Running with Mountain Ninjas (a.k.a. date night in Blanding)

Last Saturday Bill and I decided to utilize Reese’s babysitting skills and go on a real date. The problem with date night in Blanding is that the options are severely limited. You can go to the one movie that’s playing, or maybe stop by one of the few restaurants in town, none of which are known for their five star cuisine. Not very enticing, so we decided to take a more unconventional route and take advantage of the one area Blanding excels in: outdoor recreation. We started by stopping at Subway to pick up some subs for later, then drove up to the mountain. We stopped at a trail near Dry Wash Reservoir and, having no idea where the pathway would take us, started running. Both Bill and I have logged plenty of miles running on the road (although not so much lately), but trail running was a new experience for us. It was a challenge, but we both loved it. Fortunately the trail looped around and ended back where we started after about a mile and half, so we turned around and ran it again in the opposite direction. At one point we were going up a steep hill, so of course Bill was way ahead of me. When he reached the top of the hill he froze and indicated for me to be quiet. I assumed he had caught sight of a deer or elk or something, but no…I reached the top of the hill to find that most elusive of woodland creatures: a teenage boy with a ninja sword. It was the most random thing I’ve ever seen! We have no idea what he was doing there, but he seemed to be in his own little world. I don’t think he even knew we were there (although his super Ninja senses really should have tipped him off). After a minute or two of ninja watching, we finished up the run. I really enjoyed trail running. Running on a softer surface seemed to help a little with the knee pain that has plaqued me since my marathon, so hopefully I can trail run more often.

Refueling after the run

After the run we went over to the reservoir and climbed onto a floating raft that’s always docked there. We drifted around, ate our dinner, did some swimming, and generally just enjoyed being together. It was so peaceful and beautiful! I think we could have stayed there for hours, but we both had to get home and prepare lessons for church the next day. The whole evening was incredible though. Definitely one of our best date nights ever!

Floating on the raft. I think that's Bill's patented Marine Corps tough guy look.

The view from the raft. So pretty!