WV Trilogy 2015 ~ Part 2

 The West Virginia Trilogy takes place in the Monongahela National Forest and consists of three races three days in a row. This year was the sixth running of the trilogy. The first is 50k - but Bud only runs the marathon part of it. The second is 50 miles and he does NOT run that one. On Sunday is the half marathon and the 3 miler for both adults and children. Everyone has the best time, especially the children. Even wives that do not run have a good time. The food is wonderful and the people at the institute are the nicest folk.

And they are off...

All three races take off this way.

It is a very festive moment for runners and families.

Bud crossing the finish line after the first race on Friday.

He does not do the last loop so only ends up running a

marathon. That is his limit.

Here are his muddy, nasty shoes after the race.

Thank goodness he remembered to bring a second pair.

Needless-to-say, the socks had to be thrown away.

There was a torrential downpour right after the race began

which left all the trail slick and muddy. Luckily, Bud did not fall.

Bud after first loop on the half marathon on Sunday.

Bud finishing the half marathon.

He’s always wearing a grin when he crosses that line.

 Gotta love the skirt!

 Bud’s running friend, Nick, and his wife. 

 Nick ran all three races.

 My friend Rachel from Ona,WV... a high school math teacher.

Rachel taking water break after first loop.

Anneliese, Rachel’s daughter, reading instead of running.

She won a medal for her age group.

 Even the children run the 3 mile race.
 These three are all siblings.

Oh, sosososoooooo cute!

And little bunnies run atop their dad’s :-)

Here are the children waiting for their parents 

handing out the hand slaps.

Bud with Dan Lehmann, the “Commandant" of this race. 

He is so kind to both Buddy and me and always has 

that big, warm smile on his face.on his face.

This post is linked with Our World Tuesday.

Buddy’s running is definitely Our World.  He’s not in the races to win. He’s there because he loves what he’s doing, and he loves the people he is with.

“The miracle isn’t that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start.”

~John Bingham

No Need for Speed: A Beginner’s Guide to the Joy of Running

WV Trilogy 2015 ~ Part 1

 Spruce Knob Mountain Center

Circleville, WV

If  you are interested in reading about "The Mountain Institute", a non-profit organization with a commitment to education, conservation,and community development in the oldest mountain range in the world, go to www.mountain.org/appalachia

 Late afternoon sky...10-8-15.  We arrived about 4:30.

 Late afternoon sky above the main urt where all the business of the institute goes on,

 and where we have race meetings and eat our meals. It is where I go to wait on him :-)

It is the only area where there is wifi for the participants to use.

The sunset was beautiful.

Here it is getting a bit darker.

And finally... that last little bit of a red glow.

This is the first bit of sky we saw looking up through the circle in the roof 

of our yurt ceiling. You definitely do not sleep in late with all of this light coming in your room.

Today it is is pouring rain...actually a torrential downpour. Poor Bud. 

He must be miserable. This is a tough marathon, and he is trying to run it after months of treatments on the bad hip. We shall see. I’ve got my fingers crossed. For the first time, I did not go with him for the start of the race, but here he is ready to leave the yurt for 10 hours of running. I hope he makes it.

OK, Genie...I’m ready to hit the trail.

Bye!

THUMBS UP!

This post is linked with Skywatch Friday.

An Amish Buggy, Fence, and a Mennonite Sign

The Amish Cupboard

A wonderful little shop where I can get GLUTEN FREE, DELICIOUS, YUMMY bread and other items for my daughter when she comes home for a visit. They also carry lovely handmade soaps and wonderful tasting cheeses.

The Mennonites love their Bible signs. 

They are a frequent sight in areas of this part of Virginia.
(Many thinks to Tom the Backroads Traveler. I first said the sign was Amish, but Tom and Buddy both corrected me...it is Mennonite. The Amish store sits just a little ways from the sign, so I just assumed it was Amish, too. Well, I was wrong. 
Thanks again, Tom.)

“Fast car . . . You can drive anywhere in just a few minutes and time becomes just another thing we take advantage of never appreciating each moment that passes as a blessing from God.”

~Sarah Price, Fields of Corn

This post is linked with Good Fences and Signs, Signs 2

Red Leaf with 50mm

During the summer I worked with my 50mm lens taking it off of auto and trying to get as much detail clear and not blurred. If I remember correctly, I had unscrewed the 55mm lens and was holding it backwards against the camera. This was just a leaf I had in my collection, and it was balanced atop my computer.

This post is linked with Macro Monday 2

falling leaves
hide the path
so quietly
~John Bailey, “Autumn” haiku

A Patchwork of Love

Grandma's heart is a Patchwork of Love.
~Author Unknown

This post is linked with Wordless Wednesday

Hummer Feeding Fenzy

This post is linked with Wild Bird Wednesday

Genie’s Disaster Hike

If you don’t feel like reading the story I am telling here, just flip thru the pictures. You will be able to figure it out. It wasn’t a good day for Genie :-) I used larger type so it would be easier should you desire.

