Spent a few hot days at Big Bend National Park in Texas!
Dogs aren’t allowed on the trails here so I had to do my runs in the early morning. First night we had a great view spot of Nugent Mountian to camp. It was also close to Pine Canyon Trail which leads to a waterfall. Pup and I hung out trying to stay cool in the shade of the van. Shade is very limited to find in the park. Woke up early and ran 4.6 miles round trip to the waterfall on the Pine Canyon trail. Not much of a waterfall but it was trickling/flowing good for a TX desert waterfall. After my run pup and I explored the scenic drives in the park. Dogs are only allowed on roads so we stopped often on the backcountry roads to stretched. Drove from Boquillas Canyon all the way to Santa Elena Canyon, which are opposite sides of the park. Crazy to see views like this in Texas! On our last day I woke up early to run to the highest peak in the park, Emory Peak. Woke up 15 minutes before sunrise to get to the trailhead at Chisos Basin Village. The view of the peaks as we drove was overcast and cloudy. Emory especially was not visible from the start. Most people would be disappointed but I was relieved. The overcast would keep pup cool in the van incase the forest service mileage was wrong, which it was. Total miles to the rock scramble peak of Emory from the Village was 11 miles vs the 9.8 I originally thought. My view at the top was pure clouds, cool breeze and solitude. Not in if for the views, I am in it for the adventure!
Stopped by Carlsbad Caverns National Park today to go explore under ground for a change versus running on top of it.Although pup was not happy (had him kenneled due to the hot temps), myself and 8 others took a historic candle-lit lantern Ranger tour through an undeveloped section of the cave. The trail or section is called lefthand and it was on unpaved trails. Which sounded like my kind of tour so I coughed up the $7 for the tour. Ranger Nate was information galore and may have nerdded out on us a few times, making the tour even better!After climbing around the dim lit section of lefthand I explored through the “Big Room” section of the cave. The Big Room is the free (not including the NP entrance) self guided tour of Carlsbad Caverns. –Insert all the big words for cave formations here–, it was spectacular to learn how all these formations become what they are.
Have you been in a cavern lately or ever? If not check one out…it’s amazing!
Explored Mesa Verde National Park the last couple days. It’s simply amazing! To see the little villages and life style the Ancestral Pueblo people lived puts life in perspective. We definitely live out of our means in today’s society, and nothing is wrong with that, but we just need to take a step back to evaluate what we have and appreciate it all the more.
The Park offers two free self guided tours of the dwellings (Spruce Tree House and Step House). As well as Ranger guided tours for an inside look of three other dwellings. I only did the free tour of Spruce Tree House (Spruce Tree closes in September).
To me I still feel I got the up close feeling with the free tour. Even it to climb in a kiva and a baby tarantula cross my path on the trail! Most overlook trails and the Long House Loop paved trail are dog. There is not a lot cover so be sure to bring plenty of water and sunscreen.
Awesome run this morning in the Badlands National Park!
Trail blazed from my boondock spot by following the goat trail through the cliffs to the bottom. First run with the Orange Mud Hydration pack and liking it so far!
Great run and view to start my westward journey!
Also, after all the suggestions I have started a YouTube channel, JAdRunning – YouTube (http://youtu.be/PuOlsw-_RFk), so be sure to subscribe and follow my videos there!
Big thanks to Chris Koch (far left of picture) for meeting up with me for some beautiful Ohio miles today! Chris is a beast completing three 100 mile races – Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run being one of the three! Even better yet, he is from my home town of Brookings, SD. Who would have guessed two crazy runners would come out of our small town. Super stoked I got some miles in with him as our paths crossed on my journey! Before we started running Matt (center of group picture) happen to see us as he pulled into the trailhead. As any trail runners knows the more runners the merrier, so he joined us for our run. Matt is training for a 100 mile relay race the end of July, the Burning River 100. Love meeting bad ass people as I travel.
Cuyahoga Valley National Park has a great trails system between the two large metropolitan areas of Cleveland and Akron. The trails I have run so far have been in the Virginia Kendall Unit of the CVNP. The Salt Run and Lake Trail sections offer multiple steep hills on some of the muddiest terrain I have run. The exposed root and rock don’t concern me as much as my chances to face plant from the mud. There is also a short tunnel on the east side of Lake Trail that takes you under what use to be a toboggan sledding area back in the late 1930s. Imagine flying down that baby back in the day…sweet! Ledges Trail gives a unique scenery change into massive rock outcroppings. It doesn’t seem to fit into the flow of the trails when you suddenly run up on the big rocks. Personally my favorite as it’s takes your mind off the leg trembling uphills from before. The Cross Country Trail is a open meadow of tall grass around a mowed trail with a few more steep little hills.
