Canada!

We came across the border today (me in a car, David on a bike), to see the other side of Glacier's partnership with the Waterton Lakes International Peace Park - very nice! I have to leave my phone off up here, so have a couple of entries stuck in there about Glacier. Basically,  it's the most beautiful park I've ever visited! If you have not been yet, you definitely owe it to yourself to visit. Between the amazing greenish color in the lakes and rivers, the mountains, and of course the glaciers - it really is just mind-blowingly beautiful. Schedule it soon - the glaciers are on schedule to be gone by 2020, according to estimates!

Waterton is also very nice; it's different than Glacier, and also beautiful. Lots of rolling farmland around the area, and the mountains are very stark looking. I love that all the layers of rock in the mountains are so obvious and so lovely - just great! I drove on the Red Rocks road first; it's pretty bumpy, but so worth it for the beauty of the mountains. I did not know about the Prince of Wales Hotel, but it's a big photo opp - and is lovely. The Visitor's Center had several stamps for the Park passport books - yay! Always a good thing!! A sudden shower soaked me as I was coming out; as it cooled down the temperatures, it was fine with me.

David heads home tomorrow, and I'll be back onto Stage Three of my library data collection! I'm sad to see David depart, but collecting more library data will definitely be fun!!

Finished!

David officially finished the Northern Tier route yesterday! Today he got up at 5am to charge over the Going To The Sun road. Bikes have to be off the road fairly early, for everyone's safety. So he's off having fun, climbing the mountain for a few hours, then descending the other side for a shorter time !

This is an amazingly beautiful park. Of all the great things I've seen - this is one of the best. If you haven't already been to Glacier National Park, you definitely owe it to yourself to see it!

Ken Burns was right: the national parks are one our very best ideas! That, and public libraries if course!

Tenting out!

It's always good to be surrounded by trees when you are camping! It gives a nice, relaxed feel to being outdoors - very good.

I did manage to fall over the board in front of the tent. Scraped an elbow, but I got to use my Wound Care spray so I felt very prepared. (And: ouch! Wound Care spray hurts!)

It is truly excellent to be in the woods, in a tent. This is one of my favorite things in life. I feel extremely lucky to have this opportunity.

Fire damage?

This is a strange sight: all the mountains around me covered in fluffy pine trees, and then this one covered in dead trees. Maybe it was a fire a while ago? The ground is all nice and green, but the trees are quite definitely dead. When we were at Rocky Mountain a few years ago, there were whole swaths of dead trees - terrible. The sun is shining in my eyes behind this mountain, so I can't see the trees too clearly, but am hoping it was "just" a fire, and not another tree blight.

 For people paying attention to the world around them, the decline in frogs, bats, and bees, in addition to the record increases in temperature, is a big sign of trouble. The growing tree blight problem in forests is another. I just wanted to shake the idiot "news" people who are paid to convince the gullible that this is not really happening. It's frustrating for those of us who deal in reality that there can't even be any concentrated action to make things better, because too many people want to believe in silly fairy tales instead of facts.

It's a tough reality that humans are busily destroying the environment, but believing in some fantasy world - unsupported by any reality - is not a strong long-term solution. (I'm fuzzy on the details, but apparently they have some "special magic friend" who won't let anything bad happen? But just them - nobody else, as I understand. And I confess that fantasy and mythology is not my area, so I'm doubtless getting some ideas mixed up.) 

I now step down from my angry, pointless soapbox, to enjoy the beautiful reality around me!

Hungry Horse Dam

Another huge dam! Looking at this, you can drive over the top and the water on the other side of this dam is all the way up to the top. Pretty impressive! No stamps or magnets here, but it's always cool to get to drive over dams - it gives an amazing view!

Laundry

Not the most romantic notion, but an important part of a road trip is doing laundry. So I'm hanging out at an RV campground (trying to look inconspicuous without an RV), and getting everything cleaned up. I think a fascinating sociological doctorate could be carried out on the people in laundromats. The battles for territory,supremacy in washer selection, number of family members who can fit in your space - it's  all very interesting! 

Off to Glacier National Park!

