A Reflection

This year has been an incredible year full of firsts, mending, and great adventures.
I thought I'd write a post to share a bit of a reflection on some of the highlights of this year.

GOING BACK TO SCHOOL
This was a huge thing for me to quit my jobs and put the company I own on hold to go back and finish my goal and finally get my degree.

I am only one semester done, but I worked hard and stuck with it. So much so that I pulled off straight A's and have a 4.0. I know, crazy! I'm still shocked I was able to pull that off! I am really enjoying the experience and I am actually learning quite a bit too, go figure, LOL
I am so much so enjoying my 3-week break right now, but I am also looking forward to a couple of weeks when my next semester begins!

BLOGGING NOT SO MUCH
So years ago (2011), yes I have had this blog for longer than some stick with blogging. I set a goal to always post at least once a week, and try to mostly maintain a 2-3 post a week schedule.
I have for the most part kept to that since 2012, well that was until this year.
Blogging had to take a back burner, and even though it was hard at times (like an addiction) I had to force myself to work on other priorities than the blog itself.

However, I thankfully have not let it go. I still actually live (well eat) off the income my blog and social media accounts provide me with. Yup, that is how I am paying for my meals these days, LOL
I've seen many great blogging friends come and go through the years. Sadly more go than keep it up. It always saddens me when bloggers have to leave entirely especially when I have enjoyed their blogs so much. But I get it, life should always come first.
I am not ready to let this blog go, while you may see less of me, I am going to continue to figure out ways to keep it up!

FINALLY HEALED
Anyone who's read my blog over the (almost) past four years may know a little of what I have been going through. With the tendon injuries I acquired from a work injury back in January 2013. It's been years of mending and recovery, physical therapy, setbacks, flare-ups and other injuries because of the injured tendons. I won't go into more details on that, but I am happy to announce it appears I have nearly 100% recovered from this work injury!
What did it?
Changing my lifestyle entirely, my routines pretty much everything when I quit my jobs, moved away and went back to school that is what healed me.
It may sound funny, but it's true that is actually what did it, what helped me finish healing and the reason I am able to get back to being so active and running and enjoying an adventurous lifestyle again!
For that I will always be thankful for the idea to go back to school and change my lifestyle entirely, it fixed what no amount of doctors or PT could!

READING
I set a Goodreads goal to read 52 novels this year. Earlier this year I was way ahead of schedule and I love to read so I was sure I'd hit it and then some.
Yeah, not so much. I will probably finish a couple books shy of my goal. I'm halfway through book 49 right now.
But I've read over 18,000 pages this year, and that is in part to many of the books being heck of long, LOL So I won't hit the 52 book goal, but pagewise I well outdid even last years pages.

ADVENTURE
Last spring my sister and I set out on a fun adventure to hike so many of the trails that we haven't done that were only 20-30 minutes from our front doors. While we didn't do as many as we would have liked, (she got pregnant, LOL) We did do many and had a lot of fun seeing the different trails along the Wasatch Mountains.
I also summited Butterfield Peak this year, that was something I have wanted to do for a while, heck of a climb and I did it sick too, LOL
I continued with those adventures when I moved south, I have thoroughly enjoyed hiking and getting out and enjoying the desert again.

RUNNING
Well, I only ran 1 race this year and it 5k that I decided to do last minute, so I don't really count it as getting back into racing since distance running is more my thing. But it was fun to be in a race again even if I did only run it for fun not to race.

I had to pull out of the fall marathon I entered because I wasn't trained well enough for it, I volunteered instead. I learned volunteers are awesome and there is a big difference between a participant and a volunteer and rarely they are mixed much. Most volunteers have zero desire to run and think runners are inspiring but insane.  I'm not much of a volunteer, I'm a participant and there is nothing wrong with that!

However, I did build up a great base as I've been getting back into it. I've really enjoyed running new trails and places in the new area I live.

What this year has taught me is this. I don't have to run a race to enjoy running. I don't have to get a medal to feel accomplishment and success. Those things can be great, but when you run purely because you just love it and your goals are subject to whatever mood your in that day when you put on the shoes and head out the door. There is almost even more gratification than any pronounced finish line can give me.
I will eventually get back to marathons, don't get me wrong I absolutely love the thrill of them. But until then I am thankful for this opportunity to learn and get to know myself better, to train just to train for fun, to run any distance I want because I want to, not because I have to. It's been interesting and I'm glad I had to experience this!