With my Ohio miles officially logged at 7.6 miles with Chris and Matt. Then another 5 mile course preview group for Western Reserve Racing’s Muddy Paws 10/5 mile race on Sunday July 5th. I look forward to exploring more of the trails here in CVNP.
I will be running the Muddy Paws 10 miler so if you see me say hi!
So I got tickets to the Minnesota Twins vs Boston Red Sox’s game at Fenway. Seems like a no brainer when you’re traveling around the country and your team happens to be playing at one of the oldest, most iconic ball parks in the MLB. I bought tickets ahead of time for fellow Dirtbag Runner Kelsey and I to cheer on our teams. I have to mention that this all kind of started back on opening day when Kelsey posted a photo of her outside of Fenway Park. She didn’t go to the game but rather ran there to support Boston. I then made the comment to her that if Minnesota was in town when I rolled through town in the van we had to go a game. To my surprise I was a week out from the Twins being in Boston when I was in Cape Cod. My options were simple….miss the game or venture into central Mass (which was going to happen anyway). Tickets were bought for Monday nights game….Central Mass here I come!
Cue the rainstorms. It started raining on and off over the weekend. Sunday night into Monday morning was none stop rain. As Monday went along it was overcast with no rain leaving the deception the game would be played. Assuming the game was still a go, Kelsey’s boyfriend Sam was keeping an eye on the seats next to us throughout the day. The tickets hit a really cheap price so he snagged them up quickly! Still not raining, I was starting to make my way toward Sam’s place to beat traffic in to Boston. As I was driving I heard on sports talk radio that the game was postponed and moved to Wednesday afternoon at 1:35pm. This was a total bummer cause both Kelsey and Sam could not make the make up afternoon game.
I quickly tried to figure out how to make this right. I was still going to go to the game but wanted to get at least Sam’s money back. Quickly realizing selling wasn’t an option as any baseball fan knows, afternoon makeup games are low turnout. Donating them to an organization came to mind. So, I contacted the local Wounded Warrior Project out of Boston. After talking with Ben from WWP he was pretty sure he could line up at least two folks to go. As game time rolled around Wednesday I got word that no one from Wounded Warrior Project was available to go to the 1:35pm game. I walked around outside of Fenway and couldn’t find anyone willing to believe I had free tickets to give. Instead of fighting the scalpers and non believers I decided to just go in solo and enjoy the experience.
My bestfriend and I have started a routine / tradition when we go to Twins games. Check out our seats, walk the Ball Park, get a hot dog and beer, and go back to our seats. Low and behold when I got to my seats there were twins fans watching batting practice. Having almost the whole row, I asked the dad and his three sons if they wanted to sit with me and cheer on the Twins! They were stoked and I now had a Twins entourage to hang out with during the game. Go Twins!!
The Twins lost the game but it was still a great experience. The seats were great! Front row in right field next to Pesky’s foul pole. Highlight of the game was when we got a chest pump and point from Tori Hunter as we cheered for him from our seats.
Boston Fans are pretty hilarious and friendly. Us twins fans signed Pesky’s Pole and a few Bostonians haggled us, fans came to take a picture of the pole, and one man came to rubbed his new shirt on the pole for good luck…too funny!
It’s dream like, it’s big, it’s flashy, it’s everything I run from…but I am drawn to the unquoted conversations that stir as I people watch, as I wonder where they are going, as I think of what I would do if I lived in the city, as I think of how lucky I am to have this the opportunity to travel the country.
My NYC “Plan”:
In my six months plus living out of the van I have only paid twice to park and once for a hotel because the weather got below zero. So, I decided to make a “plan” to splurge a bit to get a hotel in Manhattan for one night. Getting the hotel would be costly but I would have piece of mind knowing pup was safe while I was out. I could make it a full blown touristy day and see all the sites. Plus I was told about a group run on Saturday that would run the Brooklyn Bridge out and back. Well…like I have always said never make real plans because plans fall apart or get broken. Then you’re left feeling sad cause you missed out.