Beautiful

This picture does not begin to do justice to this lake. I stood on the hillside overlooking it, and immediately wanted to build a house here and stay forever. 

I'm definitely feeling very lucky to see all these wonderful things!

Finishing the Northern Tier!

David is prepping to finish his last stage of the Northern Tier route! He's still going to do the Going To The Sun road, as it's so cool; but he did it last year, so has covered the entire route at the end of today! Anacortes, WA to Acadia National Park in Maine - and everything in between! I was with him for a lot of it, and it was a pretty amazing adventure for me too, even though I did not turn a pedal. David has ridden nearly 4,000 on this trail! Definitely, a big thumbs up to Adventure Cycling, for mapping out the route, and keeping things up to date. If you are interested in cycling adventures of your own, check them out - they have many different things available.

Tobacco Valley historical village

Several nice buildings here, including the old library! I love this display of different types of barbed wire. The sign says there are over 100 patents for different types of barbed wire - very cool! I've struggled over an occasional barbed wire fence in my youth, and It's tricky stuff. This is just such and interesting artifact of the rural culture, and maybe specifically Western rural culture - to need barbed wire, and to be so inventive with it.

There is always something cool to learn and to see in these places!

Signs

I'm only surprised at this point when I see signs out in the rural Idaho and Montana roads that are not shot full of holes. It's definitely different from the environment in Boston, but not so unusual in rural Midwest areas either. Just happy that people are shooting signs, and not anywhere near us.

Libby Dam

Another nice dam! All kinds of beautiful stuff to see around here. There are areas at the turnoff for the dam to fish, launch boats, or sight see around the area. Stay on the road to the visitor's center - not well marked down by the dam itself.

Scenic pullover

This is definitely a very scenic place! I met up with David on the road, put some ice in a bottle for him, and we enjoyed the view. While we stood here a bald eagle flew to the west, toward Libby Dam. We watched it soar on by, and a few minutes it flew back the other way - heading east with us. Just beautiful!

I'm getting so spoiled; I told David there was nothing ahead for me to see. He waved a hand around the area, and I agreed - yes, nothing aside from this constant amazingly beautiful area with a river, trees, and mountains! It really is nice here.

Bears

A reminder that this is bear territory, and we should be cautious about disturbing them. Some poor bear was killed at Glacier recently, after getting too near a family picnicking. The park service reminded people: "a fed bear is a dead bear." Dumbass people feed bears, and they - reasonably - associate people with food. Then they have to be killed, because they have become too dangerous to people. And it was still the fault of the people in the first place. So, don't feed bears! They are beautiful to watch in their natural habitats, and should stay that way.

Wisconsin cheese!

Even in small-town Montana, the joy of Wisconsin cheese is recognized and appreciated!

Railroad crossing

To get to the falls and the swinging bridge, you have to cross the train tracks and make your way down the three flights of stairs here - then back up them and back up the hill path when you are ready to leave. It was 90 degrees here today and I think I cooked my ability to think! (Longing for some snow at Glacier National Park in a few days!)

The swinging bridge!

A different view of the falls can be seen from this bridge. Yes, it quite definitely swings back and forth as you walk on it! I'm an experienced bus and train rider, keeping my balance there with ease; that did not translate here! There are warning signs all over the place about respecting the river, and not causing trouble for others by falling in and drowning; they also limit it to five people at a time. I never saw five, but it was still pretty tricky! Beautiful view though!

Kootenai Falls

This picture does not do justice to the place - it's so much larger, wider, and longer! Definitely yet another one of the beautiful places to see on this trip! And when I was done trudging around these two sights, I stopped at the ice cream stand for important replenishing nourishment.... mmmmm. Apparently this area was sacred to the Kootenai tribe, and it's easy to see why. Such an amazing view!

Geocaching!

The Huckleberry Tent and Breakfast people suggested I drop by the Clark Fork library, to do some geocaching. I found my 100th cache here! Seems very appropriate it was at a library. Good fit with the rest of my trip this summer!

Cabinet Gorge dam

Yet another beautiful dam! This on on the Idaho/Montana border. (GPS insisted it was about four miles west of here - thanks GPS, for yet another wrong call. It's not helping the trip.)

