What to give a grad

So there's Paul, new graduate from Knox College, and the boy who seldom asks for anything. What do you give a fella who had such a stellar college career? Well, Kendall and I settled on a droid seeing as how math & science dudes seem to like their gadgets. And I've got to admit, it was pretty fun to have the magic box along during the road trip to/from Galesburg/Petoskey and back home to Boulder.

But, being a mom, I really wanted to give him something from the heart. I had given this plenty of thought over the past year and had decided on a quilt. And not just any quilt, but a quilt made from t-shirts we collected during the run, one from each state plus an extra for Boulder, Petoskey, and Wisconsin (which took an awfully long time to run through). Problem was, I barely know how to sew, and am clueless about quilting. So! Sister-in-law Kitty to the rescue.


I showed her the design I had in mind:
t-shirts laid out roughly in the shape of the route, the bandanna I carried with me every step of the way laid out as Lake Michigan, and two digital pictures on cloth, one of me and Paul when I first saw the Michigan state line, and the other of the route map with markers for each days' end point. Kitty put that all together and added many more great touches...footprints stitched in, great lay out of the t-shirts, highlight stitching on the map... Absolutely fabulous.




Absolutely a gift from the heart for the fella who gave me his heart, soul, and energy throughout The Run.











Pictures:
top - Paul taking pictures with his droid at his Boulder graduation party.
middle - me and Kitty watching Paul opening his quilt.
bottom left - showing the quilt at the graduation party.
bottom right - the quilt about to be laid on Paul's bed.

Big days in Illinois and Michigan

We've just returned to Colorado from one more road trip to the midwest, this trip highlighted by two grand events:

The most momentous event was Knox College's 2010 Commencement where our son Paul graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Math & Physics - a very proud day for the family! The next phase of his life brings Paul back to Boulder where he'll pursue a PhD in Applied Math at the University of Colorado. The entire VaughanMiller family will be back in Boulder again. Woohoo!

Next up on the road trip: Kendall's birthday,

celebrated during our post-graduation visit to Petoskey.

'Twas a lovely day which started with coffee and friends at our favorite coffee spot (Roast & Toast in Petoskey), followed by lunch out at Leggs Inn, a most excellent and unique Polish restaurant in Cross Village, and capped off with an evening stroll along Petoskey's waterfront.

Now we're back in Boulder where it seems extraordinarily damp - like much of the plains we drove through. Our garden is flourishing, our dog is wriggling all over, our elder son is happy to have company (so happy he had dinner waiting for us when we drove up!), and the trails are calling to me...mud and all.

A two-month review

My goodness, it's been a while since I've posted! Here's a quick (well, sort of quick) synopsis of the last couple of months:

The entire Prairie Spirit Trail run was wonderful.
It scratched the itch I had for multi-day long quiet runs.
It also heightened my desire to work through the list of Rail Trails.
So many marvelous miles, so little time!



Through April and into May, I had the privilege and joy of coaching a girls running club at Kendall's elementary school. What a fantastic group! And what a fantastic community to be coaching in. I cold-called a number of athletes in the area to invite them to join us and had an overwhelming positive response: Sara Slattery, Colleen DeReuck, Coach Ceal Barry - and my running buddies (to show that friendship is also a benefit of running in addition to fitness) all helped out with the young runners. It was such a successful experience, Kendall (the school's librarian) and I will be doing a Running and Reading Club this summer.

The girls jumping with their new shoes - donated by Mark Plaatjes & Boulder Running Company

May also saw two family celebrations. One of my cousins came to visit (a rare occurrence for our midwest oriented family). In fact, she had the honor of christening our newly remodeled guest room. She also was the official courier for delivering the gift from that branch of the family to my brother in celebration of his 60th birthday. And that was the second of the family celebrations. Yes, my brother turned 60. And to do it up right, his birthday party was a Vaughan + Miller talent show - which turned out to be one of the most fun parties we've ever hosted. Talent ranged from story telling to comedy to magic tricks to dancing, fiddling, guitar playing (with yodeling!), and singing. A fabulous afternoon!

Great niece Kira, me, my brother Dave, and my son Devon doing the twist at Dave's 60th bday party

May's finale' was the Bolder Boulder with many family and friends running followed by Memorial Day tributes and elite athlete race finishes in the stadium...one of the best community events I've ever experienced. Icing on the cake: I beat my age in the 10k. A good day.

Now June is here. AND PAUL'S COLLEGE GRADUATION!!!! Yes, tomorrow we leave for Knox College, Paul graduates on Saturday, we head up to Petoskey on Sunday, return to Knox on Friday so Paul can go to a friend's wedding, then it's back to Boulder and summertime in the Rockies - with our entire family here to enjoy it. Weeehaww!!!

Prairie Spirit perfect running

Prairie Spirit Trail, Princeton trail head, ready for the rain and runnin' toward Richmond

Well...I'm not a perfect runner, but it sure was a perfect running day today. Soft smooth trail, lightly wooded on either side, the occasional cow, the sound of chirping birds and ribbiting frogs, cloud cover, every now and then a bit of drizzle, cool temps but warm enough for shorts. Just fantastic.