How my NYC “plan” fell apart:
I was excited for the Brooklyn Bridge group run even tough it was road running. Meeting and running with people is what makes my journey fun. Come to find out the same day the group run would be is the Brooklyn Half Marathon. I reach out to the person that mentioned the run to find out if the group was still meeting, no response. I reach out to the group organizers to find out, no response. No worries….they are road runners I tell myself. As a trail runner you learn how roadies can be so no biggie because I can just do my own thing.
Now that I don’t have the group to organize around I can start to plan my quick day and half tour of NYC. My go to for hotels has always been La Quinta Inns mainly cause they are pet friendly. I log into my LQ App on my phone and low and behold there is one in Manhattan with a perfect location to everything! Booked! I happen to be talking with my friend later the same night I booked the room. She tells me that she heard that the Manhattan LQ is the only non pet friendly location. Thinking she was joking I called the hotel to confirm her story. Holy crap it’s true! All I could do at this point is talk to the Manager in the morning. I stressed a bit over how expensive it was and how I missed the deadline to cancel. Realizing that stressing wouldn’t help I started create ideas of how I would spend my time in NYC like I originally planned. A short call in the morning to the manager and it was cleared up. He was hesitant at first and said it clearly states on the website no pets. Told him that may be the case but I only use the LQ App which does not state in details about no pets. I calmly won the debate and he canceled.
My new NYC idea:
“I call it an idea not a plan. Plans change. Plans get broken. Plans prevent us from following the moments that lead to who we are, where we should to be, what we are suppose to do.” This is one of my plan quotes I say and truly believe in to this day.
Letting all the negatives pass by I start to create the new ideas which will be just rolling with whatever comes. First stop is Liberty State Park in New Jersey. This is where you can take the NJ ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. My plan is to just walk with up and take a few pictures quickly. But this park is awesome! It’s huge and has a lot of green space so we took a long stroll.
I met a lady as we were walking that wanted to say hi to pup. She kept calling him a Collie. I let her call him one because it’s not worth the argument. Jayden ran up to her without his normal gruffle bark. Then she started crying as she pet him, she just lost her dog a month ago. I let her vent about her dog and how great he was as well as the breed itself. She asked where we were from and I gave her the short story to focus in her. Her son is a trail runner, hiker, adventurer too and lives in New Hampshire. She is going to the same farm to possibly get a new pup this weekend. She asked me if I thought it was to soon? Told her it would probably be good and it’s never to soon or late to wait. She will know when the time is right and the new dog will never be the same as the other dog. Before I left I told her I was giving her a big hug…and I did. After I did, pup ran up to her turned his butt to her for a pet. She smiled big and I noticed a tear roll down her cheek from under her sunglasses… she patted his bum and walked away.
I don’t write many stories of all great people I have met along the way. This just goes to show that following plans are good to a point but following the moment is what we are meant to do. That lady needed that hug, that conversation, my silly dog and his butt petting fetish. I wouldn’t have been there at that time if my plan worked out.
As for the rest of NYC it was fun driving down Time Square, getting honked at by every cab driver, hanging out in Central Park all afternoon. But the best was my straight dirtbagging it and boondocking on the streets of NYC! I literally slept in my van on the corner of the Upper Westside of Central Park!
Been lovely FL Keys but time to roll on to the next spot…
Now that I have left I’ll disclose my free hideaway spot in the FL Keys. It’s the old highway that once connected Sugarloaf Key to Key West. The road is jacked up and over grown in some parts and a downed bridge divides the road. Minus the few bicyclist that find the road from the KOA or boats that brave to dock close by the rubble, it’s pretty secluded!
Basically it’s a sweet gravel trail now vs the normal paved trails in FL! If you can swim across to the other side of the bridge you can get a good 7 miles end to end. Or just run the 4.5 miles out and back then cool off in clear blue water.
Either way free is free. Beautiful is beautiful. Just explore til the road ends…
I have never been much of a gym guy. I have only been on a treadmill 3 times in my life. P90x was my go to with Bowflex dumbbells and a pull-up bar. I mainly did and still do just lite weights or body weight work outs.
6 gallons = 48ish lbs.
Now I workout with what I have around me. Six gallon water jugs, benches, tree stumps and of course my favorite endless trails!
Endless Trails!
I can honestly say my workouts now are better cause it’s not the same old mundane routine. Experiment with what you got. Push-ups, squats, sit-ups, sidewalks and trails are all free and easy to do anytime. Start small, start short. You’ll progress soon enough with time and dedication. And you don’t even have to be a dirtbag living in a van to curl a water jug!