I'm having a great time visiting all these dams! And I'm learning cool things - always important to librarians, who are professionally curious about EVERYTHING! I'm also discovering I like Army Corps of Engineering dams better than private ones - friendlier and more welcoming. This overlook has great informational signs and beautiful views, but the constant crabby signs - Video surveillance 24 hours a day, No throwing rocks - kind of bring down the feeling here.

Ross Creek Cedars

An a-ma-zing place! Beautiful old trees everywhere. Reminds me very much of the Ancient Forest I visited last summer in the Yukon Territory with my dad. Some nice informative signs - always a plus! The "loop" trail actually randomly branched out all over the place, so I think I missed some things. Pretty busy here also, with people bringing their kids and dogs to dash around the trail - nice! Just beautiful!

Huckleberry Tent and Breakfast

This was so fun! All the fun of camping in an area with lots of solitude and beautiful surroundings, combined with the comforts of a hotel! 

This is a shot of the picnic table, and the main/bedroom tent. There was a queen size bed, with lovely floral patterns on the quilt and heavier blanket. There is also a kitchen tent, with a water pump and a propane stove. Guests are invited to come to the extensive vegetable garden, and pick food for dinner. David whipped up a multi-course feast for us, and I was stuffed.Later I lit a fire and we enjoyed smores -yum! 

We slept like logs - apparently missing the moose who wandered through a neighboring site. (There are three tents for people - all nicely private and beautiful.) We did have a prairie dog visitor this morning; he was a little camera shy, but I got a shot of him. Then we trudged to the main house for a breakfast feast; I love big breakfasts, so it was a great start to the day!

If you are anywhere near Clark Fork, Idaho - stay here! 

Bedroom tent

This is a quick shot inside the tent at the Huckleberry Tent and Breakfast. So comfortable!

Kitchen tent

All the comforts of home! My kitchen in Boston is not this large. Everything worked out very nicely here!

Albeni Dam

Another very cool dam! This one has regular tours, which I passed up to trudge around the area myself. The visitor's center has a small Lewis and Clark exhibit! I took a picture of their stuffed Seaman. And I found a geocache outside, and dropped a travel bug. I only have two left, so will probably save them until I'm back on the official Lewis and Clark Trail in Montana. (I'm getting some very nice library reports, as people find and move them!) Picked up some trash - which never fails to annoy me. (Don't drop trash in scenic places! Can't these people just throw garbage around their own front yards instead??) And called my dad for a quick consultation on the possible blueberries I found. We agreed it would be best not to experiment with berries unless I was sure. So, I'm instead munching on blueberries from my beloved Safeway grocery stop!

I'm almost getting jaded here. Ho hum, another amazing, beautiful sight. Wonder what's up the road next? But it really is magnificent here!

North Pend Oreille Scenic Byway

A quick pullover spot, and so beautiful! Mountains, blue sky, puffy white clouds, river, trees. I was chatting with the people at the dam visitor's center, and they did seem to feel pretty lucky to work with all this beauty ! And eagles nest here - just great !

Boundary Dam

Very big dam! And this one was different: due to security changes visitors are now kept at the gate, issued a tag, and escorted to the visitor's center. It was a pretty amazing view! Inside the big rooms drilled into the mountain, I got to see a bunch of old photos and the turbines. I don't know how dams work, but it's pretty neat to see it!

Crystal Falls

I know it seems like I'm overusing the word "beautiful" but this truly is such. I've seen such great things on this trip - it's great! This was definitely one of the most beautiful falls I've seen. It's a shame I'm alone here; if this was a more heavily trafficked route, people would be lined up to see these falls!

Box Canyon Dam viewpoint

An amazing view! The dam below me was built in 1955, and generates enough electricity for 36,000 homes. This combination of elegant machinery and beautiful natural surroundings really creates an amazing sight!

Sweet Creek Falls

Another incredibly beautiful place! I keep getting thinking I've found the right place to be my new computer wallpaper - then I find something else wonderful. It's truly a high-class problem to have!