Well, I've had a fantastic year, and I've only shared 6 of the subjects with you. I can tell you this, I cannot wait for 2017, it's going to be epic in so many ways both little and big!


What is your favorite memory or reflection of 2016?

Parasail Adventures in the Bahamas

This week for Travel Tuesday I am going to take you on an adventure. One that if you don't have a fear of heights, I would highly recommend you try yourself one day.

While I went Parasailing in the Bahamas, you can actually do this at many coastal destinations, even some lakes have parasailing.

Although it is relatively safe, there is some risk. I remembered seeing a news report a while back, that parasailing companies in the U.S. have to follow strict regulations, while others around the world do not follow those same safety guidelines.  So when choosing where and when to do it, that is something to keep in mind.

Pretty much anyone can do it, there is no skill involved. If you can wear a harness and follow simple instructions about where you should or shouldn't put your hands while taking off and landing, then you can go.

It's a lot of fun, it's not one of those adrenaline rush thrills, as it's a bit tamer on the adventure scale. But it is still fun, and worth trying at least once. My friend that came with me, she was afraid of heights, but she did it anyway and had a lot of fun too.

FUN STORY

I mentioned above it is relatively safe.  Which it is, but I want to tell you my funny almost not so safe story about this particular trip.

I had paid to go once, but the guy in charge had a little crush on me. So when I landed he unhooked my friend and told me I got to go again.  Which I was totally excited about! (Hey, it pays to be a single girl sometimes:) ha ha.)

This other gal, a total stranger was hooked up next to me and up we went. My friend stayed back and took a few pictures.

We were to be the last parasail on that boat trip out, and the driver and guides per my friend were talking to her and everyone there having fun letting us stay up a bit longer. When all of a sudden out of nowhere what they call a smaller rouge wave came up and the boat driver didn't see it in time.

He had to make a quick hard left and turned the boat almost around to miss the wave, so the boat wouldn't get flipped.  Now if you have parasailed before or are a water skier, or at least understand the part about the boat needing to have the rope tight to do the pulling work and keep ya up part. Then you can probably visualize what happened next.

Yup, we were plummeting and despite being hooked to a parachute of sorts, myself and the gal next to me were coming down fast.  

I quickly realized something was happening (because obviously we didn't feel or see the wave.) But a glance below seeing that the guides were working frantically to reel in the rope as fast as absolutely possible. That and the fact that it was perfectly obvious the boat turned directions quickly.

You know how you always wonder how you will react during crazy times, I mean you hope you will be calm, but you never know. Well luckily I am a calm reactor to things, the gal next to me, not so much.

I turned to her remember telling her to calm down, and relax because there was a good chance if they couldn't get the line in below we were going to hit the water pretty hard. I told her we might be under second or two but we will be okay, but since we were hooked together if the chute landed on us, we would have to swim together to get out from under it. I do remember telling her many times, relax and enjoy the thrill she might actually have an adventure story to go home with.

I vaguely remember her throwing up, LOL

Well luckily, they got the rope tight just in time. In fact the picture you see below where we were close to the water is us. We didn't hit, but were were about 4 feet from the water before the boat and rope caught up and was tight again. 

My friend on the boat took this picture for me, so I would have a picture to highlight my almost parasailing accident, LOL  She said it was pretty exciting watching it all happen.

If you're wondering, the guy on the boat laughing, was laughing because he thought me and the other gal were going under. Glad to know of their concern, LOL

Anyhow, that is my fun parasail story. Don't let it discourage you from going, stuff like that happening is pretty rare. Rare things seem to always happen to me, I swear I am like prone to them, if you've read my blog over the past few years, you've probably picked up on that odd fact too.  LOL

Click to Tweet and Share a Little Twitter Love

Check out why parasailing should be one of your next adventures @runwybridlplanr http://goo.gl/tpuIXz #traveltuesday

(Sorry about the picture quality, these were taken with one of those waterproof Kodak cameras.)

Have you been parasailing before?

Is this something you want to try sometime?

