September 25, 2009 Billings, MT to Hill City, WY

To the map! I-90 east to Moorcroft, then US16 southeast to Custer, WY. Then North on US16/US385 to Hill City. 370 miles.

Today was more of the same. Rolling hills (big hills) with the scenery changing from agricultural to ranching to coal mining to oil extraction and refining.

At the roadside park along the Powder River where stopped for lunch, an educational exhibit on the Powder River Basin claimed that the coal, gas, and oil produced in the basin are used to produce 1/6 of the WORLD's energy, mostly from the low-sulfur coal.

As we moved through that area, we saw unbelievably long trains of full coal cars moving east. We also saw one coal strip mining operation right beside the Interstate. The coal seam they were working appeared to only about 20 feet below the surface and was at least 100 feet thick. The coarse coal was moved across (under) the Interstate by conveyor belt to a building where it is crushed to what appeared to be a uniformly small size. The coal cars are moved through the building and emerge full of coal.

Once again we were treated all day to the sight of herds upon herds of Pronghorns. If you read the info on the link yesterday, you'll know that it is estimated that Pronghorns outnumber people in Wyoming. We now believe it!

As we transitioned out of the agricultural zone to the ranching zone, the hills became covered with grasses and sagebrush, Every little runoff gully, stream or river sports a fringe of deciduous trees, mostly cottonwoods. The cottonwoods are beginning to show their fall colors - varying shades of yellow dominated by bright yellow. By next week the hills will appear have strands yellow ribbon scattered across them.

We are planning to get out tomorrow and go to Devils Tower, Rapid City, and Mt Rushmore. Later we'll get to Jewel Cave National Monument, Wind Cave NP, and Badlands NP, and the Black Hills. Stay tuned! Pictures coming!

Oh, yes. Here's a picture of some of the wind turbine/windmills we saw yesterday.



Love you all,

MMG and DDG

September 24, 2009 St. Mary, MT to Billings, MT

Seems like we should have had some kind of ceremony today. As we left St. Mary, MT, on the east side of Glacier NP, it dawned on me that we were actually headed home and that the only Rocky Mountains we would see from now on would be in our review mirror! Sweet sorrow!

Typing up the map directions today may make me as tired as driving the 400+ miles, but here goes.

Follow US89 from St. Mary to Browning, then US2 east to I-15 at Shelby. South on I-15 to Great Falls. Southeast from Great Falls on US87 and Montana 200 to US191 near Moore, MT. South on US191 to Harlowton, MT, then east on Montana 12 to Lavina. South on Montana 3 to Billings.

We took a break around noon to stop in Great Falls at the Lewis and Clark National Historical Trail Interpretive Center. After 2 hours of movies, lectures/story telling by volunteers, hands on interactive exhibits, and many wonderful historical exhibits, we were in awe of what those 47 men plus Sacagawea accomplished! If you are in the area go there!

Then it was back on the road for the remaining 200+ miles to Billings.

The only pictures we have today are verbal as once we turned our backs on the Rockies, we traveled over mile after mile (after mile after mile) of grain farms. I grew up on a farm in an area where size was described in acres. In the lands we drove through today, I could believe that some of these farms are described in terms of square miles! Certainly many of the grain fields we passed had miles of road frontage and extended away from the road as far as the eye could see!

Along the way we also saw wind turbine "farms" with hundreds of windmills. When I get a chance I'm going to try to find out about the science of windmill placement. There was no discernible pattern, but I cannot believe the placement is as random as it appeared. Perhaps the engineers to be could take this on as an assignment. I'd love to hear what you find.

As we turned more to the south, the grain fields gave way to pastureland populated with cattle and sheep -- and hundreds of Pronghorns. They were beautiful to see as they moved across the pastures (or rested) in herds of from 10 to 20 males, females and youngsters.

That about covers it. If you think this is a boring post, you should have been here with us!

We have another travel day tomorrow (another 400 miles) east across I-90, then we'll settle in a more entertaining environment for a few days.

Stay tuned !

Love to all,

MMG and DDG

September 23, 2009 Many Glacier area, Waterton Lakes NP and the International Travelers

First thing this morning we returned to Many Glaciers to get better pictures with the sun working for us.

Here are some of them:

Approaching Many Glaciers.

Reflections on the way to Many Glaciers.

Mt Wilber across Swiftcurrent Lake. Taken from the bridge to Many Glaciers Hotel.

There's a video view from the bridge to Many Glaciers Hotel here.

Then it was off to the world famous Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta, Canada. Waterton Lakes NP adjoins Glacier NP and together they form the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park.

The much anticipated border crossing turned out to be a piece of cake and just like that we were International Travelers!

Aside from the wondrous mountains and the centerpiece Waterton Lakes, the first thing that grabs the eye as one enters the Park is this:

Disney World? Nope. The Prince of Wales Hotel.

The other side.

And up close.

View from the Prince of Wales looking south over Upper Waterton Lake.

And this lady was hanging around for Granddaughter Mary:

Lady Mulie.

As we were headed into the backwoods to take (another) hike to a falls, what to our wondering eyes should appear? Look here:

Can you spot the golf green? Nice, huh?

One of WNP's Tallest peaks -- on the way to the falls.

Blakiston Falls. We drove 130 miles and hiked three miles for this?

Ah well, the scenery was pleasing.

Tomorrow we hit the road again, this time to Great Falls, MT to see the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center there. We don't know where we'll stay tomorrow night as it will be determined by how long we spend at the Center. Will let you know.

