AlaskaLand

Welcome

Sitting at a border crossing waiting on Vanessa while she peeled orange after orange after orange wasn’t my idea of fun but this was her penance for trying to cross the American border with citrus.  All she was required to do was peel all of the citrus, place the peelings in a bag, hand the bag over to the border patrol agent and we’d be on our way.  All 10lbs of them. 

Crossing into Alaska was kind of a big deal for us.  This had been our goal ever since we first hit the road many miles ago.  The road was windy with lots of detours and distractions, but here we were.  Finally.

  Our first stop was Tok, one of the first towns you pass by on the Alaska Highway.  Our hitchhiker friend Michael has posted on facebook that he had spent the night here and recommended a restaurant called Fast Eddy’s and we figured we’d stop in for a bite and spend the night in their parking lot as well before traveling on.  Fast Eddy’s was worth the stop.  They had great food, nice selection of desserts (cheesecake!), and free wifi that we could pick up while kicking back in the RV in their parking lot.  We enjoyed it so much that we went in for breakfast the next morning as well (more cheesecake!).

The end of the road

Our next stop was Delta Junction, the official end of the Alaskan Highway.  We had picked up the highway at its start in Dawson Creek 1,422 miles ago and had traveled almost every inch of it.  I say almost since we took a little detour to get to the city of Whitehorse, effectively skipping about a mile of it.  I had briefly contemplated backtracking in order to travel every inch of the highway but ended up shrugging it off.

The North Pole was up next.  This is a town in year long Christmas mode.  Every year they elect a person to be the town’s official Santa Claus, not positive what their duties are since we stopped by the post office and saw 3 other Santa dead ringers walk by.   Doppelgangers everywhere.

We were going to visit Santa’s House along with whatever else the town is known for but decided to skip all of that and head over to the Chena hot springs which were about an hour away, since this is where I wanted to spend the majority of my birthday the following day. 

The Chena Hot Springs were a nice attraction.  For a $15 fee, you could soak all day until midnight in the 3 different hot tubs, swimming pool, or outdoor hot springs.  They also had an ice sculpture house, horse rides, sled dogs shows, and I suppose a few other touristy things to spend your money on but we were there for the springs.  Since we were too late to warrant purchasing a pass, we toured the grounds and then drove right outside their grounds to camp for the night.  We had to stay indoors all night since the mosquitoes were crazy and would blanket us and the dog as soon as we would step outside. 

The next morning we bought our passes, and spent a leisurely day soaking, swimming, playing ball with the dog, and soaking some more.  After we had our fill we drove over to the Silver Gulch Brewery in Fairbanks for dinner and drinks.  Fairbanks would become our home for the next few days.  I’m not certain why since it was hot, muggy, full of drunks, but it is what it is.  We did get in a few runs, found some nice places to eat, and soaked our feet (and our butts) in the river whenever the temperatures became too unbearable to hang out in the RV.  And Ginger really took a shine to playing in the river which surprised me since she usually goes out of her way to avoid getting wet.

Again, I have no idea why we spent so many days in Fairbanks but eventually we decided we had to get going to the Denali National Park, which happens to be where we are currently holed up. 

Denali is beautiful but I am slightly disappointed and I will tell you why.  The park is huge and goes on forever, and forever.  However, you can only drive or take the free shuttle for the first 15 miles of road.  If you want to travel further into the park, you have to hike or pay for their shuttles.  We had planned on taking a to Wonder Lake where we read that you can glimpse bears, moose, and even Mt McKinley but found out you have to pay $46 per person and it is an 11hr round trip.  Are you kidding me!?  Still, if it wasn’t for the dog, I’d be very tempted to do it.  The joys of puppy parenthood.

Overlooking Denali

What we settled on instead was a run up to the Mt Healey lookout, a nice 4ish mile trail that takes you straight up a mountain near the park entrance and offers some spectacular views.  Plus the trail goes on further and so we got in some extra bonus miles, finishing up with about 10 miles for the day.  We didn’t see any moose or bear but we did see some wolf scat, lots of ground squirrels, and fur from what I suppose once belonged to a snow hare.

I am not certain how long we’ll hang out at Denali but there are still a few trails to keep us entertained, a couple great restaurants, and a few places offering free wifi.  What more can one ask for?  And we can always drive down the road to the Denali State Park and visit the trails they have as well.

Life is still good.

Yukon, Jack!

For a while there, we had hopes and dreams of making it to the city of Whitehorse, the capital of the Yukon Territories, before sundown of July 1st, Canada Day, in hopes of catching their fireworks celebration.  See last post as to why that was a fail.  Anyways, 4 days later and we finally arrived.  And what a great trip it's been getting here!  We picked up a hitchhiker, spent some time at a really cool hot springs, and saw loads of wildlife.  And the views!  But first lets talk about the hitchhiker.
We didn't get the new tires installed until the 3rd of July, having to order them on the 2nd and waiting for the 12hr delivery time.  Very grateful for this because the other shops we talked to quoted us anywhere from 7 to 14 days.  Thank you Integra Tires!  By the time the tires were on, it was getting a little late but we figured we should get down the road and spend the night at Fort Nelson, a 4 hour drive from where we were.  No real problem since the sun doesn't set until 10pm these days.
Upon arriving in Fort Nelson we immediately hit up the Visitor Center for their free wifi.  We arrived just as they were shutting down and the signal was too weak for us to pick it up outside the building.  Leaving the parking lot we noticed a hitchhiker and vowed to pick him up if he was still around in the morning and drove off to a quiet street to spend the night.  The next morning we went back to the visitor center for the wifi and guess who comes strolling in?  Our hitchhiker had tracked us down saying that he noticed our South Dakota license plates and figured we were heading to Alaska and figured he'd try to charm us into giving him a ride.  His name is Michael and he is a journalist for the Huffington Post.  Michael is currently a few months into a year long project in which he is hitchhiking around to various carnivals in order to interview carnies as well as work as one himself. We talked for about 30 minutes telling stories about ourselves, welcomed Michael aboard, and hit the road.
Our destination for the day was the Liard Hot Springs, a cool little place we read about that was less than 200 miles up the road.  Michael wanted to shoot for 500 miles but was willing to take what he could get from us.  Along the way we listened to Michael's various stories with awe and wonder.  He once interviewed Imelda Marcus and later went to a party and danced with her.  Not that I'm a fan of hers but wow.  He's also been to practically every country in existence for one reason or another.  During his stories, I'd point out the various wildlife along the road and slow down so he and Vanessa could take pictures.  A few times, the wildlife would be right in the middle of the road and I'd have to stop until they cleared out of the way.  I'm not complaining about it since it was one of the coolest experiences ever.

