Missoula Montana Marathon - 6/29/24-7/5/24

I'm so far behind on all of my blogs!  Sheesh.  This is from July of 2024

 June 29th - Arrive in Bozeman, meet Tracy, drive to Missoula for packet pick up

Tracy and I both arrived in Bozeman about the same time.  Easy Peasy.  We landed, got the car and drove towards Missoula to pick up our packets.

Met up with Tracy in Bozeman

We did have trouble finding the packet pick up at first!  The address they gave us was not showing properly in Google so we walked around aimlessly for a while before finally asking someone.

Tracy is a better actor than I am!

Our air B and B was this amazing ranch with horses and a ranch cat

Horsey

June 30 - Marathon Day!

Race morning!  The weather was really good and not too cold.  Montana is just so VAST.  The race was beautiful, but it feels more difficult because there were long stretches of just countryside...which makes a mile feel a lot longer than when you run in town.

I usually don't take many pictures during a race, but I did stop to take this picture.  It was a point to point race I remember...we had to take buses from the finish line to the start.  The funny thing was, if I remember correctly, we drove past the start of the race on the way to the finish line where we needed to park and pick up the bus to go back to the start. lol

I finished a little before Tracy did, so I walked to get the car and drive it closer to the finish for her.  I do remember that when I got to the car, for a minute I couldn't figure out why I was covered with all this sand...then it dawned on me that it was SALT!  It is very dry out there and when you sweat, you don't stay wet.  It evaporates and you end up covered in salt all over your face and legs.

After the race, we headed back to our air B and B to shower and rest a little. Then we went to dinner at this amazing dive bar which just happened to be right by the start! haha

July 1 - Day one of hiking.  Solomon Ridge Trail Hiking; 6.2 miles

Our first day after the race, we decided to do some day hiking.  We found a great trail that went along a river.  The drive there went just fine.  However, as we were taking stuff in and out of the car, I accidentally shut the car door with the keys inside.  All the doors were locked and we couldn't get cell service.  I felt horrible!  Tracy was being so nice, but I knew I had ruined our day. 
As we were figuring out what to do, a lady drove by and we waved her down.  We told her our situation and she said "As soon as I get to the highway and get service, I'll call a tow truck. I'll call Red's towing for you".  That was very helpful, but we weren't sure if she would forget to call or if the tow company would even send a vehicle when she had no information about us. 
Not far from where we were parked, there was a house and I could see people working outside.  I told Tracy to stay with the car and I would walk to the house to talk to the people there.  In the above picture, you can see the house in the distance.  That's how far away we were.  So, I started walking.  Eventually, I got to the house and the guy working outside saw me and came over to me to talk.  I told him what happened and he said that there was a mercantile type of store at the head of the road.  They would have a land line and I could call Red's Towing and confirm that they got the original message from the lady that we stopped earlier.  So, he drove me to the store.  During the drive he told me about the house he was working on.  Basically, it was a super rich dude that bought up all this land.  There was a creek on the land, but the rich guy didn't like how it went through his property, so they were using diggers to reroute the creek.  The guy said that it's very common for rich people from California to just buy up acres of land in Montana and do this kind of stuff.  Anyway, I thanked him profusely for driving me to the store and he wished me luck.  When I got to the store, I told them what happened and that I needed to call a 'Red's towing'.  They said they were familiar with that same and they got the number for me.  I called and the people at Red's towing confirmed that they had received the call.  I told them that I was at the Rock Creek Mercantile.  They confirmed that they would get a driver and pick me up there before heading to the locked car.

The infamous Rock Creek Mercantile where I sat for 2hrs waiting for the tow truck driver to get to me. 

 I could not have felt more hopeless and helpless.  I had no cell service.  I had no way to tell Tracy where I was at.  I had no idea if she was ok or what was going on with her either.  When I finally saw the tow truck driver arrive, I was so happy I could have burst into tears.  He picked me up and we headed to the car.  When we arrived, Tracy was there just hanging out and making friends with other people that were parking there to go fishing or hiking.  She told me that she had actually been getting messages about me during the time I was away.  Pretty much everyone who went down that road would stop at the mercantile to get food or drinks or whatever.  Since I was sitting on the front porch, they must have noticed me and just clocked the fact that I was sitting there.  When they arrived at the parking lot where Tracy was at, people would ask if she was ok since she was just sitting there waiting.  She would explain what had happened to them.  They would put two and two together and say, "hey, we think we saw your friend at the Mercantile sitting and waiting there".  She knew it was me!  I think she said that 2 or 3 groups of people had relayed information about me to her.  She at least knew I was still alive and waiting for the tow truck. 
Once he started working, the tow truck guy was able to pop the lock on the car in about 3 minutes.  And nothing on the car was affected by it!  I paid the fee and tipped him like $40 bucks just because I was so damn happy he saved the day.  I was able to turn in the cost to my insurance, but that mistake cost me $250!

