Dori’s Travel Adventures

Ever heard of a jammer?   In Glacier park, a jammer  is an antique red bus that takes passengers on the Going-to-the-Sun-Road; the driver acts as a tour guide.   We started out our  half day tour around 9:30 from our hotel, St. Mary’s Lodge.

Our driver was Steve.   He explained that we could have the top down if we wanted, but considering the 4o degree temperature and the wind that did not happen.

Steve told us to be on the lookout for wildlife sightings.   If a lot of cars are pulled over (a “bear jam”), it is usually because an animal has been spotted.   After about ten minutes on the road, sure enough we saw cars pulled over and folks out with their cameras.    We were by the shore of St. Mary’s Lake.   Looking down we spotted a tan bear- a female grizzly .   Judy got a great picture.

In Glacier there are about 800 to 1,000 black bears and  400 to 500 grizzlies.  Right now the bears are preparing for winter hibernation and eat about 23 hours a day.   Now that is a lot of eating!

We stopped at a lookout over St. Mary’s Lake with a tiny island  called Wild Goose Island.   Here is a picture of all four of us.

In 1910 there were about 110 glaciers in the park.  Today there are 24 to 25.  Due to climate change, it is predicted that by 2030, most of the large glaciers will be gone.

Steve also shared the three criteria for a snow mass to be classified as  a glacier – the snow has to be 100 ft. deep, have an area of 25 acres, and the bottom of the snow turns to gel and moves.

After lunch, we headed to Many Glacier which is on the northeast side of the park and about a 30 minute drive from St. Mary’s.  We were signed up for a boat tour which departed from a dock in front of the Many Glacier Lodge.  This lodge along with the Lake McDonald Lodge where built by Louis Hill, son the railroad magnate who wanted to encourage tourism after the railroads were built in the late 1800’s.

 

We rejoined Judy and Marty back at Many Glacier Lodge and had a great dinner in their restaurant overlooking Swiftcurrent Lake.

We had a busy, full day.   Could fatigue be the source of Frank’s behavior?

(This post was delayed since we did not have a very strong wifi connection at the St. Mary’s Lodge during our stay in Glacier National Park. )

Leaving Kalispell after a good nights rest, we traveled about a half hour to the west entrance of Glacier National Park.  Our first stop was the visitor’s center where we picked up a map which highlighted the stops along the Going-to-the-Sun Road.   This road connects Lake McDonald on the west side of the park  with St. Mary’s Lake on the east.

The Going-to-the-Sun Road is a 50 mile highway that crosses the continental divide at Logan Pass.  It is only open mid-June to about mid-September.   We saw a sign that explained that it takes about three months of snow removal to get the road ready for summer tourists with the removal of  snow up to heights of 80 feet. The roadway is both a National Historical and  a Civil Engineering Landmark.  It was built from 1921-1932 and was dedicated in 1933.

Our first stop was the little village of Apgar, which is comprised of a few gift shops, a hotel and a few eating places.   It is located at the southern end of Lake McDonald.   Here is a picture of the shore of Lake McDonald and my three traveling companions, Marty, Frank, and Judy checking out the lake.   On a clear day we could have viewed the mountains in the background of the continental divide.  Not so this morning.

Our  next stop along the way was the Trail of the Cedars which was a half mile boardwalk loop which takes you through a rain forest area of the park.

Frank posing along the boardwalk next to some very tall cedar trees.   The second picture shows a creek with lots of moss on the rocky banks.

We finally arrived at the Visitors’ Center at Logan Pass which is at the high point of the park, the continental divide.  Water runs off here in three different directions-to the Pacific, the Atlantic which includes the Gulf of Mexico,  and the Hudson Bay.   I had hoped to do a hike here, but it was so cold and windy that we did not stay very long.  It also was sleeting.

Baring Falls was our next adventure. Frank and I hiked   a little over a mile to  a log bridge and then to the falls.

