We had a little sleep in and then headed North on beautiful 93
Lovely views
We followed the snake river
We found a gorgeous little campground where we stopped to have a picnic lunch
Murray thought this rock looked like the moai statues on Easter Island (can you see the face?)
Murray climbing at the 45th parrallel
He he - the name for a business that we could possible open in Oz? maybe not....We arrived at my Dad's uncle Jerry's place around dinner time and also met his wife Mickie and son Keith. We all enjoyed a lovely BBQ (hiding luckily in their pop up tent because the mosquitoes were ravenous)! That evening we camped in their yard - well, we were in our truck as was Helen and my parents camped:)
Day 261 - July 16
Today Jerry took us on a road trip to see the local sites around Stevensville.
First stop was the historic St. Mary's Mission. Founded in 1841, the State of Montana grew from the settlement of St. Mary's, which was later named Stevensville. The town holds the distinct honor of being the place "Where Montana Began."
Next we went to the Big Hole National Battlefield
On August 9, 1877 gun shots shattered a chilly dawn on a sleeping camp of Nez Perce Indians. Colonel John Gibbon and 163 men of the 7th Infantry and 34 Bitterroot Volunteers had orders to stop the non-treaty Nez Perce and return them to
The confrontation was the most violent battle between the Nez Perce and the U.S. Government forces. During the day and a half battle, the Nez Perce lost an estimated 60 to 90 men, women and children, although it is believed that actual loses may have been much higher. U.S. forces lost 28 and an additional 40 serious casualties. Upon the final surrender by Chief Joseph he was quoted as saying ,"Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever".
We came across this interesting map showing the route that Lewis and Clark traveled - quite amazing when you consider they did it in 1803. You can see when USA was once split into 3 sections, EAST-British, MID-French, WEST-Spanish.
Next we drove to see the ghost town of Bannack
Kinda like an old time photo eh? I like the black & white!
Bannack was the site of Montana's first major gold discovery in 1862.
Sixty historic log and frame structures remain standing in Bannack, many quite well-preserved; most can be explored.
At its peak, Bannack had a population of about three thousand. Outdoors bath??
Cute picket fences
We walked up and down the street, peeking in and exploring a lot of the old buildings
My Dad and Uncle Jerry peeking out at us from the old jail, overnight in the clink for bar fights!
Amazingly well built that these buildings are still standing!
They filled the cracks with mud - seemed to work well
The big building was once the masonic lodge, later they turned the lower floor into a school room, but kept a lodge meeting place upstairs.
It really has a great Old West feel about it
The town was named after the local Bannock Indians
An old style garage - that works!
Talk about being in the middle of nowhere!
Hmmm not quite as complicated as the cars you can buy today huh?
The old schoolhouse
And...... back to 2008 and color! Murray risks getting stung again..
Bumble beeeeeeeeeeee
Wow now that is a close up of a bee face!
Later we took a lovely drive up and over the continental divide
Stunning view and STEEP dirt road driving!
It's called Lemhi Pass. Jerry said to us on the walkie talkie that I wasn't allowed to look at the view though, since I had to navigate the super steep drive down! Eeek!
And to our excitement we spotted these bighorn sheep on our way back!!!! Our first bighorn spotting on this trip!!! Those kids scrambled up there in 2 seconds.
Hey - what cha lookin' at?We had a great BBQ back at Jerry's house and met his daughter JeriLee and her daughter Angie who came over to say Hello. It was quite a late dinner, but fantastic as usual. We also tried beef tri-tips for the first time - which apparently originated in San Maria, California (yummm)!
After dinner Mickie broke out the good stuff - Amarula - a GORGEOUS orange flavored creamy liquor from South Africa - yummmmm!Day 262 - July 17
Murray got up EARLY and went fishing with Keith again (they went yesterday as well - although the BIG fish they caught was not documented with a photo.....)
But they also managed to catch some fish today! A nice big trout!We brought Dolph into the Ford dealer in town to get a recalled part replaced and an oil change. While that was happening we went out for a nice huge breakfast at Perkins and got supplies at Walmart . We also stopped at the AAA office, as Jerry said we might be able to get some free maps. We told the lady about our trip and she gave us SO many books and maps that she had to go out back and get a box (over $150 worth of books for FREE because we have a AAA membership) FANTASTIC!