Caribou (cariboo?)

Cook's Sheep (look at the baby!)

Wood Bison

Being entertained by Michael as well as Mother Nature made the trip pass in no time and we found ourselves at the hot springs.  Michael wanted to continue on down the road and so we posed for a couple pictures and said our goodbyes.  The hot springs had an entry fee but a lady came over to us and handed us her pass, saying it was good for 24hrs and that we could have it since they were leaving.  FREEBIE!  That saves us $10.

This side is much too hot

This side is just right

The hot springs were wonderful but after a few hours I got jonesing for the road and asked Vanessa if she'd mind if we'd drive some more rather than spending the night here.  We packed up and drove out.  Michael was still right outside the park trying to get a ride and so I honked at him and he joined us once again.  Our new destination was Watson Lake, an easy 140 miles just across the border of Yukon.  Again, we reveled in swapping stories with Michael and counted wildlife along the way and shortly found ourselves at our destination.  We dropped Michael off at the visitor center, agreeing to meet up later that evening but never saw him again.  I assume that he hooked up with another ride and hit the road.  I'm going to miss that guy.

Look ma, we be in the Yukon now!

Michael, Vanessa, and myself posing outside the Signpost Forest

Safe travels to you Michael.  Perhaps we'll run into you in Anchorage.  I hope our next passenger is as cool as you.

Is this thing on?

It's been a few months since I last posted an update and I am uncertain as to how to properly proceed.  Do I post about where we currently are and skip over everything we've done since my last update?  Or do I put what we are currently doing on hold and try to catch up?  Or I guess I could post a current update and fill in the blanks later.  I think I like how option #3 sounds.  At least Vanessa has been taking care of the pictures as we travel and so if you want to travel back in time, please feel free to visit her facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/vanessaruns and check out the photo albums residing over there somewhere.
Anyways, so here goes...

July 01, 2013 Fort St John, British Columbia, Canada
A couple days ago we passed through Dawson Creek, the starting line of the Alaska Highway.  Being on this famous highway made me all kinds of giddy and I was hoping that we could make it to the capitol of the Yukon (Whitehorse) in time for Canada Day, which happens to be today.  Afterwards, we'd try to hit up Fairbanks Alaska for the Fourth of July if possible.  Or use Haines Alaska as a second option.  But Shit Happens.  And here's the story.
I was anticipating some 400-500 kilometer days in order to meet our goal.  Vanessa didn't seem very happy with it, preferring to stop everywhere and hit up some trails, but I think I convinced her to suffer along with me for a couple of days and then we could slow down our travels once again and enjoy life.  Let's just get to Whitehorse ASAP.
I felt as if we were making good time, enough to even stop at Pink Mountain which is about an hour West of Fort St John.  There we could have lunch and get in a short run on the trails.  It'd make everyone happy, especially the dog.  However, a few hundred yards from the turn a loud slapping noise started coming from the rear of the RV.  At first I thought it was a flat but I wasn't drifting off to the side so I figured I lost some tread on one of the rear tires.  I slowed way down, turned on the road leading to the Pink Mountain Park and lucky for us, there happened to be a paved pullout right there where I thought I could easily change out the tire.

Ever have one of those days?

I emptied out the back where the jack and accessories are stored and proceeded to start jacking up the rear of the RV.  Problem #1 - the jack is too short and can not raise the tire off the ground.  No worries.  I'll deal with that later and loosen the tire first.  Problem #2 - no hub cap removal tool.  No worries.  I keep a large flat blade screwdriver in my tool bag which popped off the cap with a little effort.  And now for the lugs.  Problem #3 - where the fuck is the lug wrench?  No problem.  I waved down a young couple in a car and asked to borrow their wrench.  Sadly, it was the wrong size.  I thanked them for trying to help and wished them a safe journey.  At least I have Good Sam Roadside Assistance, right?  They'll swap out my tire for free.  Problem #4 - My phone doesn't have Canada coverage.  No problem, I'll bite the bullet and pay the stupid roaming fees (ouch!).  An hour later, the lady finally confirmed that someone was on the way to help me out.  An hour of roaming charges.  Great, can't wait to see the bill.
Around 30 minutes later a guy pulls up and I describe the problems and he gets to work.  Two jacks and some power tools later and the spare tire is on.  I ask him where I can get some new tires and receive some bad news.  Problem #5 - It's the day before a 3 day weekend (Canada Day) and most of the shops shut down early.  We have to wait 4 days to get new tires.  We can either drive 90km back to Fort St John and spend the weekend there, or we can risk driving 300km to Fort Nelson and sit there for the weekend.  I'm not one to take unnecessary risk and so I opted to backtrack to Fort St John.  I didn't want to risk another blowout along the highway in the middle of nowhere and left stranded along the Alaskan Highway waiting for the shops to open on Tuesday.
And so that's how we ended up spending Canada Day in Fort St John.  It's not exactly what we wanted, but it's not too bad.  There's a Walmart, a Safeway, a few coffee shops and fast food places to snag free wifi.  There's even a free dumpstation with clean water right at the city's entrance. Too bad this city is infested with giant mosquitoes though.  We tried to hang out at a local lake for a day but gave up thanks to them critters.  This morning we gave it another go at a local forest trail.  Can't stop moving or you're mosquito bait.  Too hot to keep moving for long periods of time.  No win situation.  But at least we got in a couple of miles.  And the city is actually kinda nice.  Sort of.  And later tonight we get a free fireworks show.  See, not too bad.  These local tire shops better have the tire size I need though!