Given these primo running conditions and the forecast for heavy rain later in the day and on into tomorrow, and since I had gotten a three mile headstart on the trail with yesterday's early evening run, I added a little extra today. The first bit was from Ottawa to Princeton with a light hum from the highway traffic one-half mile to the east, and all other sound just frogs and birds. Clouds above, fields to the left and right, and trail ahead. Charge!

As I ran into Princeton, the rain picked up so I hopped into waiting Hedwig and donned raincoat, gloves & hat, hopped back out, realized the rain had let up again, and continued happily down the trail, destination Richmond. Still a delightful run - but getting hungry and was very pleased to see Hedwig waiting at the Richmond trail head. Hopped in, got a banana, and decided, yup, I've got more miles in me so hopped back out for the final stretch of the day: Richmond to Garnett.

This one's for Joe - it's me trying to click my heels as I run toward the Richmond trail head.
Joe's way WAY better at clicking his heels...
my heels seem completely incapable of finding each other much less clicking.

Kendall and Jester met me a couple miles south of Richmond and we walked along the trail together for a few minutes before he drove off to check on campgrounds while I finished the stretch to Garnett. This bit of the run was absolutely marvelous. Away from the highway so no more car noise, just the frogs and birds and lots more trees, creeks and rivers. Really a lovely way to wrap up the twenty-mile day!

Garnett courthouse - in the center of a classic town square.
Good walking for shaking the miles out of my legs.

Getting acquainted with the Prairie Spirit Trail

pj & Jester at the Prairie Spirit trailhead marker, Ottawa, Kansas

Hedwig (and Kendall, Jester dog, & I) rolled into Ottawa, Kansas today with enough light - and glorious weather - for me to run the first few miles of the Prairie Spirit Trail. 'Twas just a taste - but quite delectable!

...and the run begins...

pjv heading south from the Prairie Spirit trailhead
Ottawa, Kansas, March 23, 2010

Surprise in the concrete city

Saline Wetlands at sunrise, Lincoln, Nebraska

We spent the night in Lincoln, Nebraska and when I headed out for my run it was right onto a concrete road, concrete sidewalks, and a neighborhood built on concrete. But that neighborhood bordered on a wetlands so I kept my eyes peeled for a gap in the houses that might lead away from all that concrete. Sure enough, as I got to the far end of the neighborhood I spotted a faint set of tire tracks. That was all the encouragement I needed. I followed the tracks, picked my way through some tall grasses and onto a two track which circled all around the Saline Wetlands that have been preserved right in the city of Lincoln. Birds chirping, sun rising - a lovely way to start the day!

Lincoln Highway in the spring time

Lincoln Highway, trains, autos, cattle, corn fields, and a very happy runner

While the fellas ate lunch at Ole's in Paxton, Nebraska, I treated myself to another run along the Lincoln Highway. Today's run was under a warm sun, with cows grazing in corn fields still dotted with last year's husks. The road was as quiet as I remembered it, drivers waving as they went by giving me plenty of room along the generous shoulder. I even got a "toot toot" out of the passing train. Only seven miles rather than 30...but seven very delightful miles along one of my most favorite roads from the run to Michigan!

First day of spring

A "challenging" morning run today. A fresh foot of snow covering the ground and trees, ice covering the roads - but we've got blue sky, sunshine, and crystalline glow filling the air now.
Spring has sprung!

Look at this!

See that?! That trail?! That trail with NO SNOW!!!!!!!

That's what I got to run on today. Me and many other folks and dogs,
running, walking, splashing through the mud, smiling, and calling out cheery hellos every one!
Spring: 17 days to go, and counting!

Take the tiger by the tail

Starting into the trees of the Kohler Mesa Trail

What a winter we've had. The snow that fell in December, which eventually turned into ice, is still hanging on. We've had all of one day this year of 2010 that has been above freezing when I headed out for my 6 a.m. run. And now, with February approaching its final week, it's been snowing since Thursday. Harumph. To top it off, I came down with a cold right when this most recent snow started to fall. So cold in me, and outside. Double harumph. What's a gal to do?

Well, wailing and whining just isn't my style (at least not for long) so today I decided to go straight into the eye of the storm. I pulled on my yaktrax (and three layers of clothes), headed out the door, pointed myself west, and set off for the trails up in the foothills. As soon as I got into the calf-high snow on Boomerang Hill behind NIST I began to question my sanity. But I held firm to my goal: make it to the top of the hill and find the trail. Finding the trail turned out to be easier than the 10-minute hill climb as I was not the first to tromp through the snow on the Kohler Mesa trail; indeed, based on the tracks, two humans and one dog had preceded me on the trail, leaving a lovely path for me to follow. So into the quiet of the snow-covered trees I trotted, catching occasional glimpses of the frosty flatirons poking through the low-lying clouds. Perfectly quiet. Perfectly serene. Perfectly beautiful. Today, I reveled in all that winter has to offer.

Looking back at the Kohler Mesa while coming down the Enchanted Mesa trail