Lewis & Clark Caverns

 

Montana’s first state Park, Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park, opened in 1941, and features one of the largest known limestone caverns in the Northwest. 

Who discovered the Lewis & Clark Caverns?  Not Lewis and Clark!

The Caverns were included in Native American Indian stories; however, Charles Brooke & Mexican John from Whitehall discovered the entrance in 1882. In 1892, Tom Williams and Burt Pannell discovered steam coming out of the caves and many years later, Tom Williams developed the caverns for tours along with a local investor, Dan Morrison.  Lewis and Clark probably never saw the caverns but Montana used their names as it overlooks the explorers’ route along the adjacent Jefferson River...marketing at its finest!

Oh well, even though Lewis and Clark were never there, they would have found it interesting.  Stalactites hang down from the ceiling and stalagmites reach up from the floor and eventually they turn into columns; helictites are just confused and grow in any direction.  None the less, they are all beautiful and intriguing.

Click here to take a look inside the Lewis & Clark Caverns 

Life is full of cherries!

Since the cherries were so delicious in Kalispell, after leaving Gina’s, I ventured south on Hwy 89 to check out the Flathead Lake cherry region. Oh yum; they have the best cherries in those roadside stand.  The only downside is that one can only eat so many cherries and the Aliner is only so big! However, I ate my share and look forward to doing it again sometime!

Speaking of cherries, one of the unique parts of the Venzaliner50 journey is meeting new friends and the circumstances surrounding that meeting.  Today was no exception, just another unique happening and a different cherry! There are a series of lakes along Hwy 89 and I stopped at Swan Lake…the sight was beautiful as you can see. 

 

While taking this picture, a gentleman sitting in his RV stuck his head out the window and asked if I wanted him to take a picture for me. I declined; however, conversation ensued and eventually (I know some of you will find this hard to believe) I accepted an invitation from John & Jean from Alabama to sit down inside their RV and visit. If women were considered juniors, you would have called me,“June, Jr!” Thank you John & Jean for the break in sightseeing and the opportunity to share life experiences and travel stories; I certainly enjoyed and know that when I get to Texas, Alabama or Georgia, I’ll look up the contacts.

 

After leaving Swan Lake, continuing south I enjoyed several more beautiful Montana sights including:

Holland Lake

The Summit

MacDonald Pass

Purple beauty



See ya later!

Montana Snowfence!



Farmlife

I ended up in Townsend, MT at Indian Road Campground (a free city campground) for the evening before heading to Lewis & Clark Caverns tomorrow.

“I’m in love with Montana. For other states I have admiration, respect, recognition, even some affection. But with Montana it is love. And it’s difficult to analyze love when you’re in it.”

― John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley: In Search of America

Kalispell and Memories!

Next stop, Kalispell, Montana where I had the opportunity to catch up with a distant relative (Gina) and her family; what an awesome visit we had. 

Thanks to her husband Hans, we ventured out on Flathead Lake on kayaks and enjoyed a beautiful evening ride.  Gina relaxed and let Hans chauffer her around since she was recovering from a medical procedure. Though my kayaking skills are nil and improvement is definitely needed, I was grateful for Hans’ patience and guidance! Sorry folks, no kayaking pictures; thought it best to leave the phone/camera behind.

The remainder of the weekend brought time to relax, chat, read, meditate and catch up on the last 35+ years. Neither of us could remember—oh memory; wait, make that oh memories!  We reminisced about horseback riding as kids, tried hard to remember the last time we actually saw each other, and enjoyed discussing the Huss ancestry.

Thanks Gina for sharing the old  memories and making new ones...

 

Our chatting room...

Gina's fingerpainting tree!



Meditation garden statute...note the frog :)

Georgeous flowers!

Fresh greens from the garden



Flathead cherries...YUM!!



Leif's guitar...listened to many tunes...thanks Leif!



Ahh, barefoot in real grass!

One last note, I wanted to share a poem written by Gina reflecting on Grandma Huss (in my case Great-Grandma Huss) and her love.  Hope you enjoy as much as I did!

Grandmother’s Mosaic of Love

Pieces of love stitched with prayers.

Treasures of time tossed towards the shore,

Oceans of color etched with love.

Quilts of hope, drowning our sorrow.

Stories in scraps, mosaics of love;

Grandmother’s blessings stitched into time.

 

Eyes that twinkle. Stars sparkling. Fireflies dance.

And sunlight catches on the splashing water.

Dewdrops hold a world of mystery and so do tears.

Mosaics in time, discarded and tossed into the field of summer.

Darkness and light, mosaics of color stitched by hand.

A quit is a story of all that has past.

Boys to war, the bottle kills slowly, to watch

Death come turns hearts to stone.

Girls with their babies bundled with dreams.