Joshua Tree National Park

One of the things I love about America is visiting different National Parks.  This week, I am going to take you on the Travel Tuesday post, that actually started it all for me, and made Travel Tuesday's a thing on my blog for the past several years.  After this post, others asked me to share more about where I have been, and so I decided to start taking all my readers along on my trips, well virtually of course:)

I love the heat, I lived in St. George, Utah for a while and days in the 100+ and nights that sometimes if your lucky in the summer cool down to around 90 degree's is fine for me.  I still enjoy running, hiking and playing no matter the climate.  But the key to being able to stay active and enjoy the heat is making sure you are always fully hydrated!

I will say, if my foot wasn't injured I would have been standing on top of that
little boulder mountain for a picture:)  

Joshua Tree National Park, is located in Southern California and although I know most probably hit up this little gem in the spring, fall and winter.  I decided to hit it up in the hotter than hot month of July.  On the particular day I snapped these shots, it was only about 100 degrees out, so I was lucky because it could have been hotter.

This is Skull Rock

Not only a great place for adults, but kids will love this place.  So many fun rock formations for their little imaginations to run wild.

Maybe because I am from Utah and I have lived and hiked around deserts my entire life, but I find there is so much beauty in the desert if you look for it.  This National Park has beautiful large cactus and large bouldering rock formations and beautiful vista views.

The beginning of one of the trails, hiked around for a beautiful view on the other side

I am a little bit of a nerd in my mind, when I am out hiking I like to think about the geology and the reason that things formed the way they did, when they did to look the way they do now.

There are actually several hiking trails in this park, some are even short enough for the kids and the whole family.  But you will definitely want to bring PLENTY of water!

I love cactus too, I don't know why I always have.  Odd fact about me, when I was younger I raised cactus terrariums instead of regular ones like other kids did, LOL

This is the view from Key's View - You can look out and see the Mountains of Mexico
in the far distance, as well as Palm Springs in the valley below.

Don't you love how big these cactus tree's grow.
The tallest in the park is about 40 feet tall.  These are what gave the park it's name.

Again if the foot wasn't injured I'd of been on top of this one too for a picture:)

Okay, so if you look really really hard, you can see me up on top of one of the boulders.

The picture doesn't make them look very big, but take my 5 foot size and compare it to the rock

next to me and you get the idea, they are bigger than they look:)

I am like a kid and I can't resist climbing a big rock:)

You can call me weird, for liking the desert, but I loved this photo for some reason!

There is camping in this National Park, or nearby.  This is a park, you can easily see and do a lot in one day, and it's not too far of a drive from San Diego, we drove there after for the night.

One of the hikes to an old mill and dried up lake:)

I had a great time on this trip.  We had driven from Utah, so headed down through Las Vegas (hitting 122 degree's at the hottest), we stayed near Las Vegas for 1 night.
Then the next morning drove through the Mojave Desert in California and into Joshua Tree National Park for a day.


Have you visited Joshua Tree National Park before?
Tell me about some of your National Park adventures.

Travel and Adventure Awaits

I want to welcome all my new visitors from the Grow Your Blog Hop.  One thing you should know about me, besides being a runner.  I love adventure, exploration, hiking, camping and enjoy taking my camera along for the ride. Each Tuesday is Travel Tuesday on my blog, where I showcase a different place I have visited, hikes taken or adventurous location.

I have over 60+ travel destinations already posted which you can view HERE.
Today, instead of picking a new place to show, and since many of you may be new visitors.
I thought I would take today, to not only introduce you a little to my adventurous side.  But show you some of my favorites over the past few years and you can pick which you'd like to read about!

If they look interesting, your more than welcome to click on the links and view all the details as well as all the pictures that come with them!

SHARK DIVING

Shark Diving has been one of those things that will probably be on my top 10 favorite things done forever. One thing about me, I can be fearless.  I crave adventure and all that comes with it!
Being down in the water surrounded by sharks, is magical, to watch and see their beauty.  I've been into sharks my entire life, but when I visited the North Shore of Oahu and headed out early one morning to swim with these magnificent creatures, I can't help but love them more.  This is one of those things, I hope to get to do again in the future.  Want to learn more, see more pictures or the details of my diving trip?  Visit this page HERE.

