Day 79 - Yellowstone Midway And West

Our first stop this morning was to the Midway Geyser basin, site of the famous Grand Prismatic, the largest hot spring in the world. I had remembered this place from our drive in for its bright orange drainage channels falling into the nearby river. The morning was foggy and the pools were too misty to see the depth of the major pools, but the setting was dramatic.

A few miles up the road we saw a huge Bison (correct name for a Buffalo) on a side road. We drove in, only a few feet from the mean-looking Bison, enjoying the uniqueness of this animal, before driving through the Great Fountain geyser basin and back out to the main road. A few miles later we came across a herd of hundreds of Bison as they were grazing and crossing the road. As we passed slowly a Bison snorted at me or maybe at the biker crossing in the other lane.

Arriving in West Yellowstone, a town just outside the west gate, we had a Mexican lunch and then drove north through Montana to Earthquake Lake, a lake formed by a landslide from a 1959 7.3 Richter scale earthquake that took 20 campers lives. Trees had already began to grow on the massive landslide hill, an example of the natural processes-- earthquakes, floods, et. -- that formed this great western mountain scenery over the millennia. The trees in the lake and the landslide in the distance can be seen in the picture below. And a reinactment of the effect of 100-mile per hour winds after a landslide.

We drove back through pretty Montana and Idaho countryside before settling into our hotel room for a relaxing quiet evening.

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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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