Beautiful Banff

Canadians are so nice.  Time after time when dealing with business people, whether they are desk clerks or gas station attendants, they are so professional in their duties and often even go beyond basic courtesy.  The hotel desk clerks at my Calgary hotel were so helpful when they found out I was there to take photos, they contacted the local pool and offered other suggestions of places to shoot, as well as allowing me to wander the building to find the right room with the best sunlight. Great people.

My day started wonderfully though I could have stayed longer at the Lakeside Signature Inn in Calgary I was eager to get to Banff.  Its owner, Keith Levit, has decorated the entire three story building with his incredible photography: woods, sand dunes, polar bears... beautifully photographed and hung.  He has been all over the globe photographing great subjects.
http://www.keithlevitphotography.com/mainmenu1.html

Today was sunny and mild, even though the mountain tops were covered with snow.  As I approached Banff from the east the sun was beaming down on the white peaks of the National Park.  Much as Hershey, PA smells like chocolate and as Austin, MN smells like SPAM, Banff smells like Christmas.  Surrounded by fir covered mountains the village has the fragrance of freshly cut Christmas trees.  I was too early to check in to the Mt Royal Hotel so I drove up to Lake Louise.  As I was leaving town there was a guy on the road apron holding a sign "Lake Louise;" so I stopped and picked him up.

Sam is a Kiwi and has been in Canada for six months, with six to go.  He is going to work in the Banff/Lake Louise area for the winter to take advantage of the skiing opportunities.  I love listening to New Zealanders talk "we might see some beeas along the road on our way to Lake Louise."  We concluded that no matter which team won the America's Cup it was a New Zealand victory as the American team had mostly Kiwis and Aussies sailing it.  Now that I have driven about 3,500 alone, having a passenger was a refreshing break.  A nice guy who improved the hour drive to LL.

Lake Louise is really as blue as the tourist photos show it to be.

Though it was quite choppy today with a stiff wind blowing down the valley, it still was a brilliant turquoise.  Moraine Lake was similar, though less crowded.  The drive back to Banff included a stop at Johnson Canyon to see Lower Falls.  The hike into the canyon gave me a bit of challenge.

Much of the path was built on a cantilevered walkway high over the base of the canyon stream.  Normally I wouldn't have been unnerved by it but I was this time.  The falls were pretty dramatic, blasting through a narrow stone passage it shot out into the pool below.  It was worth the walk...I can't get over the colour of the water.  I guess when you find water near its source, there isn't much to mess it up.  As beautiful Lakes Louise and Moraine were, I have a particular preference for Castle Mountain.  Very different than surrounding mountains it towers over the Bow River valley distinctly.


Once back in Banff, I checked in at the hotel but still had three hours of light to use for wandering...so out I went.  Banff is probably a fairly typical alpine tourist town.  In the shadow of surrounding mountains that tower over the village, it has some charm and more upscale then trinket stores.  After a few feeble attempts to find something as a remembrance of Banff, I wandered outside of town a bit farther and happened upon a bull elk.  Apparently, while tomorrow the US government is going to go out of business, the bull elk are just about to kick into their annual business season of mating.  Full of testosterone or whatever motivates them, this boy had an enormous rack on him and while he was looking passive munching on grass he made it clear that he didn't want to be disturbed.  When a bull elk drops his head and points his rack at you and begins to move quickly...it's probably not a great idea to stick around to see what's going to happen.  I did manage to get close enough to get a few photos but in this photo, I got the distinct feeling that he wasn't posing but eyeing me.

It was a good day.  

Objects in the Rear View Mirror

The rain welcomed my awakening in Fernie, BC this morning. A ski crazy town that is the last enclave of any size prior to crossing the border into Alberta through the Crowsnest Pass.  As I approached the peak of the pass, ahead it was much brighter than what was behind me.  And shortly after crossing the Continental Divide...again, the skies cleared.  They remained clear all day today as I drove to Calgary.  Looking back toward British Columbia was it was possible to see several rainbows.

Just after coming out of the pass I turned up Route 22...there as a sign warning of cross winds.  Ha...cross winds!  Yikes!  Were there cross winds.  I don't have any photos of this section of road even though there were some great scenes as I had to keep my hands on the wheel and couldn't use my knees while taking photos....how inconvenient.  In the distance I could see the Rockies where I will be going on Monday.  It was an easy ride to Calgary...it was so nice to see the sun again.

In Calgary I met up with Trevor, a diving coach, from Edmonton and his student, Tyler, a Canadian Junior Diving Champion, and his mom, Lynn.  They had come down for a photo shoot.  It went very well.  I have known Trev for several years and Tyler is hoping to get into modeling...so we connected to help him get started.

