museo

Bismarck Marathon

Published September 15, 2018

3-hour flight delay Friday after-work. Only one chance to arrive before Saturday’s marathon Start. Yikes! Post-midnite touchdown in North Dakota’s capitol city. Rental car, hotel check-in, 4 hour sleeps.

Early 5:30am meet-up in Bismarck’s Cottonwood Park (thanks Marathon folks for allowing my last-minute, same-day bib pick-up). DIG places with human faces. I’ll remember ya.

USA Heartland, America’s friendliest people – both Dakotas, Iowa, Minnesota & Nebraska. I’ve marathon’d all 50 States; I know. All-out outdoor beauty: Oregon, Washington, Colorado & Alaska. But if you wanna meet Americans with the kindest/truest hearts, stop & stay in our ‘fly-over’ states. Work ethic & Prairie.

Napped an hour in the rental, shed a layer, lined up for North Dakota x2. Ran Fargo my first 50 tour.

Cool overcast skies, perfect for Fall running. Combined FULL & Half Start – lotta company first 5 miles. Flat easy course, mix of suburbia & bike path. 2:04 first Half split. Pace faded after (my habit since Spring).

Riverwood Drive, Riverside Park, Riverfront Trail. Crossed the mighty Missouri at markers 5 & 16.

In-between miles spent travelling to/from neighboring Mandan. Surprise ‘Catch of the Day’? Run-miles 16 thru 24: riverside bike trail & a tree-lined golf course. Nice on the eyes.

Walk/jogged last 2 miles, sub-5 FINISH. No drama, just nothing in the tank. Medal Monday #128.

The Bismarck Marathon

K R Haga Residence: Louisville, CO

Thanks for competing in The Bismarck Marathon. You finished in a time of 4:54:56.

This message is provided as a service by Pickle Events, the timing company for the The Bismarck Marathon.

Lemons into lemonade. Unexpectedly snagged a lazy day – in Bismarck North Dakota (United cancelled my return flight home).

Long hotel shower. Local barbeque. Slow stroll around ND’s Capitol, a history-nerd’s playground. Historic buildings, flags, statues, monuments. (hotel TV) Community-access channel flooded with POLKA. 4-stars North Dakota, you had me at Sacajawea ❤️

: late midnite arrival

: North Dakota x2

: the Pioneer Family

: guided expedition, baby on her back

: TATANKA!

: North Dakota’s capitol city

: post-marathon GORGE ❤️

North Dakota LOVES Polka

Posted in Heartland, Marathons/Ultras | Tagged buffalo, capitol-domes, museo | Leave a comment

Geyser Day 2018

Published July 21, 2018

Geyser Day 2018, Montana Take 2.

Paid registration for Sunday’s marathon once before. 2016 was a marathon no-show. Whole lotta puking that summer/didn’t stop a family vacation with Ash & Tom though. Rode horses in the Tetons, bear watched in West Yellowstone, geyser-gazed for 2 days in USA’s first National Park. Ever dependable Old Faithful: filmed its eruption, ate lunch in the Lodge. AWESOME LIFE memories.

Fast forward two years. No cancer, no 10-hour monster ride to Wyoming. Hour-15 direct flight to Bozeman. Marathon Eve plans? Yellowstone NEW. Whole section of geysers never seen on the Montana border. Same GREAT Park, NEW life adventure 😊

7am wakeup, FREE hotel breakfast, MT Highway 89 South to Gardiner. Crossed under Roosevelt Arch, Yellowstone’s North Entrance. Dedicated in 1903, this was the Park’s origin – directly across from Fort Yellowstone, established to protect the Park. Quick stop at Albright Visitor Center (ya’ll know I dig museums), then moved the rental forward another half-mile to Mammoth Hot Springs.

How have I NEVER visited Mammoth Hot Springs before? WOW, WOW, WOW! 2 mile hike-about. Naturally-formed terraces of crystallized calcium carbonate. Reminiscent of Death Valley’s salt flats. Walked the perimeter to Canary Springs before looping back.

Time check: 3 hours. Old Faithful & Grand Prismatic Spring, tops on my list.

Walked right up & watched Old Faithful spew. Not the front row seat I secured 2 years ago – but the timing, mighty perfect. Ya can’t visit Yellowstone & skip the Main Event, duh. Gotta/hafta/must experience EVERY time. Remarkable force of nature.

