Indiana makes number 6!

Indiana was a last minute half marathon that I found by looking up races that were in person and within driving distance.  I'm not sure how many people can relate, but Dave is getting used to me waking him up and announcing that I have found another race and asking if he is okay with me going.  Just normal after work talk at our house!

I found a half that was put on by Run Indiana Cheap and it was a cheap race...about $35.  It was on the Sunday before Labor Day, September 6, 2020.  Camden and I left Friday afternoon and spent the night in TN.  We then reached Westerton, IN by Saturday evening.  The race itself was a decent run, even if not as scenic as the past two I have finished.  It was a race on a greenway in Westerton in which we ran 6.5 miles down and then turned around.  It rained the entire time!  At home I am used to being soaking wet after running because of the humidity, so running in the rain isn't much different...just not as hot!  What was hard, though, was that my knees started hurting the second half of the race.  Sitting in the car for 12ish hours made my knees start hurting. 

I started out with a raincoat on, but it did no good at the end of the race! 

To make the trip fun, Camden and I made a few stops. And the first one was the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  Camden was super excited to tour a racetrack.  It was very interesting to hear about the history of the track...and we got to kiss the bricks!

The man on the trophy even had to wear a mask!!

On our drive we saw lots of corn fields!  We also saw miles and miles of windmills.  I have seen windmills before, but never that many!  And of course we had to find some new places to eat and shop!

There was lots of cheese on these chili cheese dogs!

Albenese was a candy store where Camden was able to buy gummie bears and worms.  I found a chocolate store called Donaldson's where I was able to get caramels!

Since we were close to Chicago, we decided to get Chicago style pizza and it was yummy!

After the race, Camden and I went to the Indiana Dunes National Park.  When I asked the park ranger where we should hike, she asked if we wanted to hike the highest dune and Camden answered yes!  So we did, and that actually meant hiking three dunes.  Hiking uphill in sand is hard!  And even though we were on a dune, it was also a forest.  At the top, the view of Lake Michigan was amazing!  I have never been that close to Lake Michigan before.  It is like looking at the ocean, but the seashells are rocks and the water is fresh.  Camden wanted to swim, but because of riptides, they weren't allowing that.  But we both were able to stand in the lake.  It felt good on our tired feet!

We left Westerton and drove to Louisville to spend the night closer to home...Camden had his first day of school the next day.  We had one final Indiana stop at a dairy farm where we had very tasty ice cream and bought some cheese for home.

And dinner was at a steakhouse where the bears had to wear masks!

 The plan on Monday, other than making it home, was to stop at the first KFC.  We stopped there, but it was closed for renovations!  So we ended up eating lunch at Shoney's where I got my favorite strawberry pie and Camden was introduced to their hot fudge sundae!  He liked it!!  

It was a long drive, a little over 12 hrs each way, but full of fun and memories!  Six down, 44 to go! 
 

          

Rocky Mountain National Park Part 2

 Part 2 of our Rocky Mountain Park day will have lots more pictures!  And more hiking!  On our way down the Trail Ridge Road to Grand Lake, we saw deer crossing the street, a young or female (or both) big horned ram, and a big group of elk.  And we crossed the Continental Divide!  

A big horned sheep...I kind of thought they would be fluffy! 

A group of elk eating beside the road.

Our first hike of the day was to a meadow.  The park ranger said that we were too late to get a parking spot at Bear Lake, where we wanted to go, so he recommended this hike.  It wasn't hiking upward, but rather fairly flat.  No wildlife on the trail, but the view at the end was incredible!

The meadow at the end of the trail.  The mountains looked like they were full of lavender because so many trees were dead and had a purplish tint to them.  

Grand Lake was more of resort town than Estes Park.  Lots of water sports and there were ski resorts nearby.  We walked around a little and then headed back across the Rockies on the Trail Ridge Road.

Our second Trifecta activity was to go to Bear Lake.  Although the park ranger said the lot was full, we took a chance that since it was later in the day, some people would have left.  And our gamble paid off!

Bear Lake

Nathan and Camden at Bear Lake

Our last thing to do for our Trifecta was to hike to Alberta Falls.  We were getting tired, but it was only about a mile and a half.  More uphill than our other hike, but with a great waterfall at the end!

More chipmunks...and Nathan talking to one!

The view of the river from the top of the trail.

Alberta Falls

After a long day in the great outdoors, we showered at the hotel, ate dinner at a Mexican restaurant, looked around Estes Parka and headed back to the hotel for our last night in the hotel.  The next day was our drive back to Denver to catch our plane for home.  The last picture of the trip was the famous blue Demonic Horse at the Denver airport.  I had read about it and was glad we got to see it before we flew out of town!  It was a great trip spending time with the family and enjoying God's creation!!