Once we FINALLY started hiking, we enjoyed walking along the trail.  The trail went up along this ridge.  It was a beautiful hike, but it didn't last long.  The trail kind of petered out after a couple of miles.  We tried to bush wack for a bit, thinking that we could find the trail again but we couldn't.  I got so scraped up and I lost my pee rag along the way! haha.  So, we turned around and went back.
We refused to be defeated!!  When we got back to the start, we went the opposite way and found a path towards this river.  It wasn't a super clear trail, but we decided that we could follow the river for a few miles.  Finally we had an amazing hike!!

We encountered Big foot along the way!

Tracy enjoying the amazing river!

Following the river was a great end to the crappy start of the day.  In total we walked about 6 miles.  After our long day we headed back to our air B and B for food and sleep!

July 2 - Big day of hiking! Holloway Lake Trail.  Duffy Lake Final destination; 13.6 miles

The next day we REALLY had an amazing day of hiking.  We drove to the start of the trail...which was up this windy, gravel road that took us maybe 45 min to get up to.  

We encountered random cows in the woods

The path was fairly steep at first.  We passed these really strange looking flowers at the beginning of the hike

Thank goodness we had hiking poles!  Those came in so handy!

The view was just incredible!!!  It was kind of funny because before I left for this trip, I had to drop my Jeep off to get some stuff fixed.  We had absolutely ZERO cell service from the moment we started up driving up the road to the trail head.  However, because we were so high in the air, at some random point, I was able to get cell service.  A voicemail about my Jeep came through.  Since I had service, I called the place so I could chat about my Jeep.  I told them that I was on a mountain in the middle of the woods! Luckily, it worked out for me because I was able to get some information out to them. haha

We hiked all day until we got to these two small inland lakes.  There we rested and ate some snacks.  It was an amazing hike!!!  

It took us ALL day to do this hike.  We felt like we were doing great...until a couple of 'kids' ran past us up the trail at one point and then passed us again on the way down! They were trail running too!!!  We asked them where they turned around and they said that they went to the same lake we did.  I think they were able to do the same hike that we did in about 1/2 the time.

When we finished that day we were both BEAT.  Tracy did mention that thank goodness I didn't lock the keys in the car on that trail because there is NO WAY we would have ever gotten out of there.  It was have been so difficult to get cell service, we did not see ANYONE all day, except for those 2 'kids' on the trail and the road was so narrow that I'm not sure how a tow truck could have gotten up there.  Silver lining I guess! ha!

July 3rd - More hiking! Blodgett Canyon Creek Trailhead; 9.5 miles

The next day we did a much easier trail, but it was still really cool.  This one had a lot more people for the first couple of miles... but we had an amazing river to follow for most of the trail.

At some point we sat by the water, rested, put our feet in the stream and ate.  It was so great!!

I love it all!!!

On the way back to the car, we noticed some people picking berries.  We asked them what they were.  They were huckleberries.  We didn't pick a ton, but we picked enough to snack on the last mile or so.  They were really good and I'm not sure I have ever had huckleberries before.

July 4th - Last hike in Montana! Humbug Spires Trail; 7.4 miles

This was our last hike in Montana, which was actually on the way to our air B and B back in Bozeman.  It was hot and very dry and we didn't see any other people the whole day.

At the end of the trail, there are these interesting 'spires'

There was an old cabin there too!  I wish I knew more about this cabin, but the map just said 'old prospectors cabin'.  There was some other... historical garbage I'll call it...in the area as well.  And just passed this old cabin, was some other camping stuff that we found just laying there...it looked like it had been there a long time.  Very strange.

Tracy and I on our last hike.

Last night in Bozeman before heading out
After all the hiking, we got to our air B and B in Bozeman, cleaned up and went out to a pub for dinner and beer.  We were so tired from all the hiking and the heat of the day that we totally crashed when the sun was still out!  We were too tired to attend any fireworks that night, even though we heard them close by. 
The next day, my plane left before Tracy's did, so I headed to the airport to turn in the car.  Crazy girl walked to a friends house...if I remember correctly...and saw her friend for the day before heading out later on.  
Overall, the trip was super fun, even though it started out rocky with me locking the keys in the car.  But I had a blast with Tracy and I can't wait for our next run!

