http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Montana/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from North America , United States , Montana en-us Fri, 06 Nov 09 16:58:03 +0000 Fri, 06 Nov 09 16:58:03 +0000 The first 24 hours in Korea no the first week in Korea were some of the most difficult in my life. You are exhausted and jet lagged you are expected to work the very next school day whether that is after a weekend or within hours as we were so lucky you havenrsquot eaten anything in roughly a week because either you canrsquot find anything tolerable or you canrsquot stomach any of t http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Montana/Butte/blog-450521.html Congrats to everyone for finding this blogMy plane leaves in about 6 hours and I've just finished packing. As I type this my mother is baking me a farewell pumpkin pie which will help me survive the next 3 days of planes and hotels before I find myself in Mombasa Kenya thank you mom.Please let everyone you think would be interested know about this blog and I'll try to update it as often as http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Montana/Missoula/blog-443695.html Before leaving Rapid City SD we first ventured in the opposite direction of our destination in order to get a peek at the marvelous stone artwork in the Black Hills Mt. Rushmore. There are a bunch of photos attached. I highly recommend checking this out. Even driving through the snowy Black was amazing by itself.The Black Hills gave me the first snow of the season as we drove thru the tiny http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Montana/blog-442838.html Back in the U.S.AAfter another long day of driving we finally made it to Montana. We got up early and got on the road. The conditions from Edmonton to Calgary were crappy. When it wasn't snowing it was raining We stopped right before the border and I got my blizzard from Dairy Queen I had a Smarties Blizzard just for Niki For those that don't know Smarties are like mm's only b http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Montana/Billings/blog-442195.html September 28 2009Today we drove all day up through northern Montana to a town called Shelby. It was a beautiful drive through miles and miles of farm land. On a billboard entering one of the small towns was a quote ldquofrom the mountains to the prairiesrdquohellipso accurateEarlier in the day we had stopped at a cigar store outside of Livingston. A man sold cigars right out of his home. http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Montana/blog-440625.html September 27 2009Well we made it to Old FaithfulhellipHerersquos what happened. We all hoped and prayed all night that the road to Old Faithful would be open this morninghellipand it was. This meant that we could get to see her after driving one and a half hourshellipwhich we did. On the way we kept seeing all of these interesting sights but we didnrsquot stop because our plan was to g http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Montana/Gardiner/blog-440326.html September 26 2009ldquoTake off that Ranger hat so I can slap you across the face.rdquoToday was somewhat disappointinghellip.the fire in Yellowstone continues and the road to Old Faithful is closed. To see it we would have to drive around the park the northern route to get there. This would take three and a half hours one way We decided to drive north to a town called Livingston a plac http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Montana/Gardiner/blog-440044.html September 25 2009Fire Fire Fire Yesterday as we crossed through Teton Pass there was a fire that almost obstructed our view of the Tetons. When we left our cabin in Driggs Idaho today we were hoping for a better view but the fire had left a haze that continued to hide some of the mountains. We traveled through Teton National Park and saw amazing scenery stopping for lunch at Jackson Lakehel http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Montana/blog-439965.html St. Mary Montana Saturday September 5Saturday we drive back to the Park Caf for a hearty breakfast. Itrsquos now time to leave the park and begin our journey home. We cross the ldquoRoad to the Sunrdquo again and head back to Spokane and tomorrows flight home. We drive the eastern shore of Flathead Lake and get some different views of Montana. Wersquove really enjoyed our trip to the Pac http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Montana/St--Mary/blog-439664.html Many Glacier Inn Glacier National ParkThursday September 3 2009Thursday Karen and I pack up and again head over the ldquoRoad to The Sunrdquo to the town of St. Mary on eastern entrance of the park. This side of the park is the Blackfoot Native American Reservation. After a great bowl of beef chili and a slice of pie at the Park Caf we head north through to the town of Babb and the eastern http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Montana/Glacier-National-Park/Many-Glacier/blog-439477.html