July 16-19 Washington

We arrived at the home of Kaetlyn Spivey, the most beautiful baby in the world, and her parents Kelly and Steve, and big sister Megan, about 6 PM. We spend the next three days and nights kissing, hugging, holding, and squeezing Kaetlyn for all of her aunts, uncles,Byet had the privilege of doing so.

She and her family accompanied us on a few excursions, also. Saturday we enjoyed a trip to nearby Mt. Rainier. We drove up a very curvy road to Sunrise Point, an area that looked a lot like Candor after a late March snowfall. There were patches and piles of snow dotting a geen hillside.

Young and old alike were sliding down the snowbanks, cross country skiing, and throwing snowballs in shorts and T-shirts in the summer sunshine. Standing guard over all of this fun was beautiful, snow and glacier clad Mt. Rainier. At over 14,000 feet it looked close enough to become the local sledding hill, but it was several miles away.

On Sunday we visited the Ballard Locks which are used to get boats from the Pacific to Lake Washington. Several sizes and kinds of pleasure boats went through the locks while we were there. We also saw salmon doing their yearly ritual by navigating up the fish ladder to get to fresh water. Some of the salmon, maybe on their way back to the Pacific, and maybe not, were caught in the water pouring out of large tubes, like rushing waterfalls, back into the salt water from the fresh. We thought some of the fish must have woken up dazed from this mad dash and wondered where they were!

When Kelly and Steve got married two years ago, we had taken the ferry from Seattle to Bainbridge Island, enjoyed the local fish and farmer's market, etc., so we didn't do any of those things this time, but we enjoyed watching the ferries go on their routes while we ate at a great seafood restaurant on Alki Beach.

Monday afternoon we bid our family reluctant farewells, buoyed by the knowledge that we would see them all in early September for our annual Wardapalooza family reunion.

We took the scenic route from Washington to Oregon through the Cascade Mountains. For much of the way we were accompanied by the sight of Mt. Rainier, and then Mt. Adams, both with white gleaming tops. We went up and down mountains and around switchbacks so often that my ears couldn't decide what the pressure should be and stayed plugged for the remainder of the afternoon. The narrow road was lined with straight, tall cedar and pine tree, some over 120 feet tall. Near the bottom of the mountain their massive trunks were mostly covered in soft, green moss. Along the way we saw Mt. Saint Helen's with the forest close to it still showing signs of the wrath of destruction the eruption caused 30 years ago. We also saw many lumber mills as this appears to be prime logging country.

When we finally got down the mountain, we were at the beautiful Columbia River which divides Washington and Oregon. Crossing the river at the Bridge of the Gods, we found a nearby campground and settled in for the night.

Banff and Jasper

Click here for pictures of the Canadian Rockies which were absolutely gorgeous. It's difficult to capture the beauty in a photograph, but we tried. It was all spectacular, especially the Icefield Parkway.

The blog on the Canadian Rockies should be just below this listed as Banff and Jasper.

July 12-16 Banff and Jasper National Parks, Canadian Rockies

Again we are impressed by Canada, but this time by the spectacular Rocky Mountains, and the two huge parks dedicated to preserving the wilderness. We got to Banff National Park in the morning after a short drive from Calgary. We weren't too far outside of Calgary when we began seeing the mountains in the distance. The Trans-Canada 4-lane highway goes right through the center of the park, which seems a little unusual, but they have built special fenced overpasses for the animals to cross over the road to help the animals maintain their territories.

Before we even got to Banff we saw a sign for Lake Minnewanka and drove up to see that and Two Jack Lake, hoping to see some wildlife along the way, but no luck, so we drove into downtown Banff, elevation 4,537 feet, a small well-kept town in the mountains that reminded us of towns in the Alps. Actually this town and Lake Louise, elevation 5,052 feet, population maybe 100, are the only towns within the park's boundaries. They are tourist meccas all year long however, as both have large ski areas in the mountains.

After picking up some information in town, we decided to drive on a road called the Bow Valley Parkway, which sounds like some big road, but is actually a very quiet road with a slow speed limit along the valley leading to several hiking spots, and eventually ending up in Lake Louise. It is known as a place to see wildlife, so of course that would appeal to Bob, the hunter. We tried a hike up to Johnston Canyon which is near the parkway to see some waterfalls, but it was so congested (we learned that a million people a year hike up there), that we decided to just drive farther up the parkway in hopes of seeing some animals, and because it was beginning to be rainy and cold. We didn't see any animals that day, but after checking into our campground, we went back to another road near the town to a place called Vermillion Lakes to go wildlife spotting. It looked like prime moose territory, but we discovered that there are very few moose left in the park and none live around those lakes. We did see a couple of elks, though, so ended our day on a high note.

