rivers-lakes

Torres del Paine

Published January 17, 2019

After a crazy night of questionable life choices, woke to a BANG.

rap, RAP, Rap. Hotel door. Up, spinning, WALL, bed. Where am I?! rap, RAP, Rap. Focus. Diego de Almagro. Punta Arenas. I’ve got this. Back in Chile.

Conversation: Bus is leaving in 15 minutes. I don’t feel well, think I’m skipping today’s trip. You can sleep on the bus. Ugh. Ok, ok. 15 minutes. I’ll be there.

Change of clothes. Sip of juice. Teeth brushed. On the bus.

Conversation: How do you feel? Green 🤢

Bus stop. AMAZING what 3 hours sleep can do. Splashed water on my face. NEW day. Puerto Natales, border town between Chile & Argentina. COKE Sabor purchase. Thanks Katya. Would’ve LIFE MISSED Torres del Paine without ya. Road trip!

Landscape reminiscent of HOME.

Prairie grasses, MASSIVE PEAKS jutting STRAIGHT UP — an oil painting of colour. Turquoise water, snow-capped peaks. Colorado HOME…well, almost. Except for the guanacos, Chile’s native llama variety 🦙

Murky grey Laguna Amarga, 10 minutes more. Silt-fed glacier water. 180-degree turn.

pull over, PULL OVER. GUANACOS. Native, unafraid, running wild amongst us. On the lake? FLAMINGOS. FOREVER memory/life imprint. Photo FLOOD. I was here.

Parque Nacional Torres del Paine. Entrance selfie, day pass purchased, passport stamped. Each bus stop progressive/building on the last/memory upon memory. Another peak, more glacier-fed waters. Salto Grando trail, Mirador los Cuernos. Thunderous waterfall, wind whipping off the MONSTER WALL above. YES, YES, YES!

GROUP pic time. Complete strangers a week ago. Different countries/language/age. Marathon brothers/sisters, ALL Antarctica adventurers. I heart my new RUN FAMILY.

Day trip in South America’s Andes Mountains.

HOME from HOME, my mountain soul fed ❤️

: first LOOK

: South America’s ANDES

: turquoise BLUE

: Laguna Amarga

: GUANACO 🦙

: Chilean llama

: FLAMINGO

: FOREVER memory

: Parque Nacional

: Cerro Paine Grande

: Salto Grande

: Cuernos del Paine (Norte, Principal, Este & Fortaleza)

: breezy STRONG

: adventurer RUN FAMILY

: mountain soul fed ❤️

Torres del Paine

Posted in Americas | Tagged nat'l-park, rivers-lakes, waterfalls, wildlife | Leave a comment

Howdy Nashville

Published November 9, 2018

Been a week of fixes, week of discovery & only FOUR work days – this weekend, Nashville.

Saturday marathon, Friday flight to Tennessee – travelling: me & my parasite, tagalong coming no extra charge. EUS at Good Samaritan (endoscopic ultrasound) diagnosed the cause of my pancreatitis. Appears I brought back more than a marathon medal from Brazil last April. PEPE. That’s what Sis nicknamed me ‘alien baby’. Hot humid São Paulo. Bottled water everywhere I go, ‘cept when marathoning. Straight from the petri dish, drank cup after cup of parasitic agua. Aid Station water. ICK! Easy enough to cure, 60 days of pills. Will be Tuesday before my pharmacy can fill the script. Notta lotta folks needing Brazilian bug killer in Louisville Colorado. LOL>

Afternoon touchdown in Music City. Sis & husband in from St. Louis, Stephen flew from Boston – we’re ALL running tomorrow. Missed the family Hermitage tour (I was the only late arrival), still PLENTY of time for Nashville’s Country Music Hall of Fame.

Willie, Waylon & Reba. Elvis, Dolly, Minnie, Emmylou. One name recognition, ALL hillbilly icons. Distinct vocals, soul-touching songwriters. LOVE LOVED. Well done Nashville 👏

Early nite. Bridge-walked over Nashville’s Cumberland River, BBQ-dined on wild honky-tonking Broadway. City more reminiscent of New Orleans than Sunday morning chapel. LIVE music every diner door – a wave of vibration, sea of SOUND. This is Music City!

AirBnB downtown digs, GREAT location. Retreated early, marathon morn comes fast. EXCITED – got Sis to keep me company tomorrow. 26 miles of chit-chat ready; God help her. How-dee! 🙂

: bluegrass & Andrew Jackson

: Country Music Hall of Fame

: Emmylou, Maybelle & Minnie

: ELVIS

: Outlaw Country

: Dolly, Tammy & Loretta

: Country Sunshine 🌞

: one & only REBA

: Fame’s Atrium Anthem: Will the Circle be Unbroken?

: Nashville bridge-walk

: Honky Tonkin’

: PEPE the Parasite

Posted in South | Tagged kyrkan, museo, rivers-lakes, sport | Leave a comment

dirty Jersey myth

Published October 20, 2018

Jersey marathon weekend. Blog preview: no Hazmat required, all a myth.

Mobster crime & industrial pollution, their past. dirty Jersey, the slur. My holiday? Jersey GREEN, Atlantic Ocean GREY.

Friday post-work flight to Newark. Eastern Time touchdown, rental car traffic, hotel pillow 1am. Fast 6 hours later, two mile shake-out run. Stretch goal met, BIG smile. Gonna be an AMAZING day 😊

Ivy League START, quiet Saturday morn. ‘Welcome to Princeton’ settled 1683. Craftsmen-carved/Revolutionary-era buildings, varsity oars cutting thru Lake Carnegie, bricked clock towers, hushed chapel architecture. Pitched arch, footstep echoes, stained glass glory. WOW!

2nd stop: New Hope PENNSYLVANIA. Parked in downtown Lambertville (New JERSEY). Pedestrian-crossed the Delaware. Riverside LUNCHED in PA. Watched paddleboarders trek UP the river – ski beanie & shorts, chilly water sport day. Mussel feasted. Warm broth, crusty bread. YUM!

History NERD ALERT. Post-lunch walkabout at Washington Crossing Park. Yep, that Washington. General George’s infamous Christmas-crossing of the Delaware. You’ve seen the painting. Toured Johnson Ferry House, only original still standing. After Washington’s icy river crossing, ferryman-Slater moved Washington’s troops, horses & 6 remaining cannons. Soooo much history!

[Thanks Nat’l Park folks for the private tour, very much appreciated!]

Tick, tick, tick. Same state, same day, third destination – the AC: Atlantic City, Jersey’s casino-riddled Monopoly. Boardwalk, Park Place, all the red properties – that Monopoly. Inspired HERE.

Bib pick-up at Bally’s, check-in at the Claridge (casino-free sleeps), ocean walk. Two miles of sunset. Stared out into the Atlantic, wave hypnotized. B-I-G, my life. Dinner: oysters & octopus.

Rethink the slur, folks. Much to see & do. America’s secret vacation destination.

Princeton University