Day 69 - The Black Hills

A lightning strike last night had disabled the elevator at Wind Cave. Safety regulations require the elevator to be working during tours, so I went to plan B: climb Mount Harney, the tallest peak east of the Rocky Mountains.

An hour drive took me back to Sylvan Lake where despite 100% chance forecasts of rain, I put on my hiking gear and breezed up the 3-mile long, 1000 ft+ climb. The CCC built a castle-like stone watchtower on top of the mountain in 1933, making the final climb very memorable. A white mountain goat at the top of the peak appeared regal and resolute but the dark clouds around ominous. I took some pics and headed back down, hoping to get down before the rain set in. The descent route took me to the backside of the cathedral spires I saw yesterday.

After climbing Harney, I drove an hour north to Rapid City to Meineke to get my front brakes replaced and complete my second oil change. 10,000 miles! $427 later the van was back in good shape and I drove south along the scenic, winding Iron Mountain Highway and then Wildlife Highway to my secluded boondocking campsite in the Black Hills National Forest near Wind Cave. 1.3 million motorcycles descend on the Balck Hills every June for the Sturgis motorcycle rally! After driving hundreds of miles around here, I can understand why. Ohh, and baby Buffalo calves are the cutest animals ever!

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Days 89 and 90 - Waterton

I started my journey north to Canada today. My plan was to head to Waterton Lakes, just north of Glacier, then to Calgary, then the Canadian Rockies parks of Banff, Jasper, Yoho, Glacier and a few others, then to Vancouver and finally to Seattle, all over the next several weeks. But first I needed the Internet! I drove south out of Many Glacier to a place I remembered having cell reception. I did some emailing and calling back home, did some research for my Canada trip and watched the final three episodes of Game of Thrones--wow, the final two episodes were sensational. This rainy, dreary day was perfect for such activities. I then drove into Canada late in the evening and to a campground set in the cloudy mountains at Waterton. The weather cleared a bit the next day and I was able to do some hiking around this scenic alpine lakes district. Waterton Lakes district from a high hill called Bear's Hump: The chipmunks at Bear's Bump were very interested in the conten...

Day 106 - Seattle

My July 4th started with a drive from Vancover to Seattle, arriving at the Museum of Flight by 11. The museum tour began with a display of the 27 U.S. Flags, made interesting by announcing the history of the states entry into the union. This B-17 is similar to the bomber my grandfather flew in WW2. A former Air Force One plane that Kennedy road on was another highlight. I stayed all day at the museum enjoying the history of aviation exhibits and finally space! I drove into downtown Seattle to checkout the city parks reserved for fireworks watching. These neighborhoods were crawling with people and would make horrible stealth street camping sites. I called several hostels and all were full... but then I found one with one bed left. I reserved the spot and drove to the hostel to find it in walking distance to the fireworks. I joined a group waking down to see the fireworks. We were joined by a few others. Two skydivers with fire flaming behind their path were followed by...

Day 93 - Calgary to Banff

After a very pleasant morning at Dave's house spent photocopying trail and scramble guide routes, enjoying a great breakfast and coffee, meeting some of Dave's extremely kind family members and chatting more about adventures, I set out for downtown Calgary. I thought a walk around a museum would be a nice change of pace, so I toured the Glenbow Museum. Two highlights were a Blackfoot Indian describing the meaning of their Tipi decorations and the Gun Scupture. The history of Alberta section was also quite interesting: fur trappers then cowboys then railroad builders then oil drillers. I then walked down to a nearby waterfront park, along a pedestrian only shopping street where a Christian pride rally was taking place, and then down quiet side streets to the park. Seeing people out jogging and playing on this Sunday afternoon reminded me of the real life I must one day return to. But not yet! Hungry and ready for mountains, I walked back to my van and left Calgary heading wes...

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