Liberty!

I am VERY happy to report that a goal that felt seemingly impossible and started with a tweet "I think I am going to run across the country" in June of 2009, became a reality on Tuesday, Nov. 2nd 2010. Yes, election day :) We certainly didn't plan it that way, but as with everything on this run (aside from the broken feet and 5 month break) things seemed to go the right way.

Before I get into anything (and I have a lot to write) I want to thank everyone for their encouragement, love and support! I can't begin to express how much it meant to me to know that there were people who cared about what we were doing. There are so many people to thank and I want to list them all but I am terrified of missing someone, which would make me feel terrible, so I will hope that you'll all know that every message, tweet, gesture, phone call, meal, place to stay, or donation (even though 9 times out of 10 we were successful in politely declining them, some people are terribly persistent :) were appreciated beyond words and if there was ever a time while we were out there that I didn't respond appropriately, please forgive me, I was probably really tired :) We never expected anything from anyone on this run, so people's generosity, love and support was humbling and inspiring and has changed me in profound ways.

THANK YOU!

Now for some stats.

Our journey from CA to NY ended up being 2,904 miles. We started at the HB pier in Huntington Beach and ended in Battery Park, NY at the ferry station. I didn't run around the ferry like I said I would. I figured I had earned a ferry ride and quite frankly, I would have looked stupid :) Besides, we could have taken a ferry from NJ and ended up with less miles, so I figured running the 13 miles through Manhattan more than made up for me getting to put my feet up the last 2 miles. AND I get to put "NY" on my leg.

Total running time 714 hours, 11 minutes.

Average pace was 14:41 minutes per mile (I was hoping for under 15!) with an average heart rate of 136.

Of the 2,904 miles, 2,336 were completed on the first part and 567 on the 2nd part.

We completed the run in 146 days (on the road) of which 125 days were running days for an average of 23.23 miles per running day.

Comparing the first part of the run to the 2nd:

I averaged 23.12 miles a running day the first 2,336

and 23.64 miles the last 567 miles (not bad considering, pushing the 100 pound baby jogger over the hills of Pennsylvania:)

According to my Garmin, I burned 532,509 calories. That's ALOT of beer!

Speaking of my Garmin, I tracked EVERY step with my Garmin Forerunner and when I post a picture like the one below, it feels great to know that the line represents GPS data that was gathered from the watch on my wrist. I could be very anal at times as I wanted to be able to zoom in on that line and see where my feet touched the ground all the way across the country. I am so happy to say that I was able to do that (except on the ferry:) and if anyone is interested, email me and I can send you the .GPX file. It's pretty cool to do a tour in Google Earth :)

So now that it is complete, what did it all mean? Or, as a friend of mine asked, "Why do you do this to yourself?" Good question and thank you for asking. I know that you specifically are asking why I abuse my body as you were commenting on a picture of my "Cankle".

But, it gives me a really good opportunity to talk about "why" I decided to do this in the first place. And through that, I hope to answer why I do this to myself.

I was asked many times on the run, why I was running across the country. It was always a hard question to answer and I always struggled with it. Even on the website I dance around the issue. I know that we could have done a much better job of conveying a more focused "mission statement" or "call to action" but somehow and for some reason, we could never package it in such a way. My hope was that somehow people would understand, by the things that I did say, why I was doing this. I know there were a lot of people who understood, but there were many people who weren't following the whole run and may not know why. I hope this will explain it. Now that I am done, perhaps this is the first time I feel the freedom to be completely honest. So, hopefully it's not too much of a drag to talk about. If it is, skip down a couple of paragraphs, it will get a lot more positive. And please understand, as I tell this, that I in no way think my problem is unique. I know that many people are struggling right now, many are much worse off than me, with this economy, and many are out of jobs or in a mortgage that is under water. Which makes it even more important that I tell it. So here goes.