Gardner cave

Very beautiful place! I did not get here at the right time to do one of their guided tours (the only way into the cave), but did trudge along their trail to the Canadian border! Lots of downed trees, and this cranky sign, discouraged me from any illicit steps over the border. There was also a sign up about a recent bear sighting here, so I was careful to make plenty of noise as I trundled along - to avoid any surprise meetings.

Sherman Pass!

Top of the mountain! David is charging forward, up and up! I'm headed off to see some sights off the road - always something fun to find

Sherman Pass Overlook

Closed! Looks like the storm damage has closed this one down. I drove down to the Kettle Crest trailhead, just before this overlook, and it's pretty washed out with some branches down. 

Success!

David rode up to the peak - Sherman Pass! He's headed down the other side now, and I'm off in search of more cool things to see!

Growden Heritage site

Sadly this too is closed with storm damage. Too bad, as I am a big fan of the Civilian Conservation Corps (the CCC), and there are a bunch of signs in there about it. I can see them from the road, but of course am staying away so I don't get in the way of any cleanup work.

Looks like an odd person on the other side of the highway, behind a camper someone has left. Strange place to leave a camper, or a person. I thought he might be stuffed, or something; but he moves occasionally. He seems to be reading, while crouched in the tall grass. You find some strange people on roadtrips, for sure.

Log Flume Heritage site

Lovely place! I always like to have information signs in an area - lots to learn! A couple of good trails here, accessible. The longer one is closed a ways down, with water damage. It's still a nice trail and stroll along the creek. Interesting to read about past fires at all these pullovers. It may put this year's fires into perspective - it seems much larger. Scary stuff, but I'm enjoying the beautiful scenery!

Sherman Pass Scenic Byway

Looking forward to a lovely drive today! This will be part of my route, with many interesting things to see and do. David will be charging over Sherman Pass, elevation 5,575 feet. (A Southerner conquering Sherman! Seems fair.) Lots of places for me to park and hike on trails. It rained here last night, and is pretty chilly today. Good hiking weather - not hot and not so many mosquitoes! 

Smokey Bear

Wildfires still burning away out here. Smokey Bear is opposed to more fires, and making it clear.

Fire crews and people burned out of their house are camping in a park near here. It is definitely still a dangerous and scary situation. David and I are fine, and out of it. But many people are not. We donated to a kid soliciting money for baked goods in a restaurant last night; the restaurant is matching all donations, so we gave some extra.

I dropped a travel bug in a geocache here today. Interestingly, the very good cache was a replacement as the last one exploded in a wildlife a couple of years ago. Too many fires here for me; I'm not brave enough to live with that.

Ruins

All over the country, I've seen these falling-down log cabins. It's interesting, and feels like history is right in front of me. I guess it's too expensive to tear them down, or too much trouble. I sort of like to see them - signs people have been here for a while, and are continuing on even if not in exactly the same way or place.

Okanogan forest

Beautiful little area. Lake Bonaparte here, and a few campers. I do love finding these areas of calm, quite beauty!

Pflug Mansion

Interesting! I don't know if you can make out the ruins built on the side if the hill. But here is where John Pflug tried to build a dream house for his family. 

Happy Concussion Day!

Yay! Today is the two year anniversary of my (latest) concussion!

Normally, two years of debilitating injury, pain, and assorted suffering would not be cause for celebration. But instead I'm celebrating the success in constantly improving and getting better. Even a year ago, with all the improvement I thought I was making, this kind of trip would not have been possible. And I'm having a great time, and collecting great data, so very happy to be here.

It's probably impossible to explain what life is like with a broken brain. I could talk about sleeping in my office, getting up to go to class and going back to sleep immediately after. I could mention the utter weirdness of suddenly crying - and know "I'm" not crying or sad, but my brain is doing it. I could talk about being in so much pain that I threw up, or the night I gave very serious thought to going downstairs to my landlord's car and slamming my hand in the door so I would be distracted from the pain in my head. I could mention the weird sensations - the right side of my head and face was numb, and often felt like blood was streaming down it, or at night it felt crushed and smashed in - but I had to sleep on that side because otherwise the sensation leaked into the other side. Or the fear - sitting in class (because I couldn't stand) hoping I wouldn't throw up or pass out or start crying. The fear of going to meetings - because lots of people talking at once was so overwhelming that within 20 minutes my migraine would be immeasurable. Talking with people in the hallway was a constant struggle not to pass out, and to politely escape before the pain became too bad. The fear that I would never get better, and be stuck forever in that twilight, dizzy half-life with pain and confusion.

