Test posting

Just trying to get used to Windows 8...making sure this posts alright before I get to Europe and discover I'm having trouble posting.

The potato has landed!

I'm home! I left Gillette, WY on Wednesday and headed to Devil's Tower. It is a very cool sight and the sheer size is hard to describe. It's one heck of a monolith shoved up out of the earth, and to put it into perspective, I'm posting a pic of a climber to show just how big those vertical troughs really are. Of course I think the climbers are nuts, but that's beside the point.

I then drove to Rapid City, SD so I could check out Mt. Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Monument, and it was there I reached my saturation point for dealing with people. It seemed that everywhere I turned, somebody wanted my money and I was fed up with all the other A-holes on the road. The ones that really grind my butt are the ones driving foreign cars, all decorated up with patriotic themed bumper stickers...grrr! It was time to come home. I got up Thursday and hit the road, not stopping for anything but gas and food, etc. until I got past Chicago, almost 1,000 miles later. I grabbed a couple hours of sleep in the van in a truck stop parking lot and hit it again for home. Needless to say I was extremely happy to see our little town of Durand. Showering and sleeping in my own house was great!

I had a great vacation, but it is nice to come home too! Needless to say I don't think anyone will be particularly interested in reading about my day-to-day activities now that I'm home, so the blog is going on indefinite hiatus--maybe I'll restart it for my next vacation. Adios.

Starting the trip home

I didn't go very far on Monday--just to Great Falls, MT, where I got the van serviced in preparation for the trip home, and to the CM Russell Museum. The museum was very interesting, seeing the art and environment it was created in during the late 1800's and early 1900's. It was very obvious in some of his paintings that he did not like the "horseless carriages" that were just getting their start. He even had his hearse pulled by a pair of horses after he died. Everyone knows of Remington as a western artist, but Russell was very good and well known in his day too.
Drove to Gillette, WY on Tuesday. Had a little trouble finding a room because the National High School Rodeo Championships are in town. (A bit of a culture shock there) Lots of young rodeo wanna-be stars swaggering around, still wearing their bib numbers on their backs, trying to impress the girls I guess.
Anyway, if the weather cooperates, I plan on seeing Devils Tower and Mt Rushmore, but right now, it's looking like it's going to be a crapshoot, cloudy with showers and thunderstorms in the forecast. I guess the only way I'll know is to get a move on and see what it's doing when I get there.

Grand Finale at Glacier!

Well folks, today was my last day at Glacier National Park. I have been here for eleven days and it's been great. Today I took a 12 mile hike with Tom and Betsy, the local couple who befriended me on my hike to Apgar Lookout, and invited me to accompany them today to Huckleberry Lookout. It includes a nearly 3,000 ft. elevation change, but also included some of the most magnificent scenery I have encountered yet here at the park. At the top is the ranger fire lookout, and from there the mountains are visible for a range of 360 degrees--spectacular!

At about the one mile mark, we were walking and talking when I happened to look down the slope about 10 yards and noticed black fur. Then it moved and I realized I was seeing a small black bear from behind. I got Tom and Betsy's attention and as we looked back up the trail we had just covered we saw the Mama bear we had already passed contentedly feeding, seemingly paying no attention to us. They were close enough that my instinct was to grab the Bear Spray not the camera. The expedient move seemed to be to move on, so we did, our hearts beating a little bit faster than they were before. The rest of the hike was relatively uneventful, save for the spectacular scenery until we got to the same area on our return. Of course, we were especially vigilant, which was a good thing since there was a large black bear (male, we think) about 20 yards upslope from us. This time Tom had spotted him and was ahead of Betsy and me, and he motioned to let us know the bear was up there. I got out my camera and got 3 shots off, all of which he was partially obscured by the brush, but I am posting the best one here.

What a way to end my trip!

They have waterfalls in Montana

Go figure, huh? Today I took it kind of easy, going to see 2 waterfalls, neither of which were major hikes, but the new thing is that I used the park shuttle system. It's a system of large and small buses that run specified routes (only the small buses go up to Logan Pass from the west), so there were several transfers for me to get where I needed to go, but it allowed me to see more of the scenery than I have been able to up until now. I even saw a trail I think I would like to try Sunday if my hike with the local couple doesn't work out. I'm still waiting to hear back from them if the Huckleberry Lookout hike is still a go.

While I was waiting for my bus transfer on the way back today, a wedding party showed up at Logan Pass. It seems thay were going to hike up to the Hidden Lake overlook to get married, then ski down afterwards. From what I hear, it's a fairly common occurrence here, but it sure struck me as bizarre to see the bride in her white gown pulling on ski boots and carrying her skis! Check out the picture!

Kintla Lake

When I first conceived of the idea of this trip and began researching, one of the places that I thought looked most beautiful, and that I needed to make a point of seeing was Kintla Lake. Today I managed to get there, although it took a long time, driving over washboard roads at 10-15 mph and sometimes having to crowd off the road to pass oncoming traffic. It was a very primitive roadway, but the lake and the area around was well worth the drive. I didn't hike too long, maybe only 2 or 2 1/2 miles, because I wanted to see Bowman Lake too, since I was in the area, and the 12 mile detour would take another hour for sure. Unfortunately, there was a huge tree down near Bowman and there was no way I could get to the lake without parking the van and hiking in. Then the van would have been in the way of the tree crew that was trying to clear the way for the people on the other side, so it was a no-go for me.

I did manage to find the answer to an age-old question: "Does a wild bear shit in the woods?" I have photographic evidence which I am posting here that yes, indeed, they do shit in the woods (or on the trail, or the road, or wherever they want to--I mean, who's gonna stop them?). Have a good day, folks!

2 Day Post

Since I was lazy yesterday and didn't post anything, I guess I'll update for both days. Yesterday, Wednesday, I took it pretty easy, not even leaving camp until noon. I went to a place called Trail of the Cedars, which is just a short nature walk through an old-growth forest of cedars, hemlocks, black cottonwoods, and western larch. The signs said that there hadn't been a fire there since the 1500's, and I can believe that--there were cedar trees that were 5-6 feet in diameter at the bases. Very interesting and informative walk...easy too! On the way back to my van, I spotted a small doe having a snack not far from the road. She was obliging enough to stay put while I took a couple of pics, and even changed lenses. By then she had gone over a little ridge, so I followed and snapped probably 20 more shots of her and even talked to her a bit--she is obviously accustomed to humans!
Today I did a more strenuous hike, going to Apgar Lookout. This was 3.7 miles one-way (7.4 total), and had an 1800 ft. elevation gain. I met a couple at the trailhead and later caught up with them on the trail, and they let me tag along with them, especially after I told them my tale about surprising the bear on Tuesday. They are locals, and pretty amazing people--she is "almost 68" and he is 72, and they are still out here hiking 2 or 3 times a week! Granted, they are not setting any speed records, but they aren't trying to, either. I'm going to post a shot that I took from the top of Apgar.
It's warmer today than it has been, probably in the mid 80's. Nice, except now all the damn flies are out and active. They're driving me nuts as I sit here trying to type this. Arrrgghh!!!