June 2018

So much has happened since the last post.  I had family come, we have already lost a front desk agent and I have more to report on the nearby sights.

My daughter, Rachel arrived with her children for a week in a real adventure land.  Living near Orlando, Florida the family spends a lot of vacation time and long weekends at Disney World.  When I got the job in Glacier, Rachel was excited to have her children, ages 5 and 7 see the West and better yet, Glacier National Park.

They arrived June 2 and my sister, Megan arrived shortly thereafter.  As much as I would like to have taken every moment to share the park with them, I did have a work schedule to follow and I was happy my sister could join, making it a mini family reunion.  They stayed in Apgar Village at the Village Inn.  I feel it was a perfect location for the family as Lake McDonald is literally just feet away from any door.  The kids loved the location and found other adventurous kids walking the rocks, floating "boats" and skipping stones.   I took my grandson out on a kayak and Rachel took her daughter.  We had a great time getting ourselves within view of an eagle's nest and then crossed the slim lake to the other side before coming back just over an hour.  Believe me,  we were tired enough!

While I worked the next few days the family would take the Red Bus tour, raft the Middle Fork of the Flathead River and tour the East side of Glacier.  The Going to the Sun Run is not yet open, so they toured the East by driving the Southern boundary.  Before they left the area we ate a lovely dinner at Russel's, the Lake McDonald Restaurant and took a couple of hikes.

We did strive to find snow for 5 year old Gabby who has never seen it.  Unfortunately, she would only see it afar.   It was great fun to have them near but the week flew by and soon they would be back in Florida.  I drove them to Missoula and we stayed the night in a hotel before the early morning flight.  Megan stayed a couple of more days and we drove to a friend's summer place near Anaconda.  We stopped in Big Fork and Philipsburg, MT along the way.  Both are charming with completely different history and I do hope to return.  I stayed one night with the friends near Anaconda, roasting my dinner over a campfire and in a drizzle.  I didn't mind as it was a welcome change!  The next morning I was quite surprised to being awakened at 6:30 AM with, "Patty, you better get up...it's snowing!" Not knowing if it would be worse along the way back to GNP,  I heeded her advise!

June 16, 2018
So now I have had a couple of days off to myself.  It is a struggle to find folks to do things with and I don't waste time trying.  Everyone has a schedule to adhere to and different outdoor abilities.  So, armed with what I know I need I go it solo.  I started out yesterday thinking I would try again to explore East Glacier.  I must not have set a significant intention as I found myself headed to the North Fork!  I had picked up a bagged lunch from the Employee Dining Room and headed out.  As I passed the entrance to Huckleberry Lookout Trail I thought, "Hey, I think I could do that one today!"  I turned back to read about the trail.  My book said it was a 12 mile, strenuous trail up and back.  I gave myself permission to return at any point it was too much. This trail is not noted to be one of the most frequented and I was sure I had what I needed at hand.  I deployed my bear spray just to get a feel for it and doused myself with bug spray (the mosquitos are the worst this year I am told).  The start was level and loaded with foliage knee high overhanging the well maintained trail.  I crossed a stream and soon enough the gentle grade began.....and never stopped!

Yes, indeed - it is strenuous in that it is a continual, steady increase.  It is unrelenting yet offers stunning views!  I got to within a mile of the lookout and felt the weakness in my legs.  Lucky for me, I had reached snow so I proclaimed, "This is it!" Leaving the meat sandwich in the car, I would soon be out of my packaged nutrition and had consumed half of my water.  I looked forward to that sandwich and full bottle of water in the car!  As I returned I encountered a crouched man peering out at the beauty less than 1/2 way up.  He asked how much further and was surprised when I said 4 miles.  He admitted it had been some time since hiking, but hey - he is from the hills of Pennsylvania!  It had been six hours since I had taken off and I was happy with my hike, even though I had left that last mile.

