Day 82 - Yellowstone to Montana

My alarm sounded at 5:30am, a time early enough for me to arise before someone found me secretly camping. The geyser prediction said Grand at 6:15am so I set out toward it.

I ran into geyser gazer Jim there and he said it likely erupted at 4:30-- missed it. Early morning eruptions are hard to predict as someone needed to have seen the previous overnight eruption in order to make a prediction. I walked on toward Artemesia, an unpredictable geyser at the far corner of the basin. I had seen her erupt from a mile away and wanted a closer inspection. The early morning setting was momentous, yet I didn't see a geyser erupt up close until Grand at 10:30. Then Sawmill erupted with its twirling thirty foot action (pic).

The only remaining geyser left to experience on my mental list was Beehive up close. With a predicted window of 810 to 1210, I arrived at 1030 and waited until 1pm, before giving up. The sun was hot, I had read the geyser book cover to cover, and while seeing each geyser for the first time was exhilarating and addictive, seeing them erupt again often didn't seem worth the wait. My geyser gazing days were officially over-- at least until my next Yellowstone visit.

Despite having some five mile hikes to geysers and waterfalls left on my to-do list, I decided to leave Yellowstone that afternoon. The trip felt complete and wonderful and I like leaving some things undone: a good excuse to come back with friends and family again. I considered heading southwest to Idaho but after looking at the craters and waterfalls and canyons in the Idaho Falls to Boise route, I decided to skip it and head north to Glacier. I had four weeks until Uncle Bill and Cousin Roman came to meet me in Seattle/Olympic Park and a lot of territory sitting between here and there.

I drove through scenic Montana Big Sky country along a river jammed with white water rafters before arriving to a free campsite along a reservoir just east of Helena. I walked down to the lake and was surprised by the beauty. I could stay here for days it was so nice. I jumped in the lake to bathe and swim, then indulged in some luke warm but refreshing IPAs while updating the blog. Montana looks very promising indeed-- Glacier tomorrow.

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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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