London Marathon Trip - April 17 through April 26th...then leave again for another marathon!!! (Part 2 of 2)

Oof....I'm almost a year behind on my blogs. 

April 23rd - Westminster Abbey Tour, The British Museum, Abby Road

Westminster Abby - I had no idea how amazing Westminster was going to be.  There are so many famous people buried here.  I think we were here for several hours so we could see everything.

Tomb of the unknown soldier.  You are not allowed to walk here.

I had no idea so many famous people were buried here.  Isaac Newton!!

 

Tomb of Mary Queen of Scots!!! WHAT??  Her tomb is seen below

Mary Queen of Scots

Tomb of Geoffrey Chaucer!

Most of the tombs in Westminster have these very elaborate, detailed "effigies" on top.

It's a little strange that people are buried in the floor of the church and you can basically walk on top of them.  I'm not sure if there's a right or wrong way to navigate around the stones because all the tourists just walk everywhere.

If you don't know, Handel was a composer.  I played a lot of his music in high school orchestra

The marriage license of Prince William and Princess Catherine.  We were not allowed to take pictures in this particular area of Westminster, but I didn't care.  I was tired of not being able to take pictures.

From the sign: Funeral effigy of King Edward III. 1377!!!  You weren't supposed to take pictures here, but I said F it! This is one of the oldest effigies of royalty that exist today.

Most intersections had this painted on the ground.  It was a good reminder because they drive opposite of us.  And you forget which way the traffic is heading when there are one-way streets.  It really messes you up. lol

The entrance to the British Museum

The British Museum had a lot of very interesting exhibits. However, my thoughts on the museum dissolved very quickly after seeing the Moai statue and reading the description below it.  Long story short, this statue was stolen from the island by British colonist (of course they don't say it was stolen)  And somehow it was 'gifted' to Queen Victoria and then she 'gifted' it to the museum.  But then it dawned on me that everything in this museum was stolen.  And the write up that they have for the statue has been completely white washed.  In the description, they say "From about the 1600s, islanders began to topple the statues."  That is completely false and the reason I know is because I have actually been to Easter Island!  The reason that the 'statues were toppled' is because the Dutch colonists that first invaded the island and took it over to raise their sheep, were Christian and they thought the statues were some kind of false God that the local people worshiped.  So the Dutch colonists toppled over the statues, not the local Rapa Nui people.  After seeing and reading this, I felt like my eyes were opened.  I felt like everything in this museum was a lie and I couldn't believe anything that was written. I felt like everything in here was probably white washed and I felt stupid for ever believing the things I read.

Moai Stone head from Easter Island.  

The sign under the Moai statue

The Rosetta Stone: The stone contains the same decree written in three scripts: hieroglyphic (a formal, pictorial script), Demotic (a cursive script), and Greek.  It was 'discovered' in 1799 in Egypt

Until we visited the British museum, I had no idea that The Rosetta Stone was an actual stone with 3 languages translated from one to the other.  It was kind of amazing to see actually.  

Like I said, there were so many amazing exhibits.  But they weren't rescued from marauders by Indiana Jones like you want to believe...they were stolen from their countries of origin and brought to this museum.  I guess the good thing is that they ARE in a museum and they ARE protected....but still...this history of how these were obtained isn't really authentically shared with the public. 

I think it's funny how afternoon tea is such a big deal!

The Lamb and Flag bar.  It's one of the oldest pubs in London.  We tried to hit a few of these old pubs to check them out, have a drink and buy a glass.

We walked to 'Abbey Road' where the Beatles took their famous picture.  It was interesting to see, but holy hell....all the tourists were terrible.  Obviously, I'm there to take pictures too, but I'm not actively interfering with blocking traffic.  This is a regular street and a regular cross walk.  However, people were stopping traffic for minutes at a time and take a million pictures and they didn't care.  Cars were honking at them and some cars had to 'push' people out of the way because the traffic was getting backed up.  I blame social media...mostly because you would see a group take pictures...then they would look at the pictures...decide they weren't good enough....block traffic again to take the same pictures.  I took a video and posted it on TikTok.  I didn't think anything of my post.  BUT, my video blew up.  I got almost 125,000 views.  And people in the comments were UNHINGED.  They were arguing and fighting with each other and calling me names.  It eventually ran it's course, but for about 2 weeks my TikTok blew up.  I just had to laugh because all the people that were fighting are never going to go to London and they are never going to visit Abby Road...and I did.

Abbey Road Studios!

I had to go to Paddington Station so I could get a Paddington Bear and book..not for myself but for my step sister's daughter, Yara.  Also, when you get off the train you always hear over the speakers "Mind the gap!"