I motored northbound toward Polebridge, MT.  Folks rave about the baked goods that come out of "The Merc" on a daily basis.  I was ready for a cold beer and stumbled into Home Ranch Bottoms asking, "Where am I?"  Evidently, it is a common question and folks, of course laughed.
The company was good and the aroma of BBQ in the back overwhelmed me.  I caved for the German sausage sandwich topped with sauerkraut.  Soon enough I would be on my way for the last six miles to Polebridge, MT.  It is tiny and quirky.  Check it out on Wikipedia.

 I had hoped to see amazing stars since the New Moon had just occurred.  I had visions of me car camping and seeing the Milky Way as I had never seen it before.  Mother Nature had other plans.  Gray clouds rolled in and it began to sprinkle so I sought out a local hostel and got a bed inside the log cabin for the night.

The North Fork Hostel is owned and operated by Oliver.  He is very accommodating and runs a very clean and comfortable establishment.  I stayed awake, hoping for a break in the clouds, but it wasn't happening.  I was told I was a day late...of course! After a 9 hour sleep I awoke and took my breakfast of yogurt and pastry from The Merc and headed out.  It was still raining.  I decided that Ralph and I would do a forest road to Hornet Lookout.

We took the intimidating road up to where the road ended.  Again, I would leave the last little bit to perhaps be discovered later.  It was windy, rainy and cold!  Poor Ralph can hardly be recognized for the mud all over the sides and back!

To round off the end of my weekend, I slowly climbed the Apgar Lookout Trail.  This was the only one of three where I reached the summit.  I was able to stand in front of the webcam camera and be seen by my son, Sean in Maryland!  He took a photo of me with Lake McDonald in background.  Very fun way to wish him a Happy Father's Day!

 June 22, 2018
True to form, rain would fall again on my days off.  I set off for Kalispell and enjoyed an afternoon at Conrad Mansion Museum

Meet resident cat, Sweetie Pie.

The mansion was built by Charles E. Conrad, a founding father of Kalispell.  One of his granddaughters was the last family member to live in the place.  Lucky for historians, she was a hoarder and 90% of the furnishings are original with documentation to support. I would finish the day with a nice dinner near Whitefish with a new friend from Michigan.  Maybe I won't have to seek out things for solo activity, after all!

Saturday, June 23, 2018 marked the opening of the Going to the Sun Road!  Lucky for me, I would have the cold and windy day off to navigate the trepidatious road.  As I left the Lake McDonald area, I could tell it would not be the most scenic drive as there were low lying clouds in sight.  Nevertheless, the drive was beautiful and oddly serene.  When I arrived at the Logan Pass Visitor Center, the fog was so dense I could not see the building!

Views as I drove Eastbound on Going To The Sun Road.

Logan Pass Visitor Center 

I did a quick walk about and then made my way onward to Many Glacier and Swiftcurrent where I would have a rather disappointing lunch.  Could be I just made a bad choice.

Iconic Many Glacier Hotel

Trust me, two bears are in the frame.

It was time to turn back and it was then that I would see my first bear sighting in Glacier this summer.  Rangers stood aside the road with guns and kept wheels moving for the caravan of cars filled with visitors longing for the perfect photo. No, the guns were not to be a threat to tourists. Rangers occasionally fire them into the air to keep the animals from getting too close to the road.

Until next time, friends....the Red Bus fleet at Lake McDonald,

 beautiful Lake McDonald,

Lake McDonald Lodge and I bid farewell!

Glacier - Month One

View of Lake McDonald after a short hike.

Along with about 50 other Seasonal Employees, I reported to Xanterra (www.xanterra.com) in Columbia Falls, just outside Glacier National Park. Xanterra is the concessionaire that manages the lodges in Glacier as well as many others. We watched a video about the company, which is quite extensive; got our identification cards made, got uniforms, ate lunch and headed out.  Unfortunately for me, I needed to go to Kalispell for a quick Urgent Care trip.  Seems that ALL of the stitches from my recent basal cell removal below my left eye were not all removed!  I wondered why my incision was not healing and as I drove south out of Canada it dawned on me that I still had a stitch.  Lucky for me, the thing was not embedded!  

