Glacier National Park

We took a vacation and visited the Glacier National Park.  We wanted to share some of our adventures.  There is a link to the photos at the end of this narrative.

Day 1-We worked until noon and left Superior with temps in the 40's and a light rain. falling.  Before we were out of MN we encountered heavier rain mixed with snow and occasionally sleet.  The rain continued most of the day but we persevered.

Around 3PM we received a phone call from the rental agent saying one of their maintenance vehicles had hit our car (in the driveway).  They had to call the police and have an accident report created.  For awhile we were not sure if we were going to have to turn around or not, but they got things handled with the insurance company.  So again we persevered.

We spent the night in Bismarck, ND at the Comfort Suites.  Our reservation was at the Comfort Inn but they called and   offered us an upgrade to the Comfort Suites and we took the upgrade.  This was a mistake-the room was small, the headboard of the bed squeaked and the pillows were not comfortable.  Oh well, we were tired and slept okay just not deep enough or long enough.

Day 2. We finally entered Montana.  We had heard a lot about Billings so it was a bit disappointing-too many people for our liking and just not what we were expecting. 

Back in the car and a few hours later we were in Bozeman.  We were both really tired from our long day yesterday and another 10 hours on the road today, so we called it an early night.

Day3 We woke up early 4:30 and decided to take our time getting ready and then to drive to Missoula for church.  We left around 7 and just made it to church on time.  Church was ok-not too exciting.

Headed north to Kalispell and drove past Flathead Lake-it is really big and so beautiful, surrounded by mountains.

Tonight and tomorrow night we are staying at the Red Lion Hotel.  Our room is a suite and is very nice.

Had dinner at the Blue Canyon which got really good ratings.  Most of the food was good but the calamari was rubbery, most disappointing.  I had elk meatloaf and Larry had pecan crusted Walleye, both were very good.

Day 4. It has been interesting to see all the mountain ranges that make up the Rockies.  For 2 days we have driven through tall hills and craggy mountains but the really tall ones always seemed far away, at least until today.

Today we finally made it to the park.

What a glorious day for this trip.  This morning was slightly overcast which was perfect for photos and on our way home the sun came out. 

The drive across Glacier National Park was open as far as Logan Pass, about 2/3 of the way.  The road up the mountain is 2 lanes, one in each direction, and only about 10 Ft wide each.  This means there was approximately 1 1/2 Ft on each side of the car-or in other words, 1 1/2 Ft from the mountain on one side or the edge of the cliff on the other.  The mountain was straight up and solid granite.  The cliff was the edge of a drop off that went down about 10,000 feet to a ravine. 

It was a fantastic drive and when we reached the top of the mountain it was super windy but the views were beautiful.  It was definitely worth every hair raising moment.

Our waitress from last night recommended a restaurant just outside the park gates called The Highland Restaurant.  We visited there for breakfast and tried huckleberry pancakes and French toast-they were delicious.  After our trip up the mountain we stopped in for some huckleberry pie and that was also very good.

This evening we took a drive to Whitefish and ate at a local pub.  Whitefish looks like an interesting town that we would enjoy visiting.  Oh well, maybe at another time.

Day 5. Today we head to Idaho on a quest for a coffee cup.

We stayed in Sandpoint Idaho and found our coffee cup at the local town market which was a small shopping center.

Idaho accomplished-tomorrow starts the long trip home.

Day 6.  We drove Highway 2 all the way.  Highway 2 is the southern border of Glacier National Park and once you cross out of the park you are immediately in prairie land.  It is amazing how few foothills there are in this direction.

The rest of the day was a boring drive, thankfully we only drove about 2 more hours and spent the night in Shelby, MT.

Shelby is a small railroad town with not much in the way of eateries. 

The hotel had a book with local places to visit so we headed out looking for a place for a very late lunch, early dinner.  Larry always asks me where I would like to go so today I told him it was his choice.  He selected The Montana Club which advertised 50 different types of burgers. 

The Montana Club is located in the 2 block area of downtown with parallel parking.  I was driving and it took me about 10 tries to get the car parked, I hate parallel parking.  We were finally parked and walked to the 'Club'. 