The next morning was cool and rainy, but we decided to go to Lake Louise, again via the parkway, and hoped that the weather would clear up (it didn't). We did spot several bull elks along the way with some pretty impressive “racks,” but no other animals. We got to the lake in Lake Louise, also called Lake Louise. It was absolutely gorgeous, its greenish turquoise color caused by light reflecting off tiny particles of rock flour (glacial silt) carried down from Victoria Glacier which is at the far end of the lake. Since it was raining, the color wasn't as vibrant as it is on a sunny day, but it was beautiful just the same. The lake is fairly small by Finger Lakes standards – just 1 ½ miles long and 295 feet deep. On the near end is the huge Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, and a young couple were having their wedding there under a flower trellis. We walked along the lakeshore watching a brilliant red canoe glide along the lake, complimenting its greenish tint.

We thought that nothing could compare with Lake Louise until we drove around the mountain a little way and got to Moraine Lake. It is more bluish turquoise than Lake Louise, and in our opinion, much more beautiful! It is also fed by water coming off the glaciers, but the glacial water feeding it does not carry so much silt, so the water is bluer. The lake is in the Valley of the Ten Peaks, and five of the Wenkchemna Peaks, all over 10,000 feet high, offer a backdrop to the lake. The mountains were named in 1894 by explorer Samuel Allen using the numbers one to ten in the Stoney Nakoda language (Wenkchemna means ten), but all but two of the mountains have been renamed. At the end of the lake near the inn is a huge pile of boulders which were deposited there by a long-disappeared glacier. By climbing the equivalent of six or eight flights of stairs, puff puff, we got to the top for an amazing view of the lake. Despite the rain, this was the highlight of our day. I'm proud of myself for doing all of this hiking, especially in elevations of a mile or more high!

On the way back to our campground in Banff, we again drove down Bow Valley Parkway, and this time were able to see about twelve big-horned sheep near the road licking the ground to get some kind of mineral. It was really amazing to see so many large rams so close to the road. They were eating a bush and digging up the dirt to eat it. We couldn't figure out whether someone had spilled something there or what. The rams were entertaining as they head-butted each other to gain better access to their gourmet meal!

We stopped in the town of Banff to end a perfect day with a great meal in a place called the The Grizzly Steak and Fondue House. We had delicious cheese fondue to start the meal, followed by beef, buffalo, chicken, elk, and venison fondue, and ending with chocolate fondue for dessert! Yum! Yum!

The next morning, Wednesday, the 14^th, we finally had sunshine and blue skies. We left Banff and again drove up the parkway toward Lake Louise. This time we were rewarded with lots of wildlife to see. We first saw a black bear, with a big bull elk across the road from it – two for one! Then we saw a bighorn sheep and a mule deer. When we got to the Lake Louise area we went to the ski area where we took a chair lift up the mountain and were rewarded with gorgeous views. We had hoped to see a grizzly bear there as we rode up the lift, since a lot of bears live in that area, but sadly did not get a glimpse. We really want to see one, just not up close!

It was hard to leave the stunning beauty of the mountain top, but we had more to see, so we went down the mountain and started driving up the Icefield Parkway 143 miles to Jasper National Park. We are not really sure why Jasper is a separate park from Banff since they adjoin each other, but they are separate parks. The Icefield Parkway is a magnificent, spectacular drive through remote, high elevation terrain, and scenery that takes your breath away. There are rushing glacial rivers, high alpine glaciers, mountain passes, and brilliant bluish-green lakes all along the way. It seems like every time you turn a corner there is something even more beautiful to see. We went from low valleys to above the treeline, and it was easy to see how harsh the weather could be. Today was warm and sunny, but yesterday it was snowing hard on the parkway!

The road was originally built in 1931 when the government of Canada put hundreds of unemployed men to work building the “wonder trail” through the heart of the Canadian Rockies. The men were paid twenty cents a day to use picks, shovels, and horses to hack a single lane gravel track from Lake Louise to Jasper.

We passed through seven different icefields, the Columbia Icefield alone consisting of 30 glaciers, so you can bet we saw a lot of glaciers along the way. The Columbia Icefield is the largest body of ice in the Rocky Mountains at 130 square miles. It is strange in that it drains in three different directions to the Atlantic, the Pacific, and the Arctic Oceans. There are 100 visible glaciers on this road. One of the first glaciers we saw was the Crowfoot Glacier, which looks like a giant crows foot. There were many lakes, too, the prettiest of which was the group of lakes called Waterfowl Lakes, beautiful glacial blues.