I got my dorm assignment before 5PM and got most of my belongings in the room.  I have one roommate (Samantha) who is a young gal from NY.   She has a degree in fashion design.  I have yet to find out how she found herself at the front desk in hospitality after all of her training!  At the front desk, Sam and I join Janoi from Jamaica, Alan (a retired attorney), Brandon and Antonio (both late 20's with a lot of seasonal work behind them).  Brandon and Antonio alternate the night audit position which saves Sam, Janoi and I any overnight shifts!  My first five days were in training, learning the front desk online system.  I was pretty overwhelmed but feel pretty confident now that we have been operational two weeks.  

Here I am at WORK! 

Our Opening Day was set for May 18th at noon.  At 10AM there was a widespread power outage that did not get resolved until after 2PM.  I had that day off....phew!  WiFi is sketchy, at best under normal circumstances.  Unfortunately, that power outage fried a piece of equipment that manages the WiFi and the piece had just arrived from Denver in the last week! Right off, the HR Department cried out for more people!  If you care to have a seasonal job in Glacier, check out the link mentioned above.   Use me as a reference.  If you are hired and complete your contract, I will split my $100 bonus with you! Hey, it pays for the gas to the park anyway!

Property manager addresses a few folks in the Lake McDonald lobby at Opening.

Chandeliers in lobby and restaurant depict Native American art.  

Avalanche Lake  - a 4 mile hike with just about 500 elevation change.

The following are pictures along the trail.

Trail of the Cedars is one of four ADA trails. 

I did take a very fun raft trip mid May but the river was "blowing out" (a term the agent used for extremely high water) and the route had to be changed.  This meant NO river photos!  So, here are a couple from the outfitters!

Below you see a photo I retook from the brochures used for the iconic RED BUS TOURS in Glacier.  These buses date back to the 30's and are in the third and final generation.  There were 35 originally, now there are 33.  One was lost in an accident allegedly driven by a drunk employee in the 1970's.  The other is being held for posterity in a National Park building for a Smithsonian some day.

At some point these buses will take 17 passengers at a time over the entire 50 mile stretch of Going to the Sun Road from West Glacier to East Glacier and in reverse.  The route remains under snow and avalanche review at the moment.  For the first operational week the road was only open to the Lake McDonald Lodge.  However, that did not stop avid hikers and bicyclists.  They could pursue in spite of the road blocks!  The road was opened to the Avalanche Parking Lot last weekend and I took no time to drive to the parking lot and check out the conditions.  After all, guests do ask all of the questions!

Along that same vein, I  took the opportunity today to drive to the other side to see the sights.  It is so interesting to see how different the ecosystems are West vs. East.  I learned today that the West side where I am working is a unique ecosystem in that it is rainforest like, as the Pacific Northwest.  No glaciers can be seen from the West side.   At one time, Glacier National Park had 166 glaciers.  There are just 25 remaining.  I was told the road on the East side is now open to the lookout for Jackson Glacier.  It was my intention to go see for myself!  Well, I diverted to Two Medicine ands Running Eagle Falls, also known as Tricky Falls.  Why?  In the late spring, early summer weeks the falls cascade from a long drop.  As the summer season progresses  the water flow slows down, the stream stops atop and come out from a cave.  I had my lunch and then decided to take a parallel road to the East Side.  Highway 49 is a secondary highway that is not well maintained, but decent enough for Ralph. I was comfortably listening to an old CD and reminiscing to each tune, soaking up the exhilarating scenery when  I would stop and snap a shot here and there. At one point I made the decision to get out of the car and capture a lovely panorama.  I reentered the car and it would not start!  I tried a few times, spaced out over about a half hour.  It was one o'clock and I was pretty remote.  I am grateful I had signed up for AAA before I left AZ!  Just after 3PM the tow truck arrived.  The driver asked me to try the ignition and don't you know.....IT STARTED!  What the heck?  So, erring on the side of caution, I made the decision to back track toward a more populated area and drove west again.  That East Glacier visit will just need to wait!

I have family arriving this week and so now I have driven to Polton, MT. to make this blog entry and get closer to the airport.  This is a lovely little town on the southern end of Flathead Lake.  I enjoyed the drive along the long lake and now sit in one of those little motel rooms constructed most likely in the 50's during the building of highways. I can not seem to get blog updates done anywhere in the park.   I may only have a chance once a month to give updates.  So, follow up with this site July 1! 