The Parks Continue

After saying goodbye to the Zion area, we had a whirlwind adventure hopping from park to park on our way back to the West Coast.
First up was the Great Basin. It was a bit out of our way but were told it was a can't miss park due to it's remoteness and scenic beauty.  And indeed, it was very remote with absolutely nothing to see along the road except for pastures full of cows and sheep.  The park was quite beautiful but the snow levels prevented us from hiking to the summit.  Instead we spent out time exploring the Lehman Caves and then continued on down the road.


On the way to our next park, the Mojave Desert, we stopped at a couple of hot springs I had read up on.  Sadly, they were closed to the general public.
The Mojave Desert park was pretty barren, with not much to see or do except for the Kelso Dunes which we pulled up next to and called home for the night.  In the morning, we headed out to climb the tallest dune which was quite the undertaking.  A sandy trail leading straight up, but causing you to slide backwards at the same time.  It was a struggle but everyone eventually made it to the top and was rewarded with a great view of the desert.

The giant Sequoias were calling and so we continued on down the road leaving the desert in our rear view mirror.  I think I recall seeing some giant trees as a wee lad but am not sure if they were sequoias or redwoods.  Regardless, these trees had me absolutely mesmerized.  The crowds at these two parks were minimal and the trails were abundant.  If time weren't an issue, we could have easily spent quite a few extra days here.

I've always heard great things about Yosemite growing up and never had a chance to visit.  I actually came close to working there for a Summer, even submitting an application and having it approved.  However, for some reason I joined the Navy instead, forever changing my life's direction.  Or did it?

I was disappointed in this park for two reasons.  First, the crowds.  OMG where did all of these people come from?  And its not even peak season yet.  Secondly, no overnight boondocking.  You either had to stay in a campground of leave the park every night.  We met one of the rangers who kindly let us park in front of his house every night during our stay, even allowing us access to his showers and wifi.  Matt, we are greatly appreciative of your generosity!  

Whew, I think that wraps it up for now.  There will be quite a few more National Parks in our immediate future.  I think if I had to pick my favorite so far, it would be Sequoia.  Yosemite would definitely take the top spot if there weren't so many people messing it up for me.

Zion National Park, Utah

We didn't spend near enough time at the Grand Canyon, thinking we had to hurry up to the Zion area for some training runs before race day smacked us upside the head.  However, Vanessa had the start date wrong (yeah, I'll put the blame on her) and we ended up arriving a full month before race day rather than the 2 weeks we had thought.  No worries, Zion is beautiful and there is lots to explore both in and out of the park.
We decided to make our home base at the Bumbleberry Inn since we still had their wifi password and their parking lot was rather large.  From here we were in close proximity to various trailheads, boondocking campsites, and the park itself.  However, the park wasn't our goal since it was full of tourists.  Instead, we make the trails outside the park our playgrounds.
Matt Gunn, the race director for the Zion 100 introduced us to the local running group, the Trailheadz, and Vanessa and I joined them on a run along the GEM Trail which was part of the race.  Beautiful trail that ran along a slot canyon.  The trail was slightly uphill on the out portion and we struggled to keep up with the girls leading the run.
We also scoped out some camping sites that Matt suggested on his FAQ.  There are quite a few very cool sites but we were saddened that a lot of the river sections were closed off to the public.
Inside the park we ran along a few trails, most notably was Angel's Landing which Vanessa loved but my acrophobia prevented me from summiting.  Still, it made for a great training run.
The Zion 100 race didn't go exactly how Vanessa and I envisioned, both of us getting sore knees from running on the slickrock early on.  We struggled with the trails and dropped at mile 52.  Vanessa's race report can be found HERE.  Still, we had a wonderful time out there and would love to attempt this race again.  Especially since Matt mentioned he'd comp us if we should return.

I love me some Android!

                                           

I figured I'd write a post on some of my favorite apps that I have found to be beneficial during our travels.  And seeing as how I'm a cheap bastard, all of these are available at the Marketplace for free.
Note - these apps are not listed in any particular order.  Although I do use some more than others, I find them all to be useful in their own ways.

1. Gas Buddy
   This app gets used quite a bit.  In our travels, it seems that in most towns you enter, the gas is always priciest near the freeways.  Drive about a mile in and you may save yourself up to 5c per gallon.  This adds up nicely when you are filling up an RV.  Using this app can save you a few wasted miles by showing you the gas stations with the best prices in your general area.
   What I love most about this app is the map view option.  GPS will show you where you are located and zooming out from there will show you nearby gas stations as well as the latest reported price.
   Another way I like to use this is if I have about a 1/4 tank left, I'll scout ahead to upcoming cities/towns and see if gas is cheaper where I am or if I should keep driving to the next town.
   
2. Local
   This is not exactly an app but rather a Google tool that came with my Galaxy pad.  I guess you could describe it as a Yellow Pages of sorts.  I've only recently started using it but it seems to help finding local businesses.  We've used it to look for grocery stores, coffee shops, and other places like that.  I'm sure we'll get a lot more use out of it in the near future.
   
3. Pilot
   Ever since we took to the road I've noticed that Pilot and Flying J gas stations are located all over the place.  The gas is reasonably priced, they have a decent store, cheap coffee, clean bathrooms, paid showers, and are overnight friendly.  Vanessa and I have stayed overnight at these places more than a few times nestled up amongst the big rigs.  Its nice to wake up in the morning and hit up a clean bathroom and grab a large cup of coffee before continuing along our way.  Most of these have some sort of fast food chain attached to them as well, such as a Subway or McDonalds in case you are hungry and want a cheap, crappy meal.
   
4. Oh Ranger! ParkFinder
   This is an app I wish I would have discovered before we began our journey.  First you enter a zipcode or city or have it use GPS to find your current location.  Next you choose from a list of activities such as hiking, camping, RVing, etc, or select all.  It will then give you a list of all parks in the general area that meet your criteria.  It also provides a map view which is what I prefer.  Selecting one of the parks takes you to a more detailed description along with directions, phone numbers, and a link to their website.
   