Debt is not an easy thing to talk about. There is a stigma, or at least there used to be, to having a large debt and the stress of owing someone can be very difficult. That is why, with the exception of a few credit cards when I was young, I stayed out of consumer debt. I paid cash for everything and lived within my means. I've always had an independent spirit and always preferred freedom over security. This usually meant that I would prefer being freelance or "self employed" to working for someone. About 10 years ago, I took a big risk and went into debt to finance gear for a recording studio. I struggled for a couple of years but then through perseverance, spending most of my time honing my craft and lots of faith, I started getting some clients. I set up my studio at a Post facility, they had a good amount of work and my risk started to pay off. I paid my taxes but, due to bills, child support, etc. I wasn't making estimates. So, I would be behind and have make an installment agreement. I never missed a payment. But, still, I owed. It was small the first couple of years and it was manageable. But I had a couple of good years, right about the time that I paid off my gear. NO WRITE OFFS!!!! Uh oh! I still lived within my means, but was able to do a few extra things like rent an apartment and pay for my daughter to be in her dorm. Still, nothing extravagant, and no consumer debt. The first year it happened, it put me over the limit of a simple installment agreement and then the second year it became completely overwhelming and unmanageable. Of course, with a tax debt, you are paying interest and penalties and it can spiral out of control very quickly. Mine has "spiraled" to the tune of about $63,000.

Again, I do not say this to elicit a "Poor me" response. I am far from alone. I am just so analytical and anal that I spent so much time analyzing what went wrong and more importantly what is wrong with our system that it drove me to drastic measures. Why didn't I just "shut up" and pay what I "owe". Well, therein lies the crux of the matter. The income tax is based on what a person produces, not on what he consumes. If a person not only gets taxed more because he produces more, but gets taxed at a higher percentage, how could that NOT be a disincentive to produce? I realize that is a pretty broad argument and may fall apart to some degree when you are talking about people who make millions or perhaps billions of dollars. But, when you are comparing people who make $30,000 compared to $80,000 a year and punish the people who make more with a higher tax rate, to me that is the redistribution of wealth. Plain and simple.

Secondly, As anyone who is self employed knows, there is a "Self employment tax" which is the money you pay into Social Security, which is supposed to be for your own retirement. When you are self employed, you pay twice the amount that a person who is employed pays. To add insult to injury, if you owe back taxes, you now must pay interest on your "retirement fund". It is a wonder why anyone still has the stomach to be an entrepreneur in this country. And perhaps that is why so many can't make it. It begins to look awfully appealing to just get a job and be "safe" rather than take any sort of risk. I actually believe that that is what we are seeing in this country. People throwing up their hands and asking why? I believe this is a huge part of our problem. I have thought on occasion that I would be better off getting a low paying service industry job, then to try and pay off what I "owe". Can anyone see the problem with this? It is an unintended consequence of our system.

It's also worth mentioning the problem with "withholding". Most people work for an employer and have their taxes "withheld" from their checks every week. They never see their gross pay so they don't realize that the market will pay whatever they get paid before taxes. They never see that other money, so they never miss it. I have said it for a long time and am now hearing other people say it. If everyone got paid their gross pay and then were required to write a check for their taxes every paycheck, our income tax system would last about 1 week and there would be MANY more people in my situation. Perhaps that is why self employment is discouraged.

The taxes I am talking about is the Federal Income Tax. I want to make it clear that I understand that as a society, we have to pay for things. I want to pay my "fair share" and my belief is that my "fair share" should not be based on what I make. It should be based on what I consume or services that I use. If I go into a store, I am charged for what is in my basket. Can you imagine if your bill were not based on that, but based on your income? That is the income tax.

Our system is broken. Most of us know it. Our country is bankrupt. Even from the time that we started planning this run until now, things have gotten much worse. We are grasping at straws. There is moral hazard everywhere. Our debt has become so large, it almost doesn't mean anything anymore. It is frightening.

There are so many more political points I would like to make but this post would never end. Instead, I will answer the question that I was asked so many times. "Why are you running across the country?"

I originally ran because I was angry at my tax debt for all of the reasons above. I wanted to illustrate a point. If you punish the people who are willing to sacrifice everything, then, as Margaret Thatcher said "You eventually run out of other peoples money". No one will feel the incentive to produce. Everyone will take the "safe job".

That is the reason that I started the run. But as I made my way across the country, many things changed for me. I became less angry (and believe me, I was angry). I looked inside of myself and saw things I liked and things I didn't like. I talked about some of that in my last post. But mostly, I came to realize what really mattered in life. And that I can be angry at our politicians and let it poison me or I can try and change it. If our Government is truly of and by the people, then it is US that need to change.

I saw a beautiful country full of people that have become way too comfortable. We want everything easy. We want to watch other people live their lives on TV rather than go out and live our own. We need to start pushing our lawnmowers instead of sitting on them. We need to start producing more and consuming less. We need to stop looking to the Government to solve all of our problems. We need to take responsibility for ourselves. We all need to strive for something exceptional. We all need to dig down and remember when we had a dream and we need to do something to make it happen. There is nothing special about me. I have only been running for 5 years. I am an average runner at best. Too many people say "I couldn't do that". I am proof that you can do anything that you set your mind to. We need to regain the American spirit that once drove us to be pioneers and hope that we will be rewarded for it.