HALEAKALA NATIONAL PARK

This is one of those things, that gives an entire new meaning to wanting to get up before the crack of dawn.  Depending on the time of year, when visiting Maui, you may have to get up at 3am to make the drive up to the top.  Yes, it's Hawaii, but it will be freezing, in fact sometimes it even snows up here. Yes, it DOES snow in Hawaii, did you know that?
But it's worth the early hour and the freezing temps, because when the sun starts lighting up the clouds and they appear as if they are being lit on fire one after one.  Its a vision of beauty I seriously will never forget!  More pictures and details can be found HERE.

MT. MCKINLEY (DENALI) AND GLACIAL LANDING

This one, is probably my favorite adventure EVER!!!  There is no way I can tell you or show you pictures to do it justice.  Taking a plane and flying low in and around the magnificent peaks of this part of Alaska, will literally take your breath away, it is amazing! The glaciers, the sights and then landing the plane up above 12,000 feet on a glacier that is itself moving and changing each day.
The term, it is so quiet it is loud, is really only experienced in a place like this where it's just you and nothing else living for miles and miles around.  You can view more pictures and the details of the trip HERE.

AVALANCHE LAKE 

GLACIER NATIONAL PARK

Love to hike like me?  This is one hike that I recommend for the morning hours, as the sun and mountain setting when you arrive is just picturesque.  Montana has some beautiful country and Glacier National Park is really a hikers paradise.  One tip, the earlier your out hiking in a National Park, the greater your chances of getting to see wildlife!  Want to see more pictures and info on this hike, you can find them HERE.

MUIR WOODS

This beautiful gem, is such a short drive from San Francisco not to far from the famous Golden Gate Bridge itself, yet a lot of visitors don't even realize it is there.  I can't help but just be in awe of the size of these giant Sequoia beauties!  See more details and pictures HERE.

GO SKY DIVING

You could probably guess, but yes this is also going to go down as one of my all time favorites! This is one of those things, that if you are an adventure seeker and thrill lover like myself you just have to do this at least once in your life.
Free falling for over a minute playing around flying through the sky, so beautiful and such a thrill.  If you want to read more and see more pictures visit HERE.

KENAI FJORDS NATIONAL PARK

Most of this National Park can only be seen or possible to get by by boat.  I was amazed at how green and lush a lot of the islands in this area were.  At one point we had to cut the engine on the boat, as over 60 wild Orca wales were swimming and jumping and playing all around us.
With a microphone dropped into the water, we just sat in silence watched them play and listened to their songs.  A few hours later, we were surrounded by nearly 40 humpback whales, lost count of how many sea lions and other wildlife we saw.  Eventually we made our way up into the coastal glacial areas.  We were the first boat that spring to break into the ice in the turquoise icy waters. Eventually right up to a glacier where I was able to witness glacial calving chunks the size of houses cracked and roared through us like thunder as they broke off.  And those were just a few things witnessed on this nearly 11 hour day of touring the seas and park.  More pictures and info HERE.

UTAH'S WASATCH MOUNTAINS

Utah is another one of those states that is a hikers paradise.  There are so many places to go and see that not only can one like myself never get bored.  We have some gorgeous mountains, especially for those who like to climb.  This is one of the local favorites, hiking up to Blanche Lake.  More pictures and info HERE.

SWIM WITH STINGRAYS

Although I am a mountain girl, I do love the ocean and the wildlife in it.  This is one of those adventures I took, and at the time had no idea that it was not exactly safe to try and catch a stingray and let it take me for a ride. (Not even kidding:)  I had a great time though, and it's probably better I didn't know that they have barbs that can shoot through you.  Yes, I was naive enough to think that it just stung you if the tail touches you:)  Wiser now, but I would do it again, you can read more HERE.

DEAD HORSE POINT UTAH

Utah is a beautiful state, and I am not just saying that because I live here.  We really do have one of the more diversely scenic states there is.  Dead Horse Point is probably one of the most photographed vista's, but if you get a chance to stop by and visit yourself, you will not be disappointed!  More pictures and details HERE.