5. Propane Refill Station Locator
   Not the best app but has proved useful occasionally.  Basically, as the name suggests, it lists propane refill stations that are nearby.  The problem is that this app needs some updating.  I generally prefer using UHaul to refill my tanks since they usually offer the best prices and Yelp or Local seems to do better than this app in tracking one down.
   
6. RV Parky
   This one is a great find, although I haven't used it too much or doubt we ever will since we have never stayed at an actual RV park and doubt we ever will.  But I really appreciate this app and think others can get a lot of use out of it.
   I plan to keep it handy for one specific purpose.  If Vanessa and I are feeling especially grubby and need a shower and perhaps an RV dump station, I think I'll be able to find a nearby park with this up and broker some kind of day use deal with them in order to use their facilities.  In fact, there's a place not far from where we are currently located that has a hot tub that I am considering calling up for after our Zion 100 adventure.
   
7. Sanidumps Lite
   I think trying to locate a decent propane station is the thing I hate worst about travelling.  A not distant second is trying to locate a free dump station, or at least one that doesn't charge an exorbitant fee.  Our tank is fairly small and I'll be damned if I'm going to pay someone $20 to have it emptied.
   This app is decent for being free but has led us astray a few times by not being properly updated with closures.
   In addition to this app, I have also found the following websites to be helpful:
   http://www.sanidumps.com/
   http://www.rvdumps.com/dumpstations/
   
8. Swim N Hole
   When the weather warms up a bit more, I hope to get a lot of use from this app.  I found this one quite some time ago and eagerly awaited hitting the road and hitting up some of it's recommendations.  We have visited a few of its listings but the water is too cold at the moment.
   I'm not sure how often this gets updated, or even if it does, but the list of places is pretty nice.  I've also recently discovered the Swim Places app which I intend to install as a comparison to this ap.
   
9. TruckSmart
   Much like Pilot and Flying J, the TA Travelcenters are quite abundant and a safe haven for travellers looking for a safe place to park for the night.  They also provide dump stations, showers, restrooms, etc, as well as wifi at a small price ($5 for 24hrs).  They have a card membership where truckers can earn shower credits for every 50 gallons of diesel purchased.  I'll have to see if they have anything for RVers since a free shower would be nice once in a while.
   
10. US Hot Springs Guide
    Ever since Vanessa and I stumbled upon the Holtville Hot Springs, we've been on the lookout for other hot springs ever since.  As long as they are free that is.  This little app does a nice job at showing you where to find these hidden gems.
    Please use caution when driving to these as some of them may be off the beaten path and tricky to get to.  And ALWAYS remember to clean up after yourself.
    
11. Wi-Fi Finder
    One of the things we can't break our addiction to is free WiFi.  This app is pretty useful in scanning the area around you for wifi signals.  Bonus that it has a database for offline usage.  One of the best apps of its kind out there.
    
12. Yelp
    In this day and age, I really hope I don't have to give a breakdown of what Yelp is and what it can do for you.  One of the first things we do when we roll into a town is to search for "wifi" to find the free broadcasts.  It's also great for trying to locate decent food, farmers markets, trails, etc.  If it's out there, someone has more than likely yelped a review on it.
    
13. YPmobile
    This app comes highly appraised from quite a few bloggers I follow and so I felt compelled to install it myself to see what the fuss is all about.  I haven't had much opportunity to use it much but I do foresee its usefulness. 

 

Well there you have it folks, the list of apps I keep handy during our travels.  I highly recommend you grabbing a few of these for yourself and testing them out.  If you know of any apps that are excellent for travelling around, please feel free to let me know.  Must be Android though since I don't do the I.

Thanks for reading.

Ooh-Tah!

Flagstaff Pt 2

Being broken down at a car dealorship is not the best way to visit a city.  We had spent a long weekend broken down at the Scottsdale dealership and now we were doing the same thing in Flagstaff.  Not a good way to visit the city sights.  The only plus I see is that Flagstaff, from what I've researched, is severely RV unfriendly.  Living on the dealership parking lot prevents us from being woken up in the middle of the night by the police and being told to move along.

While at the dealership, Vanessa and I watched a pretty neat movie titled "Craigslist Joe", a story about a guy who decided to see if he could travel around the US with nothing in his pocket besides a laptop and a cellphone, subsisting only on the generosity of people he connects with via Craigslist.  This got Vanessa and I thinking that we could help out others on our journey by offering them rides if their destinations coincided with ours.  Plus, it'd be interesting to hear their stories.  We found a few people wanting campanionship on hikes and dogwalks, etc but the ad that caught our eye was from a brother and sister who were travelling the US on foot/bus and would be arriving in Flagstaff shortly and was asking for a ride to the Grand Canyon. I immediately shot them a response saying that we were heading over to the Canyon as soon as the RV was fixed and they were welcome to share a ride.  I also mentioned that it would include a hike on Mt Humphreys as well as a hike down to the bottom of the canyon.  Not too long after that I got a response that they were in and so we arranged a meetup for the following day.

We awoke Tuesday morning with a little bit of joy in our hearts.  Today was the day that our parts would arrive and hopefully we can hit the road and slowly make our way to the Grand Canyon.  Late afternoon I was handed the bill and the keys and Vanessa and I took off to the Lumberyard Brewery where we were to meet the siblings.  We ordered some drinks and waited for about 30 minutes for "the twins" to arrive.  (I don't really think they are twins but have taken to calling them this anyways).  We share a few drinks over the storeys of our lives and then head over to show off the Summit Seeker and then call it a night.  We decided to park at their hotel so that we can leech their wifi, snag some free breakfast in the morning, and get an early start to our trip.

Mt Humphreys

Our first stop with the twins was to try to summit My Humphreys, a local mountain that peaks out at 12,637' and is the tallest mountain in Arizona.  Vanessa and I had tried to summit it the last time we were here but missed it by a few hundred feet due to the gusty, freezing winds at the top.  This time we didn't make it to the top either due to all the snow on the trail.  At a little over 10,000', I noticed that Ginger's paws were looking pretty red and decided I'd turn around with her.  Charlotte decided to join me while Eddie and Vanessa wanted to go further up.  When Charlotte and I got back down, we got into dry clothes and then hit up the bar to wait for the others.  It turns out they only made it another 500' or so due to the amount of snow on the trail.  After a couple of beers we decided to move on to our nexst destination.

