After the half marathon at the Tetons, I randomly decided to go ahead and sign up for the 5k In Yellowstone. After doing the half in the Tetons and having a few glasses of wine I just decided to embrace my abilities (even if I'm slow) and see what I can do at the 5k. Back in Florida I used to run 5ks with my dad regularly and of course, it meant getting up stupid early to do it but I didn't mind in the end. After all, I ended up placing at most of the ones I participated in, and really that was a nice confidence push. 

Then covid happened, dad moved and everything kind of got turned around. I did virtual races but those were just for me and I wasn't really training to be in any race. All in all two years passed quickly and I didn't know if a 5k race would happen anytime soon. Moving to TN I was slower and moved up in my age bracket so the competition was steeper (Turns out that once you turn 25 a lot of females get into running races. Who knew?) 

So with a couple of glasses of wine in me and already knowing the 5k course for Yellowstone and being only a few hours from the Tetons I decided to go for it. After all why not. What's the worst that could happen?

The week flies by, I make my way into Yellowstone, settle in, and get ready to run the next day. 

Fast forward to the race and I am in my van getting ready. I am alone with Lylah unsure of how this will turn out but I am ready. I want to get it done and I can feel my impatience. I tried to edit photos to pass the time but it didn't help too much. I got out of the van and walked in circles and finally when the announcer stopped talking we made our way to the start and sat there for fifteen minutes while the announcer talked away. honestly, I'm not much for the sitting and listening aspect. I wanted to run and get it over with. See how I would do and feel the impatience roll off me. Those fifteen minutes were so long 

Finally, we did the National anthem and the 60-second countdown began. In this race, the people that were going for a medal were allowed to go all the way to the front and bypass the people that were there for the first time or were just doing the fun run. So I stood my ground in the middle of the group ready to go. 60 seconds counts down and were off. 

The short version of what happened is that I started out really fast and then slowed down by a minute the second mile. In the third mile, I cut off about 20 seconds and then another 8 at the finish by going balls to the walls at the end and chasing this tall dude down for the last tenth. I crossed the finish line and heaving I took the medal and sat down on the grass to catch my breath. 

The course was great the problem is that it was in the sun the last mile or so which heated up the course like crazy. So I quickly got overheated but was still able to give it my all. 

With the finish line behind me, I took a chance to get Lylah out of the van and hang out in the grass. recovered and resting I waited for the results and guessed what happened. I placed 5th in my age group! It may have been last but I freaking placed. Just barely but I was so excited. I wanted to give it a try and I did it. I was able to get a 3rd Medal for two races in a week's time. What a wonder and what a time. So glad I decided to go ahead and sign up at the last minute. 

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Sunset in my dreams 8*10 $100    I have plenty of art pieces that are ready to be sold and shipped to your home. All purchases help me out my travels and make the wonder that much more wonderful.  Art gallery here

yesterday I went separate ways from my dad and his gf. Its been about a week and a half since this journey started and it is not close to completion. As usual, I randomly decided to go ahead and extend my trip. The journey is never over and I really wanted to just keep going so I decided to continue my adventure west.

Today is the Yellowstone 5k and I decided to go ahead and sign up for it and do the race. I'm not sure how I will do or if I will place but I thought it would be fun to find out and see. After all, I had already done the half so why not the 5k. It could be interesting to see if I place and if I do then I will gladly accept and if not then at least I got a run-in and a medal for participation.

After the 5k is complete I plan to head a little further west in Idaho. It's a beautiful state (even if gas prices are not, yikes) and there is some good climbing that I can do while I am here. Plus I never really got to fully explore this state and the last time I was here I really was surprised by what was in store for me. Hopefully, it will be to the same effect this time. I may even stop by some local hot springs and check those out and get a nice hot soak in (maybe even scare some people by my nude body). Once I explore more in Idaho I don't know what I will do. I haven't looked that far out but I am excited to see where I will go. Eventually, I will need to head home (I plan to be back on the fourth of July) but for now I am fully ready to enjoy this time out here, exploring, working, and just being alive.

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As always art purchases are appreciated but not required. They help with travel and the making of more artwork. Here is one of my pieces down below. Please check it out and if you want to see more, click here. 

The saying goes "As the cookie crumbles" and man does it crumble. 

It's been a day of working and I can already tell you changes that need to be made in this setup. First and foremost I need to set up a cooling pad for the floor. This heat is ridiculous nad even with me switching the van on and off to help with battery life for the fan we installed it is H.O.T. Now, most of you are probably thinking, well just open the doors, let the air innnnnn. Yea the issue with that is noise. I can hear it all around if I even open a crack. So you have a sweltering sauna while you're talking to people on the line. 

Second, I need something to help out with this "desk setup". Currently, I'm using a cooler for my computer and mouse and then I am leaning back against the bed frame to have some support for my back. I'm thinking of a foldable piece of wood that will be on the passenger side so I can have a desk-like area useable for everything I need including "work". Of course, it would be useful for also the coffee that I need to consume since I have to be up early for the hours I'm currently scheduled for. Coffee is always a must to deal with the crazies that come on my phone line. 

