Tuesday August 16 at Ackley State Park, MT. At 8:45 it was 53 degrees with blue skies in one direction and rain clouds in another. Starting mileage was 15190. For some reason we woke up early and watched the sunrise as it came into the back windows--maybe because we left the curtains open last night. Anyway, it was a really pretty sunrise and I took pictures of it several times as the colors changed, while Valerie went back to sleep. Lots of folks were out standing on the banks of the lake this morning fishing. We watched a Northern Harrier swoop low and quarter the fields looking for prey. Drove back to the community of Hobson and found the library with wifi didn't open until noon. So much for that plan. Valerie pulled into a parking ... read more

Sunday, August 14th, 2011 At Glacier National Park, MT. Blue skies and 53 degrees at 7:15 in the morning. Starting mileage at 14867. One of the animals we hadn't been able to see up close on this trip was mountain goats. We had seen them on various mountains in BC and at Denali National Park, but they were way up on the mountain sides. Glacier Park's "mascot" is the mountain goat in their winter shaggy long coats---they are on t-shirts, mugs, brochures, patches, etc. So when we asked the gift store people about them, we were told they hang out along highway 2 about 40 miles from where we were at the entrance to the Park. To see them was why we were up and out early this morning. We drove out of the park area ... read more

August 10th, 2011 Wednesday Apgar Campground, Glacier National Park, MT 9:30 it is 53 degrees and overcast but blue sky to the west. Don’t plan to drive out of campground today so ending mileage is 14838 from yesterday’s driving. When we arrived at the camping spot where Bobbi and Carl were parked, the spot right next to them was empty. Valerie drove into that spot and soon Jim, Dianne, and Rocky arrived and parked in back of Bobbi and Carl’s RT. They came out and we all chatted for a good while. Mostly talking about experiences since we saw them last at the Arctic Circle and then what everyone’s plans were from this point onward. After they left heading for Great Falls, we all decide to walk to the visitors’ center and look around. We looked ... read more

Sunday, August 7th, 2011 Waterfowl Lakes Campground, Banff National Park, Alberta. 48 degrees out and cloudy at 9:50 Starting mileage is 14402. As we left camp, we noticed that the people who had vacated the campsite directly opposite us had left a fire burning very brightly in their fire pit. We felt that the park host should be notified and so drove around the park to his campsite. After asking for his expertise, he looked at Valerie’s pictures and confirmed that the “pinto bear” was indeed a grizzly even though his hump was not very pronounced. And that the small flock we saw outside of Jasper were female Rocky Mountain sheep and not goats. Continued on the Parkway and stopped to admire several glaciers. I especially liked the area around Bow Lake and the Wapta Icefield. ... read more

August 4, 2011 Costco Parking Lot, Prince George, BC. High clouds and sunshine—yeah!! 59 degrees with stating mileage at 13978. Started the morning looking at all the dead moths that had died all over Jim and Dianne’s RT. They had parked under one of the light poles in the parking lot and a swarm of the moths were attracted and were killed by flying too close. Jim had to remove and clean them out of their fan vent as well as off their RT body. We were two spaces away but still had them stuck in the windshield wipers. The number of dead bodies reminded Valerie and I of crossing the desert with Mom and Dad and pulling into a gas station that had so many grasshoppers/crickets covering the concrete that you had to crunch your ... read more