Nashville with Kathy and Bob!

Photo credit to Kathy and John

Toward the end of September we drove to Tennessee for another go-round at the Big Dog race, and we were very excited that Kathy and Bob came down to spend a few days in Nashville with us.  We always have a great time with them!

The theme this time was "public art", highlighted by a Boy Scout catfish - for some reason?  Bob even wore a similar colored shirt for the occasion:

Very nice autumn-inspired floral arrangement:

On brand for this city:

It was great fun demonstrating all the things our truck can do, including the logo accent lights (random but cool):

Bob got a look at the controls for a couple drives before taking over as our driver - thank you Bob!  :)

We love spending time with Bob and Kathy!

The Rivian fit right in at the Lane Motor Museum parking garage, with plenty of interesting old and new ways to get around:

Ready to take the racecar around the track:

Look out, no one's driving this thing!

We really enjoyed roaming around the museum - I had no idea there have been this many types of cars in the world throughout the years:

All colors and methods of entry:

And lengths and styles:

Interactive street art, as we were on our way to an awesome live music show:

We took an entertaining and informative tour of the Hatch Print Shop, including the chance to print our own little posters, super cool:

A favorite poster:

Getting a glimpse inside the shop, including little yogurt cups that have been repurposed as ink holders:

Dolly's star, with the "Batman" building in the background:

Apparently these treats are local favorites, and you can have them custom-made, so of course we stopped to try them (and yes, they are yummy):

Willie will tell you your fortune in exchange for a small tip:

Posing with Loretta Lynn not long before she died - rather crazy timing:

It's a tall mural, after all:

Creative public art is such fun:

We popped into the library to look for the seed catalog and found a really nice (and air conditioned) space:

You can borrow seeds, plant them in your garden, and then harvest more seeds to return at the end of the season.  Such an interesting idea!

We're not quite certain what Third Man Records is all about, but it sure is a curious place to see:

We went to The Graduate Hotel to see the Dolly Parton statue on the roof (we caught a glimpse from the top of the elevator) and were also impressed with the Minnie Pearl wall hanging in the lobby:

A short rest break from all the wanderings:

Kathy took a really nice picture of the wall art at the hotel:

Yay for big and little wall wings!

When the biscuit restaurant was unexpectedly closed, we pivoted to a "make your own pancakes" breakfast spot - something new and fun!

Indeed:

We braved an escape room, something new for Kathy and Bob, hoping we could at least have some fun and get partway through with just 4 of us.  The Nashville-themed room was great, and we surprised ourselves by figuring it all out:

That led to "more please!" and a really interesting jungle plane crash experience, one of the most creative escape rooms we have done.  Yay for puzzle solving with friends!

Every once in a while we pull Tug-E into a gas station... to wash the windshield.  Thank you for cleaning it off, Bob!

A wonderful balloon mural with an actual basket you can climb into:

There happened to be a Banksy exhibition for a couple days, and even if we hadn't been on an art kick at the time we most certainly would be here.  Someone had gathered a bunch of Banksy pieces and put them on display in a warehouse.  Street art on the walls, a phone booth sinking into the floor, and bananas hanging from the ceiling:

Iconic Banksy:

Throw flowers, not grenades:

And the other end of the extension cord running to the hanging bananas, too funny:

And finally, a picture that makes me smile, in our AirBnB where I was working on race gear in the loft - hello Kath, come on up!

Nashville with friends, another great highlight of the year!

PTL start and last France post

It was the final few days of our excellent trip to Chamonix last August.  We were joined by our friend Bryan who was also going to run (and finish) the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc, hello Bryan!

There are a bunch of races leading up to the big event, and we were most curious about the Petite Trotte a Leon (PTL).  It's the only one run in teams and partially off-trail.  Total length is over 300 km and the teams have all week to complete it.

So we hopped on the bus into town on Monday to watch the start.  That's Bryan in the white hat:

PTL runners gathered for the final countdown:

They will be following a GPS track and written instructions, but no course markings along the way:

Hey, there's John Sharp!  We had no idea he would be doing the PTL.  Always fun to unexpectedly run into someone you know.  Have a great trek in the mountains, y'all!

And they are off, with their helmets and loaded packs (and I thought my UTMB pack was heavy):

Starting up the street toward the first hill climb:

John and John exchange greetings and encouragement:

Later that day, John (my version) went over to the first pitstop of the PTL to cheer everyone on:

We braved the crowds at the race expo, did a little sock shopping, probably should have tried on various shoes (since there are so many European options), and didn't see any orienteering gear at Silva (I guess they sell other stuff as well).

One thing we did find was a wonderful electric car from Dacia called the Spring:

It's the most basic EV we have come across, perfect for anyone who wants to pay less and doesn't need anything fancy.  We could really use a model like this in the US:

I agree with the bumper sticker:

John went up the hill to watch parapente launches.  We had tried to set up flights while Robyn and the gang were here, but the weather never quite cooperated during the times we were available.  Next time!

Back to St Gervais one last time.  John had decided to do the via ferrata course, so we found a gear rental shop and then descended to the bottom of the gorge.  It really is quite a stunning and remarkable place to climb around on the walls:

The first half is in a great spot for taking pictures from the trail:

Into the sunshine... and an example of one of many places where you have to lean back a little to hang onto the wall:

At least there are a bunch of hand and foot holds.  John's making great progress:

Another picture of the pretty waterfalls for good measure:

You're doing great!  I'll just be over here:

John in his happy place:

Eventually the rest of the course disappears from view (at least without following along on the airy route), so I hiked up and around to the road bridge.  Mostly I still couldn't see anything, except one long traverse where I got lucky to snap this picture:

I thought that was in the final "very difficult" section, but it turned out that there was still another, harder part remaining.  John decided that was enough work for his arms and popped out before attempting that one.

Via Ferrata Man returns triumphant!

It was time for me to focus on gathering my race gear and resting up.  John wanted to hike up to a spot we had seen from afar, so he ventured up the hill to "La Jonction" between the Bossons and Taconnaz glaciers.  What a place to see some glaciers up close!

So much snow and ice in interesting formations:

And a view high above the valley:

You have to wonder how these things happen:

Thank you for the fun photos, John!

Well, that's the end of the France story (except the UTMB race, of course, as previously reported in a more timely manner).  It was an amazing 3-week adventure and a highlight of the year.