Patio Lantern Tour

As I write this it is thundering, probably getting ready to dump considering the look of the sky.   The weather has been strange.   Late afternoon seems to bring daily winds and rain.   Locals are complaining about what a wet and cold summer it is.   Highs are having a tough time reaching 20.   Last night it dropped to 6.   We were expecting it to be warmer. Today we hit the park early.   We had a hike picked out and parking, like several of the other National Parks we have visited, is a problem in Glacier.   Arriving by 7:55 to the trail-head, we were lucky to get a spot.   Getting here any earlier is difficult as we are an hour drive from the park.   I guess Sue will just have to get up earlier tomorrow. The hike began on a boardwalk going through a mainly cedar forest.   We were unaware that cedars can grow up to 13 feet in diameter, be 200 feet tall, and live for up to 1000 years.   That is a size and age that we ...

When we were planning for this adventure, Glacier National Park was not on our radar.   After talking to our nephew, Eric (the same one who rode a good portion of Canada with us), we decided to add it to our route.   After one day in the Park, we are already not regretting our decision. Going-to-the-Sun Road lived up to its hype.   It is a spectacular 50-mile drive, so spectacular that we drove it both ways today.   The road follows the park’s two largest lakes, Lake McDonald and Saint Mary Lake, before hugging the cliffs below the Continental Divide as it traverses Logan Pass.   To say that the road is narrow is an understatement.   Vehicles over 21 feet in length and over 8 feet wide are prohibited.   That says it all.   Rock overhangs pose difficulties (mostly visual…therefore mostly in your head) but too much traffic and too many nervous drivers (who should have taken the Park Shuttle), made this drive interesting to say the least. ...

Last evening after finishing up the blog, an RV pulled into the site.   We paid it little attention.   As the guy was hooking up his water and electricity, he does a double take when he looks at our licence plate and says, “Ontario eh”?   It turned out they were from Fergus on their way to a reunion in Washington State.   We are in Missoula Montana and are camping beside somebody who lives just down the road from us…what are the odds? You can tell by the title that today was a rather uneventful day.   We hung around the campground longer than normal knowing it was to be a short drive.   Besides, we had some planning to do for when we are finished our exploration of Glacier National Park.   The drive was as expected, rather dull.   The highlight was learning of Tamarack Brewery in Lakeside.   They make an awesome pizza and their beer was not bad either! We are set up in Whitefish KOA for the next 4 nights.   Tomorrow we will get...

Before I get on with today’s happenings, I have to talk about the Big Timber KOA.   When we arrived yesterday, we were escorted to a site in the back corner of the park.   Large Poplar (otherwise known as Aspen) trees towered over the site.   The park was not busy.   We are thinking, great find.   That’s when the first train went by.   The campground is located on the side of I -90 and beside a major rail corridor.   The highway was not a problem, being close to the rail line is another story.   From 9:30 last night until 6:00 this morning, 12 trains went through.   How do I know this?   The ‘bloody’ things blew their horns right in front of the campground.   There might have been more, but I doubt it…I was awake all night!   I guess that is all part of the adventure. Today we were on Interstate 90 for the entire day.   This was the sacrifice we had to make for our route choice yesterday.   Interstates are easy ...

Our next destination is Glacier National Park but as per usual on this adventure we got slightly sidetracked.   Glacier is Northwest of Yellowstone, so we went East.   Makes sense does it not?   Well maybe not until you hear our reasoning.   Back before we got to Grand Teton National Park, we were told of this must drive route out of Yellowstone.   What a beauty! The morning began with our usual entrance through the West Gate of Yellowstone.   Instead of going to the Old Faithful area, we headed for the Northeast Gate.   Yellowstone proved today that it is far more than just about Geysers, even more than we had already realized.   Between Canyon Village and Tower Junction (both in Yellowstone), we were treated to some mountain driving once again.   The road was narrow, and I mean narrow.   Lots of fun!   From Tower Junction to the Northeast Gate we traveled through the high elevation Lamar Valley.   If you want to vie...

Monday, July 15, 2019 We again hit the park early so that we could beat the crowds.   Mission accomplished.   We had picked out what Yellowstone’s trail guide called a moderately challenging hike which was to include a Falls…imagine that! The trail followed the Little Firehole River through a 30-year-old Lodgepole Pine forest to the 70-foot Mystic Falls.   Like yesterday’s Falls, Mystic Falls did not disappoint.   In case anyone was wondering about why it is a 30-year-old forest, I will explain.   In 1988 almost 1/3 of Yellowstone National Park burned after a lightning strike in early July.   More than 30,000 firefighters and military personnel fought it.   After being so cruel, Mother Nature, actually came to the rescue.   An early September snowfall brought it under control even though some areas were still smoldering until the end of November. Our hike to the Falls was relatively easy…our route back not so much.   We decided ...

Sunday, July 14, 2019 I am going to start today’s blog with a short ‘rant’. I continue to be astounded by the need for everyone to insert themselves in all of their picture taking. I spent some time today watching this phenomenon. People would walk up to some beautiful piece of nature, glance at it, turn their back and take a ‘selfie’!   No one seems to truly appreciate the stunning scenery. No one takes the time to appreciate just what ‘Mother Nature’ has to offer… and on this adventure that is a lot.   Sue and I will have taken thousands of pictures by trip’s end and we will struggle to probably find 10 pictures that we are in…. why would we spoil such beauty with our ‘ugly mugs’?   Enough for now! Now that is out of my system, I can say that today was all about waterfalls… Sue is still smiling… and it has nothing to do with the wine… at least not yet.   The interesting part was that we only planned one…we saw three. After hiking just shy of 3 miles we ca...