Christmas Stroll

This year, a group of us decided to go caroling. Where can one carol in Gardiner, MT? The bars. What now? Yes, the bars. And it was so much fun. Luckily, it was a fairly warm year (in the teens) so we were able to walk from the Rail to the Town. We hit the grocery store and a coworker's house on the way. Then on to the Two Bit, the Town, the gas station, and the Blue Goose. Some bars were more appreciative than others (a free round of drinks, a bartender that sang along, and the gift of $100. We tried to explain that we weren't fundraising, but it got pressed on me anyway. Congratulations to the Gardiner Food Bank).
I think we got a lot of folks interested for next year and I even got to share the fun evening with my parents!

Christmas Caroling

Work Christmas Party

Fun with moulage

Walking to Book Club in a Snow Storm? Check!

Turkey Trot

A morning with folks at the Turkey Trot. Dinner at Allie's in Livingston and then another dinner at Candace and Amy's. Never try to do a progressive dinner on Thanksgiving. Just doesn't work.

Pub Crawl/Run

One of my more fun ideas. Why not combine a night run with a pub crawl? We started by running down to the Rail and having a drink. Then up to the 2-Bit. Angie and I ran around the Triangle while everyone else headed to the Town. Last stop? The Goose. Definitely an idea to try again.

Halloween!

Work food

Dressed for handing out candy success

Sam's ready to help with treats

Unless it gets too cold

Or she gets too sleepy

Not going to work today...

September 14 attempt to ride to Mark's

So, the night before, Heidi and I decided to take a mini-ride and went to the Lighthouse (14 mile round-trip). Instead of eating dinner, we just ordered a bunch of appetizers and had our friends join us. 

We made it!

Delicious garlic bread

 So, I wake up at 5:30 to make sure Sam gets walked and fed. And it's raining. Not particularly cold, but definitely wet. So I called Heidi. After some discussion, we agreed that it would probably clear up and we should just go for it. And it wasn't that bad... as long as we were moving. But then, in the canyon, about 13 miles in, my tire went flat.

Sad Face

It's really so sad

 But, luckily, Heidi not only had a patch kit, she knew how to use it.

Yay, team!

I can haz tire?

 And we once again hit the road. We even waved to our friends Trudy and Emily (our support crew) who honked at us on their way to volunteer further down the valley. But then... the same tire went flat. No more patches. No spares. It was time to call it a day. So, at mile 18, I started walking back toward a friend's house and Heidi rode her bike down because we could only fit one in Emily's car.

Eh, at least we tried.

 It ended up being an absolutely fabulous day filled with Wildflour Bakery food, Mark's In and Out, Farmer's Marketing, and shopping.

Pics from San Fran/Napa