By now we were really into the hiking mode.   St. Mary’s Fall was next on the list.   We remembered our daughter, Kate,  talking about how nice this falls was when she went through Glacier on her CDT thru-hike, so we had to see it too. We made it!    Notice Frank sporting his trekking poles, a Christmas gift from Kate.

When we finally got to the end of the Going-to-the-Sun Road and the Visitors Center at St. Mary’s, the east end of  Glacier, it was almost 5:00.   It was so windy there that the lid to the styrofoam cooler blew away when Frank opened the rear of the RAV4.  Here is Frank retrieving the runaway lid.

Our hotel, the St. Mary’s Lodge, was just outside the east entrance of the park. While our rooms were not the greatest, we were happy to be so close to the park.   When we made our reservations last December, these were the  last two rooms that were available.

We had dinner in a nearby log cabin restaurant called The Johnson’s, a family run place since the 1940’s.    Their beef soup had a thick gravy like consistency and was delicious.

With 20,000 plus steps on my Fitbit and a full stomach, I was ready to call it a day.  What a great, but exhausting day on The Going-to-the-Sun Road!

Our alarm went off at 4:00 am.   Time to get up to head for the Philadelphia airport to catch our 8:30 am flight to Kalispell, Montana.   This is the closest airport to Glacier National Park, our first destination on our Canadian Rockies Adventure.    Our friends, Judy and Marty Tolen are traveling with us.

We first flew to Minneapolis and took a second flight to Kalispell.    We arrived around 1:15 pm Mountain Time (2 hours behind EST).

On the plane I sat next to a guy from the mountain north of Kalispell.    He gave lots of suggestions of things to do around the area and in Glacier.   Following his recommendation, we drove  to Whitefish, a small town north of Kalispell.   We were surprised at how many casino signs we passed along the way.  Notice the one room school Montana style.   What do you think of Frank’s new jacket?  Meet Wild Bill Franklin!

Whitefish is a cute town with lots of interesting shops.   We went into a saloon and had drinks.  It was a poker and pool hall with slot machines as well.   It’s not everyday that you can marvel at a taxidermied  bobcat, mountain lion, badger and a moose head.  ( To identify the  weasel like animal with a vertical stripe on  its face, I remembered the badger from the children’s book Best Friends for Francis.  )

Our next stop was the Homewood Suites in Kalispell were we had reservations for tonight.  Once again following the suggestion of the local, we headed for supper to Moose’s Saloon where he claimed “they make  the greatest pizzas in the area.”  Upon entering the swinging doors, we discovered a room with a really long bar, high backed booths with graffiti carved tables,  dim lighting, and sawdust covering the entire floor.   Not really sure we were making the wisest choice,  we ordered our pizzas at a take-out window and our drinks at the bar.   We took our first bites, hoping that the food would surpass our initial visual assessment. Lesson learned: Beware-someone else’s idea of  great food just may not your own!

We returned to our hotel, tired from our early start and a day of traveling.   Tomorrow we head to Glacier National Park and  touring Going-to-the-Sun Road!

Well, I have been talking about trying new things and being out of my comfort zone.   My trip home has had it all.    My flight this morning was a 7 am flight to Seattle, then another flight to Phildadelphia at 8:30 with arrival in PHL at 4:30.   I knew I would hit rush hour traffic, but I would deal!

Kate explained, “You don’t need to get to the airport before 6.   Portland is a small airport.  You’ll be fine.”   I had my misgivings.   Frank and I, being very conservative,  always give ourselves the suggested  two hour window.   To make matters worse, my very savvy daughter also convinced me to use my phone as my boarding pass.   “Sure,  I can do that,” I thought.

When I got to the airport the security line was horrendous.   I asked one of the security guards, “Will I make my flight? It starts boarding at 6:20.”   She responded, “You’ll be fine.” Famous last words.    About 25 minutes later, shoeless and sweatshirt less, I scrambled to get redressed and rushed to my gate.   Sure enough, they were still boarding and there were still a few folks even later than me.   Just as I got to the door of the plane, the flight attendant said to me, “You’ll have to check that carry on.   The overhead bins are full.”    That meant I would have to wait for my luggage on the luggage carousel instead of just taking it with me.  No big deal,  a few more minutes won’t be that bad, I assured myself.