April 24th - Walk around London

Walking around London we just happened to walk passed this Cassina store.  Cassina is a brand that falls under the Haworth umbrella.  I thought it was pretty cool that I was in another country and just happened to walk by this place

We went to Shakespeare's original Globe Theater for a tour. The original original building had burned down long ago, but they rebuilt the building on the original site and they built it like it was decades ago.  It's an open air theater and only operates in the summer.  While we were there, they were practicing one of the plays for the summer.  Again...we 'weren't allowed' to take pictures, but I was just so over not being able to take pictures anywhere...so take pictures I did!  

My secret picture of them practicing for the summer play sessions. More info we got from the tour:  Tyler gave our tour at the Globe. 1599 was the first version of the Globe.  The play 'Much ado about nothing' is what they are practicing in this picture. 2pm was the only time for plays to run back in Shakespeare's time because of the open air theater and the light of the day.  Back in the day, you could stand to watch a play for 5 pounds.  All forms of class are and were welcome for plays back in the day.  Groudlings are the people who sat way down in front.  Rich people sat in the boxes.  Actors use to have a scroll with their words on it.  During Henry the VIII's reign, women were not allowed on the stage.  The current building was built in 1988 and Sam Watermaker was the new theater builder

The Tower Bridge.  We walked over it again...it looks so small from afar but when you walk across it, you realize how massive it really is.  I got to run over this bridge during the marathon which was amazing.  At one time people used to live on this bridge.

London used to be a fortified city. There are very few places where the old brick walls still exist, but here were some pieces of it.

Leadenhall Market.  I have never seen Harry Potter, but apparently this area was featured in Harry Potter.  It's just an open air market with a covered roof.  The buildings are really cool though.

 

The Cheshire Cheese Pub - another one of the oldest pubs in London.  This one is a very quintessential Old London Pub.  Dark, lots of heavy wood, no windows.

April 25th - Tower of London Tour 

The Tower of London was by far the most touristy thing that we did.  It was packed!  The crown jewels are stored here (no pictures of course inside the building), Cannons, armor and weapons from long ago are stored here.  It's a little fortified city in the city.  We didn't stay too long because the volume of people here was incredible and my bull crap tolerance level was pretty low by this point. haha

This is Henry the VIII's suit of armor.  The joke is pretty obvious here....

Ravens are a big deal at the Tower of London. There is some legend that says that they protect the area.  Seeing the Ravens was my favorite part. haha

This was the only picture that I could take of the Crown Jewels.  The line was crazy long, but it went fast because you ride this people mover conveyor belt in a single line and it moves you past all the crown jewels.  It's a good set up, because otherwise this line would never move.  It's dark in the building.  There are guards everywhere.  The jewels are beautiful...they look exactly like how you would expect.  We did learn one thing though...some of the crowns and other ceremonial pieces are so heavy that during the coronation of King Charles I guess they still had to use a fake crown or something because otherwise the crown would have snapped his neck from the weight.  The largest diamond in the world is in the crown jewels and it's over 3000 carrots.

At Greenwich park is the Prime Meridian. It's where 0 longitude starts.  And all the standard measurements are. It's really amazing to see. However, it's all behind a paywall.  You have to pay like $25 to get in the gate to see the line on the sidewalk.  We were like 'aw hell no'. So we took pictures through the fence and called it good.

They did have a 'poor person' line that outside of the wall that you could stand on and take a picture so we did that instead.

After walking all day, we headed to this old train bridge that they turned into pubs and stores underneath 

We sat here and had a beer.

London is very old school.  Some places still get milk delivered in the mornings!

April 26th - That Friday, We took off from London back to Grand Rapids.  Because running the London marathon was a surprise to me, I had already planned on running the Toledo Marathon, which just happened to be the weekend we got back from London!  So, when we landed in GR, we drove to Gary's dad's house where we had left Gary's vehicle.  I sent all my London luggage with Gary to go back home and I got in to my Jeep and drove to Toledo with different luggage that I had stored in my Jeep.  Once I got to Toledo, I just collapsed in the hotel for the evening.

April 27th - The next morning, I ran the Glass City 5k.  I think I just spent the rest of the day relaxing in the hotel room!

April 28th - The next day, I ran the Glass City Marathon!  It was a good run but it POURED the entire time.  Luckily it was warm, so being rained on for 41/2 hours wasn't that bad.  After the race, I got into my Jeep and drove home.  What a whirlwind trip with TWO marathons!

I got ducked when I was in Toledo!!