WHITE WATER RAFTING - COLORADO RIVER

Love a thrill? Love adventure? Love scenery and fun?  If you haven't guessed, I sure as heck do! White water river rafting down the Colorado River has all of it and then some. If you've been river rafting before, I hate to say it but rafting out west is an experience that you really can't get in other parts of the country. Take a group, hire an experienced guide and go for the ride of your life.  More pictures and details HERE.

ARCHES NATIONAL PARK

Arches National Park is seriously one of the more incredible parks to see in America.  Delicate Arch is one of my favorite hikes to take when I visit, I have probably done this one a few dozen times.  If your a runner, you can even take a run up to the Arch, and get a killer hill trail workout in!  See more pictures and hike details HERE.

And these are just a very small few of the fabulous places you can see on this blog!

If you like traveling, exploration and adventure

You will likely enjoy stopping by my blog on Tuesdays.

Share a little Twitter Love, Click to Tweet

Do you love travel, exploration and adventure? Then you will want to stop by and check out @runwybridlplanr http://goo.gl/vh8DWN

Since this is the day to give new visitors a preview into what I blog about, here is what else you can get if you are interested in following me and seeing more!

Me Monday's - Quick re-cap of my week and going on's.
Whatever Wednesday - If I blog the topic could be weddings, books or whatever:)
First Thursday of the month, this year I am running topics to help grow or monetize your blog.
Running Thursday's, are for posts and subjects related to running.
Usually on Friday's I am at events, but if I am free I try to join up in Fitness Friday link ups or fitness posts.

If you like my blog, 

I would love it if you'd stop by again sometime!

What is your favorite vacation/hike or adventure you have been on?
Have you been to, or done any of the above mentioned?


If you're a blogger and not signed up with Disqus, please feel free to leave a link to your blog if you comment.  So I can find you and come visit your blog too!

Adventures in Ziplining

Last week I had the opportunity to go ziplining.  However, this wasn't your normal zipline that you hear about, we did not get to walk or ride up the mountain to get to the top.  We had in my opinion more adventure getting to the zipline than we did even riding it down.  This week for Travel Tuesday, I'd like to tell you about my Adventure's in Ziplining.

Technically, we did hike a little ways to get to the portion of the mountain that the actual zipline was positioned.
I should mention, this is actually a privately owned zipline in the northern Utah mountains, so it's not open to the public.  Because of that, I will not be mentioning it's exact location.

I did go with a group of youth that I was a camp leader for, we had 9 youth in our group. Our youngest girl was almost 12 and our oldest was 18.  Some of them had done this before, others this was their first time.

This was actually my first time.

I was watching a group go before us, and I have to say they took forever.  Some even took 5-10 minutes just to get up. I know some appeared afraid of heights and a few froze half way up and had to be talked through to continue which is why some took so long.

But, I don't know if it was because our girls were highly motivated, because they decided they wanted to compete with each other to see how fast they could get up. Or the fact that they were all pretty active/athletic.  But let's just say, our fastest girl made it up in 19 seconds, and most made it up under a minute. Seriously, these girls were awesome and fast, I was totally impressed!

Which is why as the leaders started, I knew I wasn't going to be able to make it up in under 20 seconds, but I definitely didn't want to take 5 minutes!
I had no idea if my tendon was even going to allow me to do it, but I wasn't going to pass up the opportunity. I have gotten good at protecting the tendon and I figured it I used my arms to pull me when it was my right legs turn to push up, it would all work out, and it did! I also had a theory the faster I went, the better my muscles would be and not get shaky!

So what all did I do?

FIRST, we got to climb a 30 foot wood pole.

Of course we put on a harness first, but the rest of it was all up to us. One person at a time made the climb, while everyone else watched.

Not going to lie, I have never climbed a wooden (telephone like) pole before, and even more I haven't ever tried to climb up on medal pegs that were only about 3 inches long.
As you got higher up, the medal pegs changed into about 2 inch U shaped pegs.

First half of the pegs to climb on the right
last half of pegs to climb on right
The U shaped ones were so much easier to grip with my sweaty hands:)

How long did it take me to climb the 30 (ish) foot wooden pole?  Well not sure exactly, I didn't have anyone clock me with a stop watch, but one of the girls said she thought it was about 30-40 seconds. I felt like I went up pretty fast, so I agree with that time.