When I decided to stop in May, it was the most devastating decision I have ever had to make. I don't regret it because I learned more about myself during those 5 months than if I had tried to keep going. Going back out and finishing the run was always the plan but when it came time to do it, I was deathly afraid! I have to thank Chris and my parents from the bottom of my heart because if it hadn't been for them, I am not sure I would have gone back out there. This was the defining moment. And the point is, fear is normal. It is what you do with that fear and whether or not you let it rule you, that determines what you become.

So, what is next for me? Well, I have a bit of a tax debt that I will be working to pay off. Luckily I love what I do, so I will continue to work in sound. I want to start working on some music again and perhaps go out on some auditions for some acting gigs. Also, along the run, I developed a great love for photography. Being on foot gives you a unique perspective and I was able to take pictures in a way that is not practical from a car going 70 MPH down the interstate.

I plan to publish a coffee table book of my favorite shots from the run. I also plan on writing a book about the run that I hope will inspire people. There is so much more I want to say and haven't written about that I believe would be of interest. Like how I dealt with and eventually overcame my panic disorder after facing it head on in Tucumcari, NM. I'll continue to run, but perhaps some nice little short races for awhile :) I would like to do some things for charity. A fellow crosser Ashley Kumlien is planning a cross country relay for MSRuntheUS and another crosser and friend Jim McCord is planning a coast to coast charity relay in 2012. Chris is busy working on the Documentary, So, even though I believe we could have done more while we were out there to have a more coherent message, I pray that we have a shot at making a difference now that we are finished.

So, finally, to my friend that asked me "Why do you do this to yourself?" I say, it is because I always want to push myself. I always want to be the best I can be. I always want to strive for something better and magical! I want to live life to it's fullest! And I know that those things don't come unless you take risks. It may be uncomfortable, it may hurt, you may even fail, perhaps many times. But if you pick yourself back up and learn from your mistakes and keep going, you might actually make it. And it is liberating!

Paul

The journey continues

As Chris posted .... 10/6/10 ! That is the day that we will be begin finishing what we started. That is the day that we will pack up the xTerra and drive back out to Hebron Ohio and pick up where we left off. This time without the Galt and yes....this time in SHOES! That is the day when, with every step, I will begin to erase the disappointment I have felt the last 4 1/2 months. It's also the day when I will have to confront my fears. Fears that are ironically more pronounced then when I left the pier in Huntington Beach. But, I WILL confront them and we will continue on our journey. And although the biggest lesson that I learned through out this last year, has been to let go. I have had to learn all over again that letting go doesn't mean that you stop fighting and striving for your dreams and goals. For though we may not be in control of our outcomes, we DO have control of our efforts! How ironic that a "control freak" would have to relearn this :)

So, the plan is to restart the run on the 9th. Exactly 5 months after stopping and exactly 9 months to the day from when we started. And although I am very disappointed that I had to stop and we didn't finish in one shot, I am happy that we will be continuing. I will try and post more to this blog, even if they are short posts and I am also going to try and shoot a bit more video and post to YouTube. It should be interesting out there as will we be "roughing it" more than last time... (is that possible?) But, I plan to take more time to enjoy the experience as I know from looking at the pictures from the first 121 days how awesome it is on the road. I am really looking forward to Pennsylvania and seeing the historical sights along the way. Oh boy.... here we go again!

NEVER give up.... cause it's not over until it is over. Those aren't just words, I have truly come to know the meaning.

Soldier on!

Home again

I've tried several times in the last 5 weeks, to write this blog post. Until now, it has been very difficult to wrap my head around what happened in the 4 months between Jan 9th and May 9th. I am just now getting to the point where I can think about the run and not (still) have it scare the living crap out of me. It's hard to explain why I feel a bit uneasy looking at a map of the U.S. and I am not sure if I really KNOW why, but I will try and shed some light on it and maybe in doing so, I can better understand what is going on in my own head and perhaps I can help other people conquer some of their fears, or maybe, talk some sense into anyone thinking about doing something as crazy as we did :)