Stitches in time on patches of love.

Blessings and dreams in twinkling eyes,

Grandmother’s mosaic of love.

Gina Garlie August 11, 2002

(My grandmother was so loving. She made quilts for all her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. I know that she stitched prayers and blessings into each and every quilt.)

 

 

Camping Rules

Campground life is awesome; however, there can be drawbacks from time to time and I am beginning to think there are a few unwritten rules for campers here at Glacier National Park.

Dumpster Alarm: The unwritten rule of camping is no alarm clock, right? Maybe it should be written; the morning routine in Glacier includes the 7:35 am Sanitation Crew wake-up call—screech, crash, bang, boom, vroom. Yes, no different than home other than it is not once a week but rather every morning that the “sanitation crew” goes through and empties the dumpsters to signal that another day begins here in Glacier National Park!

Vulture Viewing:  One normally thinks of vultures about mid-day when the sun is high and the evening kill has baked to perfection.  Well, not here in Glacier—it begins at breakfast.  Ahh-- campfire, bacon, eggs and coffee, can you smell it? As Campbell’s would say, Mmmm Mmmm good! Well, every morning between 8 and 10, the vultures do not fly over, but the people drive by, not eyeing the breakfast, just the campsite—swarming, waiting for a campsite to open up.

Septic Tank Waltz: This happens anytime during the day. The big rigs, small ones too, have to do their duty…uproot, unhook and off to the septic dumping station.  I was totally entertained by the neighbors and their 5^th wheel this afternoon doing the “Septic Tank Waltz”!

Duo Dog Duty: Many campers in Glacier NP have dogs—yes, that would be plural!  Here is another unwritten rule—one dog per person, not per family. Just amazing; big ones, little ones—yes, dogs and owners J! Of course just like the Septic Tank Waltz there’s the doggie do-do dance!  Walk, stop, bend over, pick up, walk, stop, bend over, pick up…seems like a lot of work to me. 

Enough; it is time to journey on!

Heading South -- Glacier National Park

After an awe-inspiring visit to the Canadian side of Waterton-Glacier National Park, it’s time to head south and take in the American side, and that I did! 
 
Beginning with an uneventful passing through US customs (thankfully), I took in a beautiful relaxing drive along the Chief Mountain International Highway from Waterton to Babb, MT.

Home-base at Glacier was Apgar Campground near LakeMcDonald, Glacier’s largest lake at 1 mile wide by 10 miles long; Apgar's location made it convenient to take it all in. Yes, campgrounds were full, but by venturing out early in the morning (before 9am), I was able to snag a spot with little trouble. 
  
A drive around the perimeter of Glacier NP brought me along Lower St. Mary Lake

to Cut Bank and then Two Medicine; continuing south over Marias Pass and a stop at The Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Monument. 

A few hikes along with a drive over Going-to-the-Sun Road brought breathtaking views along with some animal sightings of mountain goat, bighorn sheep and ground squirrels but no grizzlies (that's not all bad!). And for those inquisitive people, the Aliner did not take the trip over Going-to-the-Sun Road as the Venzaliner at 31 feet is 10 feet over the GTTS Road restrictions so therefore, the Venza took priority and the Aliner stayed at camp.

Click here and take a few minutes to relax and enjoy Glacier National Park through my eyes!  

 

“There is no highway which will give the seer,

the lover of grandeur of the Creator’s handiwork,

 more thrills, more genuine satisfaction deep in his being,

than will a trip over this road.”

Governor Frank H. Cooney

Dedication of the Sun Road

July 15, 1933

Waterton, a rare gem, needs more than a few days of exploration. 

Words are few, but pictures are many...

Click here to view the sights of Waterton National Park!

Wateron Lakes, where nature knows no political boundary!

Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta Canada, an International Peace Park, an UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, and a World Heritage site all in one— Did you know in 1932, Glacier National Park and Waterton Lakes National Park formed the world’s first International Peace Park known as Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park? You can thank Rotarians for that!  This area is also known as the “Crown of the Continent” thanks to Audubon Co-founder George Bird Grinnell.

Like other areas, so many things to do, so little time.  

After leaving Crowsnest this morning, I drove south on highway 6 across the Canadian prairie to an area where the mountains meet the prairie; an exquisite site!

 

Then off to Buffalo Paddock Circle Drive where native prairie grasslands are home to a small herd of plains bison. According to the Waterton Lakes National Park Visitor Guide, the bison are direct descendants from the original herds of the Great Plains...I asked the bison, but they did not confirm nor deny!

 

After entering Waterton Lakes National Park, I set up camp at Crandell Mountain campground off the Red Rock Parkway along the Blakiston Creek; a beautiful site surrounded by Mount Blakiston, Mount Dungarvan, Mount Galwey, and Mount Crandell. Here’s the view from my anti-gravity chair; my feet and the Venzaliner are very content!

