journal

What a cool little town.  It’s as charming as can be.  We had lunch at a second story bar and restaurant overlooking the town square.  That’s the archway into the town square that you see made of antlers.  No animal was killed to make this since the deer (or elk) shed their antlers each year.  The town of Jackson Hole is a ski destination and if you want to get away from the crowds of Colorado or Utah this is the place.  Don’t miss the National Museum of Wildlife Art.  I never thought I’d be so enamoured of scenic wildlife paintings but the artwork here is stunning.  There’s even a sculture of horses by the artist who did Mount Rushmore.  The special exhibit contained many of the original drawing of Dr. Suess for the book The Lorax.  We could only take photos of the outside sculptures and the few pieces in the lobby.  I highly recommend this place.

 So now I present to you a National Park to LOVE.  I absolutely went crazy when we drove the short 20 mile drive from Yellowstone to the Grand Tetons National Park.  The mountains were exquisite, the campground rugged and filled with deer and the lake pristine and great for canoeing.  Sorry for the many shots of the mountains but I couldn’t get enough during our visit. 

How can one diss the most famous and the first National Park and get away with it.  Well, I guess if I give it conditional passing marks it’s okay.  So why would I not LOVE this park.  It’s just too much like a theme park.  From the scheduled eruptions of Old Faithful to the tourists taking photos (I know that includes me) at every “attraction”.  Everywhere we went there was also talk of when and where wildlife was spotted.  But as far as theme parks go this place definitely had “E” ticket rides.  There were beautiful vistas coming into the park.  The bubbling waters and steamy geysers were colorful, powerful and amazing.  There was also the wildlife including the elk on the lawn of one of the lodges as we came into the park and the herd of bison on both sides of the road as we left the park.  It’s worth the trip but I longed for the rugged, pristine and less crowed parks.  They’re coming up.

Driving through Montana we came upon a beautiful sculpture of two Blackfeet Warriors.  The artwork was a creative and innovative design and the subject stirred feelings of respect for the Native American nation that once was.  Many activities on this adventure have constantly reminded me of what the White Man did to the Native American population.  The books I’ve been reading to familiarize myself to the areas I’m traveling have all had some incredibly violent episode of what happened as we settled this country.  Most notably are the events in the books about Lewis & Clark, Alaska and “The Trail of Tears”.  What is it in human nature that gives us permission to kill?  I don’t get it.  Anyway, from the car I thoroughly enjoyed the landscape of Big Sky Montana.  We spent the night at a really neat hotel with an indoor atrium filled with waterfalls and animals of the region.  Too many stuffed animals… but this is the west.

Glacier National Park is on the Canadian border in state of Montana.  It is also the most charming park I have seen.  The pristine beauty, incredibly tall pine tree forests, beautiful streams, lakes and rivers and the historic park lodge made this a favorite spot on our tour.  We arrived in the afternoon and set up camp where we were repeatedly warned about the possibility of bears entering the campsite.  So we had to keep all our food and supplies in the car.  The temperature was on the cold side (about 35 degrees in the morning) but turned into a glorious day. We had a full day of taking in this incredible park.  We began with a tour of Lake McDonald on a cruiser that has been doing this for almost 80 years.  Lunch in the lodge was fabulous and would you believe I had the best New England clam chowder ever.  Then we took a ride on the famed “Going to the Sun Road”.  This winding road ascends several thousand feet from the park elevation to Logan Pass at over 6000 feet above sea level.  It was a breathtaking drive not just for the beauty of the vistas but also for the curving, skinny road that hugs the mountain as it juts out over the cliffs.  Totally worth it.  Finishing the day with a hike to a stunning waterfall made this trip to Glacier a wonderful experience and a HIGHLY recommended park for all travelers.