Once on the plane, the pilot announced that the plane had a flight maintenance issues but it should be fixed momentarily.   The momentarily turned out to be a bit longer.   We had to exit that plane, board another, making our arrival in Seatlle around 9:1o.  Gone was my flight to PHL.

On the reboarding  of the Portland to Seattle shuttle, I realized that in very tiny print above the scanning code was TSA pre check  (the no wait line).   I could have avoided  the whole security mess and  would have had my suitcase in hand!

Rebooking I was assigned to a noon flight to Chicago, and a 10 pm flight to Philadelphia arriving at 1 am.   Driving myself home that late is NOT a wise choice for me.   Alaska reserved a hotel room for me in Phillie, so I will be getting home tomorrow morning.   I just needed to get a voucher from an agent in Phillie.  Hopefully my suitcase will arrive at 1am.

I tried to get on an earlier flight to Philadelphia that was leaving around 7pm.   “You have to travel with your luggage,” I was told.    Sure, I thought, fat chance it will be in Philadelphia even by 1 am.

1:00 am: No suitcase.     After filing my lost luggage claim, I then searched for an Alaskan Airline agent to get my hotel voucher. 1:45 am:  No airline agent!  Swell. Long story short, I got to the Clarion Hotel at 3 am, paid for the room,  and went straight to bed.

Waking up at 8:45, I checked out and got on the hotel shuttle. Since it went right by  the lot where I parked my car, the driver stopped to let me off.   Hopping into my car,  I headed home with very little traffic.   10:30 am:  HOME AT LAST!

1. Always  allow plenty of time for airport security and print out boarding passes ahead of time!

2. Pay more for non-stops.   Less can go wrong.

4.  Even on carry on luggage  have ID labels visible both inside and out. Take all medications, and essentials in your backpack or purse. Never, never, never  let  it out of your possession!

5.   When all else fails, order a beer, maybe even two!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Portland Forecast:  56 and cloudy.   I don’t know when I have been this excited over a cloudy day.  Kate thinks it will be a great day to go snowshoeing on Mt. Hood.  Since it is President’s Day, we opted for an afternoon adventure when hopefully it will be less crowded.

With some time on our hands, we took a long walk through Kate’s neighborhood this morning.  Here is Kate’s house on the right side and her red Toyota Matrix.  The next two pictures are typical houses in her neighborhood, the northeast section of the city.

We hadn’t gone very far, when my daughter said she had to go back and get a few quarters.   I knew I would find out in due time what that was all about.  I’ll let the pictures tell the story.

Who needs Oley Turnpike Dairy for entertainment?  Portland has it all! For a quarter apiece we each fed these three charming goats named Zy, Zanni, and Zilla.   Yep!  There was even a sign introducing them to would be feeders.

This afternoon we were off to Mt. Hood to a snow trail around Trillium Lake.    Kate borrowed boots for me from her friend Bubbles.   Helping me into the snowshoes and tightly securing them, we were off to the lake. Thankfully,  it wasn’t too crowded.  Walking in the snowshoes felt as if I had donned huge moon boots.   I only fell once, a real record for me! Since bringing dogs along on the trail is common,   I had to be on constant look out for dog poop.   As if I didn’t already have enough to worry about!

By the time we got back to the car, I was very, very tired.   I know I used muscles that I previously didn’t know existed.  The fronts of  my thighs in the front are in distress.  Hope I can hobble onto the plane home tomorrow morning!  Wow!  Besides making great memories today, my Fitbit now reads 17,697 steps!