Rain

The National Park gods seem to be conspiring against my experiencing the national parks.  After wandering away from Tetons and Yellowstone without seeing them yesterday due to snow, today as I drove into Glacier National Park a wall of water descended from the heavens to make any attempt at hiking the park's trails nigh impossible...it has rained heavily since then.

I left Katy and Dan with high hopes of getting to and enjoying Glacier park.  It was overcast the whole way there, except for the hour I stopped in Bigfork, MT for lunch and some wandering galleries.  One gallery had an exhibit of Andy Warhol Polaroid images.  Naturally they were a bit steep in price but it was fun seeing Andy's work out here in the mountains.

I then headed for Canada. 

All down hill

Crossing the Continental Divide in Montana Friday was a milestone.  Though more than half way to my goal of the Pacific it does signal that everything in front of me is flowing toward the Pacific.

The day started out much less ceremoniously, however.  Having stopped the previous night in Cody,Wyoming, I woke there, too.  I checked the Yellowstone website for any special announcements since Thursday several of the entrances were closed due to snow.  The website said nothing special.  I loaded the car anticipating a memorable day in the park.  Just after pulling out on the park approach road a large sign faced me...East Entrance...closed, Jackson...closed, Yellowstone was completely closed. What to do?  I pulled off to consider my options.  I could wait but there was no guarantee it would open Friday...and Katy Gibson (Vanderswaag) invited me to her place near Missoula, Montana.  I decided to head for Montana.  After all it was only six hours away.  It wasn't the most scenic of the drives of the Quest, but it went quickly.  Getting off I-90 in Huson, I was quickly led to dirt roads.  The roads went way back into a valley.  Then they turned uphill...up, up, down, up.  Just before the down I was able to make a call to Katy..."am I on the right road" "sure, just keep coming, we will be able to see your car soon," came the answer.

I had been seeing Katy's photos of Dan's and her house for a few years now; it looked spectacular.  High on a hill on Mt Stark, it overlooked a majestic valley of fir covered mountains.  Dan built it.  Through blasting rock they were able to build their drive in.  Dan felled and milled the posts and beams that comprise the frame of the house...brought the rock in for retaining walls...he built the everything... the two story window frames, the door frames, the floors...all milled by Dan. And what makes him my hero is that this is the first house he has built.

Their kids are two dogs...one (Riley) is a big softy, the other (Starky) is 90% wolf and terribly shy.  But both dogs are beautiful and fit their surroundings.  We sat up late talking after a delicious chili dinner prepared by Dan's mom.  Dan's parents had just gotten there and were living in their vacation camper home.

Katy had been one of my first students when I went to Cape Cod Academy in 1988.  Her and my time at the Academy were identical in length.  I got there her  7th grade year and left with her graduation.  Today she is high above the ocean in this gorgeous mountain enclave with her dogs and delightful and talented husband.




Riley

and Starky

Wyo Wyo Wyoming

I woke up today in Deadwood, South Dakota.  Once an iconic lawless wild west mining town, today it is marked by casinos and motels.  Taken from the Lakota tribes when gold was discovered in the Black Hills the takeover was enforced by our boy George Armstrong Custer.  Wild Bill Hickcok and Calamity Jane are both buried in the town's cemetery.  It was distinctly a new day...yesterday was 76˚ today began 41˚.

I had to push the driving today. I was trying to get to Billings, MT for lunch with my friend Jess.  I would have probably stopped at Devils Tower, had I had more time.

It's interesting how each state has its own topography.  The Black Hills of South Dakota come right up to the border of Wyoming and then the plains of Wyoming begin.  The sky was threatening much of the day with an occasional shower.

It remained in the 40s all day.  In several spots the highway crews were improving the roads which only served to slow my progress toward Billings.  I zipped through Crow country and by The Little Big Horn River, too.

 It was good to see Jess.  The Crow are the most disliked tribe of the plains.  Apparently, they were more than willing to sellout their fellow Indian tribes to the white invaders in return for keeping their traditions and language.

The Crows led the US Cavalry into the villages for the requisite massacre.  There were trains lined up to take on their loads of coal from the strip mining.

After lunch it was a short drive to Yellowstone National Park, one of my main goals of the trip.  Short became long when the Beartooth Highway was closed due to snow...SNOW? it's only September!

After backtracking to take an alternative route that took me passed a defunct mine and across a vast area that reminded me of the moors in England, I ended up in Cody, WY for the night.  I hauled out my bike and road through the town checking out most of the shops and Irma...the local hotel that Buffalo Bill Cody (the founder of the town) ran years ago.  Jackson Pollack was born in Cody.  The mountains overlooking the town have a dusting of snow.

Tomorrow is the Park...snow or no snow.

I'm in love!

