Run Oregon

Just returned from Track Town USA (aka Eugene Oregon) where I ran my first Half-Marathon! It was a great weekend filled with beautiful weather, sights, and good food.

We hit the road on Thursday (my friend Wendie and her husband Steve). And to wish us good luck, Montana showcased a beautiful sunset on the mountains on the road.

I think you forget how HUGE Montana is until you start to drive through the state. Then you reach Idaho and go through it in a minute. Before you know it Washington pops up. Then, OREGON! The drive through Northern Oregon was BEAUTIFUL!

You travel through the Columbia River Gorge following the river and passing by mountains, cliffs, bluffs, waterfalls, and lush green rolling hills. Multnumah falls is lovely waterfall seen along the way. Very cute and quaint. Mt. Hood and Mt. St. Helens peeked out a few times along the road.

Then we arrived in Portland (Big City!) for the night. Where we wandered around shops, visited a few microbreweries, and ate at food trucks (which fyi are delicious and cheap). And voodoo doughnuts (interesting flavors like Maple Bacon, Cocoapuffs).

Next up was Eugene and the marathon!

For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the People

In honor of National Park Week I thought I would express my IMMENSE love and passion for the national parks. To put it simply they display nature's finest. One of the places in the world where I am truly comfortable and feel at home is in a national park. I would love to explore them all, and am on my way with 35 or so thus far experienced.  You can't really say one park is "the best" because they are all so unique and beautiful!

It is exploration at it's best! You can see mountains, deserts, canyons, rivers, lakes, flowers, cacti, rocks, volcanoes, bison, bears, wolves, big horn sheep, elk, porcupines, mountain lions, snakes, lizards, butterflies, spiders, snow, rain, ice, sunshine, beaches, ocean, stars, northern lights, glaciers, lava, geysers, hot springs, mud pots, Americans, people from Asia or Europe or Canada or Papua New Guinea, and sometimes you might have it all to yourself and not even see a soul.

If you haven't seen Ken Burns' National Parks:America's Best Idea, you really should. It beautifully tells the story of the creation of the national parks. The love and dedication people had to preserve and  honor some of America's most sacred natural places. It's a wonderful story that makes you appreciate these places even more.

Here are some stats:

First National Park: Yellowstone
Largest National Park: Wrangell-St. Elias in Alaska
World's Largest Cave System: Mammoth Cave National Park
Highest Waterfall in North America: Yosemite
Most Visited National Park: Great Smokey Mountains
World's Oldest Trees: Great Basin National Park
World's Tallest Trees: Redwood National Park
World's Largest Tree: Sequoia National Park
America's Version of Galapagos Islands: Channel Islands National Park
Largest Concentration of hydrothermal features in the world: Yellowstone
Lowest Point in Western Hemisphere at -282 ft: Death Valley
Highest Peak in North America: Mount McKinley (Denali National Park)

So take a road trip. 

See the sights. Smell the fresh air. Hear the sounds. Feel the wind. 

Experience YOUR national parks. 

Cool (Wildlife) Runnings

It's always a fun run when you get to run beside a herd of elk. Which is usually the case when training for a half marathon in Montana (yes, sadly the marathon training had to be downgraded to half-marathon training. Long story short-don't wear old shoes when you are running 9 miles).

Other regular animal appearances include deer, bison, coyotes, ravens, pronghorn, big horn sheep, wolf tracks, and even grizzly tracks. Now often times these animals present an additional obstacle to runs. When 50 bison are crossing the street, you tend to reevaluate your route. When you see grizzly tracks on the trail, you reconsider carrying that bear spray on your run next time. And when you can't see what that animal up ahead is because you didn't wear your glasses, you become thankful that at least it is running away from you versus towards you. Ahh the obstacles of running in the wild. Great wildlife and great views.