Behind the Rocks Ultra

Carbo-loading the night before

Leo looking cheerful before the race

And they are off.

I am sorry to report that Leo had a terrible race.  We are not going to say any more, except that he did finish the race, is not injured, and will go on to race another day.

Even "elite" athletes can have a bad day:

Paula Radcliffe cries at the Olympic Marathon, Greece

Update:  To add insult to injury, Leo checked the results for the race and he is listed as "Did Not start."  He will be contacting the organizers - We have pictures of him at the start!

Seen enough Rocks Yet?

Moab. UT

March 26-28, 2015

Bird Quiz

Is this an Eastern or Western Meadowlark?

Hint:  Check the distribution maps for each species

Into Utah

March 25, 2014

We said goodbye to Glen and Cathy, and headed to Moab, where Leo planned a trail run for the weekend.  We made it to Blanding, UT, that night and hoped to camp at Devil’s Canyon Forestry campsite, but it was closed till April, so we camped on a turnout nearby.  We took a tour of the campsite, including the short interpretive trail which pointed to a very small ruin perched under an overhang in the canyon. 

Wall is approx. 4 feet high.

Grand Canyon 2

First a quiz:  What prehistoric animal’s feces were found in a Grand Canyon Cave?

Answer after the jump

Grand Canyon

March 22-24

From Canyon de Cheely we headed Northeast to the Grand Canyon.  Talk about going from the refrigerator to the deep freeze.  The rim of the grand Canyon is over 7000 feet in elevation.

We arrived to find the park filled to the brim with spring breakers, with full campsites.  We wound up in a commercial RV park again, 7 miles south in Tusuyan.

We were hoping to get in on a cancellation on a campsite at Phantom Ranch, so we could backpack down to the Colorado River.  At the same time Glen and Cathy wanted to take a mule trip down. Between coordinating the two at the same time, it got too complicated, so we wound up just doing a day hike down the Hermit Trail to Dripping Springs.  It started out seriously chilly at the trailhead,

Connie & Leo bundled up at the rim preparing to hike to Dripping Springs

but it got warmer and warmer as we headed down and down and down into the canyon.

Gang resting on Hermit Trail

Flowers were blooming.

Indian Paintbrush

Leo spotted these fossilized footprints in the rock.

We also saw boulders studded with fossilized clams.

After descending 1300 feet to the Boucher Trail, we climbed up again, then followed along a ???, right at the edge of the cliff.

Our destination was Dripping Spring, which seeps out of an overhang in the canyon wall.

Connie rests at Dripping Spring

It's a green oasis in the canyon, with plants like maidenhair fern growing out of the rock face.

Of course, then we had to hike back up to the rim, in the full heat of the day.

Glen hikes along the edge

The Hermit Trail was built for mule trains so there's some pretty sophisticated trailbuilding involved, including stretches where pieces of shale are laid like bricks.

Cathy on mule trail.

It was a hot, tiring hike back out, but we survived and are grateful that we could experience the canyon.

Newsflash: Blogger Married to Elite Athlete in two Languages

Leo just received the following email from Athletics Canada:

As a result of your excellent age group ranking in 2014, Athletics Canada and Running Flat would like to invite you to Le Chocolat, a Mother’s Day primer 10k on May 3, 2015 in Windsor, ON, that will serve as this year’s AC/CMA Age Group national championships. National championship medals will be awarded to the top three in all age-groups from juniors to masters.

À la suite de votre excellent classement de catégorie d'âge en 2014, Athlétisme Canada et Running Flat voudrais vous inviter à Le Chocolat, une course de 10k le 3 mai 2015 à Windsor ON, qui servira de championnat nationaux AC / CMA de catégorie d'âge. Des médailles de championnat national seront décernés aux trois premiers dans tous les groupes d'âge de juniors au maîtres

Curious, I googled his track and field rankings, and found him listed in the world masters athletics rankings.  Some pretty impressive standings!  Note, its me, not Leo, trumpeting his achievements.  He says there are loads faster runners than him, they just haven't competed in races recognized by the  athletic organizations.

Leo has sent his regrets to Ontario, it clashes with his bagpipe competition, which, by the way, he finds much more difficult than running.

Navajo Country

Canyon de Chelly

March 20-21

Our next destination was Navajo Country.  We drove over snowy passes into Arizona, and after a long drive arrived in Chinle, Az, site of Canyon de Chelly (pronounced “de Shay”).