We are from New Orleans and have been on Bourbon Street so 2 things should have warned us about this place-the man sitting out front apparently looking for customers (in the French Quarter they call them hawkers) and the solid wooden door.  Nothing inviting about this place but Shelby is an old town and most everything looks old and in need of repair so I guess that is our excuse.

 We opened the door and immediately saw the flyer on the inside of the door advertising all the women who would be performing.  Larry saw the flyer, I saw the inside of the building which looked the part of any dive I had ever heard of.  The only other person inside was some guy at the bar. This place was a definite no-no.  We turned around and left and decided to stick with a fairly well known eatery, we ate at Pizza Hut-we were not taking any more chances.

Surprisingly our hotel was pretty comfortable and we were able to get our last laundry on the road done.

Day 7. We got an early start this morning because today is our longest drive home.  We passed the Bear Paw Mountains and the Sweet Grass Hills but other than that nothing but flat prairie.  One of the high prairies was so high we could almost see Canada.

Glendive, MT tonight.  Not much in Glendive so we ate at CC's café across from our hotel.  It turned out to be surprisingly good.   A quiet night and an early start tomorrow.

Day 8 Heading home.  We had planned to drive as far as Fargo today but since that is only 4 1/2 hours from home and we arrived in Fargo about 2 PM we decided to go all the way home.

We followed the GPS directions and it took us a different way home, through a town called Walker.  The drive was through some very pretty scenery.

We arrived home safe and sound and are very thankful to be in our own home tonight.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/pattisoriginals/sets/72157648457936806/

A Trip Up the North Shore

We took a trip up the north shore of Minnesota to Grand Marais over the 4th of July weekend.  The trip up the north shore is beautiful with Lake Superior on the right and houses, businesses, and parks on the left.

We passed through so many areas of lovely wildflowers but my favorite is the lupines-which I haven't seen since we visited Maine many years ago.

 

Lupines range in color from white, to pink, to deep purple and they are all truly lovely.

 

It was close to noon when we arrived and the fog still hung over the water.

The rocky shore overlooking Lake Superior.

 

Brought this handsome guy with me and we had a great time.

 

 

The harbor is absolutely beautiful.

 

 

This photo was taken through the water and you can see how crystal clear the water is.

 

We shopped a bit and then headed back home stopping to eat at a roadside restaurant.  The weather was perfect.  The company was fantastic.  The food was great.  Absolutely a great time.

A Must Share

I saw this today and had to share it since I have heard these from my mom and said them to my son.

1. My mother taught me about WEATHER.
"Your room looks like a tornado hit it."
2. My mother taught me about RELIGION.
"You better pray that comes out of the car...pet."
3. My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL.
"If you don't straighten up I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week."
4. My mother taught me about OSMOSIS.
"Shut your mouth and eat your supper."
5. My mother taught me about the CIRCLE OF LIFE.
"I brought you into this world, I can take you out."
6. My mother taught me about ENVY.
"There are millions of less fortunate children in the world who don't have wonderful parents like you."
7. My mother taught me about RECEIVING.
"You are going to get it when we get home."
8. My mother taught me about GENEOLOGY.
"Shut that door... You think you were raised in a barn?"
9. My mother taught me about JUSTICE.
"One day you'll have kids... I hope they turn out just like you!"
10. My mother taught me about LOGIC.
"Because I said so, That's why."
11. My mother taught me about STAMINA.
"You'll sit there until your spinach is gone."
12. My mother taught me about IRONY.
"Keep crying. I'll give you something to cry about."

Life in WI/MN

We have been in Wisconsin/Minnesota for over a month and last week was the first full week of work we have completed. 

Superior, WI and Duluth, MN are very close neighbors, only a bridge across the lower part of Lake Superior (known as Saint Louis Bay) separates them.  Our office is located in Superior and our boss' office is in Duluth.  We work mainly in Superior but frequent visits over the Lake are required. 

The first couple weeks we were in the area we were located in Duluth and then we moved out to our job site.  While in Duluth we had business lunches and most Fridays were short.  As soon as we relocated we started traveling to business meetings out of town.  Then we had the team building meeting I wrote about.

All the traveling has been fun, and a nice way to break up a week, but it did make last week a bit long.  We had to come to the office all 5 days, however, we left at lunch on Friday and that helped.  This week is 4th of July, so another short week.  I am really starting to love this job!