Have a great June everyone! 

Canadian Rockies

I got a good start out of Sandpoint, ID and found myself at the Canadian border about 10AM.  I had needlessly worried about a long line entering and only one semi and one personal vehicle was in front. I soon found myself laughing at ME as I had begun to sound like Dustin Hoffman in Rainman. Driving in Canada posed challenges I had overlooked.  First, the speed is not MPH so there I was every time I saw a speed sign doing my math.   I saw sign at the border that read 60 MPH = 90 KPH and realized "drop the last zero and multiply by 6". So there I was, "8 x 6 is 48; 6 x 6 is 36." After a while I did have to laugh. Also, the fuel is HIGH which I expected but I was short in my calculations for liters to gallons.  Hey, what the heck....once in a lifetime for me!

I noticed right away that high water was on either side of the road.  As I traveled, listening to Canadian radio, I heard that the snow pack is over 200% average pack.  Locals are hoping for a Spring that does not have it all melting faster, of course. The photo below shows a marshy area that was designed to cover runoff near Mount Broadwood.

I found myself in at the Fernie Visitor Centre about midday.  There was a nice trail right there and since the weather report was for rain later in the day and the next, I took off for a short hike.  I am glad I did as I ran across signs indicating the area would soon be subdivisions!  I left Fernie and actually had to back track some to get into the Canadian Rockies.  Soon after passing the park gate I encountered a brown bear rambling up a rocky hill.  I wondered if I was lucky or it would be a sign of many to come.  I arrived into Banff about 6PM and sought out lodging.  I was tired and checked into Best Western Siding 29.  They only had a king suite with a Jacuzzi tub....oh, too bad for me!  That would be a nice treat after a light dinner in the downtown area. 

The next morning, after listening to weather forecast, I decided to do a morning hike at Lake Louise.  I was surprised to see that the lake was nearly all frozen and the trail adjacent very snow packed.  I was able to walk half of that trail only as avalanche areas at the end were not yet cleared for the season.  Nevertheless, I was struck by the beautiful aqua color of the water and ice.  

Lake Louise Hotel has a lot to do to be ready for summer!

Lake Louise almost completely frozen. 

This was a tribute to Canadian Pacific Railway.  In 1889, CPR brought Swiss mountain guides to the Canadian Rockies to give rail traveling guests guided hikes and climbs.

The picture does not really show how vivid the aqua color is.

 After a snack at Lake Louise I took off for Jasper, Alberta...just about 3 hours away!

Below is a glimpse of a glacier seen from the road trip to Jasper.  On that drive I would encounter a grizzly bear near the road and two blacks bears!  As I write this, I am not able to inject bear shots, but I did post on Facebook!

 Ralph is feeling the altitude! If you look closely, you will see the road behind trees.

In another hour after this stop, I encountered the Jasper Icefields.  Go to this site and poke around!(https://www.jasper.travel/shareholders/columbia-icefield/)

It was as though I stopped in a postcard....a cold one!  The center offers a 3 hour trip out and back to an avalanche and to a skywalk!  It was windy and cold and did not sound appealing to me! From the Icefields to Jasper I found the road HARROWING, HEAVING AND HAUNTING!  I was enjoying the ride, but I am always one to walk on the edge a bit.  A good part of that distance had portions covered by fallen rocks and timber.  Crews were on the road, but it certainly was tricky!  

My last glimpse of the Canadian Rockies!

One thing I learned was top off the fuel at every opportunity.  I was lucky twice on this road trip!  What a grand 9 day trip prior to my getting busy at Glacier!  I can't imagine how heavy the traffic will be in Banff, Lake Louise and Jasper this summer!  I am grateful the weather held out, passes were clear and traffic was pretty light.  Now...off to work! 

Northbound with Ralph

THIS IS RALPH.

