Home Sweet Home


Glacier National Park, MT
We were up early Wednesday in order to pack up and head out.  Before leaving, we visited the Two Medicine area of the park.  It was extremely windy once again, so we didn’t spend much time there. After checking out the lake, we drove and drove until we reached North Dakota, where we visited Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  There is a 36-mile scenic loop that one can drive.  We opted to do that (which was fine as there were very few trails to hike, and I was struggling to walk on my swollen, sore ankle).  It was nearly 8pm when we arrived in town, so there was little open; apparently everything closes by 7pm in Medora, ND.  After our tour of the park, which included a buffalo trotting along side our car and numerous prairie dog sightings, we drove to Dickinson, ND for a night of rest and relaxation.
It took a lot of work to find a vacancy in a respectable hotel in town.  There were quite a few hotels (but no Starbucks - lame), but oil company workers occupied almost all of the rooms in town.  We were able to find a room, a suite in fact, and there we spend the night unwinding from hours of driving and days of living outdoors.  
We left Dickinson by 8am Mountain Time, and after about 14 hours, we pulled into our driveway.  I must have been extremely tired because I agreed to call it a night before unpacking the car.  As happy as I am to be home (and to get my girls back), I cannot express how much fun the trip was.  I grumbled about the lack of showers and the 13 nights living without walls, but it was a great experience.  When motivated, I sure can be an outdoors-woman! Thanks for the motivation, BR.  
(A fellow hiker from Mt. Washburn, Yellowstone NP, WY) I wanted to bring him home, and he wanted to come home to meet the cats, but there was just no room in the car. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

AJ Runs Several Ks...and Writes About It

Image
On Saturday, May 6, I returned to half marathon racing. It had been quite a hiatus, and my previous half marathon, was completed with a blown out IT band, so I did have to balance high hopes and realistic expectations. After all, a lot has changed since that last race. They say that age is just a number, and by that logic, a half marathon is just miles. 13.1 long and hilly miles in this case, and now officially in the next decade of my life. Yeah, yeah, just a number. Last year, still in my 30s, I toyed with the idea of returning to racing and with running the Door County Half Marathon. We were in Peninsula State Park for our annual Mother’s Day weekend, and the race was taking place. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to get back to some really good training. Our plan - always - is to be in Door County for our Mother’s Day celebration, so why not sign up?! Well, back to numbers. Two children, one partner, too many hours at work each week, one bike ride/race to each weekend, an
Read more

My Dad, OUR Hero

Image
This past weekend, we celebrated my dad’s 30 years of service to and retirement from the Mukwonago Fire Department. As both a volunteer fire fighter and EMT, he has spent several decades in service of others. During what surely was one of their most trying times, it was my dad who was with people he’d never met and likely wouldn’t see again. To do that on top investing in full-time work, his family, and his other interests is simply remarkable. And that’s my dad: a driven, generous, passionate man. The Mukwonago Fire Department was a part of my youth. The men and women he served with became my dad’s second family, and thus they were there for many of my milestones. My weekends were were filled with various events hosted by MFD, including community events and that one family picnics that ended with Dad getting stitches. Sometimes my weekends - and weeknights - were also filled with quick goodbyes as another call pulled Dad away from our family plans. The sound of his pager and the
Read more

Milestone

Image
I mentioned, not too long ago, interest in a birthday trip to ATL. Michelle Obama would be there for her book tour, the weather is fall-like this time of year and perfect for a long run, and it’s a city I haven’t explored much of. My partner heard me. He showed up, like really showed up!   Just about a week ago, Harper brought me a birthday card and gift she and B had been working on. It was my own copy of  The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times , and a Happy Birthday picture of a plane, a peach, and a pink and purple suitcase (my favorite colors).     I had otherwise been planning a jaunt from home along the Glacial Drumlin Trail and snack day at H’s school. That would have been great. But Brian has been helping me work on prioritizing myself to maintain balance; time away was earned, needed, permissable. To say I was excited for the weekend was an understatement. B attended to all the details (also needed AND appreciated): flights, hotel accommodations, transportation,
Read more