alaska part I

Last month, we seized an opportunity to visit our friend, Sarah, and traveled north. Way north. To Alaska.

We landed in Anchorage and spent our first night there. We had great views of the bay from our hotel room.

The next morning, I somehow convinced Steve to go for a short run with me along the coastal trail. Although it was drizzling, it felt great to run at sea level again. Steve did get a little tired of me saying "wow, I run fast here!" over and over again.

Sadly, despite the warning, we did not spot any moose along the trail.

Perhaps it was because they saw my neon orange jacket coming from a mile away.

After we cleaned up from the run, we hopped in our rental car and headed north to Talkeetna. I had read a little bit about Talkeetna, I'm so glad we decided to ditch Anchorage and head there. I love Talkeetna, and would move there if Steve would join me.

After checking in to our B&B, we hit "downtown" Talkeetna in the rain. First stop: Denali Brewing Company for some local beer.

Then we wandered the main drag, which may have only been a couple of blocks but was full of character.

Then it was time to eat. We had a few options, and we had a hard time choosing. 

Something we noticed: Man vs. Food has somehow managed to eat his way around the entire state. Being fans, we decided to take him on his dining recommendation, though we feasted on caribou and crab legs and not a five pound burger like he did.

The next day, we woke up to another rainy morning and made our way north.

                           

We met the bus bound for Camp Denali and departed around 1 p.m.  Camp Denali sits at the end of the 95-mile park road, and the road isn't open to public vehicles. You either take one of the NPS buses, or if you're like us, a bus that operates from one of the wilderness lodges inside the park.

We timed our visit, based on Sarah's recommendations, for the fall colors, and they did not disappoint.

Through the rain, which quickly switched to snow, we spotted two grizzlies, caribou, and dall sheep.  About halfway to camp, we stopped for a picnic dinner. A very wet and snowy picnic dinner.

It snowed almost the entire way in to camp. But it just made the scenery all the more dramatic.

If you are afraid of heights, this drive might bother you a wee bit.

As we approached camp, we caught a fleeting glimpse of a wolf as he ran right past our bus. And then we had a nice, up-close view of two caribou as we drove the final few miles to Camp Denali.

To be continued...

european vacation

Apologies for the lack of posts, but we've been traveling...

More soon!

happy holidays

We couldn't be further from Yellowstone right...we're spending the holidays in New York City. While our friends are watching the Lamar Canyon wolf pack on an elk carcass in Lamar, we're listening to 1010Wins to figure out which bridge has the least amount of traffic to get us into Manhattan. It's been a long time since I've been around this many people, but it's good to be back.

run this town

After stuffing our faces at the food trucks one last time, we hit the road to Eugene. We made a beeline for the Marathon Expo, where I was treated like a VIP by everyone who realized I was from Yellowstone. I think it's safe to say that I was the only runner from Yellowstone in Track Town USA.

I was excited to hit up the original Nike store, but sadly we found out that it's now a construction site. The new Nike Running store had a little bit of a museum built into it,


but I'm sad they tore down the original.


My pre-marathon meal is always pizza, and I remember an old Runner's World that had an article about Track Town Pizza in it.


We ordered a pizza with fresh tomatoes, and the three of us cracked up when it arrived: by fresh we didn't think they meant "we'll put three whole raw tomatoes on top of your pizza after it comes out of the oven."


Race morning started at 5:00 a.m. and Steve dropped us off as close to Hayward Field as he could. I was excited but nervous at the start.


Here we are in our corral, ready to go.


After a brief computer delay, we were off.


Sarah and I were able to run together for the first 11 miles until the half marathon split off from the full.


It was a beautiful day, sunny with temperatures creeping close to the 70's. For a small race, it was fantastic--they handed out Cliff Shots and bananas twice, and we ran along the river with enthusiastic spectators cheering us on. The race finishes on historic Hayward Field,


and there was an announcer calling out finishers' names on the PA as you crossed the finish line. And oh yeah, at the finish? FREE PANCAKES! Along with the biggest and coolest finisher's medal I've ever received.



Eugene was a great #7 for me, and I'd definitely do it again if I have the chance.

While we were in Eugene, I kept seeing people wearing these AWESOME sweatshirts:


I. Had. To. Have. One.

We figured out that they were sold only by a local running store in Portland, and our chances of showering, checking out of the hotel, eating lunch, and making it there by 5:00 p.m. were slim to none. Yet...we pulled off the highway at 4:55 and the chase was on. Steve roared into the parking lot at 5:03 and we all cheered when we saw the "Open" sign still illuminated. He ran in, and I hobbled after him. Sarah snapped this hysterical picture of us exiting the store, victorious.


And with that, we said goodbye to Oregon.

portland

We woke up in Spokane, WA last Friday and made the final push towards Portland. One of the things we were looking forward to in Portland were the food trucks, and we found our first "truck" at a rest stop about 2 hours from the city.


I'm not sure why, but Steve opted to sleep in the backseat vs. listening to Sarah and I. We left him snoozing in the car and pulled over at Multnomah Falls,


an incredible waterfall along the highway.


Coming from wintry Montana, we couldn't get over how green everything was.



As we approached Portland, we got our first view of Mt. Hood in the distance.


That night, we headed across the river and hit up the "nighttime" food trucks. It didn't take long for all of us to become food truck converts--great food, for cheap.



In addition to hitting up a couple of micro brewery's, we also made our way to Voodoo Doughnut. All three of us had seen the place on TV and we patiently waited in the long line.


I decided on the Triple Chocolate Penetration (chocolate doughnut, chocolate frosting, and Cocoa Puffs) and the Bacon Maple Bar.


Let's take a closer look--mmm, bacon.


Before we hit the road to Eugene, we had to squeeze in one more trip to the food trucks.


I hit up one that was serving Indian food--for $6 I got all of this, plus nan bread.


We spent the 2 hour drive to Eugene dreaming up ways to bring food trucks to Gardiner...