Dunes and Peninsulas

Two oceans in three weeks.

From the Florida panhandle, T. H. Stone Park on the St. Joseph Peninsula earlier in March:

Sunday, March 30 at Marina State Beach, on the Monterrey (California) Peninsula:

Last Trip of the Year

Yet another not-Longmont-related posting but I think I'm done traveling for the year.  

One more visit to north Florida, the land of spanish moss, Live Oak trees hundreds of years old, and mysterious dark rivers.

Headwaters of the Wacissa River, often mentioned as one of the last places in the USA that the presumed-extinct ivory billed woodpecker lived before loggers removed their habitat:
 

A pine snake crosses the road at the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge:

Gulf of Mexico:
 

I think I caught the last stragglers in the annual Monarch butterfly migration, on their way from the USA east coast to Mexico:
 

Old Florida State Capitol in Tallahassee, which has been nicely preserved as a musuem:
 

The "new" Capitol Building, 22-stories high, although it just turned 40 years old:
 

Lake Ella in Tallahassee:
 

The previous holiday-style cottages around the lake have all been converted to small businesses and coffee shops.  Of course, I was interested in Joe's Bicycle Shop:

I was thinking that these Schwinn Sting Rays would be gobbled up quickly in bike-crazy cities like Portland, Denver, and Seattle:

Florida State University Homecoming Parade, in some light drizzle:

Santa Clara

Out to Santa Clara, CA for the week, so here's a few followups from when I was there in March.

The new Northside Branch Library building is completed but it is empty and its opening is being postponed due to some county vs. city squabbling:

Sad to see a much anticipated community resource sit idle:

Rising in the distance like a volcano, Levi's Stadium (49'ers new home).   I was a little closer back in August 2012.

Downtown San Jose:
 

The Problematic Leadville Trail 100 Run

Up to Leadville again last weekend to help out with the 2013 Leadville Trail 100 Run.  

The streets are quiet on Friday evening before the event:

Saturday morning, 4 AM start:
 

And they are off!  They have 30 hours, until 10 AM on Sunday to return to this spot at 6th and Harrison.  The winner usually arrives in 16 or 17 hours. 

I helped out at the Twin Lakes Aid Station, at mile 40 and 60 of the course, at this sleepy fire station.   

Runners have "drop bags" which are sent ahead and contain supplies they may need further in the run.  Since they have to cross the Arkansas River drainage at mile 58, a lot of entrants pack an extra pair of shoes and socks to dry out their soggy feet.  Volunteers have to sort all of these bags so that they can be quickly located when a runner arrives. 
 

The eventual winner, Ian Sharman, comes through at mile 60 in second place.
 

On a more somber note, the dissatisfaction (see the lengthy comment section) is getting louder each year with this world-famous event.  What started in the 1980s as a humble attempt to help kickstart a devastated mining town with sky-high unemployment has now grown to a complete series of events that run all summer, including this particular monster ultramarathon with a whopping 850 runners at the starting line.  The entire series was sold to Lifetime Fitness two years ago, and many are complaining that this 100 miler has way too many entrants, is understaffed, woefully undersupplied, and poorly planned with a serious lack of attention to details, all in the pursuit of making a hefty profit by the new commercial owner.   In fairness to Lifetime, these problems were starting to crop up before they arrived but the chaos appears to be getting much worse.  During the event this year, mid to back of the back runners were finding aid stations without food and drink, something they paid $275 for, as part of their race fee.  In a 100 mile run, the latter portion is the mentally darkest and most difficult and the last thing an exhausted and sleep-deprived runner wants to encounter is a depleted aid station.  As hard as they tried, volunteers had difficulty servicing runners (filling water bottles, finding drop bags) as they came through, during peak arrival periods. More disturbing, medical supplies were also exhausted by mid-race, on part of the course.  Residents and summer vacationers of Leadville and Twin Lakes are upset with the crowds and traffic and are wondering if the tradeoff for the almighty sales tax dollars is worth the quality-of-life impact on their towns that are being hijacked for successive weekends during peak relaxing season.  Their friendly downtown coffee shop is swamped on race days, with a line out the door and one-hour wait times.  (On a related note, just this week, the city of Santa Rosa, California decided not to pursue hosting another Amgen Tour of California cycling stage in 2014, citing fatigue and resource drain.) Finally, the environmental impact of 850 runners (and 1500 mountain bikes the week before) on the trails, and their crews and supporters in vehicles cannot be ignored.  Traffic jams and long-idling SUVs were a common sight at the major aid stations.  Most upsetting were the reports of increased littering on the trails this year. 

As a volunteer this year that got to observe the chaos first-hand along with a long list of volunteer heroics, I agree with those that think the event has too many entrants.  450 would be a more reasonable capacity but that of course means reduced income for the new race overlords, unless the entry fee is doubled.  

Tough decisions ahead for race management, if they want to preserve the well-known Leadville brand name, not chase entrants away, and also keep a cordial relationship with residents.

North Florida Visit

In the definitely not-Longmont-related category, a few pictures from a visit last week to north Florida, particularly the Tallahassee area. 

Many years ago, I used to live here but the Lafayette Heritage Park and trail system was built after I left:

Wishing I had a bike when I took this picture:
 

Trailhead for the Cadillac Trail:
 

 On to the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge on the Gulf.  The lighthouse looks like it could use a scrubbing or whitewashing but I'm sure they are under budget pressure:

Compare this with a picture from five years ago, or the picture here:

 
This memorial bench by the lighthouse is new, over the past year.  I had not heard of John Burroughs before but I like the quote.
 

It's been a good year, so far, for rain and the lakes are all full.  This is at Lake Talquin State Park:

Steep descent on the boardwalk, down to the lake:
 

Finally, a pond at Innovation Park, Tallahassee.  My dogs used to love swimming here on hot days.  The decaying dock is roped off, probably because it is unsafe, but I remember when it was new:
 

 

Black Hills Weekend

Helping out a friend at an athletic event this past weekend took me to Sturgis, South Dakota and the Black Hills area.

It was incredibly green up there.  A neighbor of the house we were staying at told me that they've had lots of rain during the past month:

 Woodle Field, home of the Scoopers:

Sturgis is world famous for its annual motorcycle rally in August but I found the town to be pleasant and peaceful a month before the invasion.  The T-Shirt shops are already starting to crank up:

Up in the Black Hills, on the Centennial Trail:
 

It's a well-maintained 112 mile trail with stunning views, which will take you all the way down to Mt. Rushmore.  A lot of singletrack, the way some of us like it!

Pilot Knob trail head:

The Community Hall in Silver City (45 miles south of Sturgis) which was previously a schoolhouse.

The Centennial Trail as it carves out a path through a meadow at Silver City:

A band plays at the evening post-event party at an All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV) rally in Nemo, SD.

Overall, a nice getaway to a beautiful place.