Mossy Road Run

Now and then there’s a break, but for much of the way I ran on a carpet of moss growing along the side of the road. A little faded from its normal deep green because it has been dry for a few days here, but it is nevertheless a  spongy-soft and blissful running surface—for old feet—or for any feet.

I had no idea where I was headed as I turned off Copper Bay Cut-off, a dirt road, onto the main road heading north alongside Priest Lake in Idaho. It turned out to be a dream run, pleasantly cool, starting just before 7 a.m. on this last day of June.

How I got lucky enough to be here, I’m not entirely sure. It has to do with my son who lives in Tokyo who brought three Japanese friends and colleagues to northern Idaho on a golfing vacation. We are all staying in a spectacular, four-level home overlooking the lake, owned by another ex-pat whose family has summered on Priest Lake for more than a century. He has a long-term love affair going with the place.

I’m not a golfer which means that the long afternoons/early evenings are 100% free time for me to do as I please from reading, napping, taking an icy dip in the lake to scribbling a bit.

My Mickey Mouse running watch being out of order, I gauge my morning run by the mile markers. A couple of them seem to be missing which makes my run a bit longer than intended and me especially grateful for the mossy track.

I think it takes getting away from familiar surroundings and tasks to wholly appreciate free—really and truly free—time with no deadlines, real or imagined—bugging you.

When the golfers return, we pile into the motorboat for a trip down the lake to a waterside restaurant. There’s a late evening sunset to awe us on the trip home.

Life IS good. An experience like this makes me want to take every chance I get to hit the road.