jackson hole vacation :::: part 3

tuesday morning i got up early for yoga, what a great way to start the day! afterwards i came back to get brad and enjoy the tea that was delivered to our cabin. tuesday was the only morning that yoga was offered so on the other days we got into a great routine of waking up when the tea was delivered, stoking up the fire and having quiet time and reading our Bibles before breakfast. loved it.

the three main things we did were hiking, horseback riding, and fly fishing. i guess it's probably easiest to just post the pics and go from there!

while we were riding shelby taught me a lot about the wildflowers that were all over the place. aaaand i don't remember the name of this one :)

where we stopped to eat lunch on our first ride

my horse for the rides, devish

ready to go fishing!

brook trout!

we fished near those willows on the left and you can see our cabin a little further up

getting ready for our second ride to disappearing lake

grizzly scratches

disappearing lake (it is filled by snow melt, then evaporates by about july)

riding back to the ranch (our new friend faye up front)

we rode into the gross ventre wilderness --- no wheels or machines allowed!

the creek (i saw the moose here when i was running, by myself, with no camera... so everyone acts like they don't believe me)

south ridge

i guess that's pretty much it as far as the ranch went. i completely recommend the ranch if you're into that kind of thing. i hope we'll be able to go back, we both really enjoyed it! 

jackson hole vacation :::: part 2

i typed up this whole post before blogger decided to freeze and make it magically disappear. that's not frustrating at all. 

anyways, we arrived in jackson on monday afternoon and alex, one of the ranch hands, was waiting for us a the airport. we got our bag, filled up our water bottles at the cool hydration station, then loaded up to go to the grand teton fly fishing shop. the ranch manager, trey, was there to help us pick flies for the week and we also got our fishing licenses. 

then we loaded back up with alex and three other ranch guests and headed up to the property. the ranch is only about 10 miles outside of jackson but the road is pretty rough so it takes about an hour and fifteen minutes to get up there. it went by pretty quickly because we were all looking for wildlife [we saw some chizzlers, antelope, mountain goats, and a moose!] and chatting. it also gave alex a lot of time to tell us all about the ranch. 

once we arrived he dropped us off at our cabin. we stayed in cal cabin and it was perfect for us! it was the furthest from the main lodge, but closest to the good fishing and had a great back porch that overlooked flat creek. 

cal cabin

living room 

bathroom

bedroom looking into the living room

back porch looking down on the creek

after we got settled in we went to yoga. we decided to practice outside, but that might not have been the greatest decision. we picked prime mosquito time so it was a little hard to find your OM when you're being eaten alive. it honestly scared me a little because i was nervous we were going to be bug food the whole time we were on the ranch. luckily that was the only time the insects really bothered us [well brad had welts all over him and itched for the rest of the week, but that was the only time they bit us]. 

we went up for our first dinner [every night at 7 we had appetizers on the porch then moved inside for dinner at 730] after yoga. the food was amazing the whole week. it was local, fresh, unique, and delicious! we never ate the same thing twice and you definitely didn't have to worry about going hungry [FYI-- they ask dietary preferences ahead of time and they can accommodate anything, they just need advance warning]. 

the lodge

the right side of the lake

more lake (to left looking out from lodge), horse stables, and there's a bald eagle nest in there too! 

lake

the sleeping indian... and yes, that is snow!

the sauna sits right on the creek

after dinner we walked around and checked out the property. we also had some local brews [the fridge in the lodge was stuffed with soft drinks and beer].

a great first day in jackson hole!

jackson hole vacation ::: part 1

on sunday brad and i packed our bags and our friend lauren dropped us off at the airport to head to jackson hole, wyoming. asheville's airport is pretty small so we made it through security pretty quickly and had a fair amount of time to kill before our flight. the beauty of living in beer city is that they have all the good local beers on draft at the airport bar [however, it's easy to forget you're at the airport and they will charge you an arm and a a leg].

 

anyways, we had a beer to cheers to a great vacation then boarded our plane. then the captain came in and told us we had to deplane, that they'd found a problem with the plane during their walk around inspection. they had to contact maintenance to see if it was fixable [and if it was fixable it would take at least 2 hours]. 

we quickly got into line at the counter because we knew either way we'd miss our connecting flight from chicago to jackson. long story short they said the earliest we could get to jackson would be the next day (monday) at 230p. a little disappointing but still okay. thankfully we got in contact with our hotel for sunday night (wyoming inn) and they were nice enough to refund our money for the night. that's pretty much unheard of in my experience, so a big THANK YOU to them. we'll definitely stay there if we're ever back in jackson. 

they actually ended up fixing our plane so we were able to get into chicago around 9ish. we had to go to customer service to get a voucher for a hotel and all that jazz. the line was CRAZY long. a really nice guy helped us, gave us a hotel voucher, meal vouchers, and told us where to catch the shuttle. unfortunately they couldn't get us our checked bag [i definitely know better than to put important stuff in there, but i failed miserably]. i hunted down some contact lens solution then we caught the shuttle to the intercontinental hotel. 