Sunday was our day to take our grandson, Henry...a freshman at James Madison University...and two of his friends on a hike. We’d been planning this for weeks, and then the yucky weather hit us with a vengeance. This is a picture of our destination borrowed from the internet...High Knob Fire Tower located at 4,050 feet at the WV-VA line. There were two ways to go...the RECOMMENDED and easy 1.3 mile way along the nice fire road, or the other treacherous 3.5 miler straight up hill all the way. Due to all the fog, we could not find the point of entry for the fire road (we drove 50 miles or so back and forth up and down the mountain looking for it)  so ended up opting for the toughie. Stupid me, I did not want to be an "old granny, Baga" for my grandson, so I decided to make the “Forced March" much to the horror and concern of my husband who knew what was ahead and that I was going to be in for big time trouble. Rain, fog, slippery wet leaves, and trees down did not help. Bud says I made it 3/4 of a mile before my disaster, but to me it felt like five miles of horror.

O.K., Genie...just follow the "Yellow Marked Road”, and you will reach the Emerald City aka Fire Tower.

Bud was just puttering along waiting patiently for me to huff and puff it up the mountain.

I had given my Leike hiking poles to the boys, so I was left using my pink flowered cane..hehehe. Well, that was definitely not doing the job, so Buddy gave me his real hiking stick leaving him stickless.  I was moving very slowly, and you could probably hear me huffing and puffing a mile away.

The further I hoofed, the more exhausted I got...plus my back was starting to yell at me...”Stop, woman, or you are going to pay the penalty for not listening to me." That would mean nerve spasms and lying out in the middle of the wet woods with out a heating pad or a bed. I was heading for this broken off tree knowing it would provide me a place to lean that was not sopping wet.

 Selfie Time 

Well, as you can see, I ALMOST made it to the tree but not quite. My feet went out from under me and plunk...down I went. Luckily I missed a huge broken branch and fell into the wet leaves and dirt. My rule for falls is to not move, access the damage, and then slowly come up knees first and the rest of me afterwards...very slowly.

Selfie Retatke  

After I saw that grim look on my face, I decided to look at the hilarity and stupidity of my situation and just laugh at myself thinking...When are you going to learn, Genie, that you can no longer do the things you used to do?  Grow up you silly lady, and face the music of life. Still, as my mother used to say...it is hard to teach an old dog new tricks.

I did try to play a bit with my iPhone while lying there in the yuck.

I got a real bang out of this one of my super duper hot pink hiking sneakers with the heavy duty treads on them.  Well, hey sure did not do the job I paid the big bucks for them to do. I definitely needed my heavy old hiking boots this day.

 I finally pulled myself up and headed back to the car with Buddy. I know he wanted to say...I told you so...but he was nice and said nothing other than cheer me on while helping to get me down that steep mountain.  I managed to get this close up with a reflection in the rain droplet which made me happy. I have a hard time doing that.

Then I spotted this leaf that reminded me Halloween is coming before long. If only it had turned orange. 

When the boys send me the pictures they took up at the fire tower - IF they ever send them... hehehe - I will post them. As it turned out, Bud and I sat in the car for about THREE hours waiting for them to make the trek up and back, and it was almost dark when they reappeared. Needless-to-say, I was frantic. No reception on the XM radio, so iPhone music on his and the books on mine saved the day. The guys had a great time...Me, not so great...and Bud, well, he can handle it all. He’s always having fun when he is in the woods. He's just an old mountain man. Still it was beautiful and peaceful out there where we would rather be than anywhere.

Luckily, today I am hurting bit, but I did not do any serious damage to the old back...just to the old grandma ego. Bud and I are hanging out with me on my heating pad watching ClinkEastwood in “Any Which Way You Can.” In retrospect, that could have been my motto for yesterday...Genie, just get out of this mess any which way you can.

"You’re lucky if you have someone who always tries to understand you, your mistakes, your anger, stupid decisions and never gets tired of it.”

~Tinku Razoria

This post is linked with Our World Tuesday

The Old Ford F6

I have no idea what year this Ford might be, but I was totally fascinated by it.  I love anything OLD. Luckily I had my 50mm lens with me, so I gave it a try. Looking at these shots makes me think of John from "Sinbad and I on the Loose" and his pictures from Bodie... old but refusing to leave us.

“Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl

 is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves."

~Albert Einstein

I can’t help but wonder if there was any smooching going on in this old Ford in its day. What do y ou think?

   

This post is linked to Macro Monday 2.

(I have never understood how to get the link to be contained in the thumbnail for the blog, so I have to link it all up in this old fashioned way. Maybe one day I will figure it out.)