Saturday, November 22, 2008

Happy Freakin' Birthday!











TOP: Mom and Kid rock hanging
2nd: Daddy checking out the tourists
3rd: Horses catching up on the latest prarie gossip
4th: Lumpy riverside
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Today we went from one of the ugliest places in the country (Butte), to one of the prettiest (Glacier National Park). And, what a way to spend Kathy's 49th birthday!
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We wanted to get to Glacier this trip, because the glaciers are almost gone. Even though our brain-trust of a president says that global warming is not real, try telling that to the mountain. Soon it will be "Big Pile of Rock national park". But, at this point, it is still an incredible place.
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The negative that comes with an incredible place is, of course, tourists. In marked contrast with Zion Kolob, Flaming Gorge, and some of the other parks we had visited on this trip, Glacier was stuffed...I'm talking stuffed, like NYC stuffed. Thousands of cars in a relentless procession through the park. We decided to go east to west, and that turned out to be a good plan as the other direction was even more crowded. Add on the fact that the park service had decided to do major highway reconstruction smack dab in the middle of the tourist season (in their defense, they probably only have a 2-3 month construction window due to the severity of winter), and it was a madhouse scene. Cars and people everywhere, not a lick of quiet to enjoy the serenity. Still, magnificent vistas of the mountains, lakes, and lots of native wildlife. The goats were especially entertaining, beautiful with their pure white coats, and totally unspooked by the tourist volume.
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We spent her whole birthday touring through the park, and it was a day well spent. This makes our 49th state, with just alaska to go; our 50th state, on our 50th birthday and our 25 anniversary, and alaska's 50th anniversary of statehood. The numbers are in alignment for next summer!
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"Tough way to spend a birthday" Lumpy out

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