Saturday, November 22, 2008
Headin' South
TOP: Moon over Beaver (UT)
2nd: Two fisted drinker
3rd: Replenishing the body in mormon country
4th: Not the time to have a tall truck!
x
Well, we started whittling our way back south to end our trip, and spent a day or so through idaho and utah. The countryside was beautiful, and I'm particularly a fan of the Wasatch range near SLC.
x
Tomorrow we'll hit Bryce Canyon NP, then on down to Phoenix for our flight home. We're road worn, but thrilled that we were lucky enough to see all of this magnificant countryside. The West is just an awesome place.
x
"Hit the road, Lump" Lumpy out
Footloose in Flathead
TOP: Kids in mid-flight on the tire swing
2nd: Flathead lake. It's really flat...
3rd: Not sure if that was Alvin or Simon.
4th: The God of Thunder makes water fall from the sky
x
Today he hiked Flathead Lake, a lovely little patch of wilderness. There were actually a few people around on the trails, which was a good thing in my view since there were bear warnings everywhere. And, up here, they have browns and grizzlies, not those wimpy eastern black bears that mostly run the other way. These guys eat you up yum.
x
"Grin and Bear it" Lumpy out
Kalispell Kodaks
TOP: A yurt in the local park
2nd: An incredible teakwood and copper trimmed house, alongside the lake. This was amongst the prettiest houses I've ever seen anywhere
3rd: Beautiful kalispell gardens
We'll Miss You, Missoula!
TOP: One big buck 2nd: "Cosmo" Kathy enjoying a Missoula Martini
3rd: Wonder why they call them "Bighorn" sheep?
4th: Bullwinkle's legacy
x
After spending the day touring GlacierNP, we drove into Kalispell and Missoula. Kalispell (surprisingly!) had the best coffee shop that we found on the whole trip...awesome baked good, great foo-foo coffee, and an outstanding breakfast. We spent the afternoon driving around Whitefish, then headed down to Missoula for the evening.
x
We were quite surprised upon arriving in Missoula, as it was not what we expected. It was actually a little college town, surrounded by beautiful hills, with a couple of rivers running through it. Kinda of like Chattanooga, but with snow. And liberals. We found a great little game restaurant...how did we know it was a game restaurant? Well, because when we walked in the door, it was wall-to-wall with stuffed dead things; moose, bear, elk, deer, rabbits, and liberals. Great little place, and we had a fine game dinner. I feel so Lewis and Clark...
x
Tomorrow we'll tour the area a bit more and do some hiking. But tonite, we are mountain men.
x
"Who the heck ever came up with stuffing and mounting anyways?" Lumpy out
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
x
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!
x
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.
x
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.
x
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!
x
"Tough way to spend a birthday" Lumpy out
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)