We were treated to the sighting of another black bear right along the side of the road; that is we and about a hundred other travelers who all stopped to take pictures of the bear, who paid no attention to us as he went about eating his lunch of greens. We could see why it would be easy to all of a sudden come upon a bear in the woods without it knowing you were there because it was so busy eating.

About half-way up the parkway we came to the Icefield Centre, situated right across from the Athabasca Glacier, the closest glacier to the parkway. Athabasca is about 2.5 square miles in size. While there we took the trip of a lifetime, a tour and walk on the glacier via a special snowcoach. A regular bus took us across the road, and up the moraine from the glacier to another point where we transferred to the snowcoach, a specially made transport that goes over the glaciers at the top speed of 12 miles an hour! Once on the snowcoach we slowly made our way down the steep moraine to the glacier, which at first glance looked like we were still on the moraine because at this point the glacier is covered with about 3 feet of rocks deposited there as the glacier slowly slides down the hill. If we looked carefully, we could see the glacial ice under the rocks in a few places. In the 1800s the glacier extended all the way to where the Centre is now. It has receded a couple of miles back since then. It is now 4 miles long and ½ mile wide. Just down from the head of the glacier at the top of the mountain are some ice falls, which look like steps. We got within about a mile of the head of the glacier, but could go no further because of huge crevasses that would have swallowed our snowcoach. We were able to get out of the coach at that time and stand on the glacier at about 7,000 foot elevation. The glacier is 1,000 feet thick where we were standing, but ranges from 270 feet to 1,000 feet thick. It is slowly moving, like a river, but we can't feel it. The water melt we saw came from snow that fell 150 years ago. Above us were two other glaciers, the AA Glacier, a hanging glacier, and the Andromeda Glacier, a cirque (circle) glacier. Even though it was a sunny day, it was windy up on the glacier, and although the temperature was about 50 degrees F, with the windchill, it was about 40 degrees. The wind is caused by the catabatic winds created by the cooling of the air by the icefield. The glacial ice was slushy from all the coaches driving on it and people walking on it, and was quite slippery. The coaches have a “roadway” over the ice they travel on that is plowed a couple of times a day so it won't be so bumpy the coaches can't go on it. The roadway is changed every three years or so, because it wears down the glacier where it goes. The old roadway is covered over with the snow from the new roadway to make it look uniform again.

The coaches run about 6 months out of the year, from April to October, and most of the people who work at the Icefield Centre live on the grounds because it is an hour from Jasper and two hours from Banff with nothing but National Park in between. The road from Banff to Jasper is kept open all year, with crews plowing all day if necessary, but not at night. About 30 feet of snow fall here every year. That is not appreciatively more than other areas, but the difference is that it is so cold here the snow does not melt. It just piles up on itself, and the weight of it creates the ice of the glaciers.

The trees here, Engleman Spruce and Sub-Alpine Fir, are quite thin, and not very tall even though the ones near the glacier are 300 years old. They were probably no more than eight or ten feet tall. This is because the growing season is only about a month long, and the wind blows so strong from the glacier that branches only grow on one side of the trees.

Now, the same day, I sit here by our crackling campfire in the Wabasso Campground next to the Athabasca River a few miles from Jasper. It is almost ten o'clock at night, and the sun is still shining in the brilliant blue sky! What an experience!

Thursday, July 15, started out cold and overcast. We wanted to see some more wildlife, so we took a 30 mile drive on a back road to another pretty lake. Along the way we came across several bull elks, a bear, and some mule deer. When we got to the lake we decided to walk a trail to another lake in hopes of sighting a moose. It was about 45 degrees out, so we dressed in many layers and set out on the hike through SNOW! There was snow left on the ground from the storm 2 days ago. It was really weird walking through the white stuff on July 15 and we didn't even see a moose! These lakes are higher up the mountain ranges than the lakes closer to Jasper where there is no snow on the ground so we drove back into town. By the time we got there, it was sunny and about 70 degrees out!

We took another hike in the afternoon in short sleeved shirts, wishing we had put on our shorts because we got so hot! What a change! The afternoon hike was pretty strenuous, but we got to see a chain of lakes – The Valley of the Five Lakes, appropriately call First Lake, Second Lake, Third Lake, Fourth Lake, and Fifth Lake! Later we drove to two other lakes that we hadn't seen, Patricia and Pyramid, and ended up having a “cocktail hour” at one of them to celebrate our last night here. We have seen so many beautiful lakes with mountains in the background that as Bob says “you don't even really look anymore”, so I guess it's time to head somewhere new. Seattle, here we come!