We truly love this part of the country.  Wildlife is everywhere-deer in the backyard and even on the city streets.  We saw a dead black bear Sunday on the side of road.  Today we were warned, there is a momma bear and her cub on the job site.  Birds, rabbits, chipmunks and squirrels are profuse.

The natural beauty abounds, as well, and there are so many things to do.  We enjoy visiting the parks and forests, which we truly missed in North Dakota.  We have gone hiking on the many trails.  Visiting the local antique shops is always fun.  When we really get bored we run across the Lake to the mall in Duluth (that hasn't happened yet this year). 

4th of July we hope to go hiking and have a cookout lunch (hot dogs over the campfire) at the local State Park.  Looking forward to lots more excitement as we continue this part of our adventure!

Team Building

We had a team building meeting earlier this week at a retreat in central Minnesota.  The name of the campground is Rutgers and it was a truly lovely location.

This is the entrance to the campground and the lobby.

The tiny store located in the lobby area.

The view from the driveway.

Our room-very nice and comfortable.

The view from the balcony.

Relaxing after a long drive.



Rutgers is truly a beautiful place.  Hope you enjoy the view!

Gardens abounding with flowers and blossoms.

Beautiful walkways.

Trees full of leaves.

A beautiful lake, boats, swimming (but it was much too cold).

An outdoor pool (heated water).

This was our favorite seat, it overlooks the lake.

The view from "our" swing.

This guy's name is Oxagraph.

The patio outside the dining room.

Such a lovely, relaxing couple of days and it was topped off by a visit to the spa (on the company).

The company I work for has been such a blessing!



Superior, WI Once Again

We have finally gotten an apartment and have relocated to Superior, WI.  It seems like it took forever for an apartment that we could rent month-to-month, instead of signing a lease, to become available.  But we now have a place to call home.

Our apartment is a duplex with 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, living room, dining room, kitchen and, best of all, a heated garage.  After having to stay outside through the North Dakota winters for the last 2 years, our poor car will sure be glad for this garage in a few months.

Our new apartment is unfurnished and since we did not move any furniture, we have started, slowly, purchasing the things we need.

This is our living room and new loveseat.  The loveseat is gray with a tint of green.  It is also a twin sleeper.  The red table on the side is actually a piano bench we picked up at an antique store in town.  There is a gas fireplace on the wall to the right and a window in the front of the couch.  The living room is rather small but since it is only the 2 of us it works fine.

This is our very luxurious kitchen, which I am truly enjoying!

Very glad to have a place to set up our Berkey Water Filter.



 We found our dining table at another antique shop and decided not to get the matching chairs.  Instead we picked up these 2 on our trip through the antique stores.

The handsome guy did not come with the table-he already belonged to me.

Close up of the table.

This is our master bedroom with our brand new bed.  We ordered a headboard but it was out of stock so until it comes in we are enjoying the bed as it is.  Our night tables are tv trays and they will work fine until we find some tables we like.

The house came with some very ugly curtains, these are the ones in our bedroom.  Definitely searching for replacements for these.

We found some denim curtains for the tv room at a thrift store.  I wanted tab curtains so we could open and close them easily and these work just fine.

This is the rest of the tv room, complete with camp chairs.  This room still needs a lot of work but it is fairly comfortable and it allows us to use our WII, which we have really missed.

The table, between the chairs, is an old school desk, another find from a local shop.

Our extra special find has been the new dishes we purchased.  We have been using camp dishes and flatwear for 2 years, so when we moved we decided to buy real dishes again. We looked all over and could not find anything we really liked so we hit the thrift stores again.  We picked up any dishes that we liked or that caught our attention and decided to go eclectic. 

We have come to love our eclectic dishes and absolutely love eating on china rather than plastic.

All of the above were picked up at several thrift stores and we were still 1 dessert plate short.  We found this set at the Salvation Army but they would not sell me just one plate, so I had to pay $5 and buy all the pieces they had-4 dinner plates, 3 bowls, 4 coffee cups and saucers, and 6 dessert dishes, not a bad deal at all.

Now we have more than enough dishes and are using them with much enjoyment.





The things we take for granted are revealed to us more and more each day as our adventure continues.