I took off May 1st and arrived in Las Vegas for the first night out. The drive across the desert never ceases to amaze me.  I look out at the mounds of dirt, imagining that a power greater than myself is sitting cross legged and playing with sand. Some might find the desert boring but I find it mesmerizing!   I met up for dinner with friends, my sisters, brother in law, nephew and his children.  It's always nice to get hugs even though I might be blowing through the area.  There are always some I miss.  The next day I drove from Vegas to Salt Lake City for two nights. It rained about 90% of the time and all along I was wishing that rain could reach the fire raging 20 miles from my mountain home in Arizona.  Later I did learn that the fire had been snowed on!  I enjoyed time with Shauna, my "frister"...a term I have developed for a friend of my sister. We had a nice meal out with her mother and brother.  I also took time to follow up with the doctor that did my laminectomy in September 2016.  It was nice to learn that it all looks good in the newest ex-rays. My sister, Megan had made lovely arrangements for our Mom and sister, Laurel which I delivered.

The next piece of the trip took me over Northeast Utah into Wyoming.  I had forgotten how that part of the country is loaded with iron making the land orange.  I stopped to visit and stay with friends in STAR VALLEY, Wyoming.  Kathy and Dave McCann and I met at Jackson Lake Lodge back in the 80's when we all worked for The Grand Teton National Park.  I took advantage of the short trip by stopping to explore a bit in Evanston, WY. I looked at the Uinta County Museum where I learned two things I might be able to remember....

1. The first woman to drive across country did so in 1909 with three friends that took 59 days.  She drove across ranches and at times forged water lifting the vehicle! Read more here:  https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/alice-ramseys-historic-cross-country-drive-29114570/
2. The first cross country bicycle trip was done two years prior in 51 days!

Dave flanked by two Star Valley babes!

Again, I took the opportunity to poke around Jackson, WY and the Teton Park to see how things have changed and to have some memories reignite.  Although little was open, the roads were clean and clear.  The mountains were showing themselves completely and I felt very fortunate.

Jenny Lake Visitor Center was still closed.

Ice breaking up on Jackson Lake....brr!

  I can recall working there and being asked when the peaks would be revealed....as though I were a meteorologist!

I left the Jackson area and stopped in on cousin Jessica in Idaho I have not seen in years.  It was nice to see her and I sure hope so much time does not elapse before the next visit!

This is Jessica with her dad, my Uncle Allan.

After leaving her, I was able to drive to Butte, Montana.  On that drive I saw SO many new baby calves on ranches.  Fun fact....Montana has more cows than people! Again, the drive was nice with sunny weather and some clouds.  I was fortunate because just as I checked into a hotel, rain and wind began for the long haul.  As I watched late night news, I heard that Missoula was hit hard and the storm had left many without power.

I awoke to a foggy morning, but I had a plan to visit a museum and by the time I was done the sun had burned off the fog.  As a tribute to my dad (a geophysicist), I looked in on the World Museum of Mining.  I opted not to take the underground tour and wandered the "streets" of the old West town.  It is really pretty extensive. 

Before I left Butte, I stopped at a bakery to buy a pasty. This is what the miners were given for their meals underground.  My goodness, the thing was huge!  It was filled with beef and potatoes.  I opted for some gravy but I am pretty sure the guys got theirs dry in the day.

Beef and potato pasty (PAHstee) with gravy

I pushed on, working my way close to the Canadian border. I followed a river or two along the way taking note of the level.  The rivers are rising, raging and/or rambling!  Many times it looked as though breaches were imminent

 I took a stretch in Wallace, ID.  What an interesting and fun place.  I enjoyed the museum set up at the railroad depot and visiting with a lady in a visitor center.  I asked, "What should I know about Wallace?"  She told me two things.  First, the place produced more silver than any other mining . district in the US.  2) Every downtown building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.   I90  passes through Wallace on an elevated freeway viaduct.  Fun fact I discovered on museum walk:  Dante's Peak was filmed in Wallace.

You might be able to see the freeway viaduct running behind the depot at a second floor level.

As I left Wallace, I passed Coeur d'Alene.  It is very beautiful, but disappointingly overbuilt. 

Beautiful Lake Coeur D'Alene

I drove through and found a sweet AIRBNB for the night in nearby Sandpoint.