Spent all day on the 16th driving out of the mountains to Seattle. At one point we were literally going down a steep incline, some of it an 8% grade, for twenty minutes straight. Arrived to enjoy dinner with niece Kelly, her husband Steve, and 7 week old daughter Kaetlyn.

Calgary July 8-11

July 8-11 Calgary Stampede, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Incredible! Funtastic! That's what I think of now when I think of the Calgary Stampede. It is so much more than a rodeo, or even a state fair. We saw and did so much in the three days that we attended, but we we still didn't see everything even though we stayed until midnight every night!

It started with a huge parade on Friday morning. We were glad we had purchased bleacher seats from the Boy Scouts because the parade lasted for almost 2 ½ hours! That's the longest parade I have ever seen! There were 350,000 people watching the parade and 10,000 people and 750 horses in the parade! Actually, there was even pre-parade entertainment to keep us occupied while we waited for the parade to start – dancers, singers, clowns, musicians.

I loved the fact that they celebrated all of the ethnic groups that make up Calgary, a city of a million. There were floats for Danish Canadians, Brazilians, Chinese, Indians, Southeast Asians, Native Peoples, and even the descendants of the first pioneers, all dressed in their colorful native costumes.

Horses were a huge part of the parade, with people riding horses of all colors and breeds. There were also lots of teams of horses, both large and very small, pulling beautifully decorated wagons with their passengers equally dressed up. The horses sported lots of shiny silver buckles and bangles on their harnesses along with brightly colored ribbons that often matched the “socks” around the bottom of their legs and the ribbons woven into their manes and tied up tails. Drivers and passengers usually wore ties and shirts, or dresses in the same color as the horses ribbons, and the ribbons usually matched the color of the wagons.

Bands, bands, bands! I love bands in parades, and I was not disappointed here as there were numerous marching bands in colorful uniforms. There were also about 5 or 6 bagpipe bands with the pipers in their plaid kilts. There is a special Calgary Stampede Showband made up of boys and girls ages 14 to 21 who led the parade, and then entertained us day after day at the Stampede grounds.

Now for the entertainment provided at the grounds! There were at least 15 different things going on every hour, and they change every few days, so we had to pick and choose carefully. A lot of the events held were for national championships, so the competition was very tough. One of our favorite competitions was the “heavy horse” Clydesdales, Belgians, Percherons, and Shires) competition, with horses, drivers, and wagons all colorfully attired as I described above. It was really amazing to watch the drivers, with multiple reins in hand, driving 6 horse teams accompanied by the music of the live Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra! The music was a very nice bonus to an already beautiful event.

We also saw miniature horses pulling wagons their size, going through the same paces as the huge horses, although the normal size drivers did look a little out of place! There were several events where cowboys and girls were competing in things like team penning where they had to get three calves with the same numbers on them into a pen at the other end of the arena in under a minute. It sounds easy, but calves are not as cooperative as you want. Another event was the “Cowboy Up” which is where horse and rider must go through an obstacle course within a certain time. It was very difficult, and many horses didn't complete the course.

Another favorite event was the sport dog trials. This is where border collies have to get sheep to go in certain areas with just whistles and minimal commands by their owners. The dogs reminded us of our border collies, Holly and Mitz, who were very smart, but not trained to commands like the dogs we saw here. These dogs are real athletes.

There was also an ice show, with the Canadian Olympic stars past and present; Nashville North, with famous singers performing; an Xtreme games kind of circus; comedians; magicians; ventriloquists; military demonstrations; The Royal Canadian Mounted Police doing their musical ride; vintage tractor pulls; horse pulls; two midways; sheepshearing competitions; blacksmithing competitions; a dog show; a whole village devoted to the local Indian tribes showcasing their dances, crafts, and way of life; special events for little kids; and the list could go on and on.

Regular admission to the park got you all of those activities. The two showcases activities held at the grandstand, the rodeo and the evening show, cost extra. We went to the rodeo every day. The second day we were just going to pay for the cheap tickets that let you stand and watch the rodeo, but while we were in line, a stranger came up and offered us two tickets. I thought he wanted to sell them to us, but he gave them to us! He got them from a corporate sponsor and said he didn't like to watch the rodeo from where the seats were located, so he always gave them away! Lucky for us, because the seats happened to be in the best location in the grandstand. Those seats aren't available for normal people to purchase (we wouldn't have wanted to pay $200 apiece anyway), because corporations buy them up and give them to people as gifts. So we were gifted with great seats right above the chutes! It was kind of neat seeing the rodeo from 3 different angles as each day we sat in a completely different area. This is a big rodeo as it pays out over a million dollars in prize money. The first four days there are ten competitors in each event who must be invited because of their high standings in rodeo competitions to be in it, and the next four days a different group of ten competitors for each event comes in. The top ten qualifiers from those two sessions are in the final two days of the rodeo to decide the winner. I'm sure that will be great entertainment as in the three days we attended, several world records were broken.