 

 

 

 

Rain again today.   Since we were going to get wet anyway, Kate thought we should go to Silver Falls State Park which is about 50 miles south of Portland.  I had my doubts.  We both put on our rain gear and I added my smart wool socks.  If I got soaked to the core, at least I wanted warm feet.

When we arrived the sign explained that the park was a temperate rainforest receiving 80″ of rainfall a year.   So the rain theme was perfect and as Kate explained, “Waterfalls are waterfalls!”

Most of Silver Falls State Park was made in 1933 by the Civil Conservation Core and the WPA to give men jobs during the depression.   The trails, buildings, and the South Falls Lodge were built during this time.  As the name implies “Trail of Ten Falls”, there are ten falls in the park, four of which you can walk behind.   The whole loop would have been over 7 miles, but Kate took pity on me and we only did about 5 1/2 miles- 13,650 steps on my Fitbit.   My feet were pretty muddy and wet as were my jeans by the time we finished.  I was surprised that I actually felt warm, probably from all that walking and jumping around puddles.

 

It was after 1 when finished and headed for the restrooms. The stone and timber lodge was similar to many of the national park ones built during the depression era.   Finding out they had a cafe that was open, we ordered a cup of beer cheese soup and shared a pulled pork panini and ate in front of a toasty blazing fireplace.   Hiking works up a powerful appetite!

Tonight we are headed to McMenamin’s Kennedy School for supper and a movie.   (Frank, it was the one we ate at years ago with Kelly and Keith Moen.) McMenamin’s  is a chain in the Portland area.  They buy old buildings and make them into restaurants while preserving the original structure.  The Kennedy School has a movie theatre, a soaking pool, and lodging  in it too.  We are going to see the latest Hunger Games movie.

Later:   Back from the movie/dinner experience.   I made the mistake of ordering a salad and beer to eat while we were in the theatre.   I had not seen the seating arrangement ahead  of time.   Can you imagine me trying  to eat a salad while watching a futuristic movie I know nothing about in the dark on a comfy upholstered chair with an end table to my right?  After getting more of the lettuce and fixings on me rather than in my mouth, I abandoned the entree and enjoyed the beer. I should have ordered a slice of pizza!   And can you imagine the next thing I heard was Kate whispering, “Mom, wake up!  You’re snoring.”   Well, what did she expect after that drenching 5 mile hike !

All in all, another day in Portland with daughter Kate taking me out of my comfort zone.  What great writing research!   So much to write about!

 

 

This morning when we got up, we noticed that it wasn’t raining.   Kate thought we should head to the downtown area while it was just cloudy.  So off we went.   She still had some posters and fliers that she wanted to deliver to outdoor gear stores, which are plentiful in this town.

After we were done with the poster deliveries, we went to Powell’s Book Store.   It is an icon of Portland and I had always wanted to take a look.    It was really big and had lots of different book sections.    I almost got a Bill Bryson book for Frank.    I called home to check if he had that book and since he already had all the ones on the shelf, there was no sale for Powell’s!  I did comment to Kate, “Boy, wouldn’t it be great if I could get them to sell my Bunny Brother books.” Unfortunately, I did not bring any with me.

 

Today was Zwicklemania here in Portland.   That meant you could go to a whole lot of breweries, get a tour at each, and try samples of their popular beers.  We stopped at Deschutes Brewery for lunch, but opted for just water with our meal.  A little too early for me for beer.

Kate wanted to stop at a Walmart and Joanne’s  to get supplies to make her own backpack.   She is doing another thru hike.  This one is called The Hay Duke Trail which goes through the desert in Utah and Arizona for about 900 miles.  Leavin mid-March, it will take her and her friend Bubbles about 2 1/2 months.  So we were off to the interstate to get to those stores.

We also stopped at a Fred Meyers grocery store across the Columbia River in Washington state to get whipping cream, angel food cake, and rum so that Kate could try making tiramisu.

Starting her sewing project, Kate had lots of company.   Her cats Scarfy and Freddie hung around as well as her roommate’s cat, Grady.  Cats love material!  It is truly cat heaven here!