After collecting Dolph and giving him a lovely wash and polish, we headed back for our last BBQ at Jerry's.
Keith, sitting by Jeralie was the BBQ master
Jerry really enjoyed the boiled peanuts (kinda bizzarre - but also kind nice!)
Boiled peanuts - kinda smushy
Me guarding the appetizer plate (oh they were GOOD)! Speaking of guarding the food, notice anything on the table...yeah that's how they roll out in Montana 'westside'.
Then the mixologist got to work - Jerry used this Evan Williams whiskey in lieu of Jack Daniels to make Red Snappers (also with cranberry juice and amaretto) WOW they were GOOD!!!
Mom got this yummy giant sugar cookie for us as well !We had a great night, and finished off the evening by watching some videos that Jerry and his friends took when they were working as helicopter pilots in Vietnam. It was amazing to watch, and to hear Jerry's commentary and stories - very intersting.
We had a nice time getting to know Jerry, Mickie and Keith and we really appreciated their hospitality!
Day 263 - July 18
We packed up the tent, had some nice hot coffee, and then said our tearful goodbyes to my Mom and Dad who were heading back to Minnesota today.
We drove off down the dirt road, turned on the highway, and THEN Murray remembered that he had left his sunglasses on the back bumper! We quickly stopped and lucky for him they were still there - whew!
Murray, Helen and I stopped for groceries and starbucks and then
gas ..... where they had bunnies??? for sale - odd place if you ask me!
hmmmmm Bunny to go?
We drove up North past Whitefish lake which was stunning
Gorgeous flowers around too
Some bones Murray came across
Our trucks up above as Murray hiked down for a photo
Finally about 5 hours later we arrived in West Glacier! A town just outside of Glacier National Park.We stopped in a cafe for lunch (because we hadn't spotted any subways along the way and we were STARVING)! We had a nice chicken sandwich and soup, and then drove into the park.
As we were driving along we noticed this camera man pop up out of a suv and start taping this girl driving a convertible. Music video perhaps?? We saw her later and I'm not sure who she was.
It was an absolutely gorgeous drive
We drove up and up and up to Logan's pass which would take us to the East side of the park
We had to pull over and wait for traffic to pass because the narrow mountainside road was down to one lane because of construction
Dolph waiting on the mountain
Glacier National Park contains two mountain ranges, sometimes referred to as the southern extension of the Canadian Rockies mountain ranges
The park has over 130 named lakes, more than 1,000 different species of plants and hundreds of species of animals.
It is the centerpiece of what has been referred to as the "Crown of the Continent Ecosystem"
We even saw some glaciers alongside the road!
Dolph driving up towards the weeping wall
The entire weeping wall - quite impressive (except for if you are on a motorbike - eeek!)
We drove the famed Going-to-the-Sun Road, a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark
It traverses through the heart of the park and crosses the Continental Divide
This year is the 75th Anniversary of the going-to-the-sun road
Dolph liked the views
So did I!
The road only opened two weeks before we arrived - due to snow on the road - you can see why!
Still pretty snowy!
The going-to-the-sun road was completed in 1932 and bisects the park. It is the only route that ventures deep into the park, going over the Continental Divide at Logan Pass (6,646 feet) at the midway point.
Eventually we made it to our campground Rising Sun and we found a nice place to make dinner
With QUITE a view!
Murray enjoyed cooking over an open flame! He made some great chicken for us - quite a good dinner for just one pan!
And I enjoyed the last beer we had in the cooler (or since I'm moving to Australia should I start calling it the esky?)
Helen and I looked on as the cooking commenced
Later on we got our jackets on because it started to get chilly!
Helen picked out these snackwell's for dessert - just hoping they would be good. These used to be one of my most Favorite snacks when I lived in the US - so I was thrilled! And oh were they GOOD! We all loved them:)Later on we all made our way to the showers and it ended up being shower - not plural! Just ONE for the men and one for the women! How annoying! So we each bought a token, then waited in line and finally finally got clean! Murray however learned a valuable lesson about showering with a token that only gives you 6 minutes of water - don't soap up when you think - oh I must use up the rest of my shower time - because by then your time is most likely almost OUT!
