Run 013 - Ironwood 1

January 20, 2023

I decided to go out to the western edge of the city limits and start knocking off the streets in the Ironwood subdivision.  I mapped it out and it works well as two separate runs, a 5-miler and a 3-miler.  I tackled the 5-miler today.  Here’s the planning map:

When I got out there I decided to park in one of the space at Ironwood Park which is in the center of the map.  Then I headed east and did those uphill out and backs,  Some of the scenery:

Outside the main Ironwood neighborhood is a big mansion that was in the news quite a bit some years ago because of its size, followed by the story of the owner, criminal behaviors, bankruptcy, and all kinds of other drama.  It’s in its own gated area:

North of it is a smaller one, maybe the butler’s quarters.

The street actually boring.  The sidewalks ain a green belts behind them and after some distance all the house look the same.  They obvious have some rules to live by here.

About halfway through the run I took a detour of a block or two and went back to the car to shed a layer of clothing, actually just my vest, gloves, and change to a lighter hat.  I was well warmed up by this point.

I was back to the roundabout just inside the subdivision.

And I continued on to the entrance on Molt Road.

I headed back with the map telling me to turn on Woodfield Drive and do the loop on Ridge Stone Drive.  When I got there, I noticed this sign.

There is a gate and it was open so what do I do?  Is it really “Private” or did they just put up a sign to discourage runners from looping through?  Since I’d already put it on my map and didn’t want top edit it later, I ran the loop.  Nice view from one end.

When I got around that curve I was glad I’d come this way since contractors working on a house had a conveniently placed Porta-potty out front.

I went back out on the main road and stopped to take a photo of what one of the maps labeled “Ironwood Seasonal Sledding Hill.”  It’s a pretty small hill.

I went back through the roundabout, just past the sign indicating that I was under video surveillance.  I guess so.  Nothing says “America” like 4 video cameras on the flagpole. 

I cruised through some more streets and came to the end of the road where they are getting ready to expand.

I tucked into a short street and grabbed a panoramic looking towards Phipps Park.

What remains is about 5 or 6 out and backs, all on hills.  Some views along the way.

I arrived back at my car and was almost tempted to get the other half of the subdivision but I hadn’t brought the route map so it will have to wait for another day.  

Here are some stats:

And a treat since you’ve read this far, a video overview of the run.

Run 012 - YRR and CCB

January 18, 2023

It’s Wednesday and since it’s the third one of the month the Yellowstone Rim Runners have their run from the Canyon Creek Brewery.  Rather that draw up a map, I decided to run the regular route with a small modification.  It’s a figure-eight course with 2-mile and 3-loops and the brewery in the center.  The change I made was in the 2-mile loop where, instead of coming back on the bike trail behind the businesses on the north side of Gabel Road, we ran on Gabel so I could count the road.  It only took a fraction of distance on the overall route.  It was a good run with Marlena, Margo, and Shelley.

Run 011 - Hospitals and North Park

January 17, 2023

It’s a Tuesday so I run with Jerry and he is accommodating enough to run one of these mapped runs rather that one of our usuals.  The plan today was to do some clean up on some of the streets leftover from last week’s run to finish up the roads around the hospitals and then start working on the area around North Park.  It’s a beautiful day and just perfect running weather at 41 degrees.

Here’s the planning map:

It does have a nice looking design.

On most Tuesday runs I take a picture of Jerry running in front of me, usually on the hairpin turn on Myers Trail but since weren’t on that I forgot about it.  However, I did take a few shots along the way:

The one above might look like a plain street photo but that is paint on the street next to North Park.  It’s part of a public art project and I held out rolling some of the paint on the street last summer.

Below is a photo of one of a group of four trail runners we saw below the rims.

And the stats:

Run 010 - Downer, Bridger, MacDonald

January 16, 2023

This morning started off with snow that was followed by a little rain.  Weird for the dead middle of January.  I’d made a map yesterday and was going to go early but I waited until the precipitation stopped.

The plan was do a rather short one but to pick up a bunch of streets west of me.

I recalculated the route after I printed the map in order to pick up the side streets on Arvin so the final distance changed, however, it tends to be a bit further that the final GPS distance from my watch.

Bart the Dog and I headed out and it was quite uneventful.  Just up, down, and around quiet residential streets where we were barked at by lots of fenced-in dogs.  Here are two views from earlier in the run:

We arrived at the bottom of Beth Drive, where it intersects with Poly Drive and looked at what we had ahead: one long hill to the base of the rims.

When we got to Rimrock Rd. I needed to stop and shed a layer as I was heating up because I had gone out overdressed.  Bart was willing to take a break.

We chugged along and arrived at the top of MacDonald with a closer look at the rims.

Around the corner we started the downhill run.  The sky is starting to clear in the south.

We got back home and Bart had his lunch and I cooled off with a glass of orange-carrot juice.

Run 009 - The Yellowstone-Clark Route

January 14, 2023

Saturday mornings are a group run with the Yellowstone Rim Runners where we leave from the YMCA at 7am and do a 6.2-mile route.  As we have several to choose from, the route varies and it’s usually decided by the group just as we head out.  While I have designed runs for my project that zig and zag to pick up all the bits and pieces of streets in a given area, that’s not the only way to cover all the streets in the city.  I figured that some runs that are more of the “out and back” variety can cover lots of streets in one direction and the cross streets can be picked up later.  That’s what I’m planning for the Saturday morning runs.  No only does it reduce the work I do prior to a run, it also doesn’t interfere with the traditional routes we do.  I can certainly pick up the missing pieces on my own.

All that said, this Saturday morning there were six of us that decided to do the Yellowstone-Clark route.  We head west from the Y, cross Division, and then head west on either Yellowstone or Clark to 22nd Street West where we head over a block to the other street for the return trip.  I particularly like this route because, even though it’s pretty straight, it avoids busy streets and has a hill or two to keep things interesting.  I had Bart the Dog with me as I usually do on Saturday morning runs and we had a good time in the mild weather.  We did take our time, covering the 6.2 miles in 1 hour and 24 mounted, about 12 minutes longer than normal.

I did take a few photos.  I brought along my Minolta 16P and finished off a roll of film I’d started the day before.  They were a bit underexposed but I cleaned them up when I scanned them.

And the stats: