Return to the Scene of the Crime

A weekend trip to Jessica and Aaron’s wedding brought me hauntingly close to the Western States starting line and the view of the Sierra Nevada Mountains from the east, and the thin high desert air stirred up a fair bit of regret.  But first, it’s strange the things that spontaneously incite an emotional reaction.  I was on a quick morning run in Yreka, CA with Jeanne’s son Mitchell and dashed into a MacDonalds for bathroom break, and was confronted with this.

Van Gogh's Starry Night in a MacDonalds Bathroom in Yreka CA.

While fighting back a sudden rush of tears, I thought of the now very poignant line from Don McLean’s song Vincent, “but I could have told you Vincent, this world was never meant for one as beautiful as you”.

Running in the hills around Carson City NV was very cathartic, I couldn’t help but think about Western States and what went wrong.  I also spent a good amount of time thinking about getting back to Squaw Valley.  I also just enjoyed a landscape very different from where I live and run.

View South from the Jack C. Davis Observatory

Ash Creek Canyon

Ash Creek