Day 264 - July 19
Today we slept in a bit and then caught the (FREE hooray) shuttle up back up to Logan Pass
Murray by the US and Canadian flags at Logan pass
We took a look around the visitors center and saw this creepy looking marmot
Oh wow and a bear print - my hand looks SO small compared to it - eeeeeeek!
All of the National Park tour buses lined up in the parking lot - gosh they are cute
We decided to hike to Hidden Lake - Murray and I posing at the beginning of the trail
We had to go up THROUGH the snow - gosh it was COLD! Good thing we were hiking!
It was a LOVELY hike!
Great views - this photo makes me want to sing out 'The HIIIIIIIIIIIILS are alive....'
Me & Helen on the hike
It was 3 miles in, 3 miles out
Helen & I making our way around a rocky, snowy corner
We LOVED the colors in the mountains - those reds are just amazing
A lovely little lake along the path
And we spotted a family of Mountain Goats!!
Our first - soooooooooooo cute!
Shame that it's summer though - they have shed most of their gorgeous white fluffy coats
But the baby was still CUTE!
Our first view of Hidden Lake
They were coming quite close to us
Checking out the amazing views just like us!
Ahhhhh baby goat and glaciers - you can't beat that - just stunning!
Mountain Goats also known as the Rocky Mountain Goat, is a large-hoofed mammal found only in North America.
It resides at high elevations and is a sure-footed climber, often resting on rocky cliffs that predators cannot reach.
Both male and female mountain goats have beards, short tails, and long black horns
A billy stands at about three feet tall. Nice goat, nice goat...hey hey....sharp horns...soft me...ahhhhhhhhhh
They were wary of us, and kept an eye on us when we got too close
oh my GOSH that baby is cute!
Baby and Mama
my GOSH that is a gorgeous view
The mountain goat's feet are well-suited for climbing steep, rocky slopes, sometimes with pitches of 60 degrees or more, with inner pads that provide traction and cloven hooves that can spread apart as needed.
A goat ahead of us on the path
Snacking away
Me & Helen waiting for this goat to move off the path so we could continue.
He would NOT budge - he just stood there looking at us.
I thought maybe he was trying to get by us up the path, so we moved up to the side
And wouldn't you know, he passed right by, and we continued on down to the lake!
On the way down to the lake Murray spotted this Massive marmot
Chew chew chewing away on something - look at his paws...
Oh - Hello
Murray and I in Hidden Lake
Helen & Murray
We sat down with THIS view and had a nice sandwich for lunch - not bad I must say!
When we got there Murray had to show us how to freeze your hands - pick up a piece of glacier!
On the way back we had MANY path confrontations with Mountain goats! Actually, when Helen and I went to the restroom (well, outhouse really) I waited outside for her and a goat approached me. I backed away cause I didn't want him getting too close with those pointy horns, and he started coming at me! I went behind the outhouse, he came too. We ended up being on opposite corners - each peeking around on side, then the other. He tried to chase me around the outhouse, but I found a shovel and just held it up at him to tell him to keep his distance. When we were both done we locked the outhouse back up and backed away from him as he tried to claw his way into the bathroom - ODD!!
Mama & baby - pretty cute
Hey - no more pictures paparazzi!
Climbing up a steep path
Glacier Lillie's are gorgeous
Then we had to work our way back down the snow and ice - a bit harder than going up!
Amazing how the flowers grow right up out of the snow and ice
The colors of the rocks were amazing - so vivid
Notice anything?...
Ahhh and another marmot - all cute and fluffly
Lovely reds
Glacier Lilly
The Hills are Alive, with the Sound of Music AHHHH AHHHH AHHHH AHHHH
After catching the shuttle back to Rising Sun we bought some much deserved ice cream!
Helen back at camp with our trucks
We set up the tent too to use as a living and dining room to escape from the bugs. Also tonight was the first night we have made a campfire!!
And of course..... S'Mores! The fire was a bit over the top for melting marshmallows....
