New Year's Day 2010

Eight runners rang in the New Year by running north on the snowy west side urban trail. The trail was well packed from the Middle School up until we climbed above Coconino Estates. From there we simply ran the snow packed roads enjoying the spectacular views of the Peaks. We then enjoyed coffees at the Kickstand! A great kickoff for the new year! Download photos from today's run.

Fort Valley Trail System...NOT!!!!

Sara, Rhiannon, Bruce and Neil headed off into the woods with grand plans. The insanely cold air (-5 degrees) gave them delusional thoughts. Their intentions of completing the run were thwarted by the overwhelming need to go get coffee at the Kickstand. The only runner bold enough to head up the Elden Road was Sara who 30 minutes later joined us in the much friendlier confines of the Kickstand. Sara was our hero as the Saturday tradition was saved!!!! 8+ years and running!

Huckaby

19 runners and 7 dogs headed out of the frozen Flagstaff tundra to the much warmer climes of Red Rock country. Sedona Police Chief Joe Vernier even found some time to join us for the run! NATWA (Northern Arizona Trail Walker's Associations) made their presence felt with 5 runners choosing the much more pleasant pace of walking Huckaby. There once again was a bit of confusion with runners taking a short detaour from the main trail. Once back at the parking lot, Bruce made his annual collection of mistletoe and Susan shared her delicious chocolate chip brownies with the gang. We then had coffee and bagels sitting outside at the Ravenheart.
Download today's photos.

Seasoned Kitchen Pasta Making Dinner

Tony hosted NATRA's second annual Seasoned Kitchen pasta dinner. Tony and Gail prepared multi-colored salads, Dana baked gluten free browns with crushed almonds and Tony taught everyone how to make pasta. To cap off the night Tony made non-fat vanilla ice cream which perfectly complemented Dana's brownines. It was all for a great cause as we raised $140 for the Northern Arizona Food Bank. Download photos from the dinner.

Thorpe Park Urban Trail

Despite the snowy, crunchy conditions, 14 runners headed up the urban trail. Due to their injuries, David and Neil enjoyed taking photos. The runners had to work harder than the dogs this time. After the run, we ran into Brandon and Cameron at the toy store and then enjoyed coffee and Tony's blueberry chocolate chip muffins at the Seasoned Kitchen! Download photos from today's run.

Beaver Creek NATRA Polar Bear Plunge!

12 NATRA runners headed up to the Beaver Creek Pools and were entertained as Sabrina, Mark and Steve jumped into the frigid waters of Beaver Creek!



As we headed up the trail we checked on the 1000 year old petroglyphs and visited the large pueblo ruins that were abandoned about 700 years ago. Once at the pools everyone enjoyed watching Steve, Sabrina and Mark take their plunges into the pools. David and Bruce provided the heckling as Steve was the first to strip down and jump in. Following Mark's lead, Sabrina was the last to jump. See the above video. As we began our return, I overstepped onto a sandstone ledge and snapped a calf muscle. It felt like someone stabbed me with the tip of an agave plant. Quote of the day to my pal David who pointed out "well, at least you didn't injure it at the farthest point away from the trailhead!"....nope it wasn't. That was 5 feet earlier. David of course helped me hobble the 4 miles back to the trailhead keeping me entertained all the way home. Download photos from today's run!
Download Bruce Higgins' photos.

Arizona Trail - Picture Canyon

Arriving at the Sandy Seep Traihead, the 13 runners made a group decision to head south into unchartered trail country for all, the Picture Canyon Arizona Trail segment. As we headed out, our dilemma became the first trail junction sign...which way did we really need to go? Choosing the correct direction, we ran downhill through the dark culvert under Highway 89. We wondered if we might step on some tansient trying to stay warm, but we made it through the tunnel without incident. Once south of 89, the seemingly gentle terrain was easy to run. Why, because it was virtually all DOWNHILL, which meant only one thing...what goes down, must go up....ahhh...Before turning around we enjoyed the 1000 year old petroglyphs along the Rio De Flag. Thanks to the efforts of many local groups, this section of the Rio De Flag has been cleaned up and the large archaeological site along the canyon has been nominated to the National Register of Historic Places. We crossed the Rio De Flag with all the dogs enjoying a swim in the creek. We unfortunately had to turn around at some point and face the uphill climb in the soft cinders, working at least twice as hard as heading out. This is certainly a run we will incorporate regularly. We then returned to the Seasoned Kitchen for some of Tony's chocolate chip muffins and lates! Download photos from today's run.