Monday morning we woke up, packed up, and hit the road. Didn't have any cell signal but wasn't surprised about that as we were way out in the northwest corner of MT. We stopped in a small lake side town for lunch. Went to the pizza place and got it to go.
Caroline and Justin walked around town while we waited for our pizza to get ready. He wore his race medal for a few days!
And took our lunch to this beautiful lake side picnic area.
Some after lunch posing.
Then back on the road through some beautiful country side.
We made it to the KOA outside the west gate of Glacier, set up the site, and had a dinner of kabobs.
And of course s'mores! Every night we camped!!
This was the lake we had lunch at in Thompson Falls, MT.
Our camp site in Glacier.
Miles was a tired doggy! All the excitement of the people at the race and traveling made him tired!
For the last several months Justin has been training for a half iron man race. He swam 1.2 miles, biked 56, and ran 13.1! The hotel provided a free bus (all day long) for both races and family which was perfect. Justin got up and headed over super early just to get set and calm nerves. The kids and I made it almost in time for the beginning but did see him come out of the water.
The day could not have been better. Not a cloud in the sky, cool in the morning, and warmed up (they were having a hot spell) quite a bit in the afternoon.
The swim was out on the right side of the picture and coming in on the left side. The water temperature was 62*! Quite chilly.
This scene kept us entertained while we waited for Justin to get out of the water. So funny!! If the athlete didn't lay all the way back they would get flung across the wet, slick grass! Justin is in the black top with blue shorts.
The transition area was nice and shady with lovely soft grass.
While Justin was out on the bike the kids played on a giant wooden play area with several other kids. They had a big game of tag on the playground with about 15 other kids. There was also some (ok a lot) of down time while waiting to see Justin in the transitions.
He he comes in on the bike!
Go Justin Go!
And coming out to start the run! And getting some high fives!
While he was out on the run we spread out a blanket at the edge of the lake and enjoyed the day and warming temps. Justin was not enjoying the warming temps!
And there he is coming in to the finish line!
And waiting for his finishers picture.
You also take a little snooze with your dog while you wait. Miles LOVED being around all the people and all the attention and pets he received.
And on the bus heading back to the hotel he got up in the seat beside me to cuddle and drool on me (see the wet spots on my skirt?)
Along with all the training Justin and I had adjusted out diet (counted macros) and he had lost almost 30 lbs since mid-January!! So he was really looking forward to having an apple fritter after his race! We all enjoyed his post-race request! Those donuts were delicious!!
Congrats Justin! Amazing job and I'm so proud of you for completing the race!
Below are some of the official race pictures.
By this point I not sure what day of the week it is! But we got up and got out of the hotel so the boys could do their fun run. They could choose between 1/2 mile and 1 mile. They both said the mile! Before the race smiles!
Eric is in the white shirt, Will is in a black shirt behind the tall guy in blue.
Left his brother to sprint to the finish line!
Still happy smiling boys!
Then we headed back to the athlete village to check things out and for Justin to turn in his bike. Later that afternoon we drove about 35 mins to Justin's Uncle Mike's house in Kellogg, MT for dinner, swimming, and s'mores! The kids kept saying that Uncle Mike sounded just like Grandpa. Well they are brothers so that makes sense! It was a delightful afternoon and we really enjoyed the visit!
This picture is out of order but I love that both Eric's feet are off the ground!
Trying out the compression sleeves at the expo.
Mike and Nadine's backyard was incredible. So many beautiful plants and the greenest, softest looking grass. The kids enjoyed swimming.
After dinner we headed back to CDA so we could get to bed on time. Tomorrow is a big day!
The next morning we all slept late and then went to go drive the bike route, do athlete check-in, and get the boys signed up for the iron kids race.
The hotel was right beside this paved path that runs (I don't even know how far) through the town and at least partly around the lake. The city did not disappoint! It was beautiful and everything I thought it would be. I could live there but only in the summers. Way too cold and snowy!
Well after thunderstorm interrupted sleep we got up, ate, packed up, and got on the road by 8:30. We knew it was going to be a long day but we've driven longer before so we were ready. What we weren't ready for is the engine light to come on and spending almost 2 hours at a Honda dealership getting it looked at. All was ok, it had something to do with the eco mode and it overheating.
While we were at the dealership we took the opportunity to do some walking lunges, inchworms, push-up, tricep dips, and sprints. Justin also laid in the grass so I could stretch him. You know, just your typical things to do while you wait!
After the long, unexpected stop we got on the road again. We didn't make it to the hotel until after midnight!! It was a very long day but we made it.
Day 2 we drove from Sioux City to Spearfish, SD. Along the way we stopped at the Badlands, joking along the way that we were having a bad day and that I was having a bad birthday!!
Random dude as we drove by the entrance.
We got out of the car and took a small walk to see the sights.
Family selfie!
Will wanted to take some pictures. He took some really great ones and some with his finger in them too!
Not sure what happened here!
Posing for a picture and it turned out really good!
After driving through the Badlands we stopped at Wall Drug for a doughnut and ice water.
Then it was on to Mt Rushmore. We didn't stay long as the day was running out and we still had to get to our campsite and set up the tent.
After leaving Mt Rushmore was drove though Bear Country USA. It was really neat and we saw all kinds of animals really close. It was similar to the Lazy 5 Ranch near Grandma and Grandpa's house.
After seeing the animals I enjoyed my birthday dinner at Panera and then we headed to Spearfish to set up for the night. Justin was wanting to just sleep under the stars but Caroline and I just went ahead and set up the tent. It turned out to be a good thing too as a huge thunderstorm rolled though in the middle of the night!