Murray decided to heat his up on the spatula - for those of you who do not know - a s'more is a graham cracker, a piece of chocolate and a campfire toasted marshmallow, with another graham cracker on top to make a little sandwich! YUMMMM
Murray preparing some more wood for the fire (yay - finally a use for his axe)
Dolph enjoyed the campfire
We were lucky we didn't have to buy firewood - a nice couple popped by our camp yesterday asking if we wanted their spare wood - we said SURE! Apparently they just drove around camp until they saw a fellow Minnesotan license plate - works for us!
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh S'more - I want some MORE!
Holy cow toasted marshmallows are fantastic
This was Helen's FIRST roasting of marshmallows
and her FIRST S'more EVER - how exciting! And yes I can report - she loved them:)Day 265 - July 20
Today we got up early and drove to St. Mary's visitor center by the East entrance (which was quite disappointing I must say). Then we drove on to the top North East part of the park called Many Glacier.
The views were absolutely stunning !!!
We decided to hike to Iceberg Lake. Along the trail we saw these flowers called Bear Grass
The view down the valley that we were hiking towards
It can grow to 15-150 cm in height and grows in bunches with the leaves wrapped around and extending from a small stem at ground level.
Keith said his nephew calls it Boobie Flowers - I think you can see why in this pic.....
Me on the hike - notice my bear whistle - just in case, you know..
Lovely little waterfalls along the way
Me with the amazing view down the valley
Bear Grass - technical name Xerophyllum tenax
Helen & I up ahead on the trail - waiting for our photographer
The glacier we were hiking towards is in the background here - the lake is hidden at the bottom
Our first view of Iceberg Lake after a LONG - 5 miles to get there
Murray IN Iceberg Lake - burrrrr! He could only stand in there for 30 secs....
A nice little pond near the lake
A bit of erosion going on - the glaciers do all sorts of work during the winter moving soil around
Close up of some gorgeous bear grass
Lovely little bee in the flower. They would get inside each flower and buzz around in circles like crazy - rubbing all the pollen all over themselves. Like they were breakdancing...
SO pretty
It took us two hours to get to iceberg lake, where we had a lovely sandwich, and then one hour and forty minutes to get back - not bad for 10 miles of uphill!When we returned from our hike we all gathered our shower stuff and used our tokens to take a shower (they had more than one here hooray)!
Then we met back up in the cafe and set up on a corner table so Murray could do some disk burning on the laptop.
We, of course, Started with dessert! A gigantic brownie, with a heap of huckleberry ice cream and whipped cream on top - fantastic!
Later on we ordered dinner - our starter were these AMAZING zucchini slices with a huge serving of ranch dressing to dip - WOW they were good!After dinner we went to St. Mary's lodge (just outside of the park) and we hung out in their comfortable lounge so Murray could continue burning discs (to send copies of his pics back with Helen to Australia). We spent a few hours there, and then headed back to camp to fall exhausted into bed.
Day 266 - July 21
I got woken up LATE last night by Murray saying to me 'a bear is in our camp, he's on the tent.' I said 'WHAT?' and peeked out the window, then just said 'No, Murray, nothing is there - go back to sleep.' I guess his dreams were full of bears - odd! Normally Murray wakes up in the night looking for the emergency brake lever as he thinks the car is rolling down the street, of course its not. This happens about three times a night - every night. Yawn.
Today we caught the shuttle up to sunrift gorge.
Murray by the falls
Me, Helen & Murray at St. Mary's Falls - lovely
We also saw Baring Falls
It involved a couple miles of hiking, not too bad compared to yesterday's vertical 10 miles!
Hiking along the lake we had gorgeous views
Gorgeous
Murray spotted these baby birds in their nest very close to the falls. The mama was busy going back and forth to the nest with food for them - there was a LOT of peeping going on!
CUTE!
FEED ME
Me & Helen at the falls where she slipped and banged up her arm - not good! It was very slippery - kinda scary.
We sat and just enjoyed the falls for awhile
Lovely views
Later we returned to camp for lunch, then drove to to the Many Glacier area again to see the famous lodge on the lake.
Photographer Murray set up and ready for Moose
He was busy watching this female moose eating in the lake
AMAZING to watch!
She has a bit of a cone head
Wow and QUITE a jaw!
