The Great Solar Eclipse of 2017 crossed the continent, from Oregon to South Carolina, and gave millions of people the chance to witness one of the most awe-inspiring events in the natural world.

But you had to be within the "path of totality", a narrow band across the earth's surface several thousand miles long but only about 70 miles wide. Outside that band you would only see a partial eclipse, not a total eclipse.

And there is no such thing as a "partial total eclipse", despite the impression blogs and the news media might give. I honestly think that's why so many people misunderstand the utter beauty of the spectacle; they may have seen a partial eclipse in the past that was total somewhere else, and even though they weren't in the path the news kept gushing about it being a total eclipse, so they assume they must have seen a total eclipse and just didn't find it all that impressive.


Posted by Dan 08/29/2017, revised 09/06/2017

The 2012 race season opened with Wildflower, in central California. A good excuse for a west coast visit, and the perfect opportunity for us to celebrate the awesomeness of the number Three. Three sports, three kids - we got to share the race, and everyone knows sharing is what siblings do best.

Now in its 30th year, Wildflower has a reputation for being a tough course with a competitive field, but is also known as the 'Woodstock of Triathlon,' with its live bands and the tradition of camping and partying.

The grounds are a packed, sprawling city of tents, coolers full of beer, and high end bicycles leaned casually against every upright surface. For a community known for its obsessive training regimen, meticulous planning, and a sadistic desire to subject themselves to prolonged discomfort - this laid back, party atmosphere seemed incongruous...

But there it was.

It took us awhile to locate a patch of land to claim as ours. There aren't proper campsites mapped out, so people have squeezed themselves in anywhere and everywhere. The scene reminded me of an overcrowded Florida beach during tourist season.

Down in the festival area, bands played, vendors sold GIANT TURKEY LEGS and ice cream - it was like a carnival.

The Naked Run is a Saturday tradition, a celebratory romp for those who had finished the Long Course race that afternoon. We heard the cheers approaching around dusk, and from the campground, herds of clothed people dashed for the road, "the Naked Run is coming!" We gathered roadside to cheer on all those hearty individuals with fresh sunburns and tanlines that ended mid-thigh, for whom 13.1 miles was simply not enough.

Cinco De Mayo revelry continued through the evening as a full moon shone so bright we didn't even need a lantern. If the Sunday Short Course athletes were concerned about being well-rested that night, they certainly never spoke up about it. Note to self: next time, earplugs!!

Sunday morning was pretty low key for us relay types. A lot of standing around, chatting up the competition, waiting...

Relays were the last wave to start, so naturally Nik and Whitney were going to have to spend a lot of time passing people on the bike and run.

My swim was great, the water was perfect, and before I knew it, my work was done. Nik has done the bike portion of the relay before, so he knew what to expect. But this was Whitney's first 10K - her first timed race of any kind, actually (we don't count "running" the Bay to Breakers dressed as a panda in a beer helmet). She tore up my Wildflower run record, coming in almost a minute faster than I did in 2008.

Nik and I joined Whitney in the finish chute so the three of us could finish as a team. It's pretty fun sprinting the Finish when you didn't actually run the 6.1 miles that came before it!

We ended up on the podium, placing 2nd in the Open Mixed Relay, 3rd Overall Relay (of 72 teams). Goodells Rule!

Posted by kim 06/09/2012, revised 06/20/2012

It was immediately apparent that the $25 30 day visa in Indonesia was not long enough so we made an executive decision to stay for 31 days for a mere $20 extra. While in Sumatra we took a night boat to the remote Mentawai Islands south of Padang. There we stayed with a local Mentawai family and enjoyed jungle trekking and experienced traditional Mentawai medicine man rituals. It became apparent why all the medicine men are all so thin and wiry; the rituals go through the night and involve singing, chanting and dancing until you collapse from exhaustion. Then you repeat.

Mentawai medicine man dancing away evil spirits

Posted by nik 02/06/2009, revised 02/24/2009

Thank you everyone for all the letters and cards and mail you've been sending! I truly appreciate each and every one. Every time something shows up in the mailbox with my name on it, I grab it and run off excitedly to my room to give my full attention to my new treasure, like a squirrel running off to my tree with my prized acorn. Now that I think about it, I haven't seen any squirrels around here. Do they exist in Australia?

Anyway, I love hearing from all of you back home, whether it's via snail mail or email. Thanks for keeping in touch! I get more mail now than I ever have before, it's great! I think my roommates are thoroughly envious. They can tell that I have awesome friends and family!

On a side note, I got Neil's pictures from the Blues Fest, so I've added more pictures to that album.

Posted by Whitney 04/01/2008