We left the campsite in Prescott and made our way to the Grand Canyon — my first time ever. I know I know- it’s insane it’s taken me this long to get here. What matters is that I made it ;) And since last fall I’ve been saying I would come here this spring to run the rim2rim or if I was really in run shape, I’d do R2R2R.

(The morning breakfast and yoga before relocating ….):

As it turns out - I’m not in that kind of run shape, so I’m dropping down in and then coming back up. Without a driver on the north end to pick me up I can’t just run south to north rim. However my friend Danny - the reason I am here- he’s doing the full r2r2r … down angel across the bottom to north rim then back to south rim up Kaibab and then back to our campsite —he’ll have over 50 miles in tomorrow.

And because he reserved a campsite awhile back for his big run, here I am. Thanks to Danny I’m finally seeing and running some of the Grand Canyon. Thankful once again for this van making its way into my life opening up these new possibilities for me. ⭐️

Today we settled into the campsite (um hello mister elk!) then took the bikes to visit the drop in at Angel and the run up and out at Kaibab.

And then we had a feast at our campsite.

Danny crawled into his tent super early since he’s getting up at 3am to be running by 430am. 🏕 🏃 😴

Tonight … as the entire campground winds down and it grows quiet out there, I am maximizing the time by using my hotspot to check emails on my laptop. …Because it IS a weekday after all and inboxes never sleep. 📥

Today’s wins:

Today marked my fourth day since I’d properly showered and washed my hair. I was so excited for the campground showers and got here to find them closed due to covid. So badly needing to wash my hair, I used a cycling water bottle and some shampoo and mannnnnnnnn did that feel amazing !!! Clean wet hair. Wow. I felt like a new woman. It truly is the little things out here. 🧼

Speaking of the little things … so far I’ve put 2 tanks of fuel in, I’ve paid $14/night for 2 nights at the Prescott campsite, I grabbed some water & snacks at Natural Grocers today and then I bought a National Parks pass at the gate today ($80/year - the GC entrance fee was $35 so that was a no brainer). Life in the van, in parks, spending the days outdoors running, riding, doing yoga … it’s a pretty inexpensive and super gratifying way to live. Simplicity at its best.
🙏🏼 I’m so grateful and thankful to be out here. I’m excited to run & recon some of the rim tomorrow — however far my legs decide to take me ! 🚀

Oh and for logistics- we are staying at the Mather campground. It’s pretty densely packed with spots, you don’t get much room away from your neighbor, but the restrooms are nice and clean and you can’t beat $18/night! A bike /walking path takes you easily from here to the trail heads on both the west (angel) or east (Kaibab).

Ok so the big run day… first, coffee & breakfast !

Danny and I both had successful endeavors ! I ran down Bright Angel from our campsite and went about 6.5 miles towards the bottom, past Indian Garden, and then turned around and came back up. The down was much harder on me than the run up! It was around 4 hours for me and about a half marathon distance — more than I’ve run in a while! And NOT a fast pace. When I say run- it was more of a walk/jog/hike. It was an amazing experience. I carried a ton of water with me and stayed on top of hydration the entire time. I also brought snacks and ate them all.
In a nutshell- this run/hike was Much MUCH harder than I expected. I cannot imagine running rim to rim let alone coming back again.

Danny had a huge & successful day- he started around 420am & ran into our campground a little after 5pm tonight — his watch tells the story of this amazing feat, check out those stats ! At some point he posted a 6:44min mile today too-! He looked fresh as a daisy, incredible how NOT exhausted he seemed. Ramsey hopped into his lap when he sat down- I’m sure that didn’t feel great on tired quads !

Overall this has been a GREAT trip full of fun, new places, people & experiences. Sooo thankful. 🙏🏼 🚐 🏃‍♀️ 🐶 🚲 🌳 🏕 🏔

This 🚐 trip kicks off with a lovely dose of #americana - some ball sports, some lively hockey, some bike racing, kids running around, the requisite amount of dirt and dust, loads of campers and RVs, ample 🇺🇸 flying and one helleva sunset ... 🌅 I took the @canonusa out to capture all the feels. #sunsetvibes🌅 💕

Life these days offers glimpses of normalcy and it feels really *really* good. 🙏🏼

Also can I get an amen for @dippindots ?! I haven’t had these in probably 20 years. What a treat. 😋.

Ok so where are we? We’re in a large sports complex park in Prescott, AZ. Here for a mountain bike race, I’m experiencing for the first time this parking lot-event style camping vibe.
This wouldn’t be my top vanlife venue choice on a regular basis …but for this event and experience it’s totally fine. This location boasts temps a full 20-25 degrees than in Phoenix so we’re enjoying the nice cool evening temps and the escape from the big-city-heat.