Sunset Crater Volcano

Around 900 years ago, a volcano erupted right outside of where Flagstaff currently resides.  Since it is a National Park and we now have a pass, we decided we'd stop by for a quick look since it was along our route.  The lava trail is a .5 mile climb and barefoot friendly too I might add.  Reaching the top led to spectacular views.  The only letdown is that visitors aren't allowed to go to the crater itself.  

Grand Canyon

Driving to the canyon via the East entrance is a great experience and one that I recommend to anyone visiting the area.  The roads are fairly empty and the views are magnificent.  We made it to the park right after the sun set and tried our hardest to figure out how to get to the S. Kaibab trailhead since we knew of the campground right outside there.  The maps and road signs for the park really suck and offer little help.  And my Garmin Nuvi doesn't offer much assistance either  But we eventually found it and got a nice parking spot to call home for the next couple of days.  The twins decided they'd like to sleep outside and so we loaned them our tent and helped get it set up.  I was a little jealous, wanting to sleep outside myself, but I am not a fan of being cold and stayed indoors where I could snuggle up against Vanessa and Ginger if extra warmth was needed.  The night sky and the brilliance of the stars here are simply stunning.

The next morning, we put everything away, locked the doors, said goodbye to Ginger, and hiked over to the trail.  We gave ourselves a 6-8 window to get back to the vehicle, figuring any more time than that and then Ginger's bladder may explode.

The Grand Canyon never ceases to amaze me.  It's just one of those things where pictures don't do it justice and you have to see it in person in order to truly appreciate it.  At the Snow Bowl bar on Mt Humphreys, the bartender told us that the average time spent at the canyon is 7 minutes.  People drive up, take a snapshot or two with the kids, and then head back home.  Can you imagine?  Given my wish, I would like to stay here for at least a month if not more.

Charlotte and Eddie aren't runners or hikers by any means, and Eddie smokes a lot as well, but they have been travelling a lot by foot and I was hoping they'd be able to make it down to Phantom Ranch and back in the allocated time.  At the S Kaibab trailhead, we said goodbye to the twins, wished them luck, and took off down the trail, stopping every once in a while to snap a photo or two.  The weather was perfect, the sun was newly risen, and we were having a grand time.  There wasn't that many people, unlike the last time we ran this.  We'd encounter an occassional hiker making the trek out with their huge backpacks, returning from what I assume was a lovely weekend camping adventure at the bottom of the canyon.  We'd nod one to another and continue on, delving ever deeper into the canyon.  We arrived at the Ranch and went in to cool down.  Beer and lemonade was in order and we relished the cold.  I grabbed another beer to take with me in case we encountered the twins, figuring they'd enjoy a cold one. Leaving the Ranch, I noticed that it had now been two hours since leaving the campsite.  Well on target since we had assumed 2hrs down and 4hrs up.

Incredible views all the way down!

Cooling down

The trek up is a serious haul.  It's tough, it's hot, and it kills your calves.  But we were still surprised everytime we'd look down and see how far we'd climbed back up.  About 2 miles up we encountered the twins talking to another hiker.  They were a little low on water and curious if they should continue or head back out.  After seeing us, they decided to head back up with us.  I offered them the beer which they declined, reasoning that it would dehydrate them and cause them to run out of water before making it to the top.  We continued on with the climb up, lagging slightly behind the twins and admiring their perseverance   We'd catch up to them when they would stop for some shade and immediately hop back up to continue on, leaving the shade for me and Vanessa to enjoy for a few brief moments.  This went on and on until we arrived at the Oh Ah Point.  The trail started getting really crowded with the "family hikers".  Everyone was in great spirits, no one carried water with them.  Why not, this was just a 2 mile hike for them with a picnic thrown in.  The four of us must of looked pretty ragged in comparison.  I offered Eddie a few sips from my spare bottle which he finally accepted after a lot of convincing.  He had been hiking hard and was dry, and I still had plenty in my main bottle.  Not much later we all arrived at the top, did a few high fives, and made it back to the campsite where Ginger was elated to see us again.  

The next morning, we packed up, drove over to the local coffee shop, and then headed back to Flagstaff.  We had heard about the Black IPA made by Mother Road brewery and went there to have a round and say our goodbyes.  The beer didn't disappoint.  Saying goodbye to Eddie and Charlotte however was sad.  But our two groups have our own journeys to continue and they happened to be in opposite directions.  Vanessa and I needed to head back North to Zion and the twins needed to go South to Phoenix.  Thus our entwined journey came to a close.

Hurricane, UT

That night, we parked at a Home Depot in order to watch some television and were interrupted by a security guard informing us that we could not spend the night there and would have to move along.  City ordinance.  Vanessa wanted to go back to the dealership but I had had enough of that place and chose to head over to one of the Walmarts instead, one that we had stayed at the previous year.  They have signs posted all over stating no overnighting but there are always RVs and campers there parked in the very far corner of the lot.  

The next morning we made the drive up to Hurricane, taking the 89 towards Page.  There was a road closure leading into Page due to a recent rockslide, but we were heading West on the 89A right at the closure.  The trip was a little boring, being very desolate with just minor little towns along the way, if you could even call them towns.  We rolled into Hurricane (pronounced (her-kin) just as the sun was setting and called it a night at the local Walmart since I needed to do a little bit of shopping anyways.

The next morning we found a nice little park to throw the ball with Ginger.  We were approached by a young boy who threw the ball for Ginger for about 30 minutes, all the while telling us about his life growing up in this lovely town.  Afterwards, we walked around town for a bit and then parked at a local fast food joint blasting free wifi and called it a night.  The next morning we headed to Springdale which is right outside Zion National Park.  Springdale is a pretty awesome town.  There are a few boondocking sights, a nice dog park with trails and river access for Ginger, a couple of great restaraunts, and trails galore to hike on.  All within view of the wonders of Zion.  And the best thing is that we get to stay here for over 3 weeks!

