Road trips Part 4- West

Washington- spent a night in Vancouver, just across the river from Portland and stopped at a Taco Bell. Pretty awesome views of the Cascades. Returned in 2011 to Spokane and ran on the Centennial Trail.  Returned in 2016 for an overnight layover in Seattle on my way back from Alaska.  No time to tour but did get to have breakfast with a college friend.

Idaho- Coeur D'Alene half marathon in 2011, solid performance there.  Panhandle was very scenic with mountain and lake views.

Montana-2011, Detour from CDA.  Stopped in Missoula for dinner and a drive around town.  Snow capped mountains in the distance.

Wyoming- Cheyenne detour on my Colorado trip in 2010. Decent downtown but it was jammed because of a parade and I didn't stay long.

Colorado- Vacationed here when I was 15. I remember canoeing, hiking and saw Pike’s Peak, where my mother got sick from the altitude. Returned in 2010 and revisited Pike’s Peak and Garden of the Gods as well as Rocky Mountain National Park, all of which were awesome. Also visited Denver for the first time and was impressed overall. Lots of parks and good running/bike trails. Ran the RNR Denver half in 2012.

Oregon- Debut marathon at Eugene in 2008. Flew into Portland then headed up Mt. Hood. Also walked on the beach for a few minutes and saw Prefontaine’s home town of Coos Bay. I saw some very nice scenery.

Nevada- I’ve only been to Las Vegas when I was 14 so there wasn’t much that I could do there. I did see some nice shows and that’s about it.  Came back to Reno and Lake Tahoe in 2016 and ran the half marathon.  Also saw Carson City and Virginia City.

Utah- stayed in St. George, site of the marathon with the most net downhill in the country. I may return to race it in the future. Hiked in Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park and even did a workout at over 8,000 ft. altitude. I lasted about 25 minutes. The scenery was awesome.

California- vacation here when I was 14. We saw Universal Studios in LA and took the coastal highway through Big Sur all the way up to San Francisco before heading to Vegas. I would like to return to see San Diego and maybe run CIM in Sacramento. Ran the 13.1 Los Angeles race and performed well despite stomach cramps. Saw Santa Monica and Sunset Blvd as well as the Reagan library.  Returned here in 2016 and saw the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Lake Tahoe and Sacramento.

Arizona- I first arrived here in 2008 for a 15 minute ride on the interstate. It was still memorable though. The scenery was spectacular and exotic. The Phoenix half marathon was completed in 2015 and the trip included a visit to Sedona and the Grand Canyon.

New Mexico- flew into Albuquerque and stopped in Santa Fe. Also took in some scenic routes on my way to Colorado. Southern part has a lot of red rock scenery while the northern section is greener and looks more like Colorado. Strong Spanish and Native American flavor.

Alaska- Anchorage Mayor's half marathon in 2016.  Experienced the midnight sun and saw views of the highest peak in North America at Denali National Park.