end of year adventures

We try our hardest to live life to the fullest in the Hall house. That typically means that we do not allow ourselves much down time, because there is so much out there to see, do, and explore. This year we have crammed as much as possible into our two-week winter vacation.

Following our brief stay with the Nebraska Halls, we embarked on yet another adventure, to make sure that 2013 ended with a bang. We began by stopping off at Fort Union National Monument in northern New Mexico on our drive home. We were both unaware that the Civil War took place this far west and enjoyed the little history lesson that we got there. We spent a lot of time talking about how differently historic structures were made, comparing the longevity of Puebloan sites and these Anglo sites. The Puebloan structures have withstood the tests of time and the elements much better than their Anglo counterparts. It's worth checking out and comparing them yourself if you are ever out west. New Mexico has a good supply of both kinds of historic sites.

Fort Union National Monument

Fort Union National Monument

Our next adventure took place in the outskirts of Flagstaff a couple of days later. We visited Sunset Crate Volcano National Monument and Wupatki National Monument, enjoying a variety of landscapes and nearly every type of ecosystem on the 35 mile loop road between the two sites. At Sunset Crater we were amazed at the towering mounds of cinders. At Wupatki we were once again taken away by the structural integrity of Puebloan buildings. The two locations were breathtaking in different ways and left us wishing that we had had more time to explore, but alas, we had one more adventure to squeeze in before the end of 2013.

Twisty Trees at Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument

Wupatki National Monument

It's a good thing we're not very big people!

Wupatki National Monument

Upon leaving the Flagstaff area we drove south to Glendale, home of Camelback Ranch, the spring training site for the White Sox and the Dodgers, and of course to Across the Years! Our final adventure of the year was to test ourselves in the 24-hour endurance run at this fantastic event. We got into town Monday evening and camped out (another bonus! one more night of camping in 2013!) before the 9AM start on Tuesday morning.

As the name suggests, Across the Years is a run from one year into the next. The event consists of 24-, 48-, 72-hour runs and a 6 day run. We clearly took the easy way out by only doing the 24-hour event! Everything was incredibly well run (no pun intended, but it is there none-the-less) and I was impressed by the thought that the Coury family and Aravaipa Running put into every component of the week-long event. The food was fantastic, warming tents were available, and the first aid support was by far the best I have experienced at a running event.

The start of the 12/31 24-hour event

Motivation from the families/friends of runners 

Inspiring race participants

For me, the beginning of the 24-hours was fantastic. Going from our home elevation of 6500 feet to the nice thick air at 1100 feet was a blessing and a curse. I knocked out some quick for me miles, walked some, and ran some, and walked some more. Until I simply could not run any more. Never having run in an ultra event, I hadn't really come in with a great strategy for doing anything in particular. Mostly I had just wanted to cover 50 miles. I did achieve that goal. I had also decided that I wanted to move for the whole 24-hours. I made it close to that one. My lack of planning early on left me with super tight hip flexors which rendered me nearly motionless as I embarked on my final lap of the event. I had decided to push on, but my inability to move very well meant that I was not staying warm and the shivering that commenced made my hip flexors even more painful. An hour and a half and one mile later I crawled into the warming tent and called it quits at 21.5 hours and just under 57 miles. I learned my lesson and have a better idea of what I can do next year to make things go more smoothly (hopefully). The mister ended up with just over 71 miles and lessons learned as well. 

Ready to toast to the New Year! Sparkling cider and champagne for all!

Happy New Year!

Yes, the New Year did happen to fall on hump day - thanks to the support crew at this table for evoking smiles

We're now home and recovered and preparing ourselves for the second half of the school year as well as a whole new year of adventuring. Time flies when you're having fun!

This is what my recovery looked like shortly after arriving home

Happy New Year to All!