Nothing says "Wyoming" Like a Cajun Shrimp Boil

I knew I forgot something. I forgot the little thingy that connects my camera to the computer, so I can't post any pictures until I get home. I might not get a chance to blog again until late Sunday or even Monday, so I will add the pictures then, and give you a full marathon report. (UPDATE: I have now added some pictures!)

It is 3:30 am, and I have to be at the bus in Green River at 5:15, to ride to the start line. I called a week in advance, but still could not get a hotel room in Green River, so we are staying 12 miles away in Rock Springs. That is a bummer, because my daughter will have to get up early, too. If I had gotten a room in town, I could walk to the bus!



We arrived in Green River last night in time to pick up my packet and get in line for the Cajun Shrimp Boil. Yup, that was the strangest pre-race pasta meal I've ever had ~ there was no pasta. Just a lot of shrimp, potatoes, and corn on the cob. And some really good beers on tap to choose from! They are having a festival all weekend in Green River, and the marathon is only a small part of it.

There was an art contest.

In this area of Wyoming, there are a lot of wild horses roaming around. Two of these horses were up for adoption at the festival.

We sat on the grass and ate our shrimp. It was on "Expedition Island," so named because this is where John Wesley Powell and his men set off in 1869 to explore the Green and Colorado Rivers (including the Grand Canyon) for the first time. They went through many hardships and dangers during the three-month venture. Powell had lost one of his arms during the Civil War, and was a geology professor in Illinois before this important expedition.

There was a band ~ they played a wide variety of music, and they were pretty good. The woman on the left has a washboard strapped to her.

[I have heard from my mom, and they didn't do the lumbar procedure yet ~ they attempted to, but it didn't work, so they are going to wait until the specialist can be there. My mother has normal pressure hydrocephalus, and we expect she will have a "spinal tap" today, and later on, probably surgical implantation of a shunt. (That will be the more involved procedure). We just found out this diagnosis, and are relieved, because it explains the difficulties she's been having in recent years, and now those difficulties can be addressed. Until yesterday, she had told me the diagnosis was "encephalitis," and I was confused, because when I read about that ailment, it didn't quite match her situation. I'm glad it's this instead! This sounds more treatable!]

The marathon is going to be unlike any I have ever done ~ it is out in the middle of nowhere, at high altitude, and I might see wild horses. The course is a big plateau ~ the first 5 miles go steeply uphill, and then it's rolling hills. Starting at mile 18 or so, it goes downhill, and the elevation chart makes it look like a sharp drop. Maybe I'll just jump the last part! I don't know what to expect, but I don't think it's going to be easy. I'm sure to have a 6-hour or even close to 7-hour finishing time for this one, because it is on the heels of those other two marathons. I will walk as much as I need to!

Then, the drive. 13 hours home ~ my daughter can do some of the driving, and that's a big help! There is a time zone change not in our favor, so I think the driving part will be harder than the marathon.