The evening show was actually two evening shows. The first hour and a half were the chuckwagon races. These rival any stockcar races for speed and excitement. Four chuckwagons, each pulled by six former race horses, must race around the track to see who will come in first. Each team is accompanied by four “outriders” also riding former race horses. At the beginning of the race, one outrider holds the team in place, the other three must place certain items in the wagon as it would have been in the days when chuckwagons were used, and then all four chuckwagons and sixteen outriders race around the track. At the end, the winning team's outriders must be within a certain distance of the wagon or points are deducted.There were several exciting heats, often won in the last few seconds, with the winners getting pretty good prize money.

The other half of the evening's entertainment rivaled anything you could see in New York or Las Vegas. I was surprised that it had nothing to do with horses! It was called “World Party” and the costumes, lighting, special effects, singing, dancing, and talent were amazing. There were a few “stars” like the winner of Canadian Idol, but most of the singers and dancers were kids who are members of the group Young Canadians. They ranged in age from about 7 – 18, and sang and danced their hearts out as well as any Broadway performers I have seen. Often when they did their musical numbers all 200 of them were on stage at once. I couldn't figure out how that many kids could do costume changes at the same time, especially given their ages!The show featured lots of special effects with fireworks, aerialists traveling up and down on wires, 4 motorcyclists racing around inside a small metal ball at the same time while other motorcyclists did aerial tricks over them, gymnasts doing tricks on movable, flexible balance boards, and two young people doing all kinds of gymnastic maneuvers in the air above the stage and above the crowd with the help of some long fabric and wires. The whole thing was energetic, colorful, amazing, joyous, and lots of other adjectives. We actually saw it twice because the first evening the special effects were cancelled due to rain, so we bought standing room tickets for the second night and were extremely pleased that we did. There was just so much energy and pride for Canada coming from the stage.

The whole three days were fantastic, and we'll try to come again some time. Everything is very well planned, and thought out. What I like best was that this wasn't just about a rodeo, it was about celebrating. The Stampede Committee really values young people, and raises lots of money in order to have the Stampede Showband and the Young Canadians, both groups of kids who spend the entire year performing, not just the ten days of the Stampede. These kids are encouraged to be musicians, or dancers, or singers, not cowboys and cowgirls. But the kids who want to be cowboy and cowgirls are encouraged, too, as there are events for them.

This was truly an unforgettable time for us, and we're so glad we came.

Calgary

Click here for pictures of Calgary - Parade, Rodeo, and More

Glacier National Park July 3 to 8

See the blog below about our wonderful time in Glacier National Park.

Click here for more pictures.

Glacier National Park

More pictures in post above, or click on posts on bottom right.

July 3 - Arrived at Glacier National Park in Montana about 7:30 PM after driving most of the day. Had spent a little time in Theodore Roosevelt National Park in Medora, ND in the morning before heading west across the top of Montana not too many miles from the Canadian border. Saw a lot of trains going by, some carrying coal to faraway places, and others carrying passengers to and from their families or on adventures like ours. Most of the towns we passed were small and very poor looking. No campground was available in the park so we found a spot in a private park near St. Mary. Windy and cool. We put the comforter on the bed for the first time this trip. We'd been in 90 to 100 degree weather all along until today. The temperature fell 50 degrees on us today!

July 4 – Happy Independence Day from Glacier National Park!

We caught the shuttle at St. Mary Visitor Center on the east side of the park about 10:00 AM. Our RV is not allowed on the road because it is too long. We got off at the Sun Point stop and hiked from there beside Lake St. Mary to Baring Falls, then St. Mary Falls, and finally Virginia Falls. The sun was shining as we hiked a few hundred feet above the lake, but the wind coming off the lake forced us to put on both our fleeces and our windbreakers. The trail was fairly level at this point, and it was gorgeous as we hiked with wildflowers of all colors of the rainbow on both sides of the trail and the turquoise glacial waters of the lake below. The trail was not well—marked, so we kept asking other hikers if we were going the right way to get to Virginia Falls. By the time we got to the end of the lake, the trail was uphill, but worth the climb. Each waterfall we came to was better than the last.