I did not want to fall, and anytime I felt my sweaty hand slipping a tad, I just reached for the next. I only paused for a second on one of the pegs, about half way up.
Because it was higher than I was tall enough to reach (sometimes, being 5,4 has its disadvantages:).

So when I got to it, I had to put my left foot on a peg, and then lean to my right just slightly and give it a little jump and grab the peg above with my left hand, and then I was able to pull myself up enough to keep going at the pace I had been.
(Loved that by the way, I felt super tough for not falling:)

Once I got to the top of the pole, I got to step out onto my next adventure.

So, SECOND, we got to climb out onto a single rope that was stretched between the forest tree's and walk across the forest on this rope, while balancing and only holding on with one hand at a time.

This was another first for me, I have never walked across a rope that was 30 feet up in the air, with only my own balance to get me across. We walked across the tree tops, for about 25 (ish) feet.

(Our harness, was hooked onto a rope above us, that we couldn't reach but if we did fall, there was a guy below belaying us so we would be caught.)

I had only heard of one gal falling that day, and I did NOT want to be the second girl to fall:) That would have wounded my pride way too much, ha ha.

Once we got out on the rope, we actually had to turn around. Which was the hardest part in my opinion. But luckily we were still next to the pole, so we had that to hold onto.

Once we were turned around, I had to let go of the pole and reach out for a single rope that was hanging to my right about 4 feet from me. Which meant balancing on the rope for a few steps without falling before I could grab it and use it for help.

There was a single rope hanging about every 5 (ish) feet, so in other words you really just had one rope to hang onto at a time.
Once you get your balance, I found it to be pretty easy. I found moving faster walking on the single rope was easier than taking smaller steps.
I saw some really never get the hang of it, and it was quite shaky the entire time.

Thankfully, I did not fall, and this was so much fun! I have never done anything like this.
Clearly if you've read my blog and adventures, you know I do not have any problem with heights.
Truthfully the only thing I was afraid of, was being the one to fall, ha ha. But let me tell you, I would and did give it my all so that wasn't even a possibility!
No way was that going to happen, whenever I do something new. The back of my mind is always saying just relax, stay calm and make it look effortless and definitely make sure it doesn't look like I am a beginner, so that is what I did!

FYI, I crossed the 25 ft rope in under 15 seconds.  Not quite as fast as some of the girls, but not to shabby:)

THIRD, was the zipline.

Once we made our way across the single rope bridge near the forest tree tops. We arrived on a small platform.  Where a gal, unhooked our harness from the belay line, and put us on the zipline.

Talk about small world, guess who was the gal waiting to switch hooks and of course cheer us on and motivate all the girls to get up.  An old friend of mine from my childhood.
In fact, in our early teen years we had gone to camps like this together too.  We chatted for a minute, and then I turned and stepped off the platform.

The zipline was a good one.  You went a bit down the mountain trail, whooshing through the forest and then as you got to the end, it caught and your weight and momentum sent you back up the line a ways.
After you slowed a bit, a guy would grab us, and pull as down the hill a bit to a guy with a ladder. I climbed to the top of the ladder and they unhooked me, and then once down the ladder, they handed me back the line and I got to run/walk it back all the way up to be ready for the next person to use.

MY LAST THOUGHTS:

It was about 90 degree's out that morning as we did this, so it was a hot wait. I think my hands would have been less sweaty if it had been a tad cooler, but guess they weren't so bad to not get the job done:)

Most ziplines you won't actually get to do the pole climb or rope walk, per what I have heard or experienced in the past.
But if you ever do get the chance, I highly recommend it, as in some ways those two things were far more adrenaline filled than the zipline itself, for me at least

Although this one is far more unique as to getting to the top, it is not one of the longest rides in the country.  But that's okay, I didn't have to shell out big bucks like most ziplines cost.  In fact, I got to do this for free:)  Guess, it's one payoff of donating my time as a youth camp leader:)

Would I do it again?  Heck ya, and if I do it again next year,  I am definitely going to try to make it up the pole and across the rope in under 30 seconds. I mean hey, if 11-18 year olds can do it in 19-60 seconds.  Clearly I can do it in under 30, right:)  ha ha!!