Love to all,

MMG and DDG

September 22, 2009 Glacier NP St. Mary and Many Glacier

We had just a great day! Woke to "severe clear" skies and 40 degree temps. The severe clear lasted all day and the temperature got all the way up to 80, so, with the dry air, it was nearly perfect for hiking and wildlife hunting.

To catch up, here's yesterday's sunset:


And the same view for sunrise:



Part of the reason we moved to this side of the Park was to be able to get pictures of the scenery on this side with the sun behind us. Here are a few of the results:

Wild Goose Island in the middle of St Mary Lake.

There's a panoramic video of this view here.

Guess what the sun brought to light (is that a pun?) on this mountain.

Painted Mountain.

Here's a little unusual factoid for you:

One of a kind, they say.

Onward! As we worked our way to the top of the Park, we got distracted by trails to waterfalls. With the recent snowfall followed by warm days, the drips, rills, runs, creeks, streams, and rivers are showing their best on the way down the mountain.

Unnamed falls near St Mary Falls

Quiet, beautiful setting within feet of the Road

A small part of St. Mary Falls that I thought was beautiful.

There are waterfall videos for you here, and here.

And here is the video of the locally famous St. Mary Falls.

Then it was on to lunch, which we had a little ways down the road from the place we've shown you twice this week. Here's why we changed:

Lunch view to the right.

Lunch view to the left.

More of the view to the right. Remember the little stream that ran by our feet at our former favorite ever lunch spot? This is where it falls into the valley after traveling about 1/4 mile further.

And here is the video.

And here is the video of the overall view.

We promised to try to find wildlife today and it took a long while, but finally......

MMG captures a Black (ok, brown, but he is a Black) Bear.

"I See You!

And a Red Hawk

Same Hawk, different view.

There's a Grizzlie Bear in this picture, but he was about three miles away and this is the best we could do.

A herd of Big Horn Sheep. These were only about 1 1/2 miles away. See how much better it is?

And here's my contribution:

Butterfly?

More tomorrow!

Our love to you all!

MMG and DDG

September 21, 2009 We Move From The West Side of Glacier NP to the East Side

For the mappers: East on US2 to US89 at Browning, MT (on the Blackfoot Reservation), then north to St. Mary. 102 miles.

The morning drive over to the KOA at St. Mary was under heavy cloud cover which hid the mountains from view. As we checked in at the campground a stiff south wind came on and blew all the clouds away. The rest of the day was beautiful and bright, if a bit windy for comfort.

Here's the view from our campsite:



After lunch we gave into the wind and just took a ride over to East Glacier to visit the Glacier Park Lodge just to look it over again. Here's why:

Lobby from the north end. Note the table.

Lobby view from the south end.

On the ride back, we went into Browning, MT, to look for a grocery store. We found one, an IGA, but the parking lot was so populated with people who appeared to be drunks and panhandlers we decided to try up the road. As we turned around, we were pleasantly surprised by this:

Little Flower Catholic Church, Browning, MT.

Further up the road toward home we found out about "Share the Road", Montana style:


A couple of other nice views on the way home:

Glacier Mountains with their new dusting of snow.

St. Mary Lake nestled in the Glacier Mountains. St. Mary is the lake where Goose Island resides. Quite the different view from a couple of days ago, eh?

Go here for a panoramic view of the eastern Glaciers from US89.

Tomorrow the plan is to go into the Park to get pictures of this side with sun at our backs, then work at finding some wildlife, with Grizzlies at the top of the list. Will let you know how we do.

We are enjoying our trip and sharing the sights and adventures with you. OTOH, we are really interested in how and what you are doing, too. Please drop us a line and let us know what's up with you!

Love to you all,

MMG and DDG

September 20, 2009 Glacier NP Rain/Snow Day

As Peanuts' Lucy says when the dog kisses her, "BLEAH!". That was our day today.

We had planned to make one more drive up to Logan Pass before the Road is closed tonight. We woke to rain and when we went over to go into the Park anyway, we found that Mother Nature had beaten us to the punch. While were having rain down here, She was snowing up at the Pass elevations and the road was closed up there!

We are not entitled to any weather complaints. Until today, the daytime temps have been in the mid to upper 70s and nights around 45 and the days have been mostly clear. At least the rain gave us an excuse not to go hiking again today!

We visited the Lake McDonald Lodge to look at the interior construction and decorations, then left the Park for a day of driving from West Glacier to Whitefish to Kalispell and back to West Glacier in search of a few necessities for our home on wheels.

Here is one of the places we stopped. MMG wanted a picture of the hanging baskets:

Pretty aren't they? Who'd have thought they sell earrings in a place like this? MMG, that's who! She got a really pretty pair!

And that was it for pictures for today. BUT, I like the following three pictures we took of flowers in the Old Colorado section of Colorado Springs on the day that we went to Seven Falls with Suzi and Shaun and have been looking for an excuse to share them. Today's the day!

In the morning we are moving over to the east side of the Park. That will give us a chance to get pictures of the mountains and lakes on that side of the Park with the morning sun at our backs. Also, assuming the snow melts we'll be able to get to Logan Pass from the east side while the Road is closed from the west side.

More then!

Love to you all,

MMG and DDG

September 19, 2009 Supplement

The videos in the previous post can now be found on YouTube.

The waterfall here.

The sculptor creek here.

Let us know which you prefer, please.

Thanks.

MMG and DDG