Stuck in Flagstaff

Sedona, Az

A lot of friends have expressed how awesome the trails of Sedona are and Vanessa and I were excited to finally be on our way to experience them for ourselves.  But as luck would have it, the Summit Seeker started have problems about 5 miles from town.  Climbing up the hill the check engine light started flashing and we lost power and immediately dropped down to about 20mph.  This was also accompanied with misfiring and I released we had problems with our ignition coil once again.  I found a little side road to pull off onto and parked to cool the engine down in hopes of being able to continue onto town under our own power.  After a short while I started the engine back up but the problem was still present.  Power be damned, we're going to limp into town regardless how slow we have to go.

We parked at the library in hopes of getting some wifi but as we have found out before, the free wifi found at most libraries completely suck and so we limped down the road to a place called Famous Pizza that offered free wifi where we could park for the night and enjoy some pizza and beer and then surf the net all night.  The pizza wasn't so good but the beer selection made it worthwhile.  In the morning we drove over to a lovely coffee place called Java Love (excellent coffee!) where we called Good Sam for a tow truck.  Before starting our journey I had purchased a Good Sam membership, including roadside assistance, just in case.  The problem with Good Sam is that they will tow you for free to the nearest shop of their choosing.  If you need to go someplace different, you will have to pay for the tow yourself.  Earlier I had called the Scottsdale VW shop to see if they would cover the work and the said I'd have to go to the Flagstaff dealer, about 25 miles away, where they would assess it and see if the work and any parts replacement would be covered.  Of course Good Sam wanted to tow me to the auto shop around the corner where none of the work or parts would be covered.  This meant we would have to pay for the tow truck ourselves.

Seeing the Summit Seeker being hooked up to a tow truck was an interesting experience and not in a pleasant way.  Vanessa and I, according to law, had to sit up front with the driver but the dog and cat had to stay in back.

The ride from Sedona to Flagstaff was not what I had in mind when we first set out as I had hoped to run along the Red Rocks and stop at Slide Rock State Park to wash up.  I chatted up the driver to talk about the area around us while Vanessa slept.  Some day we will definitely have to spend some time in the area in more favorable conditions.  I'm almost tempted to backtrack on our journey but we must keep pressing onward if we wish to make it to Zion in time to do some training runs before the big race.

Missing out on Sedona - 

 

Flagstaff, AZ

We made it to the Findlay VW Dealership too late to get any work done but in the early afternoon the following day we were handing the keys back with an explanation that a couple spark plug wires were not properly attached thus causing our problems.  Damn those Scottsdale VW people!  Vanessa, Ginger, and myself piled into the RV and left for the local brewery.  About 5 miles later the check engine light started flashing once again and we pulled into a hotel parking lot and requested a tow back to the Findlay dealership.
Later on at the shop, it was determined that we either had back plug cables or a faulty ignition coil, neither of which were immediately available with the earliest arrival being Tuesday.  We asked if we hang out on their lot until Tuesday and now here we still sit.  But at least we have spotty wifi.  And there is a Safeway as well as a few other places to spend money about a half mile away.  

 

Meet Humphrey's Peak.  At 12,637', it towers over Flagstaff and is the tallest peak in Arizona.  It is also the reason we wanted to visit this city.  Last year Vanessa and I attempted to summit this beast but the winds were too strong and cold forcing us to turn around just a few hundred feet from the top.  If we can ever get the Summit Seeker running properly again, we wish to attempt the summit once more.

The Journey Begins

This blog is being reactivated and converted into what I hope to be an accounting of the Summit Seeker’s journeys now that we have officially left San Diego behind and have taken to the nomadic lifestyle fulltime.

Apologies for the lengthy post below as I try to catch up on things

Phoenix Arizona

What was originally intended to be a stop lasting just a couple of days, Phoenix turned into our home for about two weeks. The Summit Seeker was in need of some scheduled maintenance, having rolled over 70,000 miles, and I decided to get her the suggested 80,000 mile tuneup since we’d be putting some serious miles on her.  And so we found a Volkswagen dealership in Scottsdale that could handle a rig her size and that is when the fun began.  It seems that replacing new spark plugs revealed an alignment issue with the coils creating an erroneous spark.  Of course a new coil assembly, costing about $500 should take care of it, or we can live with an intermittent misfire.  We opted to shell out the money.  Also, the rear brakes only had a few thousand miles left on them so what the hell, throw in some new brakes as well.  And of course the battery failed its charge test so we opted for a new battery while we were at it.

About 30 miles from the dealership, the Summit Seeker shut down.  Just stalled as if it had run out of gas.  I was able to restart only to have it stall out again, and again.  WTF?!  We made it to the trailhead we were heading towards and called the dealership.  They needed me to bring it back where they would run diagnostics.  Great, a 30 mile drive with an RV that may or may not stall out at any given moment.  Yet somehow we managed it, having to pull over 3 times to restart the vehicle and another time stuck at a stoplight for about 10 minutes before the engine would turn over.  The only saving grace was that the roads weren’t terribly busy and so we only pissed off about 10 drivers in total.

I should add another note here.  The night before, I had stayed up drinking with Chris Rios and he somehow convinced us that we should drive the Summit Seeker down to the Copper Canyons with them.  They were spending the day packing and wrapping up some last minute things while we were stuck in an RV with a stalling issue and still haven’t checked out the route or done any kind of prep for the long trek.

Back at the dealership.  After having a mechanic drive the rig around for awhile they got her to stall.  But diagnosing the root cause was a little tricky since all tests came back fine.  I assured them that this was a recent development and that the culprit had to be related to something they had done.  Evening came with no result.  Not wanting to spend money on a hotel, we asked them to park the RV where we had access to it and we’d spend the night on their lot and have them continue their troubleshooting in the morning. 

The next morning arrived.  This was the day we were supposed to start our trip towards the Copper Canyons.  The Millers had to leave and we were hoping we’d be able to fix our rig and catch up to them when they stopped for the night.  Wasn’t going to happen since the mechanic didn’t find the faulty component until early afternoon and we got the vehicle back just before sundown.  The Millers were already in Mexico!  It seems the coil they installed was faulty and was causing an intermittent short when it reached temperature.  Thanks guys!  But at least we had our home back.

