Travel from WA,ID,MT,ND,MN to today,August 16th,2005

Hello from Duluth,MN, today---I've done and seen a LOT since my last posting from the San Juan Island area of WA state. Driving from WA to MT and Glacier National Park, I stopped off in a beautiful area of Eastern WA--Winthrop. (I'll post some pics from this quaint western town and the surrounding mtns). I was lucky to miss the many fires just south of my route but didn't really miss the heat---90+ temps were NOT what I expected, or wanted, from this planned northern route across the US but I sure had them!!

This heat continued into Glacier N P, where I spent 3 nights. No air conditioning or fan, either,in my motel unit, just quaint knotty pine cabin on the McDonald Creek, off Lake McDonald(10 mile long lake) at Apgar Village of West Glacier. My Red Bus tour of the 'Going-to-the-Sun' route of the park was a good choice and an all day pleasure--beginning with a need for jackets in the AM, because of the low 60's!! The temps climbed during the day but since we were climbing faster than the thermometers were, we weren't aware of this until our return in the late afternoon to the village. The awesome mountains, water falls,lakes and glaciers soon put the travel conditions on a much lower priority level. And since the Red Buses have canvas roofs,(opened), our views of this beauty were panoramic! Sure glad I was being driven though--- camera views (spectacular), traffic (heavy, tourist, and construction) and road conditions (narrow, winding with shear drops to nothingness)--- combined to make my day memorable. We saw a black bear(no pic, sorry, not fast enuf) mountain goats (yes pics)and many birds on-the-wing. No eagles, wrong conditions, I guess. Hope my pics reflect my joy with this national park.

August 10th, I was in Yellowstone---and it was as spectacular as on TV--just more so by being there in person. (The heat wave had broken, now low 80's, so my 2 day visit was pure pleasure. In fact, snow was expected on the day I left--but only on the high mtn ranges.) Old Faithful produced, on schedule, and the many hot springs and other geysers were quite spectacular--even the colors. The park is huge tho and the geysers and hot springs are in, mainly, one part--near the west entrance, in WY. I entered from the north(MT). (The bulk of the park is in WY and I entered WY each day, 5 miles into the park, then left each afternoon again.) The bulk of the park acreage is a wild-life refuge, so I had expected to see more animals. I did see Elk (bull and several females with young) and bison(distance pic only) but no grizzlies(one had been reported with a 'kill' near the bison herd, but I never saw him).

I was sure I had visited Yellowstone as a child but, after this visit, I'm sure I hadn't--I would have remembered this!!

The remainder of my travel, from state to/through state, I didn't record on film but did in memory---changes of terrain--mtns to fields producing corn, grasses(for cattle and/or horses),even sunflowers (!) and herds of both cattle and horses. The rivers I followed, and crossed, grew larger or smaller, depending on which side of the continental divide I was on--even the mighty Mississippi was there yesterday, just much smaller than I'm used to in the southern states. This is an awesome land of ours--more of us should cross it by car and see how it changes. Many times I knew I was missing some landmarks of our heritage--Lewis and Clark, for instance--but can't stop and see everything!! 'Tisn't possible unless I lived on the road and I really don't want to do that, even tho many of you think I'm doing just that!.

I'm headed to the Great Lakes--am on Superior now in Duluth--and will hope to take more pics of these important waters. Plan to visit Copper Harbor and Sault Ste, Marie, then down to Mackinac Island before visiting a friend in Midland, MI. Will post more travels soon, meanwhile ENJOY!