I woke this morning in the parking lot of the Mitchell, South Dakota Walmart.  Being on the far side of Central time zone the sun was rising at 7:30 as a bright cerise orb silhouetting a grain elevator.  With my new bike on the roof of the van and me snuggled in the back on my LL Bean futon mattress, the night passed comfortably.  I wasn't especially looking forward to the drive today...South Dakota...ugh.  But that opinion didn't last long.  The early morning drive across the Great Plains of South Dakota was magical.  The vastness of prairie is awe inspiring.  The grasses are changing with the coolness of the fall temperatures...reds, oranges, yellows and greens mix in the carpets of grass covered gently undulating hills.  These hills were interspersed with fields of wilting sunflowers and the rust colored sorghum.  Many of the fields were decorated with Wall Drug signs...the national treasure, the icon, 5¢ hot coffee, free ice water... These signs appear along I-90 about 300 miles before you reach the Wall exit. 

Wall is adjacent to the Badlands National Park.  If you see the Badlands before going to Wall Drug, the letdown is intense.  I would prefer a summer carnival to Wall Drug.  In the Badlands where were several Prairie Dog colonies.  At one spot I managed to connect with one couple who seemed to be curious about the whistling noise I was making. 

It was a short drive from the Badlands to see the Black Hills looming to the southwest.  The faces of the four presidents on Mt Rushmore are impressive. 

But just up the road is the Crazy Horse Memorial which is over 20 times larger. 

Started in 1948 by one man today with the help of GPS and various improved technological instruments the progress has improved.  Even so, it would be another 25 years before it's completed.  The head is over 90 feet tall compared the presidents, who are about 60 feet tall.  The whole Crazy Horse project is overwhelming.  So impressed, I took an individual tour to the top of the sculpture. 

It is being cut into Thunder Mountain; so named because lightening frequently hits the mountain.  As the carving began it was discovered that the mountain is laced with seams of iron, thus attracting the attention of electric charges in the sky.  My Black Hills and Badlands experience along with the drive across the prairie changed forever my thoughts about South Dakota...I'm in love.

Spam, Peas and Corn

This morning I said good bye to Mike and Karen and headed off with a bike that Mike was trying to get rid of in the back of the van.  It was perfect for my needs and I was thinking about buying one when I got back to NH.  My GPS loaded me on to I-94.  As I approached the highway I noticed that there was a toll booth...either the IPass lane or coins, it was 90¢.  I was in a panic...where are my coins? No change given. I pulled over and scrounged a few coins to make the 90¢.  As I approached the coin basket, I noticed a sign..."7 days to pay" online...a novel idea that I hadn't seen before.  My panic was for naught.

I skipped Wisconsin...well I made a point of not stopping.  I was listening to NPR and there were several pieces about their wonderful governor: Scott Walker.  I really didn't need to stop but I was determined to make it to Minnesota before I needed gas.  I stopped at the rest area on the Mississippi...pretty spot.  A couple came up all a flutter about the river tug in moving a barge.  I had seen them photographing each other so I offered to take a photo of them both.  They were appreciative to the point that I was there new best friend and they launched into a history lesson about the government's land grab in the west "80% of Utah is government land..."  "You should watch the Kirk Cameron video about how the government is taking our land."  "We have our Liberty library in the trunk of our car, if you want and information about God and the Constitution." "No thanks, I need to hit the road."


Up the interstate a piece was Austin, MN..home of the SPAM Museum.  What a delightful break; it even included an area dedicated to Monty Python. http://youtu.be/anwy2MPT5RE

Then it was off to Blue Earth, MN and the Jolly Green Giant.  You can get an idea of his size by looking between his feet.

My destination for the day was Mitchell, South Dakota, home of The Corn Palace.  I have long wanted to get to the Palace...an incredible public building with a facade of corn-decorated murals designed by local school kids and adults.  It was a good place to plan to spend the night.  I really like this town.

Second City

Did you know that Chicago doesn't consider itself the Second City relative to New York?  Long known as the Second City, that name comes not from an inferiority complex or from needing to name its comedy club...Second City Players.  It comes from the rebirth of the city after the Great Fire caused by Mrs. O'Leary's cow tipping over a kerosene lantern.  The fire burned essentially every wooden structure in sight and the new city that rose from the devastation is The Second City.

Mike Belsky (Mike was a student in the first government class I taught back in 1977) and I went to a great Greek restaurant for breakfast before heading to The Loop for a day in Chicago.  Breakfast is rarely an offering that I cannot finish...today's was: a huge broccoli and cheddar omelet, bagel, hash browns, and OJ.

Once we were downtown we were quickly in a boat exploring the architecture on the Chicago River.  A fascinating 90 minutes of history of buildings as the related to the city's history.  A wonderful docent; highly knowledgeable.  Skimore, Owings, Merrill (SOM), IM Pei, Tribune building, the Wrigley building.  Chicago is a amazing collection of some of the top architects of the 20th and 21st centuries.  Marina Towers, Sears Tower, Trump Tower

Mike and The Bean                                            Waterfall photo sculpture
Dinner was a Chicago style pizza at UNOs with Karen...Mike's squeeze.