Here there are about 9 overlooks where you can peer far down into the canyon below. 

At every overlook there are Anasazi Ruins perched under an overhang of the canyon walls.

                            

It’s a bit early in spring, but you can imagine the lushness of the canyon after the rocky highlands of the rim.

Many Navajo families have summer homes below, where they plant corn, raise sheep and grow fruit trees. 

Most families have a traditional Hogan, either as a separate cabin, attached to their regular house, or separately for ceremonial use.

We took the White House trail into the canyon to see the White House ruins.

The trail was cut into the canyon, including this tunnel:

We crossed the bridge at the canyon bottom

to reach the white house ruins.

As with every stop in the park, there were stalls set up where Navajo artisans were selling their jewellery and rock art.  You feel bad because it seems to be their main source of income, but you can’t buy from everyone.  In the end Leo purchased a picture of  a hummingbird.

Then we had to climb back up in the hot afternoon sun. 

Our Action-Packed Evenings

How Connie spends her evenings:

How Leo spends his evenings:

Actually, things have gotten a lot more social since we met up with Glen and Cathy, we now while away the hours playing a dice game called Farkle.

Santa Fe

Sante Fe

March 18, 2015

We made a day trip into Santa Fe.

Leo and Connie in Santa Fe plaza.  Note the artisans who set up shop under the porch of the Palace of Governors behind us.

Cathy and I toured the historic churches 

El Santuario de Guadelupe, 1781

and galleries 

all day, while Leo and Glen visited cafes and looked for a place to wait us out:

This is supposedly the oldest house in the US:

built in approx 1646 on the foundations of an abandoned pueblo dated in the 1200s.(I've since learned the oldest portion is the part at the extreme left of this picture.)

But I wonder about this since Taos pueblo, for instance has been continuously occupied since 1000 to 1400.  And what about the White House ruins we visited in Canyon de Chelly, older yet.  A little cultural bias, perhaps? 

Still, a pretty old house, in the oldest part of Santa Fe, and across the street from Mission de San Miguel, built between 1610 and 1625:

My favourite Santa Fe church

Leo researched a good place to have lunch, the Plaza Cafe (and he reports, they serve a good cup of coffee and a giant cinnamon bun), located on the plaza, and also with a claim to history:  Santa Fe's oldest restaurant, operating continuously since, not quite 1610, but 1905, nothing to sneer at.

I had enchiladas with mole sauce, and it was the best mole I've eaten since I was in Oaxaca, Mexico.  4 Thumbs up!

Non-culinary highlight of the day:  Andrea Fisher Fine pottery, a high-end gallery full of fabulous pots by historical and contemporary pueblo potters.

|View of courtyard inside a row of shops

High Desert

Taos New Mexico

March 15-18, 2015

After a long drive from Homolovi State Park, we met our friends Glen and Cathy in the Walmart parking lot in Taos, New Mexico.  We camped for  3 days at Rio Grande del Norte National Monument.  Yes, that Rio Grande, but it’s more like Rio Pequeno (small) at this point.  The canyon it is in is , however, pretty grande.

The first day we hiked a few hours along the river,

Gang eating lunch along the river

 passing up and down among the rocks, with fine views of the river.

We also went into Taos to check out the historic sites, like San Francisco de Asis church, built in the mid 18^th century.

Georgia O’Keefe, among others, painted this church; like me and the pigeons, she found the rear view especially compelling.

Another historic site, El Rincon Trading Post, opened in 1905, and became a place for the local Indians to sell their jewellery and art.  Now it’s a combination museum and souvenir shop.

Nowadays, Taos, is a combination of artist colony and ranching centre. Outside of the historic centre, there are the usual fast food and big box stores, and perhaps the world’s only 

 

adobe McDonald’s.

Also home to this nice old truck.

The next day we hiked along the west Rim of the Rio Grande Canyon.  On the way we ran into a herd of bighorn at the side of the road.

The trail wound along the rim

with views of the canyon below.  We saw bighorn sheep feeding on  a ledge below us, and a golden eagle (Bird of Day) soaring above us.

Here’s a view of the trail and the friable desert soil.

After we got back to camp it began to rain and continued all night.  Our planned steak barbecue over the fire had to be cancelled, but the next morning the sky was as blue as ever.