Highway. The inlet is nestled between tall mountains on each side. On a clear day, it is beautiful---so of course, it was foggy. No mountains at all. During a break in the rain, we stopped at the Bird Creek trailhead. some Anc Runners were just finishing running the trail. They told us it was three miles to the top and up 3,000ft. We asked if it was runnable, meaning the surface not the elevation, and one said, "no, but maybe a brisk walk is best". I mentally stashed it in the "future-ass-kicker" run file. There was a race coming up there on Sunday. Too bad we'd be in Seward, three hours away.


All the rain they get makes really BIG plants!

Our campsite for the night was on a pond pullout, just off the Portage-Whittier Rd. Free campsites are always the best. Dirt tent pads, waterfront, and no fees! It was beautiful. With the rain, there were no mosquitoes and we slept like kings that night!!