Pros: restrooms close by, lots of friendly humans around, safe.
Cons: all the humans. And pavement.

Saturday’s race went GREAT! I actually warmed up for this race and implemented lessons I learned in March’s bike race … and took the win! I raced women intermediate 40-49, won my age group.
More importantly I felt great - I executed food, warmup and race strategies. I hit the opening stretch and hole shot into the first climb, at the front, and it paid off. I got more and more comfortable with the fast & flowy portions of the course as the race went along. We raced at noon so I did some yoga and a walk beforehand. Not normally things I’d do pre race but I wanted to keep my face out of my phone as I sat there nervously waiting for my start :)

One of the race organizers shown above- Les- was so kind. The young gal Pictured -Cat-was the one in front of me I could never quite close in on. She races NCAA triathlon for ASU. She’s 20 years younger than me. The girl who finished right behind me was 18. You have to love a spot that allows women of all ages to closely compete and root one another on ! I highly recommend the MBAA events. This was mY first and I’ll definitely be back it was great !

As I chatted with Cat at the finish I met her friends including a guy named Jason from Bend OR. I mentioned the campsites I was considering for the evening and he gave me some great recommendations as he’d been camping in Prescott for over two weeks. Thankfully we had this convo as the place I planned to camp was full (so many are not doing online reservations only First come First serve). So I moved to the spot Jason had recommended and he was right — it is amazing !!! We were super lucky to snag the last spot.

Once Ramsey and I got settled in we went out for a short hike. There are so many trails right here ! She is such a patient photo subject ;)

Some quick dinner (eggs, Tomato, guac, grapes- a little Bit of everything from the fridge) and some CBD drops and soda to recover from the day and wind down … and then it was time for some evening yoga and star gazing before bed.

Sunday morning we awoke to the best sights and sounds: quiet. And big trees. The kind of stillness and peace we really can only find in nature and these big trees surrounding us make it even more magical. Our Campsite is nice and big, With ample room for me to throw the ball for Ramsey and for her to walk around and explore. There are birds all around us. It’s delightful. 🐦
I made some coffee, oatmeal, got out my journal (and yeah my 👩‍💻 too) and soaked in the special vibes of this place. I paid to stay a second night since I’m liking it so much. (I usually wait till after night 1 to decide, to be sure my gut has a good vibe about the spot).

I highly recommend this place If you’re ever in the area. It’s west of Prescott and we’re at close to 6000 feet elevation so it’s nice and cool here. I use the Recreation.gov app to scout spots like This- some even have a QR code so you can use a CC to pay for your campsite (otherwise it’s always cash or check).
again though- many are only doing FF right now and not allowing online reservations.

Pros of this site: great cell signal so I was able to use my hotspot to work on my 👨‍💻; sites are spaced apart so you have lots of room to move and privacy; great tree cover and lots of trails nearby.
Cons: the ATV crowd riding through the campground BRAAAAAAPPPPing. 🤦‍♀️

…the other spot nearby I had planned to stay was the Yavapai campground.
It was full but we got to see some cool stuff on the drive, like this overlook :

Then, as these things often go, I connected with Cat, Jason and their crew and we went out for a fun and chill mtn bike ride on the trail system near my campground. Jason is a professional photographer and he brought his camera along and snapped shots of us on the ride and “sessioning” certain tech sections. It was so fun to be part of a totally random group ride. I’ve missed this so much- being out in the world meeting people like this.

Jason’s professional pics below. Find him at Photo 13 Media.

Post ride, Ramsey and I went for a nice long run up here in the woods. It feels like Colorado … and if I’m being honest, I think we’re both a bit homesick. ;)

And then it was time for our second night in the woods and yoga on the forest floor —Delightful… 🙏🏼

“The key to unlocking the power of the forest is in the five senses. Let nature enter through your ears, eyes, nose, mouth, hands and feet. Listen to the birds singing and the breeze rustling in the leaves of the trees. Look at the different greens of the trees and the sunlight filtering through the branches. Smell the fragrance of the forest and breathe in the natural aromatherapy of phytoncides. Taste the freshness of the air as you take deep breaths. Place your hands on the trunk of a tree. Dip your fingers or toes in a stream. Lie on the ground. Drink in the flavor of the forest and release your sense of joy and calm. This is your sixth sense, a state of mind. Now you have connected with nature. You have crossed the bridge to happiness.”

— https://time.com/5259602/japanese-forest-bathing

The Grand Canyon & Rim Run Recon

Prescott AZ- racing & forest-bathing 🌳