But, two years later I may not be perfectly back but I'm nearly so! I still take pills daily to keep down the migraine I've had nonstop for two years, but fewer! (I laughed out loud when reading Consumer Reports' article on my migraine drug - that it's good for people with frequent migraines, such as 15 out of the 30 days of the month. TWO YEARS of migraine here!) I feel better with more sleep, but can now get up and function without twelve hours of sleep. I run, camp, publish articles, conduct research, go out to lunch and dinner, have fun. I can read books, drive a car, and ride a train without being overwhelmed and sick.

Kamping!

Kamping at a KOA Kabin! And I'm particularly charmed to see we got the Arizona kabin! Not the most exciting place we have stayed, but it is here, and reasonably priced. And I'm definitely over my camping-snobbishness about KOAs; they are not for everyone, but provide a nice way for families with lots of kids to get outside and senior citizens to have an RV community. And they are so darn nice, it's hard to get too irritated at them.

Tomorrow, off to Canada to avoid wildfires and the disaster areas. We saw lots of trucks hauling generators and building supplies on the road east, toward the fire-affected areas. Hopefully, everyone can rebuild and replace, and get their lives back in order.

Cascadian farms!

A great roadside stand to go with the u-pick farm. They sell berries and ice cream, and some Cascadian Farms products - nice! I bought a pint of blueberries, and toured around the gardens here. Absolutely beautiful area, tucked in against the cloud-covered mountains. With beautiful blue skies and big puffy white clouds, the area is gorgeous. Add in the beautiful river, and it's amazing. The rivers out here are a very interesting shade of turquoise, apparently partly because of the silt melting out of the glaciers. Science is cool!

No cell coverage here, so idea when today's entries will be posted. They tend to get out of order when I leave them in my Outbox like this, but writing things down does help me remember it!

North Cascades National Park

Beautiful area here, of course! Already got my National Park Service passport book stamped and bought a magnet, and a book on fire wardens. Heading out to do the River Loop Trail, not too long but looks scenic!

Gorge Creek dam overlook

So beautiful! A short loop trail around thru the woods, to give a nice view of the dam. Then you can stroll out onto this walkway to see the most beautiful waterfalls! A great area!

Diablo Dam overlook

Beautiful! My adjectives fail me at this point. Glaciers on the mountain top, turquoise waters below - just amazing.

Geocaching!

I've been dropping a few travel bugs in the last couple of days, as I've had cell coverage sufficient to get the geocaching.com app working on my phone. 

I dropped these, if you want to follow them on the geocaching website:

• CG2P8W
• CG2P8W

Both of them are in the cache "In and Into the Woods We Go" at Ft Stevens State Park in Oregon - easy to find and in a nice place! (Wear DEET! Lots of mosquitoes!)

I dropped one today - WZGX5E in one of a railroad-themed caches along the bike trail in the Cascades in Washington (Pacific Railway-CT #99). Such a beautiful area!!

Whether you are out on a road trip for weeks at a time, or home in your own location, check out some geocaches in your area! Better yet - go over to a state or national park near you and have fun there, while you are geocaching!!

And of course, I encourage visits to your local public library at all times!!

David's bike ride!

David is standing next to the bike trail he will be following for the next week or so! This was in Anacortes, WA, and he's already well underway on the Northern Tier route from Adventure Cycling.

There will be a break in our travel plans coming up, as the wildfires are blocking the highway ahead. Electricity is out, all hotel reservations are cancelled, and people are coping with the disaster. So we will be making an unscheduled drive up into Canada, to get around the wildfires. Should be fun for us!

I said this earlier, but consider making a donation to the Red Cross, to help with disaster recovery here and elsewhere. It looks like a lot of help will be needed!

Rasar State Park

Heading off to explore some trails here. I bought an annual membership to the WA state parks a while ago, and having fun visiting all of them! Tried to drop a travel bug in a geocache here, but no luck with the signal again. Oh well - it's always better to be out in a forest than anywhere else!