we were both pleasantly surprised with the hotel. it was very nice, clean, and modern and the staff was great. when we gave the clerk our voucher he asked if we needed any toiletries or anything, and even gave us free wifi for the night. 

we had a late dinner [and multiple margaritas] and the hotel restaurant, fresco 21. once again, we were pleasantly surprised and i'm pretty sure those were some of the best french fries we ever had [they were only serving their late night menu so everything came with fries].

monday morning we had breakfast at fresco 21 then caught he shuttle back to o'hare.

i really wish i'd had my running stuff because i would have loved to jump on the el and ran down by the shore. oh well, lesson learned. 

our flight to jackson was uneventful but check out the view as we were coming in:

and that's where i'll end for now!

post vacation catch up!

hey guys! brad and i just got back from jackson hole, wyoming and i am struggling to get caught up. i just wanted to check in and i'll have a longer post later. for now i'm cleaning house, doing laundry, answering emails and restocking our fridge!

here's a little preview of our past week:

kindrunner:::: where it pays to be kind

so i have something really exciting to share with you all today, kindrunner.com is officially up and running! i'm an ambassador for this company so i'll be posting about them periodically. i am so happy to be a part of this company, which i truly think is revolutionary.

kindrunner.com

.: what's the story behind kindrunner :.
from co-founder michael conforti...

I decided to run the first 26.2 of my new career. My life was headed in a new direction. My experience training with Al for that first marathon led to a new love of running. Not too long after that race, I had the amazing and timely opportunity to purchase a running store. This was not just any running store, but one of the most highly-regarded running specialty shops in the country that runners had loved and respected for over 35 years! My new career allowed me to help runners at work while also doing what I love in my spare time.

Over time, as I saw the landscape for running continue to change and as people grew more and more concerned about the environment, I began to recognize that there might be a way to assist runners with their needs and save our planet at the same time. 

.: they are an online running store, but so much more:.

• they are running shoe experts. they post EXPERT PRODUCT REVIEWS for each shoe, they offer kindrunner rx approved alternatives [say you've been in mizuno wave riders and they work great but you want to try a brooks shoe, they'll tell you which one is most similar], they have an online expert you can chat with, and they also have 1 on 1 custom fittings over the phone.
• they offer FREE 3-WAY SHIPPING... FREE shipping of your order, FREE  shipping of returns for any reason and FREE shipping of your donated shoes back to them for repurposing with Soles4Souls or The More Foundation. 
• they offer a CONFIDENT RUNNER PRICE... for example, i wear mizuno wave riders for road running and i know what size i wear. i can waive my free return shipping and get a discount on the shoe! i still get free shipping to me, and still get free shipping of donated shoes.
• they reward you for being kind with the KINDNESS CASH REWARDS (KCR). when you receive a pair of shoes that you've ordered from them, you have the option to place an old pair of shoes (or two, or three, etc.) into the KindRunner shipping box and place the prepaid return label on the box for shipment back to them. once they received the box, they scan it and credit $10 KCR per pair new shoes purchased. (so let's say you purchase 2 pairs of shoes from them, you can ship one old pair to them and get $10 KCR or you can ship 2 old pairs back and get $20 KCR.  if you ship more than two pairs back, you can only get a maximum of $20 KCR because you only purchase two pairs of new shoes, does that make sense?) the KCR can be used to purchase ANYTHING that kindrunner sells and THEY NEVER EXPIRE.
• EASY 365 RETURNS - you have 365 days to return any product as long it's in original packaging and original condition. 
• not only are you getting great customer service and great discounts, you're helping people in need AND the environment. it's a WIN WIN. 

.: another FYI :.

• they are offering another incentive for their earliest customers... FREE SOCKS FOR LIFE for their first 500 customers! each time one of the first 500 customers returns and purchases a new pair of shoes, the order will ship with a free pair of socks of your choice from their sock inventory!

Kindrunner website

Kindrunner Facebook Page (giveaways and announcements!)

Kindrunner on Twitter

Kindrunner on YouTube

Kindrunner on Instagram

rearview mirror:::: may 2013

.: running :.
this month i ran 4 races, and finally started to get back to a little bit of a running routine. i finished the skyline chili 3-way at the Cincinnati Flying Pig [5k, 10k, and half marathon] and also the Cradle to Grave 30k trail race. why no hyperlink to the flying pig races? i still haven't managed to finish my recap... 

my goal for june is to get my mileage to 10-15 miles per week, totally do-able and i feel ready to get back to it. i've struggled since the full and i'm hoping to put all that behind me [another post i need to write, dangit]. 

.: weight training :.
two weeks ago i restarted my old training routine. i even went to the gym in the mornings before work! my plan is to do one more week of the old routine, then we'll be on vacation for a week. when we get back brad and i are both starting a new plan. i'm really excited about this because i am hoping this will get the excess weight back off. 

.: reading :.
the book thief by markus zusack
gone girl by gillian flynn
grace, gold, and glory: my leap of faith by gabrielle douglas
summerland by elin hilderbrand

the book thief was my favorite of all of them. i didn't get the hype about gone girl, and hated the way it ended.

have you read any good books lately? 

what did you do in may that you're the most proud of?