After leaving our wonderful accommodations at the Shilo Inn Resorts in Idaho Falls this morning, we headed out west on route 26 into stiff headwinds and cold, damp weather. Some of the runners had to buy waterproof windbreakers before leaving town in order to run comfortably in the very unusual weather today. We are still at a high elevation of over 5000 feet but the air is much colder and damper than it has been lately.

We ran on relatively flat terrain on roads so straight you could see the service vehicle waiting over a mile ahead as we ran west along the Snake River Valley. This area is a vast volcanic landscape formed by millions of years of hot magma cauldrons reaching the surface and redesigning the landscape about every 2000 years. According to the documentary that some of us watched at the Visitor’s Center at Craters of the Moon National Monument later in the afternoon, it is around this time that the next predicted hot magma flow is about due. After seeing that, we made sure we ran through there as quickly as possible. Anja (not pictured below) from Germany describes her experiences running there:

“Today we ran through a landscape which was quite unusual. It was called the `Craters of the Moon`. Everywhere there was black lavastone and mountains without trees, just a little green. Sometimes it felt like the lava is still moving and the stone is crackling. The land was vast and at the horizon you could see snow capped mountains, the Rocky Mountains.

“`Headwind` was our companion the whole day. You feel like you have to use double the energy to fight against the strong wind. All the open land lets the wind play its games with us. It is really cold in comparison to the weather we had just a few days ago. I can easily wear long sleeves and long pants these days.

“Tonight we stay in Ketchum, a very nice little dynamic city at the feet of the Rocky Mountains. Hiking, climbing, biking, skiing and rafting seem to fill people’s free time.

This area and the landscape around here are very similar to Austria and Switzerland.

It is nice to have a change of nature, fresh mountain air and temperatures good for running, although I also liked the South a lot.”

Ketchum is a bit off of our route and we had to drive about 20 miles north to get there. But it was worth every extra mile and the time spent traveling there.

We were hosted by both the Best Western Tyrolean Lodge

and the Tamarack Inn tonight. They both are very clean and pleasant places to stay and were very hospitable to us.

Looking for a place to have dinner, we were so happy to find Rico’s Pizza and Richard ‘Rico’ Albright who so kindly offered us a wonderful meal for the men’s team.

Later we joined the women’s team at Akasha Organic Foods in the Chapter One Bookstore on Main St. in Ketchum. Ananda, the owner and main chef who serves fresh, organic raw foods, was so gracious and generous to us in many ways. Darrin and Brenda also served us with such love and affection that we immediately felt at home in this very spiritual and healthy environment. We also were happy to meet Cheryll at the Chapter One Books who was very open and kind to us.

After dinner, we were invited to Ananda’s home nearby to see his spiritual sculptures and share some experiences there. Peter Mowat, a friend and neighbor, and Lisa Menna, a professional magician who lives next door, were very gracious to us as well. Lisa even performed some magic for Damon and Salil. It was difficult to leave our new friends, but as always, we had to get back to our accommodations and work on tomorrow’s schedule as well as update this website with today’s experiences.

It is a fast moving, dynamic lifestyle out here as we travel 100 miles a day with Torch in hand and Harmony in our hearts. All the people we meet, and even those who may acknowledge us without meeting us, all help to keep us hopeful that all the efforts that are going into making this World Harmony Run successful and fruitful are worth every moment. We are always grateful to you all, as well as those who offer encouragement virtually here on the website. We read your harmonemails with enthusiasm and joy and cannot wait to receive the next ones. Thank you very much………..

Team Harmony

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