Driving to Galcier NP

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Well, we used our inginuity to download photos to the web. Greg's inginuity, really, since my work laptop doesn't have the right drivers for my camera (or enough disk space). So Greg wrote up the travel journal and we should be able to post it for friends and family.

We drove out of Calgary, AB this morning. Said goodbye to the rockies and hello to big sky / farm country. You wouldn't believe the farmland out here - it stretches for miles. Near Ft. Macleod we saw a large wind farm in the distance and 1 tower up close. They are very large and impressive. The clouds are huge, white and fluffy on the drive... Just like an idillic scene from a western in Kansas w/ the farmhouses, the land and the clouds.

We're approaching the border and have started to see the rockies again. There's one that looks like a big rectangle of rock that a giant plunked down in the middle of all the peaks. It turns out that this one is a big sacred mountain for the native americans.

Crossing the border was painless and we headed down to St. Mary's campground in Glacier NP. After setting up camp we took an evening hike along the huge lake to Bear falls. We stopped most of the way to St. Mary's Falls because it was getting dark and we wanted to get back to camp during daylight. This is a popular time to see large wildlife (and bears). Bells on walking sticks do nothing (according to experts) so loud talking or occaisonal shouting is recommended to let the animals know that you are nearby.

Laura's methods for scaring off bears:

• Singing the "Sound of Silence"
  
• Trying to remember and sing "Bridge over troubled water"
  
• Yelling "Eh" (Canadian style)
  
• Yelling "Seepage" (water coming out of cliffs)
  
• Singing the Baby Bumblebee song
  
• Laughter
  
• Singing Jingle Bells
  
• Singing "the sun went over the mountain"
  

Greg's methods for scaring off bears:

• An occaisonal shout
  
• Laughing at Laura's methods
  

The campground showers are in the rear of the local store and cost $1.28 for 8 minutes. We found a nice spot on the inside of the loop for our tent. It was nice to see the rangers actually patrolling the property. Also, the campsite was much cheaper than the Candian parks. Recently a mountain lion was spotted ~3 miles from the campground but we haven't seen it. There are still a lot of berries on the bushes... will Greg ever see his bear?

The temperature was about 35° F or so at night so it was very comfortable at night (warmer than the earlier parks). We were snug in our tent but some idiots low battery alarm on their camper kept beeping every 15 seconds. Finally another camper pounded on the guy's door and asked if there was an emergency. The guy in the camper said no and was then told 'it must be an emergency because why else would you leave the battery beeping all night long? Dumbass.

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Photos

St. Mary;'s Lake
St. Mary's lake near dusk. The trail was hilly and there were numerous views similar to this along the way to the waterfalls.

Chief Mountain
This is the mountain near the eastern entrance to Galcier NP.

Hungry!
We were hungry and it was dark so we fixed up some instant soup (no cleanup, quick to make).