Hotel Highlander

So, although I have more to share about the incredibly fun trip to the Galapagos, I just had to post this because it wigs me out.

First, let me share that I love my hybrid toyota highlander. Its good for the environment (which is very important to me, especially when I drive in the winter and see the disgusting inversion over the city), it gets great gas mileage, its fun to drive, it has enough clearance to get me off road to almost anywhere I'd want to drive, and it has also doubled as a "hotel" for me when camping and its either too cold or I'm too lazy to set up camp outside. Its incredibly reliable and very low maintenance, basically everything I want and need in a car - a perfect "relationship".

Well, this weekend, I found out that someone else had moved into the Hotel Highlander. A MOUSE!!! or more correctly MICE! Completely freaks me out - I'm NOT a big fan of mice. Its not that I want to hurt them, I just NEVER want to see them. uggghhhh!

I took my car in to get the oil changed and in the process found out that mice had chewed through part of my air filter and were setting up a nest. Luckily, they hadn't chewed through any of the wiring (which, I found out is something they really like to do).

The worst part about this is that now I realize there's a chance that there are mice at my HOUSE ... which REALLY wigs me out! I'm still hopeful that the mice checked into Hotel Highlander when I was parked at the airport or at work or something, but the mouse traps are set in my garage. Let's hope that I don't find any mice - please send me all your good "no mice" vibes!!

Where in the world....?

I'm in the GALAPAGOS right now!! On Isabela island. :-) It is so incredibly beautiful!

It was a LONG journey to get here (4 flight legs, bus rides, boat trips), but so very worth it!! I'm here with about 15 other people for a "training" camp. Let me tell you, its tough work. LOL! We arrived, went for a walk along the beach, and had lobster for dinner for last night. Today was a morning walk (also along the beach - where we saw sea lions and iguanas) and yoga session. Delicious breakfast, a 3+ hr run where we went to the wall of tears and ran back along the beach in the water, ending with a swim in the ocean. Really incredible. The wall of tears was very humbling. For 13 years (from 1946 - 1959) prisoners were brought to the island and forced to carry these huge lava rocks from the beach to this location and built a wall that was probably 150-200 ft long and maybe 50 ft tall. Oh yeah, and they carried the rocks on their backs w/o shirts. Then, as soon as the wall was built, they had to tear it down and start all over again.

This afternoon, during some free time, we went and saw turtles at a place that is set up to protect the breading of the giant turtles, since some of the animals that have been introduced to the island are big predators. Some of these turtles are 150 years old ... and definitely LARGE.

The connection I have right now is very slow, so I'm not having much luck uploading pics, but I'll try again later. Its actually kind of funny because 5 of us went into the small town and are scamming internet time from a small little shop that has two computers outside under a grass thatch roof. Wish I had my camera here because its a funny contrast to see all of us here on laptops. (yeah, kind of geeky, I realize)

Also got some good news - my luggage, which decided to take its own little side vacation, may show up tomorrow!

Tomorrow, we start off with a walk along the beach and a "cross training" session. Then breakfast and a long run up to a volcano. Good stuff! Life is really pretty sweet right now.

A beautiful day!

It was a gray, overcast, rainy, cool Sunday... A few years ago, this kind of day would have inspired me to stay inside all day, reading a book or whatever. Maybe if I was feeling ambitious, I would have gone to work out for a little while in the gym. Well, fast forward a few years, and today I went out for a 3+ hour trail run in the rain. I actually didn't think much about it - just made sure to grab my rain jacket before leaving the house.


As I was running, I passed a guy and his dog going in the opposite direction on the trail. As he went by, he said "Beautiful day, huh?" with a big smile on his face. I agreed, also with a big smile on my face. It made me realize how much my attitude towards the weather has changed over the years. I even brought my camera with me on this run because I was expecting to see beautiful things on the trail. Of course, the camera doesn't capture it completely, but I was definitely a happier girl after my time on the trail today!

I do have to confess though that there's one thing that I still don't enjoy when it rains this much. Worms....


I can run through the mud, muck, and puddles with no thought or concern at all (and did lots of that today!) What I can't stand though is stepping on the slimy worms that come out when it rains a lot. Yuck. Now, I know that I wouldn't feel them through my trail shoes ... its not like I'm running in bare feet or anything. But just the thought of the slimy, squishy, not-so-cute, worms getting trampled on by me is something that I just don't like. I had to test my reflexes a few times because I was checking out the scenery and almost stepped on a worm. Don't worry though, I used my superstar ninja moves to avoid them!

Changing seasons

October 12, I had the first snowfall at my house ... seemed early to me and I couldn't believe that winter was already on its way. I wasn't quite ready for it and it completely caught me off guard! The fantastic thing about it though was that I went running late the night before on some trails and got to run in the first snow of the season. Wow - seriously brought a HUGE smile to my face and renewed my joy for running! Its amazing how something as simple as running in the dark in fresh snow can make a huge difference in your attitude! Just love it!



Then, to make things even more sweet, the weather has warmed up to incredible fall temperatures for the past couple of weeks and I now appreciate it even more than I would have since we had a taste of winter. The other night, I went out on a great trail run along the southern ridge in Emigration canyon and saw the most amazing sunset ... wish the pics on my camera had actually turned out! For those of you who live nearby, start at the top of Little Mountain in Emigration, but head out on the trail right behind the parking lot. (don't cross the street and head to Killyons). Its a great ridge trail with some good steep up & down sections! I've always had to do an out & back because there's a point where it gets into some pretty serious bushwhacking and I haven't ever gotten to that point in the light to see if there's a good way to get around that. A good friend of mine who has plowed through it recommended wearing Carhartts ... not sure about their wicking properties though!



Big plans for this week ... making my halloween costume. This is a HUGE challenge for me because I'm NOT an arts & craft sort of person at all. And somehow, I was encouraged and convinced to actually MAKE my costume. What is it, you ask? Well, right now, its nothing except some loose fabric, cardboard, batting (no, I didn't know what this word meant until I went to the fabric store - its the stuff that's used in blankets & such to give the padding!), and some various other pieces which I'm not sure I could name. Yeah, I'm in trouble ... the party is on Saturday and this is going to be a monumental effort & challenge for me. If it works out, I'll take pictures. If it doesn't, well, then I'll take pics of other people at the party. LOL!


Happy Halloween!!