Third and last. I need to add in a second bug screen on the passenger side to help manage the nasty buggers in our ecosystem and to also help with future airflow. I think in the end it's just going to make travel life that much easier. As well as get the window screen installs configured so that I have the ability to let air in while we sleep without being eaten to shreds. 

Only two days in and I'm learning so much already. I'm hoping by this winter this van will be 90% finished. It's amazing the way it is now but you can always improve as they say and I am ready to get my hands dirty and make this setup even more fluid than it already is. 

Yesterday afternoon I started the drive out west. First, though I do the infamous thing called "working" which I put in air quotes because yes it's a job but also not a good paying one. But nonetheless, it will pay something which I will take over nothing. Of course, with that start of the journey, there is always the final task that you have to accomplish before you really go off into the distance. Grocery shopping. Some people go before, some people eat on the road not even bothering to buy other foods, I prefer to do it the day of Why you may ask. The reason being is that I think better the day of. I usually have an idea of what to expect, my route is planned out (or most of it anyway) and I prefer to really have that be a start of the trip excursion. 

Once I have that planned out and my food in stock I can then really focus on the road ahead. The trip really begins once you have the food and drink loaded and nothing but the music and road to guide you forward. For this trip, we started out at the Kroger not far from the house with a full tank of gas and started onward to the long road ahead. And the long road it definitely will be. 

So far we have only made it to the border of Illinois and Kentucky and I am working for a good portion of the day but once I am off I will be back on the road ready to take on the next set of miles ahead. I don't know what the traffic will be like and I don't know how long it will take to get to where we are going but I am ready. I have my coffee, my pup, and my bed all in one place. How Can I go wrong?

Well, the only way I can go wrong is with this work arrangement at the moment which is killing my behind. Hopefully, I can figure out a remedy for that after this trip is completed so that assisting guests and making money is more convenient than this current situation. But for now, onward! 

With the half- Marathon was finally completed and our bodies aching we continued onward with our trip. We made sure to see other sites, got lots of good food, and made our way back to Gimli who is now done with getting the transmission fixed. Happy that we got to the race finished but sad that I have to pay a bunch of money for the fix we arrive in swift time. I split the transaction as much as I can and suck up the hurt that was coming my way. It wasn't fun but I had to pay the people who assisted me with this mess up. 

Paying the dues and getting the keys to the vehicle I start him up and we go get some dinner to fill our bellies and say our goodbyes. I knew that I wanted to go check out the sand dunes in Colorado so that was my next stop. So Giving my dad a big hug I started on the path towards sand and adventure. Side note: I hate sand...really really hate it. 

Even though my heart was heavy from the amount I paid I kept in mind that the transmission now has a warranty and that I should feel good about it being fixed and new. I wouldn't get stranded and it could have happened at any time. I got lucky with where it happened and I'm glad that it was in an area where I could get somewhere for help without much issue. Looking back at Lylah I knew that going to the sand dunes was going to be a good way to let out her excess energy. Plus I mean I just wanted to explore and just relax after all the craziness that we had been through. 

I get about 45 minutes in and suddenly the van stops going up. To get to the sand dunes you have a bunch of hills and panicking with the fact that I just paid over $3000 to get this transmission fixed I spaced any other issues it might be having. My very first initial reaction is that the guys were smoking something while working on my van and ****ed something up. I was about to explode. I was stepping on the gas peddle and it would lurch forward with no warning and go for a little bit and then stop working. After about ten minutes of this, I finally decide to pull over and call good old dad. 

Unsure of what else is wrong he tells me I can meet him in Colorado Springs so he can take a look and see if he can get any codes on it and see what was going on. Defeated I hang up and turn around. I just couldn't win. After about ten minutes I realize that the van isn't doing anything. It's running normally but all downhill. Confused I text my dad to see if I should go there now or not. He tells me it's up to me. 

Thinking about all the troubles I've had with this van I decide to say **** it and turn around. I wanted to do something new with this trip and it was going to happen. So I turn back around and try to list the things I know are wrong with it. Only one thing comes to mind. The gas tank. 

In the past Gimli has ****ed up going uphill. I'll have a quarter or more of gas and it will randomly stop working while on a hill even though it's full or has more than enough gas in it. So thinking that may be the case I found the closest gas station and pulled in and as soon as I did the van died....five feet from the pump. Getting my little one gallon out I put some gas in it and pull up to the pump. Filling it up all the way we finally set on our way to the sand dunes. I was hoping that I would be able to see the dunes and maybe shoot some star shots as well. 

Getting out there I was surprised at how big it was. I wasn't sure what to really expect but I was excited to shoot some stars and just enjoy some time out there in the grand sand dunes of Colorado. 

For about an hour Lylah got to run around and play in the sand and when we were done there we went back to the van and sat in it waiting for it to get dark enough to go shoot. Once it was dark we headed back out and enjoyed the night sky. It was beautiful and definitely worth the extra scare from Gimli to make it happen.