It started with a tweet "I think I'm going to run across the country" 6 months before we left the pier in Huntington Beach. It would be my "Run for Liberty" where I would use my love for running to voice my displeasure at what I see as an overreaching government, and more personally, speak out about my own "tax situation". With that first tweet, I had a pretty good idea of what I was getting myself into. I have always been a dreamer and I like to challenge myself with big goals. I know, having done it a few times, how the road to achieving your goals, can be a real roller coaster ride and that it is usually "darkest before the dawn" and how hard it can be to stay the course. I knew the preparation and planning that would go into it, the sacrifice and focus, the training and pain, the excitement and yes, doubt that would all be part of this adventure. Failing, however, would never enter my mind. And if it did? "I'll crawl if I have to" I'd say, and few who know me, doubted me. Winning at all costs? During my journey, I came to realize that some costs are too high (more on that later). First, some statistics...

Our journey lasted 121 days ending in Hebron, Ohio. In that time, I ran 2,336 miles in 100 running days, averaging 23.3 miles a day. I ran for 558 hours, through 10 states. My longest day was 33.15 miles and 7.71 was my shortest. I ran an "ultramarathon" (more than 26.2 miles) 21 of those days. 82 of the days were over 20 miles. The longest stretch without a rest day was 20 days, covering 519 miles. I burned approximately 280,320 calories over the entire run and each one of my feet hit the ground about 3,017,250 times. That's a lot of pounding and in the end, I think was responsible for me falling 525 miles short.

So, what Happened?

I can't stand the thought of quitting! I can be very stubborn and persistent. It's ironic that my stubbornness is what most likely led to me having to stop. I want to be really careful not to start placing blame. I take full responsibility for my decisions and I could have done some things differently and most likely had a better outcome, but to explain what happened, I need to tell the story as it happened.

First of all, I believe in the benefits of barefoot running. It is a great way to improve your form and force yourself to forefoot strike. But like anything, too much of a good thing can be bad. My goal from the beginning was to run across the country in the Vibrams. I imagined that they would want to sponsor me as I would be one of, if not THE first to do so in their shoes. I would find out about a month into the run that they would pass on sponsoring me because I was "Political". Well, this just solidified my determination to cross in the Vibrams. Didn't they realize that by NOT sponsoring me that that was sending a more powerful political message? Didn't they read this from my website? Now I HAD to finish in the Vibrams. Like I said, I'm stubborn.

The first couple of months, my feet held up pretty well. I did bruise my right heal in the first week, after landing pretty hard on some rocks as we were off road in the California desert. But it wasn't bad and it really didn't affect me too much. In fact, looking back at video, I am pleased with how we took those mountains fairly easily. The first time I can remember running into any trouble, was near the beginning of Oklahoma. Chris and I both got sick. He was throwing up, but me, since I never seem to throw up, just felt sick for a couple of days. It slowed my pace and generally messed up my rhythm. I also started missing my family ALOT! I would get pretty emotional out there and I had a few good cries in Oklahoma. I know, sort of embarrassing, but anyone who has done any endurance sports probably know what I mean.

Things turned around a bit (emotionally) in Oklahoma City. We got our first major press coverage there and it felt great to finally start getting our message out. A few days later, we got to Tulsa Oklahoma and spent a couple days with my family. This really helped lift my spirits. We were about half way to New York and physically I was still in decent shape. The front parts of my feet were starting to go numb, but it didn't concern me too much. I still had energy and numb feet were better than painful feet. We were still a couple of days ahead of schedule at this point, so even though I had stepped up the mileage to about 150 miles a week, we were still taking rest days every 6-8 days.

Time was a concern. I really did not want to finish later than May 28th. I had a couple of family things that I wanted to attend to, also, every day that we were out there, cost money and money was an issue (more on that later). We ended up taking an extra rest day in Tulsa and then another day (due to weather) a couple of days later in Chelsea, OK. Now, my comfortable cushion of time was dwindling away. I felt the pressure. By the time we hit Missouri, I was really focused. I thought of little else besides staying on schedule. I did 20 days straight, covering 519 miles. I felt ok during this time (energy wise) in fact, I think I enjoyed Missouri the most. But, things started falling apart with my feet. Anytime I ran on the interstate, things went well. Big wide shoulders with very little debris and rocks. Running on the back roads was a different story.