Flopping her head around like a dog - sweet, looks like she needs to blow her nose...
With her head down in the water she almost looks like a bear!
We were SO SO excited when we spotted this male - Helen and I started jumping up and down waving to Murray to look (we had been watching a female in the lake for ages until she got scared off, and then we sat around hoping a male would come too - patience pays off that's for sure!)
An amazing rack on him
Gorgeous
Swimming out a bit deeper
They spend a LOT of time with their heads under water eating the aquatic plants...they are 10 times richer in minerals than any other 'on land' variety.
He had QUITE an amazing view
Oh - Hello!
Wow - those antlers are amazing - but what's up with only one ear open wide?
Ahhh the other ear is up higher
He has his eye on us!
We watched him for about 45 minutes - completely amazing
They are HUGE animals
This shows just how close they came to where we were all standing
On the way back a very happy Murray bent this tree....
Place to rest his tired photographer's head. Later he was wondering why he could smell pine sap?.....On the way back we came across some people who had also been looking at the moose. They were hurrying their way back out towards the lodge, saying they had just come across a grizzly on the path! So we grabbed our stuff and followed them out - scary!
Back at the cafe we waited for ages and finally got a table to have our zucchini slices again and share a great big pizza - yumm!
Then it was back to St. Mary's lodge again for more disc burning for Murray, while Helen and I did laundry. We ended up reorganizing the truck as well, which meant taking ALL of the tupperwears out of the back - but it was a good thing to do - helped me figure out where everything was again. Murray burned for HOURS, then the pc crashed - when he had finished 8 out of 10 discs - how annoying! So we just packed up and left, he could finish the rest later.
Day 267 - July 22
Today we slept in a little, packed up the tent, and then drove to Logan Pass.
We spotted this ground of bighorn sheep, and we went off the path and stalked them!
Me & the glacier
I was the photographers assistant - carrying the tripod
They saw us - but they didn't seem too bothered, until Murray got close, then it was touch and go.
Oh Hello there - two guys peering over a bum
Male big horn sheep's horns can weigh up to 30 pounds, as much as the rest of the bones in the male's body. Their hearing was excellent - every time Murray clicked the camera they all bobbed their heads up...
You can tell how old they are by looking at the big ridges formed every sinter in their horns - this guy looks about 5? years old
They really are beautiful animals
When their horns get too long and start cutting off their peripheral vision they often break the ends off on rocks
HEYYYYYYYYY I SEEEEEEEEE YOUUUUUUUUUUU
They quickly scatter to the safety of a nearby ridge to check Murray out from a distance...
Keeping an eye on us
I love this photo - two views of their amazing horns
Females, or ewes, also have horns, but they are short with only a slight curvature.
They got QUITE close to Murray - they came around the back of this group of trees and right by him - freaked us out - but as long as he kept still they just avoided him.
John Dee Dee really liked Glacier National Park.
Once we had seen enough sheep we went down to Lake McDonalds Lodge and had a great pizza lunch at Jammer Joe's.
The view of McDonalds lake is really pretty from the veranda - lovely!
Later we made our way into West Glacier where Helen and I tried out the bobsled at the Alberta visitors center.
And that evening we made a fantastic spaghetti bolognese for our last dinner together!
After dinner Murray got out the laptop to get on the internet a bit before the slideshow. We were lucky enough to be there on the night a friend of the owner who is a professional wildlife photographer did a slide show (Tom Ulrich). He had some great photos, his best known is of two polar bears fighting (we got an autographed poster of this photo which was fun)! By the end of the slideshow it was cold and very rainy, so we all just headed to bed.Day 268 - July 23
We got up today and worked on drying the tent out as best as we could with some paper towels and towels (it was soaked from the previous night's rain). Then we just had to leave it to dry while we showered and packed.
Dolph and the campsite
Last photo of bro & sis - Murray and Helen
Me & Helen my lovely sister-in-lawIt was a sad goodbye - we have had SUCH a fantastic time over these last four weeks. But we are happy to know that we'll see her in just a few months and now we have ALL these great memories - such a fabulous couple weeks!
On the way out we saw this amazing metal eagle on top of an entrance - WOW!
And then it was on to.... Alberta, Canada! Coming soon....................