At the end of the trail we found Virginia Falls. It is at least 100 feet high, and had been visible from the trail along the lake. To get to the falls we had to cross several log bridges, which were slippery from the spray. The spray was being blown all over, and between that and the wind, we needed the windbreakers we'd shed in the sun, on again. The spray reminded me of the spray from Niagara Falls which feels really good on a hot day. It is not hot here, so I didn't want to get too wet from the spray! We ate our lunch on the rocks far enough away from the falls as to not get wet, but close enough to enjoy the grandeur.

We hiked back to St. Mary Falls to get to the road to catch the shuttle, but somehow missed the bus stop. We ended up hiking north toward the next stop, uphill in the pouring rain, for about a half-mile. When we saw a bus coming toward us, we flagged it down, and thankfully the driver stopped and let us get on. She was not supposed to stop there, but thankfully she did as we were soaked and tired by that time. We had been hiking for 4 hours and were cold and tired, so were very grateful that she stopped. We decided to go back to the RV, register in the St. Mary Campground and then dry off a bit.

After that, since it was raining and we didn't want to hike any more, we decided to catch the shuttle again and go past the Loop to the other side. That meant we had to take the shuttle about 45 minutes up to the top of the mountains at Logan Pass where the Continental Divide is, and transfer to a smaller shuttle that could get us through the tunnels and loops to the downhill side of the park towards the west side taking about an hour. (We started on the east side). By the time we got to the top at Logan, it was still raining, and very windy. The temperature was about 40 degrees and the windchill must have been in the 20s. There was still two to three feet of snow on the ground at the pass, too, so besides the fact that it really was extremely cold with the windchill, the packed snow made us feel like it was winter!

We waited for the smaller shuttle, huddling behind a sign which was about the only protection we had from the wind and blowing rain. After what seemed like an eternity, but was probably only fifteen minutes, the smaller shuttle appeared. We hopped in, and told the driver we were just going down to the transfer place, but would be returning to the top with him because we definitely did not want to miss the 7 PM bus back to St. Mary. Who knows what would happen to people stranded on at Logan Pass after 7PM when the shuttles stop running!

The small shuttle driver told us that during the year he was a school bus driver. Bob and I sat behind him, and Bob kept asking him questions, so he gave us a “guided” tour. He said he wasn't supposed to give guided tours, but would gladly answer any question we asked, so we did learn a lot about the park.

It was raining pretty hard, but I still used the opportunity to take photos. The weather is supposed to be worse tomorrow, so this might be my only chance. We went by bird woman's falls, haystack falls, the weeping wall, and heaven's peak, to name a few of the places. Haystack Falls is a huge waterfall cascading over what looks like steps, or haybales piled on top of each other in an uneven stack. The weeping wall is a long wall of rock next to the narrow road that appears to be crying because water is coming out of the wall for a long way. I would be afraid the skinny road would be icy there if the temperature was much lower. There is a lot of snow still visible on the peaks. The road is very narrow, just one lane in places. I'm glad I'm not driving!

When we got back to Logan Pass, we had to wait for the eastbound shuttle for 15 minutes. The wind was blowing so hard, we were freezing, and glad when the bus showed up a few minutes early.

When we returned to the campground we had a Fourth of July celebration dinner of steak and fresh vegetables. It was still very windy and cold outside, so we sat in our warm RV and enjoyed the mountain scenery around us. It does 't get dark here until about 10PM so it didn't seem that late for dinner. At 10:30 we heard fireworks, and looked out of the huge windows of our cozy RV to see a spectacular display of fireworks culminating our extraordinary 4^th!

July 5 - Glacier National Park

Today we decided to go across Logan Pass to the west side of the park and hike. It had rained most of the night and early in the morning, but for the time being the sun was out. We again caught the 10AM shuttle, and stopped on the East side at the Jackson Glacier Viewing Spot. By then it was raining again, and we knew we'd have to wait 30 minutes for another shuttle just for the privilege of stopping to take one picture, but Jackson is the only glacier that can be viewed from the road, and since this is Glacier National Park, we wanted to see at least one glacier! Today we were prepared with rain pants as well as rain jackets and several other layers, so we weren't too worried about the rain. That turned out to be a good thing as we got rained on over and over all day. The sun would come out for a few minutes, then a rain cloud would let loose, then the sun appeared followed by another rain cloud, and that went on all day.