 

Enough resting, time to get out and explore; and that I did, opting for a moderate short hike up Bear’s Hump trail, a 1.8 mile steep climb with a panoramic view of Waterton Valley.  Yes it was steep; however, an hour later I was standing atop Bear’s Hump on the south side of Mount Crandell overlooking Waterton Valley and this is was the view…

Down Bears Hump and continuing on I drove through Waterton community, established in 1910, stopping at the Cameron Falls and the Upper Waterton Lakeshore.

 

One final stop before returning to camp, the most scenic image in Canada, the historic Prince of Wales hotel…where they proudly serve Starbucks coffee (what’s that all about?)!

 

Upon return to camp, my welcoming committee!

 

"The meat of the buffalo tastes the same on both sides of the border"

                                                                  Sitting Bull

Ta-ta Calgary; hello cultural exploration!

After departing Calgary this morning, I decided to be a cultural explorer and experience some of southern Alberta’s history by way of the Cowboy Trail. Here’s some of what I discovered:

Okotoks Erratic Provincial Historic Site: Amazing how rocks just stick out of the ground in the middle of no-where!

A stop off at Lundbreck Falls Provincial Park for lunch and a walk around the falls gave another opportunity to appreciate water…the power, path and patterns are awesome! 

Crowsnest Pass is in southwestern Alberta, extends into British Columbia and includes the towns of Bellevue, Hillcrest, Frank, Blairmore and Coleman. The area is known for its early days of coal mining along with tragedies, triumphs, booms and busts.  The water flows east to the Hudson Bay and west to the Pacific.

Leitch Collieries Provincial Historic Site: The area is known as the Police Flats and in 1882 the North-West Mounted Police established a post at this site to end cattle rustling. In 1907, Leitch Collieries established the only completely Canadian owned and operated coal company; lasting only 8 years, it closed in 1915.   

Frank Slide in the town of Frank: I’m really glad I was not in this area the wee hours of April 29, 1903. It only took about 90 seconds for 82 million tons of limestone to fall off the east side of Turtle Mountain and partially bury the town of Frank.   The visual is a never-ending rockslide or maybe a better description is boulder-slide!

Bellevue: The first Crowsnest mining town, established in 1905 on the flat land atop the Bellevue Mine.  In 1910 the Bellevue Mine suffered a disastrous explosion killing 31 miners. Although I did not take the underground tour in Bellevue, I did stay at the Bellevue Community Campgrounds; a quaint little campground right off Crowsnest Pass (Highway 3).  Ten loonies will get you an unserviced site with access to restrooms, drinking water and a beautiful view of Turtle Mountain.

This was definitely a busy place in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s and now they are quaint little towns. 

Cheerio mum!

After two weeks of traveling from Minnesota to Canada, it was time for mom to return to Wyoming.  I enjoyed the time we had together; thanks for sharing it with me, mom!

After dropping her off at the airport, I caught up on the to do list including oil change at Country Hills Toyota Scion, a stop at Postale Canada to mail postcards, then Walmart for some necessities, followed by Judy’s do-it-yourself wheel bearing greasing at Calgary West Campground, reorganized Venzaliner back to traveling solo, laundry and last but not least, a shower!

Good news, tomorrow I’m ready to journey on!

Awe-inspiring; Banff & Jasper National Parks

"If you were to sit down and try to design an area of the world that would be the most spectacular, the most awe inspiring and the most scenically overwhelming, odds are it might look a lot like Banff and Jasper National Parks. It’s almost as if the postcard was dreamed up after seeing this place; everywhere you look there is something else that will take your breath away."  (www.lonelyplanet.com)

The overwhelming sights are hard to share online; however, click on the links below and browse through the photos. Unfortunately, the skies were filled with smoke several of the days; however, the views were still beautiful!

My visit to Banff & Jasper National Parks was awe-inspiring at minimum!

A drive south and west of Calgary through Kananaskis Country revealed the foothills and front range of the Canadian Rockies.
 
A visit to Banff wouldn't be complete without a visit to Lake Louise.

However, Moraine Lake made my visit complete; an unbelievable crystal clear blue glacier fed lake.

Peyto Lake is another glacier fed lake in Banff National Park. A quick jaunt up the Bow Summit revealed these views.

A drive across Sunwapta Pass led to the Columbia Icefield which feeds eight major glaciers including Athabasca, Castleguard, Colubia, Dome, Stutfield, Saskatchewan.

In Jasper National Park, Athabasca Falls flows from the Upper Athabasca River over quartzite and limestone.

A drive through the Johnston Canyon and a hike along the Johnston Creek was peaceful and serene.

It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.

                                       Edmund Hillary