A long time ago, in an internet galaxy far, far away I wasn’t blogging on a daily basis. But I would occasionally scribble down notes and try and send out email missives to family and friends. Those chicken scratches were the forerunners of Run Kevin Run Dot Com.
It being Thursday, a day that for a brief fad-window-of-time meant people would post “Throwback” photos of yore on Facebook, I thought maybe I’d post a few things from my Albatros Adventure Marathon in Petra, Jordan, from way back in the fall of 2015.
Petra. An archeological wonderland in the desert. The long pathway leading up to the “treasury” building was used extensively in the third act of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). This ares served as the site of the Canyon of the Crescent Moon and the exterior location of the Grail Temple. But the place itself is so much more.
I went to Petra mainly because it fit my schedule and Albatros was good enough to give me a small discount to make up for some sanfus on my Great Wall of China trip with them. It seemed like serendipity and fate wanted me to go off on an adventure. And to this day it’s one of my favorite experiences as both a runner and a tourist.
Here in their original, unedited form, complete with weirdly autocorrected words by Apple’s Siri, are my notes from the first few days of that trip:
9/10/15On cab ride to hotel, passed an exit to Iraqi border. The next exit was for IKEA.Car dealership had cars covered in sand, the result of a recent sandstorm.Streets are hilly and sidewalks, like road markings, are more suggested than hard and fast.Metal detector and bag scanner for entry everytime to Days Inn Hotel.Oddly nervous about walking streets after dark plus jetlag has left me exhausted. Got money out of an ATM vestibule (50 dinar) and bought a bottle of water. I think it cost less than a dinar but I have no idea what denominations the coins are.Two guys waiting in bar are dead ringers for Jamie Farr’s cannonball run 2 sheik.
9/11/151 million Syrian refugees so far21 Arab nations.50 km from Amman to Dead Sea – lowest point in earth, 9 degrees warmer than Amman.Jordan River feeds Dead Sea.35% salt – Dead Sea – nothing can live there. Float easily.Don’t put head in water – float on back onlyPetra is the site; town is Wadi Rum. Means Valley of Music (I think)90% of Jordan – desert
To: raidersguysDate: 9/12/15Subject: That’s the DVD of a Fan… both of Indiana Jones and the Raiders Guys!Hi, guys! Just a quick shout-out as today I’m in Jordan running the
the Petra Desert Marathon. I thought you’d get a kick out of this
photo in front of the grail temple location.I was just chatting to my brother about our need to see the
documentary on the making of the Adaptation and how much we’re looking
forward to it. Meantime, I wanted to wish you all well. I can’t tell
you how happy the Adaptation and your successful completion of the
Airplane Scene makes me. You guys are inspirations and awesome all
around.Best,
Kevin Hanna
Kickstarter Supporter and All Around Fan!
