Getting "High" in Flagstaff

As you guys well know, for the past few years, we've run the Ragnar Trail relay with a good group of most of our closest buddies.  We've done McDowell (the local AZ race) several times, and one year, we even ventured out to California, to complete Los Coyotes (#neveragain).  We decided to take the show on the road for 2019, and in early June, we'll run the Ragnar Trail in Snowmass, Colorado, just outside of Aspen.

In case you're not familiar with it, Colorado has crazy amounts of mountains, and they are rather tall.  Accordingly, the elevation profile for this race is bananas.  We'll probably die of altitude sickness, or at least have fun getting all woozy from it.  In an effort to train at altitude and somewhat mitigate this issue, about half the team headed to Flagstaff in late February, for a long weekend of trail running and hanging out with our respective fur-kiddos.  Flagstaff's elevation is about the same as Snowmass, plus it had the added advantage of being only about two hours from home.  Score!

We took Friday off from work, so after our shift ended on Thursday afternoon, we threw the maniac in the car and headed north.

Let's go to Flag!

We made it to our Airbnb house around 6:30, and very shortly thereafter, Bryan and Jen joined us with Bogey and Bronx, their two labs (they'd arrived prior to us, but they were out doing some last minute grocery shopping).  Zoe was more than stoked to see everyone, and she and Bronx had a good time tearing around the house all weekend, knocking each other over.

Thank goodness labs are such patient dogs.

This little terrier was a pain all weekend.

The house Bryan and Jen found on Airbnb was fantastic - three bedrooms with two bathrooms, a massive, incredibly well-stocked kitchen (we all assumed it would not be as well stocked as it was, so we collected a total of four bottles of olive oil by the time the weekend ended), and a great yard for the kids to roam around in.  It was also really close to Mount Elden and its trailheads, which was great for trail running, hiking, and taking the kiddos for strolls.

Since it was getting close to dark, we fired up the grill and made dinner, letting the dogs romp around us while we visited.

Dog pile!

I love Bogey's face in this shot -

"she's here again."

Friday morning dawned chilly and a bit windy, but not nearly as bad as the weekend prior, when Flag received about a foot of snow.  Thankfully, it didn't actively snow during our visit, but there was still some hanging around on the ground.  The kid and I headed for the backyard to see how she'd take it - turns out, she had a great time romping through the white stuff!

"Mom, what is this business?"

The great Airbnb

"Can I go outside again?"

We took this trip during the time we were living

in the Bro-partment, so she was really

missing her backyard in the LBC.

We did a short trail run on Friday morning, up and around Fatman's Loop, which Toni and I had hiked a few years prior on our trip to Flag.  The melting snow made it a slushy mess in several spots, but the views were still great.

Pausing for a quick breather

Jen and Bogey

From the top of the loop

We all got cleaned up and spent the rest of the day chilling at the house, taking the kiddos out mid-afternoon for a hike and romp in the snow.  Score another win for the location of the Airbnb house; it was only a 1/4 mile through the neighborhood to get to yet another trailhead!

Strolling along

These boys are so well trained!

The ears!

They kill me!

That is a doubtful dog look.

She must take after her mother.

So graceful.

We hung out a bit more, then headed out in the early evening to meet Tara and Ryan at Brix, a great spot for a nice dinner in downtown.  While they couldn't take off from work on Friday, we were stoked they'd be hanging out with us starting that evening.  Dinner was great, per Brix's normal, and we met them back at the house for after-dinner drinks and chatting on the sofa.

Saturday dawned rather dismal; it was gray and lightly raining, so we didn't do too much on the trails, but we did make sure to get the dogs out a few times to burn off their excess energy.

Chris, Jen, Bryan, and I did some shopping downtown and ate lunch at Beaver Street Brewing, but we made it back to the house in time for a nap before dinner.  For their part, Tara and Ryan were nearby, at the Snowbowl ski resort, hanging out with their family and enjoying one last day on the mountain.

Action shot!

We reconvened that evening for some awesome pork shoulder nachos, the meat prepared by Jen and Bryan in the slow cooker.  After that, it was another night of hanging around, having a few drinks, and telling fun stories.

Sunday was a nicer day, so a few of us got in some quick jogs/dog walks before we all packed up and headed home.  

Now that is a lot of laundry!

Before we left, we ate a great breakfast courtesy of Tara and Ryan, and we got a picture of the entire gang on the back porch:

We had such a fun weekend with everyone, and I think we all slept well from the activities for the next few nights.  Some of us started that rest on the way home:

Sacked out monkeys!

Later!

Amy