Staying in Phoenix is not so bad.  The trail system is amazing and there are plenty of hills and mountains to keep one entertained.  And so we decided to hang around for another week since Mike Miller was holding a fatass type of running event the following weekend in honor of his upcoming birthday and we wanted to run the 15k option.  It also gave me a chance to ensure the Summit Seeker was fine and healthy enough to continue on our journey.  It seemed to me as if the radiator fan came on and stayed on much more frequently than I remembered but it’s something I never really paid attention to and just stashed the info in the back of my head.

The Old Man race was a lot of fun and I strongly recommend it to anyone that can make it next year.  Although the weather was cold at the start, the gradual ups and downs warmed you up and kept you comfortable as long as you kept moving.  We originally planned on doing two loops of the 15k course but one was enough and we headed over to the Millers for the post race party and to cheer all the 51k runners that finished behind us.

Climbed to the thumb from both sides of the mountain

Pine Arizona

There were more good times to be had during our stay, such as meeting Jenn Penner, a Facebook acquaintance of mine for many years, and running Tom’s Thumb with Rachel Spatz, as well as hanging out at the amazing health club that she gave us passes to.  But time was ticking and our journey had to continue.  Next stop – Pine Arizona. 

Pine is less than 2 hours northeast of Phoenix but is a very different climate.  Elevation of about 5,500’ and lots of pine trees rather than the plentiful Cholla and Saguara cactus that we encountered everywhere in the Phoenix area.  However, you have to do some climbing in order to get up there and poor little Summit Seeker overheated on the drive up.  See, I knew that radiator fan being on more than I remembered was a problem!  Of course now we are in the middle of nowhere and can’t do much about it except pull over, wait until everything cools down, and then continue the journey.  And no driving with the AC on.

Late 2012 we volunteered to help out at the Mogollon 100 race, which takes place in Pine and fell in love with the area. And what’s not to love about it?  A small town with lots of mom & pop type stores and restaurants.  Trails everywhere that will leave you breathless from their beauty as well as their ruggedness and steepness.  Creeks and streams aplenty to jump and cool off in.  Nights that are so dark you can’t see 5 feet in front of you yet skies so brilliantly lit up by the stars. 

Home for the next week

We’ve been here for four days and the trails are kicking our ass, what with the elevation, ruggedness and steepness.  Seriously, can a trail contain any more rocks than what these have?  The plan is to stick around until mid next week sometime and continue tackling these trails as part of our training for the upcoming Zion 100 race and then it’s on towards Sedona for more trails.  We’ve also located 3 sources of free wifi down the road as well as a few faucets where we can refill our water jugs.  There is also a small mechanic’s shop at the local gas station (gas is approx .20c cheaper than Phoenix here!) that I will visit in a few days to see if they can help with the overheating issue.  Otherwise, we’ll just have to live with the overheating issue until we reach Flagstaff near the end of this month.

Happy Trails!

Surf City 2012

·         BACKGROUND

I ran the Surf City Marathon for the first time in 2011 as my first real BQ attempt with fellow Dirt Devil Mike McDaniel.  I had a few issues with my Luna Sandals and ended up finishing in 3:30, quite short of my goal time.  When Oakley announced their deal with Surf City, I immediately signed up and decided I’d give the BQ another shot.  Plus the free pair of shades didn’t hurt none.  Later, Vanessa would sign up in order to join me.

Race day 2012 drew near and, well things happen and I am no longer in BQ shape.  Or maybe I am but just too lazy to exert the effort required.  Still, it’s a chance to go hang out with a few friends and collect some more bling for the office.  Plus collect the free Oakleys.  We also learned that Ken Bob was holding a clinic the day before and so we decided we’d go meet up with him for a few miles, attend the expo, and then go meet Seamus over at Sport Kilt prior to calling it a day and retiring to our hotel room. 

·         WEATHER

Weather forecast called for a low of mid-40 and a high of 70.  A bit on the warm side for running a marathon but the coastal breeze would make it seem a bit cooler than actuality.

·         GEAR/FUEL

I packed a few options to run in but was pretty certain I’d wear my green kilt and green InB shirt.  I had also decided I’d run barefoot as long as possible and then slip on the Vibrams if required.  These I carried in my UltrAspire Spry running vest, also required in order to bring along my running buddy, Stix.
For fuel, I packed some Vega electrolyte mix and once drained, I would use the course fluids which happened to be Gookenaid Vitalyte.

·         PRELUDE

We dropped off Ginger at her favorite pet hotel and then drove up to Huntington Beach, arriving about 10 minutes before the scheduled run with Ken Bob.  He wasn’t that difficult to pick out of the crowd and seeing as we were the only ones to show up, we decided we’d head out and let him choose our destination as well as mileage.  We ended up running on some nice trails navigating around a bird estuary, not too far from where we’d be running the next morning.  Ken Bob was an excellent host, describing the area around us, pointing out landmarks, and chatting it up with us as well as everyone else along the path.  We stopped a few times to take pictures and videos as well as to talk with a few couples walking their dogs.

The time flew by and we decided to head over to his house for an autographed book after he had decided we’d had enough and should leave something in our legs for the race.  There we got to meet his lovely wife and dog.

After saying goodbye to the Saxton family, we drove South a few miles for the bib pickup.  Parking was relatively easy, not really caring about the half mile walk to the tent.  I’m not a big fan of expos, preferring to get in, grab my race stuff, and get the heck out of there.  We loitered a bit this time, saying hi to a RW friend of mine as well as hanging out at the Ink n Burn booth in order to chat with owner Rob.  It’s great seeing how far these guys have come in such a short time and I expect their business to continue to grow.

After Vanessa bought a few items and we said our goodbyes, we headed up North about 20 miles to go meet the owner of Sport Kilt, our favorite sponsor.  Meeting Seamus, the owner, was great.  He introduced us to another athletic couple that he sponsors and we talked for a bit.  They are athletes in the Highland Games which is quite different than what we like to do but fascinating to learn about none the less. 