As you can see, the shoulder is full of ROCKS! If I had been in shoes, I could have ran right over them, but after a couple thousand miles, every tiny little rock felt like a hot poker. Bummer! On roads with a lot of traffic, it was real hard to keep any sort of decent pace. It was much harder to walk than it was to run, both physically and psychologically. The slower pace added hours onto my time everyday, which in turn wore me down physically. By the time I hit Ohio, I was deteriorating rapidly. We took a rest day at the Ohio state line and I knew my feet were pretty bad. They hurt every night up until this point, but I was always surprised at how they would bounce back (relatively) the next morning. I would swear at the end of every day, that my feet wouldn't work the next morning, but somehow, they would feel better the next day. This was starting to not be the case. They had gone from feeling numb to feeling numb and swollen. I also started to feel worn down and sick. Due to the longer days, I often lacked the energy to eat properly at the end of the day. Not good! I used the rest day to try and refuel and give my feet an ice bath (something I'd rather not talk about :). Ironically, as bad as I felt, the day at this Ohio campsite is one of my more fonder memories. It was a rainy day, Chris and Mike went and got some pizza and beer and we sat and listened to music. It was one of the few times I stopped thinking for a moment and enjoyed where I was at. It was day 114.

The next week, and Ohio was pretty much a blur. To stay on schedule, I would need to do at least 25 miles a day. I did 102 miles in the next 4 days and needed another rest day. Things at this point, did not look good. We took a rest day just outside of Columbus and even after resting for a day I was still wrecked. Two rest days after 100 miles, with 550 miles to go. This was the "I'll crawl if I have to" point. Up until now, Mike and "The Galt" would generally go ahead 25 miles or so and find a base camp for the evening. Chris had been riding on his own since Oklahoma (which made more sense, time wise, now that we were out of the desert) and I was running alone with my Nathan hydration pack. If I was going to continue, we needed another strategy. We decided to take it 5 miles at a time. Mike went up 5 miles and waited for me and Chris, it was more of a security blanket for me. If I got in trouble, I wouldn't be out there alone. We did this for 21 miles ending in Hebron, Ohio. I had enough. Chris said I looked like I was in some sort of controlled fall forward mixed in with a shuffle. I ended the day saying that I would see how I felt tomorrow. I was dehydrated and weak. I woke up the next day and knew there was no way I could go back out. I was done. We decided to go 25 miles east, to a campground and see if I could get it together.

There were many factors at play in our decision to stop. First and foremost, at that point I couldn't continue. I have been in situations where I was extremely uncomfortable and in pain. Ironman Arizona '08, where 17% of the field did not finish and this race comes to mind. I feel like I know the difference between wanting to stop and not being able to continue. I felt that my body was done and if I tried to keep going, I was going to do some serious damage to my body. But, it didn't stop me from questioning my resolve. In any event, if I were to try and keep going, I would have to rest up for a few days. Chris, Mike and I talked and I decided to give it a day to see how I felt. I did some major soul searching that night. Not only would I be stopping, but it would force all three of us to stop. This weighed heavily on me as well. It would have to be our decision and the guys were very supportive and I am very thankful for that.

I learned a lot about myself while I was out there. 558 hours of running gives you a lot of time to think. It was like a walkabout meets a near death experience. Not to be overly dramatic, but it really did show me what is important and what is not, on so many levels. It also made me reflect back on my life. Everything came into sharp focus. Some good things, some not so good. One of the "not so good things" is the fact that I have been very selfish at times in my life. This weighed heavily in my decision to stop. I started to think about what I would be risking if we took a week for me to recover. We would be late for sure. It would cost more money (which was getting tight). It would also eat into my remaining time with my daughter Brittany, who is getting married and moving to Colorado at the end of July, and possibly make me late for my daughter's graduation. All things that I was unwilling to sacrifice. I kept thinking, am I willing to sacrifice these things for my pride. At that point, I felt like continuing at all costs would be yet another thing that I was selfish about, so I could say "I ran from CA to NY". Perhaps I was delirious, but I know I wasn't making excuses. The run was over and my body was done. Looking back now, I know I made the right decision. But at the time, it was devastating.

We stayed at the campground for another day and then drove back home in 3 days. My recovery has been difficult. I didn't realize how long it would take to feel "normal" again. I spent the first 2 or 3 weeks, laying in bed. Part exhausted part depressed. It's hard to explain exactly how I've felt. For close to the last year, my life has revolved around this run. When I got home, nothing looked the same. I could write a book on this subject alone. It has been really hard to get my bearings on things. I have felt like a fish out of water. Perhaps some of it is because we didn't finish. A sort of limbo? Or, perhaps, I have changed profoundly and I need to find myself again. I have started to feel better now that I have started training again (mostly cycling) and have worked a few days. Idle time is not good for the body or the mind. But, I am actually starting to feel "normal" again (whatever that means).