‘BEST of’ finale: Grand Prismatic Spring, an eye candy WOWser & my Park personal fave. “Named for its striking coloration, the Spring’s colors match the rainbow dispersion of white light: red, orange, yellow, green, and blue.” It’s a CAN’T miss.

Yellowstone 2018. No regrets; saw something old, saw something new. LOVE LOVE our National Parks ❤️

Drive to Ennis — spotted a BRAND NEW Visitors’ Center (Gallatin County MT). Earthquake Lake. Unplanned stop/didn’t know its story. Trees & rock from the seismic mountain collapse (blocking the Madison River/forming Earthquake Lake), creepily still crest water’s edge, stand trapped/barren/dead today. Well done retelling of events (actual pics & video).

Lodge check-in, early sleeps. Marathon eve. School bus road-trippin’ in the morning 🚌

Story of Earthquake Lake

It was near midnight on August 17th, 1959 when an earthquake near the Madison River triggered a massive landslide. The slide moved at 100 mph and in less than 1 minute, over 80 million tons of rock crashed into the narrow canyon, blocking the Madison River and forming Earthquake Lake. This earth- changing event, known as the Hebgen Lake Earthquake, measured 7.5 on the Richter scale. At the time it was the second largest earthquake to occur in the lower 48 states in the 20th century. Twenty-eight people lost their lives in the event.

: Roosevelt Arch (1903)

: Fort Yellowstone (1891)

: Mammoth Hot Springs

: dormant Liberty Cap

: Minerva Terrace

: crystallized calcium carbonate

: Canary Spring

: Old Faithful

: every 90 minutes

: discovered during the Washburn Expedition of 1870

: Midway Geyser Basin

: Excelsior Geyser Crater

: Grand Prismatic Spring

: US’ largest hot spring

: ‘brilliantly colored’

: created by tragic West Yellowstone earthquake (1959)

Geyser Day 2018

Posted in Rocky Mtn West | Tagged geysers, mineral-springs, museo, nat'l-park | Leave a comment

Delaware Marathon

Published April 29, 2018

2^nd touchdown in Philly in 4 weeks. Friday post-midnite arrival, airport hotel sleeps. Free shuttle return in the a.m., bought a ticket on Del Express to weekend’s marathon destination: Wilmington, Delaware (no driving/no rental car/LOVED the break).

2^nd marathon in America’s 1^st State, that’s little Delaware’s claim to fame (similar to PEI claim’s in Canada). Very different geography than my 2015 experience. Wilmington’s an urban crawl of Philly; Rehoboth Beach a lazy seaside village. Same state, opposite end.

DoubleTree host-hotel digs, bib check-in in the lobby. Check, done.

Saturday afternoon plans? Delaware’s History Trail, short two blocks away. Old Town Hall (circa 1798), Delaware Research Library, Willingtown Square & a 2-hour stroll thru the Delaware History Museum.

LOVE American history. Colonial America, Civil War history in the South & exploration/settlement of the American West.

What I learned ’bout Delaware: Originally settled in the 1600’s, first settlements along the Christina River made up New Sweden. Wilmington’s Christina River (flows from Pennsylvania to Maryland) named after Queen Christina of Sweden. America’s Dutch, Swedish & German colonies were taken by the English in the late 1670’s. However, English-ONLY wasn’t adopted by the Colonies ’til 1795 (over German). ALSO, did not realize Delaware was a slave state. Assumed only the Deep South enslaved Africans as forced labour.

School’s over. Early to bed, early to rise. Sunday morning marathon.

Woke to light rain, gusty wind. Mile walk to Tubman Garrett. Day’s goal: quick finish for a hotel shower 🙂

2 lap route crisscrossing Wilmington’s Christina & Brandywine Rivers. Downtown city course, one significant hill (mile 7/mile 20), nice forested stretch thru Brandywine Park. Overcast, cool temps (albeit windy) – all the right elements for running.

Ran STRONG today. first sub-2 Half of the year. Didn’t drop pace ‘til mile 19. Fell off for 5 miles, finished last two miles just over 10 min/pace. No ear buds, no drama – FINISHED with a smile. Marathon weekend 5 of 6 & I’m only getting STRONGER ❤

SUCCESS? Scored a shower before flying home. Next weekend: Massachusetts.