I find it strange how those grooves get worn by a person spending time in one place. The grooves are not readily visible, at least until it comes time to get up and move, and then one realizes you're up to your neck in a well-worn rut which is called my place or my job. And even if my place and my job are not that special or enviable by any of the other observers of your location and condition, one feels those strong tethers of routine or of place that hold one fast. I find it strange that is so hard to just climb out of that groove and just go away.
But go away we did. The impetus was primarily to spend a few days with my folks, see how they're doing and gettin' along. And as they are sort of worriers about me and my lifestyle, it was expressed that I had to get up to Montana where they reside and give an accounting of myself and my life. There needed to be talks of the estate and of affairs to come and likewise there needed to be assurance from me that the wolves are not baying at my front door. All of that was accomplished in a grand tour and with a get-up-and-go-away abandon. It was good - and I've got the pictures to prove it.
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It was to be a big loop, as many things in life truly are; we would cover 2,702 miles and hit the usual high points, as will be documented.
We flew Dallas to Spokane, thus avoiding outrageous taxes and fees at Sea-Tac Airport in Seattle, but we did succumb to $100 in round-trip checked baggage fees, amounting to an additional +10% charge to the ticket! I prophesy the coming day when we will just fly naked with no checked baggage and we will not even pack a toothbrush while we are on vacation. It may not be pretty, butt it is going to happen.
Perhaps it was because I did not fly naked this time, but the guy at the Spokane car rental counter gave me a free up-grade on our reserved mid-size model to an SUV. By mid-afternoon we were heading up over the bump that is the Idaho panhandle east of Spokane on our way to see the folks for dinner at Flathead Lake. After enduring two consecutive butt aches (which I never get) from sitting in the airplane seats, it was a great feeling to get on the road. I always feel great driving the St. Regis to Ravalli route in Montana, it is my favorite stretch of road in the West, hugging the banks of the Clarke Fork and Flathead Rivers, and it is especially pleasant in the illumination of a late summer's day. I am feeling good about this.
We check-in at the Chateau Mom & Dad and select the upstairs "Chimney Room" for our stay. The menus were already penned and the plan was to not be a tourist, but just take it easy and on the lake shore and visit like just plain folks.
We chucked that easy-going plan the next day and took a trip to Glacier National Park. We caught a free shuttle bus in Apgar Village and rode it up the Going-to-the-Sun road, currently experiencing long traffic delays due to construction repairing the parts of the road that slid off the cliff. We debarked at Logan Pass and Sue challenged me to a hike to the Hidden Lake overlook. Game on!
We had to cross several slushy snowfields on the trail, and we were gleefully mindful that it was 105 degrees in Dallas, and a sunny 66 degrees atop the continental divide. We saluted the federally employed Mountain Goats posing for the tourists along the trail.
On the way down we both took a tumble as we crossed the slippery snow - it felt good.
We passed several Rangers briskly walking up the trail with there radios full of chatter while we were returning; I asked, "Are you closing the trail because of the bear at Hidden lake?" She answered, "Yeah, you got that right."
I read in the Missoulian paper the next day that a seasonal worked from Michigan had disappeared on a lone hike from Hidden Lake in Glacier NP. The article wrote of slippery rocks and steep cliffs as hazards; I fear a bear et 'im up.
But go away we did. The impetus was primarily to spend a few days with my folks, see how they're doing and gettin' along. And as they are sort of worriers about me and my lifestyle, it was expressed that I had to get up to Montana where they reside and give an accounting of myself and my life. There needed to be talks of the estate and of affairs to come and likewise there needed to be assurance from me that the wolves are not baying at my front door. All of that was accomplished in a grand tour and with a get-up-and-go-away abandon. It was good - and I've got the pictures to prove it.
******************************************
It was to be a big loop, as many things in life truly are; we would cover 2,702 miles and hit the usual high points, as will be documented.
We flew Dallas to Spokane, thus avoiding outrageous taxes and fees at Sea-Tac Airport in Seattle, but we did succumb to $100 in round-trip checked baggage fees, amounting to an additional +10% charge to the ticket! I prophesy the coming day when we will just fly naked with no checked baggage and we will not even pack a toothbrush while we are on vacation. It may not be pretty, butt it is going to happen.
Perhaps it was because I did not fly naked this time, but the guy at the Spokane car rental counter gave me a free up-grade on our reserved mid-size model to an SUV. By mid-afternoon we were heading up over the bump that is the Idaho panhandle east of Spokane on our way to see the folks for dinner at Flathead Lake. After enduring two consecutive butt aches (which I never get) from sitting in the airplane seats, it was a great feeling to get on the road. I always feel great driving the St. Regis to Ravalli route in Montana, it is my favorite stretch of road in the West, hugging the banks of the Clarke Fork and Flathead Rivers, and it is especially pleasant in the illumination of a late summer's day. I am feeling good about this.
We check-in at the Chateau Mom & Dad and select the upstairs "Chimney Room" for our stay. The menus were already penned and the plan was to not be a tourist, but just take it easy and on the lake shore and visit like just plain folks.
We chucked that easy-going plan the next day and took a trip to Glacier National Park. We caught a free shuttle bus in Apgar Village and rode it up the Going-to-the-Sun road, currently experiencing long traffic delays due to construction repairing the parts of the road that slid off the cliff. We debarked at Logan Pass and Sue challenged me to a hike to the Hidden Lake overlook. Game on!
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| Dad, Sue & Mom Logan Pass Visitor's Center Trailhead to Hidden Lake |
We had to cross several slushy snowfields on the trail, and we were gleefully mindful that it was 105 degrees in Dallas, and a sunny 66 degrees atop the continental divide. We saluted the federally employed Mountain Goats posing for the tourists along the trail.
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| Mountain Goat placed in snowfield by Park Service to entertain the Taxpayers visiting the park |
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| Nanny & Kid taking a break from Job Snowfield Posing for Tourists (Goats with Kids are allowed 30 min breaks after 3 Hrs in the Snowfield) |
We passed several Rangers briskly walking up the trail with there radios full of chatter while we were returning; I asked, "Are you closing the trail because of the bear at Hidden lake?" She answered, "Yeah, you got that right."
I read in the Missoulian paper the next day that a seasonal worked from Michigan had disappeared on a lone hike from Hidden Lake in Glacier NP. The article wrote of slippery rocks and steep cliffs as hazards; I fear a bear et 'im up.
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| Hidden Lake, Glacier National Park Glacially carved landscape |
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| Mark has chased Billy Goats Gruff out from Under this Bridge And is now acting as a "Troll" Dad I am ready to mess with by-passer's minds - for no good reason As they tromp across my bridge |
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| Sue Crosses the Treacherous Ice |
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| Snowbank Sue - Nothing like Dallas in August |
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| Wife basking in high-altitude marvelously cool air |
My parents were waiting for us at Logan Pass Center when we returned after being chased off the mountain by the bear. We all hopped on the bus and took the ride down the road carved precariously on the vertical wall of the glacial valley. We got off for a small hike through the "Trail of Cedars" and the beautiful Avalanche Creek.
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| Avalanche Creek Glacier National Park Along the "Trail of the Cedars" Named after it discovered, Cedar Yopantz - An early explorer who was known for striking off into the wilderness without a map or compass. This random navigation technique is now known as: "Flying by Cedar Yopantz" |
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