the journal

Cathy and Kathy go camping.  Our first stop was in northern Washington at North Cascades National Park.  This place was georgeous with shimmering green water in the rivers and lakes, deeply forested mountains and a quieting wilderness feel.  Our first night we arrived close to sundown after a day of camping preparation, food shopping and boring errands.  The drive out of Seattle began our departure from civilization and big cities.  It felt great.  We stopped at the first campground to check it out and it was probably the best place we could have selected.  Our site was on the river, isolated from other sites, quite large and near the latrine.  The campfire was lit and we had a delicious meal of Kosher hot dogs on the grill.  The next day was our first hiking expedition.  Stopping at the ranger station I humorously inquired about bears.  Yes, he said, you might encounter some on the trail but just keep a good lookout for them and make lots of noise.  His lacksadaisical attitude did not impress me.  I made up songs along the trail and Kathy and I kept up the noise level.  No bears.  I think they hated my voice.  The only “wildlife” spotted were animals I could put in my pocket.  Anyway, the hike.  This was my first major hike in a while.  It was hard.  The trail was deep in the forest and winded upwards about 1000 feet.  It took two hours to get to the top but what  a reward.  Blue Lake was a stunning oasis.  It’s quite small but the crystal clear blue-green waters, trees, rocks and lingering snow made it a worthwhile trip.    Our return to the campsite was around dinnertime and we prepared gourmet chicken shish kabob with veggies and red potatoes.  Another beautiful night in the woods. 

You might be wondering why my feature photo is from the Grand Coulee Dam.  This was one of the most important stops on my trip.  That’s because I am a dedicated Bob Dylan fan and have been for over 40 years.  I have been listening to the album “Blood on the Tracks” since its release in 1975.  On this album is one of my favorite songs of all times – “Idiot Wind”.  The following line is in the song: Idiot Wind, blowing like a circle around my skull, from the Grand Coulee Dam to the Capitol.  So when I realized that we were in the vicinity I turned my iPod to the song, sang along at the top of my voice and cried to be going to a place that my hero mentioned in music I have been listening to for almost 35 years.  It did not disappoint.  The photo itself made me happy.  It’s from the style of the time when the dam was built and I loved that as well.  In addition to this stop we had to take photos when we saw some of the other wild things along the highway.  The remaining pictures are all from a city near Spokane. 

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.

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.

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.