A hot, humid run. A few glitches with the start made an interesting run even more interesting and challenging. I had to leave an upset Em at the starting line and blaze through a few thousand people until I got my stride. I actually started with the corral 23 people (1000 per corral supposedly) and then worked my way up to finish in place #2510. That means I passed a WHOLE bunch of people and I felt it. I would go all out for about 2 minutes and then have to walk while some people decided that holding hands across the full course in support of each other was a good idea. This happened more than a few times.

Other times I would be cramped into a bunch of slow runners and walkers on a tight single lane road that would creep through really nice neighborhoods. This was not a disappointing time as I got to look around and of course take a break. Once the crowd opened up again then I was off at a speed that felt comfortable. I truly believe that my 1:44 time would have happened if I had not been held up, but have to admit that it was kinda fun passing SO many folks.

After finishing, soaking myself with cold water, being “medaled”, and getting a nice cold Dasani then I was off to find Emily. When I got her on the phone she was getting close to where I could catch her on the course at about mile 7. I loaded up my pockets with bananas, oranges, pretzels, water, and a couple of ice water soaked towels. When I got to her she was ready for all the goodies and I think it was just the ticket necessary to make it the final stretch. We walked from that point at a varying pace and she came in to the finish at 3:51:06! Under the four hour mark goal….awesome job Em!

Next year? I will say yes now, but will also want to plan more time in the area and staying directly on the beach. That would make it feel like a vacation instead of a quick out of towner that ends all too fast.

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Went fishing/hiking/camping over the weekend with Sean, Lavina, and Adrian. Great, green grass that has obviously had enough moisture despite our drought. The lake was clear and didn’t seem low as it had in the past few years. Didn’t see any sign of beavers this year which is a little surprise. Seems as though we always had a sign of at least one beaver or a family of them by this time of the year.

The big story was the size of the fish that Sean and Adrian caught. Each one landed many fish, but the topper was the few that were brought in at over 24 inches. Yes, over 24 inches and weighing in at about 11 pounds.  That is a rainbow trout that has averaged 12-14 inches and maybe a couple of pounds.

WOOKIE WAS THERE TOO!

Adrian and Sean went to Lordsburg, NM in search of a Javelina and well………

Great job! You rock!

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The trees have been changing in all of northern New Mexico for the past month. I finally stepped outside and shot a couple of pics of the trees in my area. There are much more vibrant colors other places, but this will have to do.

For the second year in a row Sean and Adrian have “caught” an Elk. Cow calling from a makeshift blind located in the Y that leads to the cabin and the upper lakes Sean and Adrian have done it again. A perfect comination of low and high calls brought in a 5×4 bull elk at about 9:35am on Sunday morning. The hunt began on Saturday night and quite a few “conversations” with area elk, but nothing presented itself and the evening turned out be uneventful. We arrived the next morning at day break to find a couple of elk in the meadow, but they quickly vanished as we scrambled to hide. The morning was rainy and the blind provided no relief as a downpour began and we hurried up to the cabin. After a couple of hours in the cabin the rain subsided and as we ventured back down to the blind Sean gave a loud bugle that was immediately responded to by a close sounding bull. We quitely positioned ourselves in the blind and waited. Adrian and Sean continued to call and get responses. We thought it was going to be just another game of back and forth. Amazingly after only a few minutes there was a definite sound of breaking branches coming our way. We all watched, and Sean prepared, as we heard a bull elk bugle directly across from us at the tree line. This bugle was VERY loud and we knew this elk was close. I quickly prepared the video camera, but the elk was fast and came running into the meadow eagerly looking for the cow elk that Adrian was able to perfectly mimic. From this point everything happened rapidly. Sean lowered his rifle and peered through his scope to verify that the elk was “legal” and then waited for a opportunity. It came quickly when the elk turned broadside as Adrian continue his perfect cow calling. The shot was dead on and there was no doubt that our hunt was soon to be over. The elk was hit and ran. Adrian cow called and the elk stopped in his tracks. Another shot was necessary to insure that an injured elk would not disappear into the woods and it was also as perfect as the first. The elk fell approximately 25 feet from that second shot and we were able to recover it with no issues or immense work.
Great job guys! You must be doing something right!

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