When we got to Logan Pass, it was so foggy that none of the mountain tops were visible. We asked a ranger about going to Hidden Lake near there, but she said the trail was covered with snow. We decided to head down the east side, hoping the sun would be shining there, so we hopped the smaller “Loop” shuttle. The fog was so dense we asked the driver if he had radar to find his way down the crooked mountain roads that literally hug the side of the mountain.

When we got to the transfer point, we started up the trail to Avalanche Lake. A rushing creek with the same name went along the path for most of the way. The woods were mostly cedar and pine, and it must be very moist there much of the time, because most of the trees and shrubs were covered with moss. The trail wound around through the forest, climbing higher and higher, and most of the time we were being rained on. It wasn't a cold rain, however, so we didn't mind it. As a matter of fact, it served to keep us cool on the long uphill trek. When we finally got to the lake, it was spectacular! The mountain walls form a semi-circle around the green waters of the lake. When you first see the lake, the background of mountain with green patches of trees and white patches of snow catch your eye, and are reflected in the beautiful lake. We stopped along with most of the hikers and took a relaxing break and a much needed lunch. On the way back we had a couple of encounters with mule deer. First as we came around a bend in the trail, we spotted the deer on the other side of some bushes eating. We stopped and the deer didn't seem to mind our presence as she kept coming closer and closer until she was within three feet of us. Later, a mule deer kept us company by walking beside us on the trail for several hundred feet. I guess they are used to visitors!

After the 5 mile hike we were ready to head back up the mountain to go to the other side. That of course meant 2 different shuttles, and for some reason the shuttles were running late, so what should have been at most 2 hours, took us 3 ½ hours! Luckily Logan Pass was clear and sunny when we got to the top, so the hour wait there wasn't bad. With the sunshine, snow, and visitor center there, I was reminded of our ski trips in the Alps when the sun would be beating down, making us sweat, while we were surrounded by snow!

Bob was happy as he spotted two mountain goats on the hill across from the bus stop. Then on the way down, we saw a big horn sheep, and the driver kindly stopped to allow passengers to take pictures.

July 6 - Glacier National Park

We got up early today so we could drive 22 miles to the area of the park known as Many Glacier. For the past few days we had been in the main part of the park, at least the part of the park that you can get to by road. Most of the park is accessible only by walking. The middle of the park has the Going-to-the-Sun Road connecting the East and West sides, and that is where we had been. Farther north on the east side, is a road going just a few miles in to the Many Glacier Hotel, campground and motel. We are going to camp here for two days, but need to arrive early to find a spot, since it is very popular, and they do not take reservations.

After obtaining a nice site at the bottom of one of the mountains, we headed over to the corral to go on a horseback ride. On the way there, some people who were admiring our RV turned out to be from Alexandria, Louisiana, near Bob's hometown! His LSU cap has helped him find many fellow Louisianans on this trip!

Our two hour horseback ride was just the right length, and we passed through some great scenery. The route took us along the side of one of the many lakes here, and then up into an area called Cracker Flats, which was full of wildflowers of all kinds. Our horses were well-trained, and it felt good to take a “hike” without actually having to walk! Most of the area we went through is prime grizzly country and the guides thought we might see one, but told us not to be scared because the grizzlies were scared of the horses, who appeared to have two heads with the rider on top! For good, or bad, we didn't see one, although we did see lots of trees with claw marks on them several feet above the ground where the bears had scratched their claws. We also saw a few places where rangers have put barbed wire with the sole purpose of catching a bear's fur. That helps them know in what areas the bears are roaming.

After our ride we sat outside and ate our lunch while looking up at the mountainside, trying to spot a sheep. They are so plentiful here that there are signs all over saying “Do not feed the sheep.” Of course there are also “Warning, Bear Country” signs all over the whole park, too! Bob found signs of a bear behind our campsite which backs up to some trees and bushes and a creek. I'm glad we are sleeping in an RV, not a tent. Actually, everyone has to be careful to not have any food in their tents. Everything must be kept in the cars, as food, even water bottles, draws the bears. Of course back country hikers don't have a car, so they have to put their food up in a tree a long way from where their tent is. All of the rangers, and most of the back country hikers carry bear spray as a deterent. I, myself, have no desire to hike where there are not a lot of people, or to sleep far away from civilization!

Later in the afternoon we took a 3 mile hike around Swiftcurrent Lake. Even there we saw signs of bear, though thankfully none in the flesh! This is the lake the hotel is on. The Many Glacier hotel was built in the 1915 in the style of a Swiss Mountain Lodge. This was because Americans at the time were encouraged to come to America's Alps, the Rocky Mountains! We went to the hotel for a dinner of wild game – venison, elk, and buffalo, then sat on the great porch to scout for bear and sheep. Much safer!

