Ok, get your heads out of the gutter, that is not what I’m talking about!

Over the past month I have felt more like my old self. Each day brings me joy. I find I am laughing out loud. I feel happy. I catch myself thinking each day just how lucky I am.

Since I disappeared (again) for a while, here is a lightning round to catch you up.

July 1: We drive from Bend to Sandpoint, Idaho. Sandpoint is adorable. Evans Brothers Coffee is the real deal, good coffee! Sure, the militia likes it up here, but don’t hold that against the town. It IS rural Idaho (I grew up in rural Montana so I can say that).

July 2: On to Missoula. Great visit with Dad & Gwen. Low key 4^th of July. Puck & Zoey enjoy sampling all the plants in their lovely back yard and wading in the ditch. Puck perfects his military crawl exploring under their deck.

July 5: Sun Valley! A bit of rain here but we still explore some of my favorite trails. I ask myself how it is that the Sun Valley area does not have a truly good coffee shop? It is a conundrum.

Finishing the Steeplechase!

July 10: Pack up to Park City. Zoey has been sick and today is very lethargic. Shawna gives me a vet recommendation in PC and I make an appointment for that afternoon, thankfully. I am so preoccupied that I nearly run out of gas climbing the (seemingly endless when you are closing in on empty) pass into Park City. I reach the gas station at the top with 5 miles left in my tank.

The vet isn’t sure if Zoey has kennel cough but her little tonsils are very swollen. Poor sick pumpkin. They send me home with antibiotics and pain meds. She improves and I think she is all better, but the cough comes back when I get home. She is now on a 3-week course of antibiotics and I am happy report that she is back to full on whirlwind puppy mode!

Park City is wonderful, it always is thanks to my friends. This time I also have Alexis, Jason and Henry there, which adds to the fun. Grant, Alexis and I “run” the 16-mile Jupiter Steeplechase (8 miles up, 8 miles down!) on Saturday. Grant crushes it. Alexis and I survive, although we are pleasantly surprised with how well we do with our serious lack of training! That night we all hang out and eat and drink. It is a great way to end our road trip!

July 15: On to Fruita where I clean Alice and put her in her storage unit. I have a unit with a tight corner, and it takes me many tries to get it right. Fortunately no one is there to watch. I finally prevail and Alice is safe. Puck turns 6 today. He is a little greyer, like his mom, but otherwise the same big doofus I love so much.

Riding through the wildflowers.

July 17: Home to Crested Butte. We are in the peak of tourist season and it is a little overwhelming. But we are also having an unprecedented wildflower year, which has been spectacular.

It has been great to be home, getting out with my friends, coaching, falling into my CB routine.

Other highlights from the past month:

One of my athletes, Tony, crushes the Western States 100-mile run. Sub 24! Grant (another sub 24 WS runner from a previous year) is there to pace him home. A good day!

One of my new CB athletes finishes her first half Ironman and has a great race on a brutally hot day, proving to herself that she really does have it in her!

View from Red Lady

Carrie and I have several great rides. Alexis and I ride the popular trail “401” and spend the whole downhill with our mouths open because it is so beautiful. We are riding through a sea of wildflowers. Incredible.

I climb Red Lady with my friend Ann. Neither of us have done it before, and minus a few navigation errors (missing the turn where the instructions say “don’t miss this turn on the way down!”) it is a great day.

Zoey does her first mountain bike ride. This morning! The first mile has me a little concerned because she is running right by my rear tire and occasionally runs in front of me and stops, frozen like a deer in headlights. We have several close calls where I have to ditch the bike to avoid taking her out. Finally something clicks in her little puppy head and she realizes it is a lot more fun to run with the big dogs. She spends the rest of the ride chasing Bandit and Puck through the wildflowers and having a blast. I laugh, a lot. It is a good way to start the day.

Zoey’s first mountain bike ride

That’s it from here. I have more adventures in the planning. I’ll try to be a little more diligent on the blog.

I have to admit I miss my husband every single day. But I am finding my way, finding joy in all the special people (and animals!) in my life, laughing out loud and living every day.