Wildfires

Pretty scary stuff going on in Washington and Oregon - wildfires all over the place. And with the big open areas and mountains, there are very few roads. So when one is closed because fires are burning hundreds of acres of land on both sides, there are not a lot of options. Driving up from Oregon to Washington on Friday, a convey of fire crews passed me on the road, heading off to fight fires. And I've seen several places already where crews are working to put out fires coming down the hillsides. Over 100 National Guard units have been mobilized to help fight the fires, after the crews working for days have been exhausted and not sufficient to put down these fires. The Governor is considering asking the military for help, calling these firestorms. Fire crews from all the neighboring states and Canada are coming in to help. It just sounds awful. http://blogs.seattletimes.com/today/2014/07/okanogan-county-sheriff-up-to-100-homes-lost/

You can see the wildfire areas on the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center's website: http://www.nwccweb.us/information/firemap.aspx. The Washington State Department of Transportation's site also has useful information - "SR 20 is closed east of Twisp in both directions from milepost 204 at the junction of SR 20 and SR 153 to milepost 227 at the B&O Road. There is no detour available. Currently there is no estimated time of reopening." http://www.wsdot.com/traffic/trafficalerts/ We are going through this area in a couple of days, so are paying attention to any strategies for driving around it.

It definitely feels strange to be on vacation in an area where hundreds of people are being evacuated, homes and businesses are being destroyed. Fortunately, it sounds like everyone is okay - aside from the massive property loss (which is a big "except" of course). So we will be treading lightly, trying to spend money locally to help businesses, and avoiding areas of danger.

Donations can be made to a variety of local places, or online cash donations: http://mynorthwest.com/108/2567860/How-to-help-the-Washington-wildfire-victims.

The Red Cross is taking donations: https://www.redcross.org/quickdonate/index.jsp. I donated, and did not see a way to specify Washington (or Oregon); but directing money toward Disaster Relief is probably generally a good idea. They will figure out how to get it to people who need it. You can also send a check with a note in the memo spot specifying Washington Wildfires (or Oregon) to zero in on this area of need.

(Leery of giving to the Red Cross? They now show donor options:  http://www.charitywatch.org/articles/RedCrossKnowOptions.html. And they are rated reasonably highly by Charity Navigator: http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=3277#.U8v4EvldUt8. It's always good to do some investigation before donating to any charity, especially one you don't know.)

Shipwreck Fest!

Having a day of exploration here in Anacortes! And lucky for us, we have landed here for an annual festival! David took out his bike for a test ride, and all is well. I strolled around for a while, and brought back small bundles of berries - yum! Love having all the cherry and berry stands around Washington; it's always hard to keep up with enough fresh fruits and vegetables when traveling, so having quick access to them is great! And it's fun to chat with the stand owners - they always have interesting things to say.

When we ate dinner downtown last night, we passed two quilt stores; so even though I now have lots of new fabric on this trip, I'll need more! Part of the quilting culture seems to be to talk about hiding fabric from your husband to avoid him complaining about the money spent, so I tell David I'm buying more fabric (because I'm scrupulous in not lying to him on anything) and say I'm hiding it from him. He just rolls his eyes - being very used to me! :)

Off for festival fun!

Last night in the tent!

Not the last night forever, just for a while! So Seaman, the Newfoundland pup, is celebrating on top of the tent. We are going to settle in later, with Supernatural episodes (love that I can download from Amazon to my Kindle - nearly through the entire season nine!) and some work on the quilt. Tomorrow we go pick up David - yay! 

Off now for some before- diner geocaching, as I finally have a signal and am connected to the site! Hopefully, I'll be able to drop a tracking bug.

Addicted to Staples

I passed a Staples store, and as I have time, decided to pop in. I'm pretty sure I've never emerged from one without a packet of my beloved Pentel colored pens, and usually a notebook or two. Today was two. I need to do a bunch of writing over the next couple of weeks, so I can kind of justify it. But...I just love having new pens and notebooks! And I'm thankful this addiction is harmless and pretty inexpensive. :)