July 7 - Glacier National Park

This morning we decided to hike up the side of the nearby mountain. Luckily when we started out, someone told us that though the bottom part was pretty steep, the trail after that was just a gentle incline. If she hadn't said that, I might have backed out, as we are also scheduled for a boatride/hike this afternoon, and I don't want to be too tired out. Anyway, I'm glad we took the hike because it was my favorite of all the hikes we did. This reminded me of Heidi in the book by the same name, my favorite book as a child. I pictured Heidi and her grandfather hiking up the mountain among the wildflowers. It also reminded me of when Bob and I hiked in the Austrian Alps about ten years ago. Actually on that hike, we took a cable car up to nearly the top of the mountain and then hiked amount the wildflowers and the cows with their clanging cowbells. Here we hiked among the wildflowers, but the bells we heard were bells warning away bears!

Today's hike was awesome as once we got up a ways, we hiked across the mountainside, and besides the wildflowers nearby, could see mountains and glaciers in the distance. We also saw some wildlife – a buck with his velvety horns didn't even move away from his tasty snack of leaves as we walked by and snapped his picture. Later I saw a coyote cross the trail ahead of us. We also saw a lot of marmots, which are a type of ground squirrel. We were hoping to see a grizzly in the distance, but didn't. As we were heading down the mountain, some uphill hikers told us they had seen one down the mountain away from the trail, but we didn't spot it when we went by.

We got down from that trail, and hurried over to the boat dock for the next adventure. We took the boat to the end of Swiftcurrent Lake, got out and hiked a quarter of a mile to Josephine Lake, then took another boat to the end of that lake, got out and hiked a mile to Grinnell Lake. We had a guide with us the whole time, so learned quite a bit more about the park.

Many Glacier Lodge was build in 1915 by the man who owned the Great Northern Railroad as a way to get people to use his train. Cars weren't plentiful then, so if people wanted to come to America's Alps, they would need to come by train. Since rich people were going to Switzerland all the time back then, he decided to bring Switzerland to America, and the hotel was designed to look like a Swiss Chalet. It almost burned in the great fire of 1936, but was saved by the employees. The owner was mad that they saved it because his business was so slow he was losing money, and could have used the insurance check!

Snow drifts at the lodge during the winter can reach 100 feet high. Over the years these drifts had pushed against the building so much that it had to be straightened up in the 1970s! Many Glacier is east of the continental divide and gets a lot more snow each year than the west side does. This part of the park is only open from June 1^st to mid September.

We also learned at different times during the week, that to protect a lot of the investment here, they dismantle a lot of things before the heavy snow hits. They even take the railroad ties off the guard rails, because if they didn't the rails would be lost in the avalanches that happen each winter. Avalanche Lake, and Grinnell Lake that we saw today, are both similar looking – a bowl of mountains, waterfalls cascading into the lake, and surrounded by trees. Avalanches and wind cause the trees to break and fall down the mountain. We noticed that most trees on the mountains are one-sided because the snow pushes against and breaks off the branches on the uphill side.

At the time it was named a national park, Glacier had about 150 glaciers. Last year when they counted, there were 25, but they think when they count this year, the number will be in the teens. They estimate that in about 20 years there will be no more glaciers here. That will mean the end of the turquoise colored water in the glacial lakes, and many other changes besides.

We saw Salamander Glacier, and because it just looks like snow pack to us, the guide explained that in order to be a glacier, the snow must be at least 100 feet thick, at least 25 acres in size, and be moving. The glaciers here have shrunk so much they no longer look like that.

I have been amazed at the bright turquoise and bright red rocks here. The guide explained that they are a type of iron, and depending on when in the geologic cycle they were laid down, they are either the beautiful shade of green or bright red. I have also seen some rocks that look like shale, but look almost fake because they are so silver in color.

The boat they keep on Josephine Lake was destroyed by an avalanche one year. They had originally gotten it there down an old logging road, but that wasn't available any more, so they took it apart and floated the pieces down the creek to Swiftcurrent Lake where they then gathered them up and took them somewhere to be made back into a boat. When the boat was repaired, they hired a bunch of college guys to strongarm it down the creek and back into Josephine Lake. The creek held two feet of water and the boat needed 5 feet to float, so you can imagine what a hard time it must have been to get the boat into the lake. It now has a winter boat house away from the mountain!

We have really enjoyed Glacier, and will be sad to leave tomorrow. I have become so used to hiking that I think if we stayed here a few more days I could build up the strength to go on some of the longer hikes and see things I would really like to see. Another time....