 Montgomery Ward's Statue of Enterprise

Bye, Sleeping Bear

I figured I would be doing a lot of driving, after all the continental segment of the country is over 3000 miles wide.  But today’s drive from Glen Arbor to Chicago, seemed long and unnecessary.  My westward progress was minimal, basically the width of Lake Michigan.  But in order to get that far I had to drive seven hours and loop around the southern tip of the lake.  Mind you, I did get some vistas across the lake but that didn’t supplant the hours of sitting and driving.  Hopefully as I move west dramatically on Tuesday, things will be better.

Sue made a wonderful breakfast this morning of a scramble.  Scrambled egg, laden with tomatoes, green peppers, cheese, onion with a nice size pile of fried potatoes...and toast and grape juice.  It sure tasted better than my usual oatmeal and yogurt.  

Misha and me on Empire Bluffs

We walked Misha up Empire Bluff and gazed over the lake...it was cloudy but just about any day is beautiful up there.  There was a tug pulling a barge south about 3 miles out.  A bus load of Western Michigan University botany students were unloading as we got back to the car and noticed a car next to ours with a “naturalistforhire.ws” sign on it.  It was cold and they had camped out last night but being young and hearty they were eager for their hike up the bluff.

The forest canope

It wouldn’t take much for me to move back to Leelanau county.

The drive south was uneventful.  A brief stop at the “ghost ship” in Manistee.  An old lake ferry that has seen better days but now is open for tours, not that anyone was in line to board her.  Kind of a neat old ship though. 

The Ghost Ship

I got to Mike Belsky’s cottage in New Buffalo, MI about the time my eyes needed a rest.  Mike asked me to take a look at it on my way to his Illinois home.  Nice place to get away and less than two hours from his home in Highland Park.  The decor was distinctly Glen Lake oriented but Glen Lake is another four or five hours north, so this fills the bill for Mike’s leisure time.  

My LG cellphone is giving me the fits.  I was using the GPS on it...no other apps, I had it plugged into my car power but near Gary, Indiana the power died and the phone was super hot.  I am using Straight Talk as a service provider through Walmart...it’s a good deal but when you have any difficulty with your phone hardware, fingers point and shoulders shrug.  The woman Walmart said, that doesn’t sound good...but we don’t service them.  I have called the Straight Talk number before and been whisked to my helpful person in India.  So far they don’t know what to do and they seem reluctant to give me a new phone since it is only 3 months old.  The last phone helper I got said I needed to reformat the phone...bad idea.  I also lost all my phone numbers and it didn’t solve the over heating and fast battery use.  Being the cheapskate I am, I found this bargain rate for phone, data and text but the phone isn’t that strong.  I would imagine at some point I will be forced to get an iPhone or Samsung.  But I am going to go down swinging.

The Most Beautiful Place in America

Two years ago ABC's Good Morning America had a contest to determine the Most Beautiful Place in America.  Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore was voted the winner.  I lived in the Dunes National Lakeshore for eighteen years and am back here to see my friends who were wise enough not to leave.

Sleeping Bear Dunes looking toward South Manitou Island

Today I had breakfast with Diane Kenel-Truelove and her family on Old Mission Peninsula... scrambled eggs and baked beans, a new combination provided by her son-in-law from England.  All good English breakfasts include baked beans.  Diane and an infectious laugh and it was in full form today with stories about the years we worked together back in the 80s and what's been going on since with her, her children and Larry, her incredibly tall husband, second only to their son, Morgan who is 6'7".  Fun time and no dough nuts.

Jane Whiting was a senior my first year as a headmaster.  Even as a teen, she was poised and sincere and just plain dear...she remains so today. With a grown daughter who resembles her late dad in so many ways it was endearing, Jane and I got to visit for a few moments at her place of work on Front St in Traverse City.  She is such a wonderful person, it was great to see her again.

Zipping back to GA (Glen Arbor) was quick.  The entry into town stopped me.  The Crystal River edges close to the road and the early tint of fall was touching the grasses and flowers of the river plants, the sky was piercingly blue and I had to stop to photograph it.

The Crystal River approaching Glen Arbor

Before we knew one another, Rob and Bard Karner were married on the same day I was, 37 years ago.  Today while we walked around Faculty Row and sat in their peaceful home on the Crystal we reminisced about the wonders of raising children on a river such as the Crystal.  It is always good to see them and they never seem to age.

Glen Arbor is a beautiful place but it's also a special place due to the many people who have generated fond memories for me of years gone by.

Tomorrow morning, I am leaving the Sleeping Bear.