So, what now?

Like I said, it has been hard for me to wrap my head around the run. As I start to train again, I am thinking a lot about going back out and finishing. Honestly, that thought has only been in my head for the last week or so. But now, it actually sounds appealing. We learned so much in those 4 months. Things that we could do to make the last 525 miles easier. Also, ways that we could be more effective with our message. There is still work to be done. Maybe, we'll go out and finish the run and then go to some key states and campaign for some candidates... Nevada?? Oh boy! Here I go again......

I apologize if this post is a little rambling and not very elegant sounding. I had to cover a lot of ground and it was hard to get it all down in written form. But, I didn't want to put it off any longer. There is still so much more to say. I do think I am going to start writing a book about my experiences out there. There are some things that I think might help some people, like how I dealt with my panic disorder while I was out there, etc. But, like I said, way too much to post here.

I would like to say THANK YOU to everyone who followed the run! I can't begin to tell you all how much it meant to us to have your support and read your posts on our adventure. It made me feel much less alone out there. I really miss talking to everyone :( I've laid low these last few weeks, I figure you all could use a respite from me and my posts after all the posts during the run ;-) Now that I have actually addressed what happened, I can start talking about the future.

Soldier on!

Paul

Christopher Creek, AZ

Tomorrow, it will be one month since we left on my " Run for Liberty". It's been 30 days and we've gone roughly 550 miles, through 2 states. It's hard to believe that I have covered every one of those miles with my own two feet, under my own power. The irony is, the running has been the easy part. Yes, it hurts at times, especially towards the end of a 26 or 27 mile day, of which there has been quite a few. But for me, running is a comfort, it's familiar. I trained for months, specifically for what I am doing now. I know it well and I usually know what to expect. I wish I could say the same about everything else on this journey.

Everyday brings a new challenge of which I have little control. Most of the logistical duties are handled by Mike. He finds the next base camp, after I determine (roughly) how far we'll be running and riding that day. I look on my Maps app on my iPhone and I try, as best I can, to scope out a road or area that we can safely park, from the sattelite view of the area. Then it goes something like this. "Ok, go up about 24 1/2 miles and you should see a road, we probably can't go any further because there's nothing for another 18 miles". Then, if all goes well, Mike texts or emails the base camp location to me and we run into base camp. So far, that's happened maybe twice :) Ah... The control thing, we have very little of it.

Right now, I am laying in a bed (for the first time in a month) in a cabin in Christopher Creek, AZ, being taught a thing or two about control (or lack thereof). Christopher Creek is a very small town off the (main) highway 260. It has a market, a church and a restaurant/bar called the Creekside Steakhouse. There are 2 mobile home parks and the rest of the residences are cabins. I suspect that most people that live here are happy to be tucked away in the middle of nowhere.

As we were running into "town" on Friday and commenting on how we may have just stepped into heaven (it reminds us of the town in "Big Fish" but with lots of snow) Mike pulled up in my xTerra with the bad news. "The Galt is broken". The leaf spring broke and up until Friday, I'd never heard of a leaf spring. Well, it's now Monday and I sure as hell know about leaf springs. First off, if you are driving 20 miles to a junk yard to find a replacement, take the old one with you before paying $50 for one that's "close, but won't work". Secondly, if you break a leaf spring in the middle of nowhere, you'll probaby have to drive at least 90 miles to get a new one and wait until Monday to do it.

I guess it's ironic that I am running across the country and I am being stopped by a trailer. I don't really know what to think about that. I have been tempted to strap on my Nathan and just go. Or maybe Chris and I could set out and Mike can hang back and catch up when it gets fixed or maybe I should just chill, (did I mention the snow?) "let go" be thankful for the rest and enjoy this little fairy tale town we stumbled into. I mean , there must have been a reason that this happened here, right in front of the Creekside Steakhouse. It could have happened anywhere and as bad as I want to go, I already miss this place.

We did go another 8 miles to the top of the rim on Saturday. At 7,500' elevation, it pretty much flattens out. So today (hopefully) after the Galt gets fixed, Mike will drive us there and we have 23 miles to Heber. After that, we start the long decent to route 66. We are about 310 miles to Albuquerque and will try to make it there by the 20th for a charity 5k.

Hmm, I wonder how much control I have over this one.....

PB

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