Woke up early and ran 4.6 miles round trip to the waterfall on the Pine Canyon trail. Not much of a waterfall but it was trickling/flowing good for a TX desert waterfall. After my run pup and I explored the scenic drives in the park. Dogs are only allowed on roads so we stopped often on the backcountry roads to stretched. Drove from Boquillas Canyon all the way to Santa Elena Canyon, which are opposite sides of the park. Crazy to see views like this in Texas!
On our last day I woke up early to run to the highest peak in the park, Emory Peak. Woke up 15 minutes before sunrise to get to the trailhead at Chisos Basin Village. The view of the peaks as we drove was overcast and cloudy. Emory especially was not visible from the start. Most people would be disappointed but I was relieved. The overcast would keep pup cool in the van incase the forest service mileage was wrong, which it was. Total miles to the rock scramble peak of Emory from the Village was 11 miles vs the 9.8 I originally thought. My view at the top was pure clouds, cool breeze and solitude.
Not in if for the views, I am in it for the adventure!
Although pup was not happy (had him kenneled due to the hot temps), myself and 8 others took a historic candle-lit lantern Ranger tour through an undeveloped section of the cave. The trail or section is called lefthand and it was on unpaved trails. Which sounded like my kind of tour so I coughed up the $7 for the tour. Ranger Nate was information galore and may have nerdded out on us a few times, making the tour even better!
After climbing around the dim lit section of lefthand I explored through the “Big Room” section of the cave. The Big Room is the free (not including the NP entrance) self guided tour of Carlsbad Caverns. –Insert all the big words for cave formations here–, it was spectacular to learn how all these formations become what they are. 
Have you been in a cavern lately or ever? If not check one out…it’s amazing!
To see the little villages and life style the Ancestral Pueblo people lived puts life in perspective. We definitely live out of our means in today’s society, and nothing is wrong with that, but we just need to take a step back to evaluate what we have and appreciate it all the more.
Before we started running Matt (center of group picture) happen to see us as he pulled into the trailhead. As any trail runners knows the more runners the merrier, so he joined us for our run. Matt is training for a 100 mile relay race the end of July, the Burning River 100. Love meeting bad ass people as I travel.
With my Ohio miles officially logged at 7.6 miles with Chris and Matt. Then another 5 mile course preview group for Western Reserve Racing’s Muddy Paws 10/5 mile race on Sunday July 5th. I look forward to exploring more of the trails here in CVNP.
I quickly tried to figure out how to make this right. I was still going to go to the game but wanted to get at least Sam’s money back. Quickly realizing selling wasn’t an option as any baseball fan knows, afternoon makeup games are low turnout. Donating them to an organization came to mind. So, I contacted the local Wounded Warrior Project out of Boston. After talking with Ben from WWP he was pretty sure he could line up at least two folks to go. As game time rolled around Wednesday I got word that no one from Wounded Warrior Project was available to go to the 1:35pm game. I walked around outside of Fenway and couldn’t find anyone willing to believe I had free tickets to give. Instead of fighting the scalpers and non believers I decided to just go in solo and enjoy the experience.
The Twins lost the game but it was still a great experience. The seats were great! Front row in right field next to Pesky’s foul pole. Highlight of the game was when we got a chest pump and point from Tori Hunter as we cheered for him from our seats. 
It’s dream like, it’s big, it’s flashy, it’s everything I run from…but I am drawn to the unquoted conversations that stir as I people watch, as I wonder where they are going, as I think of what I would do if I lived in the city, as I think of how lucky I am to have this the opportunity to travel the country.
“I call it an idea not a plan. Plans change. Plans get broken. Plans prevent us from following the moments that lead to who we are, where we should to be, what we are suppose to do.” This is one of my plan quotes I say and truly believe in to this day. 
Letting all the negatives pass by I start to create the new ideas which will be just rolling with whatever comes. First stop is Liberty State Park in New Jersey. This is where you can take the NJ ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. My plan is to just walk with up and take a few pictures quickly. But this park is awesome! It’s huge and has a lot of green space so we took a long stroll. 
I don’t write many stories of all great people I have met along the way. This just goes to show that following plans are good to a point but following the moment is what we are meant to do. That lady needed that hug, that conversation, my silly dog and his butt petting fetish. I wouldn’t have been there at that time if my plan worked out. 
As for the rest of NYC it was fun driving down Time Square, getting honked at by every cab driver, hanging out in Central Park all afternoon. But the best was my straight dirtbagging it and boondocking on the streets of NYC! I literally slept in my van on the corner of the Upper Westside of Central Park! 