Felines watching with interest from left to right:  Grady, Scarfy, and shiny eyed Freddy!

After a yummy home cooked meal of spaghetti squash with tomato sauce  (Frank, you would have hated it!), we watched Squatch’s film about hiking in Iceland.  Kate was  as one of the stars of the film.  She went there for a few weeks last summer while Squatch was filming.   Iceland sure is vast, scenic, and extremely desolate!   We ended the night with small pieces of the scrumptious, homemade tiramisu.

Caught Grady in the act of inspecting my suitcase tonight.  Fortunately he did not confuse it for his litter box!   The cats should sleep well tonight; they have had a very busy day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I arrived late last night on my flight from Philadelphia to Portland. I flew first to Seattle than had a short flight to Portland. Kate picked me up and we got to her house around 11:20 pm.  Since that meant 2:20 EST, we went right to bed!

This morning Kate had to work until about noon.   Then we were off for some Portland exploring.   We headed to The Grilled Cheese Grill.   I will let the pictures do the explaining on this one.   Portland is noted for its food carts and this not only had the cart but a lively painted school bus as well.

It was in the 50’s and rainy.   We ordered our sandwiches and then hopped inside the bus to enjoy them.   This was not my typical veggie wrap, but I managed!  After all this is Portland, so I am trying new delicacies!  The cheese was Tillamook cheddar.

While walking to The Grilled Cheese Grill we passed a Recreational Cannabis store.   We were tempted to go in to give it a try, but held ourselves back.   Certainly not a typical store in Berks County, PA!

 

I was surprised to see signs of spring already.  The trees were beginning to bud and daffodils and crocuses were blooming.   Even some of the bushes were in bloom.  What a pleasant treat from the snow covered fields in our backyard in Blandon!

 

I noticed many of the curbs were moss covered as were some of the trees from the city’s rainy climate.

Kate delivered posters for her hiking club later this afternoon.   Portland is noted for it’s breweries so we stopped at the Base Camp Brewery for to a beer.

Then we went to the Secret Society to listen to a live band playing western  swing music.   I had a bowl of  spicey gumbo that left my mouth smoking.   I downed a whole glass of water but survived!   All in all, certainly a unique day with daughter Kate here in Portland!   Who knows what adventures are in store for us tomorrow?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday, August 6th

We had an unplanned day on our hands.   Kate did arrange to take a day off from work after all and was willing to be our guide once again.   After much indecision on how to spend our last day, we finally all agreed that a trip to the Oregon coast might be fun!   Kate thought it was about an hour and forty minute drive without traffic congestion.   So off we went.

The beach was Oceanside not far from the town of  Tillamook.   We strolled the beach.  While it was not crowded, there were others walking and sitting on the beach.  Some children were building castles and forts.  Interestingly, the several kids were playing in water that formed a pond on the beach.   It probably was much warmer there than in the ocean itself.  Here are some scenes from our walk.

Oceanside is a small town with a  population of 361.   There were a lot of rental properties.   We had lunch at one of the two cafes we saw.  It was Roseanna’s Cafe.   Picking a table overlooking the ocean, we were able to have a very enjoyable lunch with a great view.  After watching that seagull devour a crab, both Kate and I wanted seafood.  We both chose a bowl of seafood chowder that was full of crab and clams. Yummy! For dessert, I ordered a marionberry cobbler.  A marionberry is an indigenous blackberry found in this area.   It looked a lot like raspberries and was very tart.

Before heading back to Portland, Kate took us to Cape Meares State Park.   This park is located on a scenic overlook above Oceanside Beach.  There is a lighthouse on the point that was built in 1889.  The light today is automated.

Ever heard of an octopus tree? Well, there was a sign in the parking lot  that pointed us to the “Octopus Tree.”   We followed it to a huge tree that did indeed look like an octopus.   It is a gigantic Sitka spruce that had a 50 foot base. The sign said no one is really sure how it got its shape.  Legend has it that the Native American Tillamook tribe used it for special ceremonies since it could hold cedar canoes and other ritual objects.  The tree is both a historical sight and a curiosity.