I wasn’t sure what to expect to see at Sport Kilt but was blown away with the rows upon rows of kilts I saw.  And the model Jolene!  She was the quiet type and was yummy to look at.  Plus I think she was a little excited to meet us.

Seamus took our measurements for a custom hiking kilt that he plans to send our way and then pointed to a row of kilts and told us to take anything we wanted.  Seriously!?  I settled on two buckled versions while Vanessa went all out and snagged about 8 of them.  And as a bonus, we also got some hats, shirts, stickers, and a water bottle to bring home as well.  Sweet!

After saying goodbye and thanking him repeatedly, we said goodbye to Seamus and headed over to the hotel to grab some shuteye.

·         RACE DAY
       
      The morning came way too early as always.  At least it wasn't like Disney where we had to wake up at 3am to go wait around in the cold.  We were within 10 miles of the race start so we were able to sleep in a bit and still have ample time to get to the free parking before it was all filled up.  We met up with some fellow Marathon Maniacs for a photo op, made our way to the front of the race to say hello to a couple of the pacers that I knew would be there and then waited alongside the course for our wave to catch up to us.

COURSE

      Our wave start arrived and for once I was ready, having already turned on my Garmin and everything tucked away properly in my running vest.  

      The first three miles or so were along the PCH heading North towards where we were running with Ken Bob the day before.  From there we turned right and headed towards the 405 freeway, looping through the Huntington Beach Central Park.  Most of the route was easy on the feet although there were a few rough patches in the park itself that almost had me jumping off course in order to run on the grass.  We also had a couple of hills to climb at miles 4 and again at mile 9, or rather speedbumps according to some of my ultra friends.  They weren't that difficult but just enough to let you know they were there.

      At mile 10 we connected back to the PCH to run North for a couple miles, pull a u-turn, and then run South to around mile 16.  I'm not a fan of out-n-backs since you are forced to see everyone ahead of you.  Especially sucks when you see a pacer's sign and can do the math to figure out how much longer you'll have to run to get to the point where they are at.  The good news is that there were a lot of people I knew running this as well as a ton of Marathon Maniacs that would give shout outs.  Plus being barefooted and running in a kilt drew a lot of attention and I would get bystanders yelling out at me telling me what a good job I was doing, or how friggin stupid they thought I was for doing this.  And I was happy that my feet were holding up in the warm conditions.

      Right before mile 16 we hopped onto the bicycle path.  This patch would lead us down to the Bolsa Chica State Beach where we would turn around at mile 21 for the final stretch to the finish line.  I was dreading this section due to knowledge from the previous year.  Somewhere around mile 18, the trail is horrendous to bare feet.  I would like to finish the entire race barefoot but this one section gave me doubts.  And sure enough, it proved too much to my feet.  I did manage to get through the section but my feet were so sensitive after that, I knew I would never make it through that section on the return trip.  And so I conceded defeat and put the Vibrams on before hitting the 19 mile marker.  On the plus side, there was a group of people handing out beer and bacon and so Vanessa and I stopped to partake.  I was only interested in the beer and she was only interested in the bacon.

      After the turnaround and shortly after mile 21, we had a Ken Bob sighting.  He had told us he'd be along the course and so we stopped for a second to say hi, and to have him ridicule me for the Vibrams.  Didn't want to stay too long since Vanessa was chasing a PR and so we shook hands and said goodbye.
Upon meeting up with the rough section again, my feet were starting to feel used and abused.  I am not a fan or running with the Classics in warm conditions since the heat goes right through the bottoms and feels as if my feet are on fire.  Not much I could do since my feet were too tender now to finish the race barefoot.  And so I chose to run on the grass or alongside the sidewalk whenever I could.  This helped a little bit but everytime I jumped back onto the sidewalk, my feet would instantly start screaming at me.  I really wanted to walk at this point, or better yet, jump into the ocean that was just a few yards away.  I asked Vanessa a couple times if she needed a walk break, hoping she'd say yes, but she was determined to finish this bitch and get her PR.  Good for her!  And so I sucked it up and kept running alongside.
Somewhere after mile 24 my feet could not take the torture anymore and so I told Vanessa I was going to walk it off and that I'd see her at the finish line.  It sucked seeing her take off without me but I feel it was for the best.  I am not sure how long I walked but as soon as I got off the smooth sidewalk and hit the PCH again, my feet felt a lot better.  I was about 1 mile from the finish line now and so I took off sprinting, hoping to catch sight of Vanessa, and if lucky, I could finish the race by her side.  That wasn't to be though.  I ran my ass off on that final stretch but the walking had taken it's toll and Vanessa was at the finish line waiting for me.  4:21.

·         THE END
We immediately grabbed some food and drinks and then sat down on a curb to talk about the race as well as point out the other runners who seemed to be in far worse shape then us.  We then walked over to the beer tent to enjoy or free beers and then we headed to the ocean to soak our feet.

I was supposed to meet up with some Runner's World buddies at a nearby place but after the beers and then the romp in the ocean, it was getting late and I had a dog to pick up.  And so we made the trek to the car and headed off to home to reunite with Ginger.
SUMMARY
It's pretty hard to run a marathon without shoes on your feet.  Although it kinda sucks running a marathon with shoes on as well.  I ended up running 19 miles before putting on the Vibrams and that is a personal best for me on race day (I've done quite a few 20 mile barefoot training runs).  Even knowing what the road conditions hold in store, its still a rather difficult task and for that, my hat is off to those of you who do this on a regular basis.
I also realize that I have a pretty decent life, and although I may bitch and complain about things, I am surrounded by wonderful people who understand and support my wacky endeavors.  And some of them put my wackiness to shame.  I love you all.

RANDOM RACE STATS
20,000 starters and 17,500 finishers
14,100 half marathon and 2,400 full marathon

Overall:	1188 out of 2440
Men:	841 out of 1541
M 40-44:	162 out of 271
Age/Grade:	50.26% Place: 1457
Finish:	4:21:06 Pace: 9:58
Tag Time:	4:21:06
Gun Time:	4:24:31

  Next Up - The Rocky Road 100