Lake McDonald Lodge Glacier National ParkTuesday September 1 2009On Tuesday Karen and I moved from the motel in Kalispell to the Lake McDonald Lodge thatrsquos inside Glacier National Park. What an improvement this is over the roadside Econo Lodge. The McDonald Lodge is a small lakeside inn that was privately built here almost a hundred years ago. Itrsquos now owned by the National Park and http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Montana/Glacier-National-Park/Lake-McDonald/blog-439476.html Kalispell MontanaAugust 31 2001On Sunday Karen and I headed east for our visit to Glacier National Park. Joining us on our travels to Kalispell were Maxanne Colleen Warren and AJ. Wersquore all heading to the city at the entrance of Glacier National Park and itrsquos a 200mile ride. Driving east on route 90 to Kalispell Montana is a very interesting and lovely ride as it passes through r http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Montana/Kalispell/blog-439473.html WEEK FIVE HELENA MT GLACIER NP CHOTEAU MTTuesday June 23 We have been on the road now for four weeks and it has been too rainy cold and buggy to drag out our tent and camping gear. But no matter our next destination is Jenrsquos house in Choteau. Before descending on Jen we took the Gates of the Mountains boat excursion from Holter Dam up the Missouri River and into the towering white http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Montana/Glacier-National-Park/Lake-McDonald/blog-437881.html I have had a couple of laid back days in the area. Just took it easy Tuesday still recovering from my run. Wednesday I decided to go back into Glacier and do another hike. I decided to hike Otokiimo Lake. It is 5.2 miles one way and gains about 1900 feet up the trail. It was a tough hike and I was really working to cover the distance. The clear blue green water of the lake made the tough w http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Montana/Glacier-National-Park/blog-437356.html I am pretty sore from my run yesterday. I hung around the place for a while and finally decided to go back to Glacier and go for a hike. I went to the Many Glacier area of the park and decided to do the Iceburg Lake hike. It is five miles one way I was a bit concerned going out by myself after all the bear warnings. I was very aware of every noise around me. While I was walking two birds wal http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Montana/Glacier-National-Park/blog-436658.html I did the Two Bear Half Marathon this morning in Whitefish MT. It was a brisk morning in town and by the time they dropped us off at the start it was really cold. The course was very scenic as we ran by Whitefish Lake. About 160 people competed in the half marathon. I did better than I had expected. Because of the all the time I have spent in my car and eating junk. I figured my time would b http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Montana/Kalispell/blog-436330.html Glad to be in one place for several days. All of the driving in the last week has been rough. From the parking area at my condo I can see several of the ski runs at the Whitefish Mountain Ski Resort. I got up and drove over to Glacier National Park. The natural beauty hits you as soon as you drive in the park and gets better as you drive. The park is crossed from west to east by one main roa http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Montana/Glacier-National-Park/blog-436039.html Another day and another 400 miles Glad i don't have to drive much for the next few days. It was chilly again this morning in West Yellowstone. I went back into Yellowstone one last time before I left the area. I got to see a couple of more bison before I left. That made my day they are great creatures. Then it was back on the road for the long drive to Whitefish. It was a long day driving http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Montana/Kalispell/blog-435815.html I drove down to Driggs ID today to register for the Horseshoe Canyon 10k trail race on Sept 19. The drive down was amazing. I was in the Teton valley which is west of the Teton mountain range. The views of the peaks were amazing and the road was fun to drive. It finally warmed up and I headed back to West Yellowstone to go and ride in Yellowstone. I don't know why but I was a little apprehens http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Montana/West-Yellowstone/blog-435666.html I didn't think my trip could improve but it keep getting better every day. I left Jackson and drove up to the Grand Teton National Park. The weather has been unbelievable so far. There was hardly a cloud in the sky and it was an amazing day to be in the park. The setting of being in the valley and looking up at these huge mountains gives you perspective of just how tiny we really are. I stop http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Montana/West-Yellowstone/blog-435321.html