We headed back to Portland.  Since we were back in town during rush hour, traffic was not good.  I was glad Kate was driving and I know Frank was too!

Our time in Portland and the northwest was coming to a close.   Our flight back home was  tomorrow at 7 am and we needed to get the rental car back around 5.    We programmed our GPS for the Thrifty Car Rental which is an off airport site.  Before going to sleep, we bid farewell to Kate’s feline companions, Freddy and Scarfy.   Kate’s  roommate’s cat, Grady,  took a real shine to Frank  so he got a few scratches under his chin as well.   But most of all we are sad to say goodbye to our daughter, thru-hiker Drop-n-roll.  Thanks, Kate,  for a being a great tour guide and hostess.  We loved hiking the PCT with you, even if it only was for two miles!

Wednesday, August 5th

Staying last night in Hood River, we decided to take the Hood River Scenic Train which would take as for a four and a half hour ride to  Parksdale, a small town at the base of Mt. Hood.   Having a little time to kill, we walked to the riverfront area of Hood River.  Prevailing strong winds throughout the Columbia River Gorge makes this town a popular spot for windsurfing and kiteboarding.   We sat and watched all the action.  At one point we counted over 15  kiteboarders in the river.  We marveled at the strength and skill it takes for these sports.

Our train started boarding at 10:30 and left at 11:00.  We splurged and got tickets in the dome car.  It included lunch as well – pork BBQ’s.   In the dome car, we sat up pretty high and it was great to see the scenery.   At first, it was along a river and forests.  As time went on, it mostly was orchards – pear orchards. This area is the biggest pear growing area in the USA.

Next on our agenda was the Columbia River Gorge Interpretive Center in Stevenson, Washington which is right across the Columbia from Cascade Locks.  We crossed the Columbia on the Bridge of the Gods to get to the museum.   There was an interesting film about how the Gorge was formed.  It amazes me how the scientists and geologists have learned that ice age flooding long ago formed the Gorge we see today.

There was a  37 foot high full scale replica of a 19th century fish wheel that was used to catch salmon on the Columbia River.  It was basically a wheel that scooped up the salmon as they journey upstream to spawn and then sent them to canneries.  You can imagine how this affected the future of the salmon.  The fish wheels were outlawed by Washington and Oregon in the 20’s and 30’s .

There was also a replica of a fishing platform used by the Native Americans who fished in the river,  just like the real ones we saw on the river at the fish hatcheries.

Multnomah Falls was our last stop of the day.  It is the second highest year-round falls in the U.S. with a drop of 620 feet.  It really is a double falls.  While it was pretty, this was a low snow year for this area and the flow of water was significantly less than I remembered the last time we saw it.  We had dinner on the patio of the Multnomah Lodge with a great view of the falls.

After walking to the bridge to view the upper falls, we headed back to Portland which was about a half hour drive to Kate’s house.  Since it was almost 8:00 p.m. the traffic was minimal and our GPS took us without a problem to 1439 NE Mason Street.

Later I suggested we take a walk to get  ice cream.   We headed for Alberta Street to a place Kate told us was quite popular here in Portland.   It is called Salt and Straw.  There was quite a line inside and outside of the store.   Kate explained “You have to be ready to try several kinds. They’ll give you samples to taste.”   I tried the sea salt ice cream with caramel ribbons and the snickerdoodle something or other.  I did not like them.

This ice cream place was very different.  But then, that is so “Portland”.   I read in a travel book that the locals pride themselves in being weird.  I think this ice cream store fits right in.   Just like Voodoo Doughnuts with their unusual doughnuts like the Voodoo Doll doughnut and the Bacon Maple Bar doughnut.   Weird works here in Portland.

More adventures tomorrow!   Thanks for following along on our travels!