On the Road, Day 4

I realize I’m only on day 4 of this summer road trip, but so far it has been exactly what I’d envisioned. I arrived at Nikki & Don’s on Friday afternoon, nodding off as I drove through town. Since Nikki wasn’t home yet I crawled in the back of my car for a little afternoon nap in the sun. This new car is working out GREAT! Nikki woke me up about 1:15pm and we went inside to meet all of the animals, Dharby, Custer, Sushi and Winkins (3 dogs and a cat). After talking a bit we headed out for a beautiful run near Hylite Mountain; a 2 hour out and back throwing in all of the side trails that lead to some impressive waterfalls. The altitude (between 6-8k feet) got to me a bit, but since neither of us was in any hurry we just enjoyed the time to catch up. When we arrived home, Don joined us with chicken, corn, watermelon, blueberries and fresh bread. We sat around on pillows and stools enjoying the chatter and the food.
That night I’d intended to drive a few hours before dark, but instead we took showers and walked into Bozeman to see the town and find some treats. We sat down in a comfy coffee shop with smoothies and a cookies and continued conversation about running, the area, summer plans, etc. We walked by the city fair on our way home and headed straight to bed as we all needed to get up early.
Saturday morning I left just before 6 and was still sleepy as I rolled into Billings so stopped to find some coffee and came upon the Yellowstone Valley Farmers Market. I bought some “peaches n cream” sweet corn to take to my sister and big latte to get me down the road. A couple hours later I found myself in Buffalo, WY and just off the highway found the Clear Creek trail that ran right through the town’s city park and then up towards the beautiful Bighorn Mountains. En route the city park was filled with people; asking a lady checking out what looked like an event’s schedule, I discovered that Buffalo was involved in a Basque Festival. The dirt path meandered up to the hills, I did an out and back and found the festival in full swing as I returned. Back on the road with an icy bottle of Ultragen, my last stop for the day was a quick one in Casper, WY to fill up with gas, ice and grab some snacks. I arrived in Denver at my sister’s condo at 7pm. We went for a short run and came back to grill shrimp. Matt (my brother-in-law) arrived home around 11pm and we all headed for bed.
This morning my eyes didn’t open till 10am! I haven’t slept that late in ages; was probably needed. This evening I’ll meet up with Andrew Skurka to go over gear and plan for the next couple of weeks on the Colorado trail. We are hoping to pick up any remaining items we might need tonight and tomorrow, mail ahead some drop boxes and start the trail Monday evening to get the first 9 or so road miles out of the way.
All is great! (Still need a name for my car)