First Half

The Mayor's Midnight Sun Marathon and Half Marathon brought nearly 4,000 runners from 49 states and several friends from Kodiak to Anchorage's trails on Saturday. A slight breeze and mostly sunny skies made for excellent race day conditions at the start. While the picturesque course offering million dollar views of the Chugach Mountains and Cook Inlet made everyone a winner. I ran the half marathon course (my longest race distance to date) and Meg ran race support - meeting me at the finish with comfortable shoes and a dry shirt. During the race I was able to keep a steady pace and finish right at my goal. this was my first major individual race and it was really fun to be at the start with thousands of other folks pumped about running. To me it's evidence that humans are hard-wired to run in groups. For instance I've noticed that my times are much faster when running with someone else. Perhaps it's a vestige of our ancestral persistence hunting tactic: running = survival.

Pickup

Tacoma at the Columbia

Mom takes a gander at the Gorge

After a spring spent hunting for a safe and reliable vehicle in which to explore summer in AK, Meg and I took the plunge and bought a pickup truck. We wanted something that we could use for camping in places with a paucity of developed campsites (e.g., the Denali Highway), yet small enough to parallel park downtown. A 4x4 was essential and we wanted to make sure that we had a place to retreat to if any bruins got too close (i.e., our encounter in Montana). So we found a Toyota in Colorado for a fair price and made the purchase. Lacking the vacation time to drive the truck all the way up to AK, we decided to put it on the barge in Seattle. Last weekend my Mom helped me drive it from Colorado to Seattle. We had good weather and Mom got to see parts of the West that she had never been to before. We took the "northern route" through Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. It reminded me of my younger days taking road trips with the family, when the journey was the destination. I could not have made the trip without Mom - as always a great traveling companion.

On the river

Out for a practice float in the Taiya River near Skagway, AK


Ben and Laura prepare to put in near Dawson, YT

Laura conducts trip logistics

Two good friends recently set off on a two month adventure paddling the Yukon River. Ben and Laura plan to kayak most of the length of the Yukon river this summer. When possible, they will send dispatches from the field and update their position via their Spot Satellite Messenger. As you might expect, being completely self-sufficient during the next 60 watery days requires considerable planning. Meg and I are excited to be part of the support crew. We have been mailing boxes of food and reading materials to places along the river where Ben and Laura will stop for provisions.

Midwest Tour

Lighthouse, Muskegon, MI

Dad and Brother Duncan on the dock in Leland, MI

Large wooden pike

Meghan and I "made the rounds" this Memorial Day and paid a visit to several family members in the Upper Midwest. We began our trip at a cousin's wedding on Lake Michigan over the holiday weekend. Then Meg took the ferry across Lake Michigan to visit with her family in Wisconsin, while I made a trip to Northern Michigan to see the grandparents. I then rejoined Meg at the family farm in Wisconsin after taking the same ferry trip across the lake with my Mom. For most of the trip the weather was quite pleasant and when it got too hot we could always find a lake nearby to take a quick dip. It was great to see so many friends and family. I think we got a bit homesick for the "luxuries" of the L48: delicious food, proximity of family, affordable housing. The pictures above are from the Northern Michigan leg of the trip.