So ... the weekend is going to be packed. After eating and showering and a quick nap, it was time to head to Natural Bridges Cavern. I had talked to the Musician about walking a 5K with me. It's a trail in the dark at the caverns during the holidays. What could go wrong? We need to spend time together. Just a leisurely 3 mile stroll. Now, remember, I may have low grade chronic injuries, but he is having a difficult recovery from a big knee injury earlier in the year. We talked about it, but decided we weren't signing up until day of ... just in case.
So, we drove out and signed up. I didn't have enough INKnBURN holiday kits for the whole weekend, but I was feeling a little steampunk.
It's kitschy, right? The Musician went out and bought us Santa hats for the evening, so steampunk Santa? Registration and packet pick-up went easy. Included in registration is a ticket to Caverns entrance in the future. Nice perk. We went to the car and set up our bibs and headlamps.
Then we waited for the start. We got to explore the grounds a bit while we waited. I do like it here. The Grinch was out and about causing havoc, too.
Some race announcements were made and the sky was getting darker and the temperature was dropping as we headed out. The course quickly turned onto trail and it got dark. Good thing for headlamps. During the 3.1 miles, we passed many lighted displays.
Sometimes I ran ahead, sometimes I lagged behind. We chatted with other back of the packers who were also going a leisurely walk-pace. We joked about what was lurking in the darkness, but saw no eyes glowing in the dark staring past us. I loved the peacefulness of it all. Too soon, we were back on the main grounds and it was festive. The tree was lit up and music was playing. The lights on the tree changed colors throughout the songs. Holiday cookies and hot cocoa were being served. We picked out our own medals made of geode slices.
But, since it's an early morning for me ... we headed out quick. I put on my jammies and fell asleep almost immediately.
