10/26/2015
As the final steps of stage 3 crept closer, I was given the privilege to glimpse various geographic phenomena. The landscape threw a bit of everything my way like an obstacle course designed to test the body’s performance on all terrain. On my journey to Ritzville I found myself on rocky back roads and plenty of flat land. The road curved in a couple places but I didn’t need to stay aware of turns. I didn’t realize I was running into the wheat belt. All the rock formations disappeared and gave way to fields as far as the eye could see. I could feel the cold of winter creeping into my days. The urgency to cover more ground nagged. In the back of my mind, the thought of high mileage days through forests, at elevation, in the cold, was like a flashing signal. The constant thought pushed me five miles past my destination of the Best Western Bronco Inn in Ritzville.
The manager of the Taco Del Mar restaurant was a young girl named Amanda. Crystal and I both thought that we would be having dinner in the trailer when we heard the manager tell us that she couldn’t authorize a meal donation. But as luck would have it, this young girl was sympathetic to our cause and she bought us dinner for the evening. It was a humbling experience.
We settled into our room where the colors were patriotic and the furnishings were western. I had grabbed a couple of cookies from the lobby. The chocolatey treat put me into a very relaxed mood. I just wanted to soak in a tub and mentally prepare for the upcoming forty mile run.
I ate plenty of hash browns at breakfast to provide me with the carbs I needed to power my day. The taste of potatoes seemed to always provide me with a boost. I added extra firepower to my day by charging my old ipod. I had one extremely straight road to travel. There wouldn’t be a twist or turn for forty miles. We checked out at the very last minute to maximize the amount of rest for my body.
The music began to pump and I found myself running on hill after hill. Every mile was up then down. I hit over a dozen hills on the way to Moses Lake. The golden blond hills had a calming effect. My feet moved with the beat and it felt like the music carried me all the way to the very end of the road. I ran past a couple factories on the way into the town. I couldn’t place the scent of their product. It smelled like a mixture of oil, rubber, and dead animal. The sun had been setting earlier as the degrees plunged downward. We were lucky to find ourselves hosted by the Ameristay Hotel. That evening Dominoes Pizza had donated a large veggie pizza. Crystal only wanted one slice. I devoured the garlic flavored crust and the hearty vegetables piece by piece. I had burned thousands of calories on my way to town and I had to replenish my nutrients.
I woke up to a sky blanketed by grey. Little speckles of rain fell as I ran through a rough part of town. Little mutts snarled, showed their teeth and chased me down the street. I didn’t hear any barking over my music so I initially thought they were playing with me. Eventually I reached a point where I could see Lake Moses from above. The view was calming but the weather continued its threats. I was a dozen miles out of town when Crystal pulled over to see if I was hungry. My stomach was having a conversation with me and it was definitely happy to hear Crystal’s voice. While we dined on a pot of hot chili the sound of precipitation grew more intense. Despite another high mileage day, I decided to nap for twenty minutes to try and wait out the rain.
There was one small town on my route to Quincy. My surroundings looked like the Arizona desert. Just like when we ran through the desert, we found ourselves without accommodations. It looked very dark without street lights. The road took me to an abandoned service station in the center of town. Our string of warm nights would be broken. Crystal and I scoured the trailer for every last blanket and got cozy. I remained motionless to keep from letting any heat escape.
The sun made an appearance the next day. Just a little warmth made my run much more pleasant. The ever changing landscape shifted into fruit bearing orchards on this day. I climbed a couple miles of hills and hit a patch of road next to a crescent shaped lake. Once I peaked, wonderful rock formations kept me company. A few apple farms sprouted as I descended the back side of the hill. As the ground leveled out, apple orchards were everywhere. Occasionally a pear orchard broke up the pattern. I hit a trail next to the Columbia River and it took me into Wenatchee. It took me to a restaurant called Wok About. There we ate a sweet and spicy Mongolian creation. It all ended when we set our bags down in our room at the Holiday Inn Express. We had Julie from Spokane to thank for the evening without icicles. We were less than a week away from the end of the third stage. Where did the time go? 
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