“All journeys have secret destinations which the traveler is unaware.” – Martin Buber
It’s amazing how time away really makes you appreciate home that much more. Chad, Marcus and I set out on a wild road trip Wednesday May 3 to celebrate chads 45. This trip has bestowed us with some of the most wonderful memories we could ask for! Thank you to all the coaches… James, Joel, Jentry, Briana, Karen, Michelle, Carrie, we could not have done this trip without you!!! You are the FREAKING BEST COACHES IN THE WORLD!
I’m really looking forward to seeing all of you next week, and want to let you know that YOU are the reason we have the freedom to do these crazy things, and YOU are the inspiration for so much of what we do. Thank you from the bottom of our road trippin’ hearts. We truly appreciate the community we have and love you guys all so much!
So, to honor you all, I have chronicled our trip by day. Its a long post, so you may just want to scroll the photos. We posted vids on our insta and FB too in case you haven’t seen them. Theres a cool vid of Old Faithful on the FB link, and you can see more spartan on the insta.
Our road trip took 12 days: Alamo, CA —> Ontario OR 1 night—>Big Fork MT 3 nights—> Lake Mary Ronan MT 3 nights—>West Jellystone 1 night —> Salt Lake City 1 night—>South Lake Tahoe 2 nights —>Alamo CA
The first night we drove to Ontario Oregon, the half way stop on our way to Montana. I wanted to avoid the extra time to Boise, but if I could do it again, we would have stayed in Boise because Ontario was not what I expected. The Red Lion Inn was not only under construction, but it was pretty gross. Our room had a lovely view of the back alley behind home depot. But, we did have a refrigerator in the room, and when you travel as vegans that is critical (we bring a lot of food with us).
We unpacked all of our stuff from the car because the parking lot seemed a little seedy. Then we decided to take Marcus on a little walk on the field behind Home Depot before heading to bed. Within the first few steps he was walking strangely, so I stopped and picked up his paw. Turns out this field was all stickers. He must have had 15 in each paw, and our shoes were covered. So, not the best start, but we press on knowing it will only get better!
The next morning we woke early, packed and went straight to coffee at Dutch Brothers which was GREAT! Then, we headed to Montana via the eastern side of Idaho, which was truly breathtaking.
Along the eastern side of idaho and the Salmon River for 100 miles!
From Idaho we headed to Missoula, where we stopped at GOOD FOOD, the best grocery store on EARTH! Then, we headed to Big Fork where the Spartan Beast awaited us!
Montana means Mountain, and yeah, we get it! They are HUGE!
The second third and fourth night we stayed near Big Fork at a little place called the Swan Cottage. It was quaint, took dogs, and very convenient to our Spartan Race in Big Fork while still secluded. It had a dog run out back too! We saw a few mule deer on the property which is always nice.
Then WE RACED! This was the pinnacle, the reason for the road trip. Chad turned 45 last month, what better gift to give a man than a trip to Montana to do the Spartan Beast?
Michael doing Michael 🙂
Chad killing the rotating bars!
Me doing monkey business!
Team Gumsaba!
After the Beast, Chad and I went home to get Marcus, ate, celebrated with a shower, and came back to see Michael off to his 4 hour Hurricane Heat Endurance Event!
After finishing the Hurricane Heat, Michael headed back to his hotel, got a few hours of sleep, and then came back to the race venue to volunteer at 5:30 am, THEN ran the Sprint!
Michael is the good kind of CRAZY!
Meanwhile, Chad, Marcus and I took off for 3 LAZY days at Lake Mary Ronan. We slept, ate, walked, took hot tub, rescued frogs, watched deer, and played lots of horseshoes on this AMAZING property. This cabin is INCREDIBLE. We HIGHLY recommend it!
There was a TP in the yard!
Chad playing horseshoes, me sitting on the deck watching/photoging. 
little frogs I rescued from the hot tub. SOOO CUUTE!
When in doubt, mimosas and horseshoes!
On the way from Flathead to Missoula there is an animal crossing bridge! These should be everywhere!!!
Next we left for Jellystone. On the way we stopped again at GOOD FOOD for more fuel and started the 5 hour drive. We arrived at 4pm, so we were able to get in an evening and one half day. SO AWESOME!
Baby and mommy, right next to our car! 
The evening we got there we had to wait for the herd to cross!
We didn’t even see these guys at first. They were napping. 🙂 
Rock on planet earth, your prismatic pools are UNREAL!
Full moon over Jellystone.
After a half day of gawking at mother natures creations, we set off for Salt Lake. Neither of us have ever seen the great Salt Lake, so we picked a 4 star hotel and treated ourselves to a mile walk with Marcus to pick up vegan dinner at the Vertical Diner. We needed it after all the driving, and the drive ahead!
Marcus doing the 4 star thing.
Yesterday we did the 8 hour drive from SLC to Tahoe. Im well known for watching videos while chad drives, but I actually did my fair share of driving this time. So grateful to Sue Sasson for her cabin here as all 3 of us have had just about enough of the car for a couple days!
Salt flats and water along the WINDY ride!
I love lake Tahoe, but after several hours in the car, I don’t think Ive ever been this happy to see it!
Thanks again for who you are, the loving, supportive community we create together is truly remarkable. To the adventures of old, of today, and that have yet to pass…
🙂 Coach M, Chad, and Marcus Aurelius.