Tag: US & Canada Road Trip – 2017
I woke this morning in the town of Squamish, BC. My goal for today was Vancouver. After making/eating breakfast I spent a little time at the Squamish Starbucks booking an Airbnb for this evening and doing a Facebook post. After that I hit the road and headed south to Vancouver. Please don’t leave. Click here to read more…
I woke this morning just outside of Whistler, British Columbia (BC images). After waiting out the rain for the past 2 days in Kamloops I was anxious to hit the trail and do a long hike today. So I quickly made/ate breakfast and headed further south into Garibaldi Provincial Park (images) to the trailhead for the the hike I had I chosen for today….
After my epic, and painful, hike up Hermit Trail (images) in Glacier National Park Canada (images) the next places on my destination list were Whistler BC (images) and Garibaldi Provincial Park BC (images).
I woke early this morning next to Peyto Lake (images) and it was COLD! The thermometer I have said it was 17! It was getting light outside but the sun had not yet come up. I went outside and walked down to the lake shore. It was so beautiful…..
I woke very early this morning to take care of a little business. 🙂 When I went outside I looked up (as I always do) and saw something really weird in the sky. I thought maybe it was clouds but the sky was clear. I kept looking at it and then I realized what it was. It was something that I had always wanted to see, but had never seen before…..the Northern Lights!
I woke this morning still feeling really energized by yesterdays hike and I was ready to head north again. After breakfast I topped off my gas and made my way back onto the Trans-Canada Highway (wiki). After about 5 miles I took the Icefields Parkway, hwy 93 north toward Jasper park and Jasper town.
I made it to Lake Louise late yesterday afternoon. As I had done in Banff I wanted to take a hike today that would provide good views of Lake Louise and the surrounding mountains. In looking at the map of Banff NP and doing some reading on line I decided to do a hike just up from the lake. Although I knew it would probably be crowded from what I could see it looked like a great place to see the area….and it sure was!
I woke in Banff this morning to a very clear and very cold day. I ended my day last night by watching a large bull Elk walk through a parking lot in Banff just before I went to bed. While not a big deal in Banff this is not something I see very often (never) outside of Philly (ha ha) so it still excites me. Unfortunately he surprised me and moved through so quickly that I was unable to get any pictures….but I’m sure you can image. 🙂 However, I did manage to get a great picture of downtown Banff this morning…..
I woke in the town of Banff Canada this morning. Banff was one of the towns that I was really looking forward to visiting as I’ve always wanted to come here (to ski). I was supposed to come for a ski trip a few years ago but had to cancel, so I was anxious to explore the area. My first stop, after breakfast of course :-), was the Banff Visitors Centre on main street Banff to get some information on the hiking trails around Banff.
I woke up in Calgary, Alberta, Canada this morning. The forecast called for periods of rain off and on all day so I had already decided today was going to be a “blog and laundry” day.
Due to the weather and the fires I decided that, reluctantly (again), today would be my last day in Glacier NP. I was planning to cross over into Canada at the Chief Mountain Port of Entry boarder crossing on a somewhat remote road (Hwy 17) about 45 minutes north of the Many Glacier area. But before I left I wanted to get in one more hike in this beautiful park. So with that in mind I looked at my map and chose a remote hike that I could access from Hwy 17. On my way to the trailhead I took a few more pictures of the Many Glacier area and got my first close look at Chief Mountain. It was a gorgeous morning….of course it is, I’m leaving! ha ha
I woke this morning near in the Many Glacier area and had my sights set on hiking the Swiftcurrent Pass Trail To Swiftcurrent Mountain. I had my usual quick breakfast (it is the most important meal of the day 🙂 ), and headed to the trailhead. Along the way I stopped for a couple of quick pictures of the Many Glacier Hotel (see previous post) and Swiftcurrent Lake…..
I woke in the St. Mary area this morning hoping to do the Highline Trail (AllTrails). But unfortunately, once again, mother nature had different ideas as the high mountains were completely covered with clouds and the forecast called for rain. I looking over the trail map I decided to do a trail in the Many Glacier area to Iceberg Lake. Here is a map of the different areas within Glacier National Park to familiarize you with the park…..
I began Day 23 by attending Fresh Life Church (website) in Helena. As I was looking for a church to attend in Helena I noticed they had a connection with the Hillsong church (website). I had attended the Hillsong main-campus church while I was traveling in Australia last year and really liked it. Like Hillsong, Fresh Life is a multi-site church with several locations in Montana, Utah and Oregon. Also like the Hillsong church the Sunday morning service integrates both “local/on-site” pieces with other pieces telecast from the main location in Kalispell MT. I had never attended a service with a telecast message but I have to say it was seamless and actually worked quite well. I really enjoyed the service and had a great conversation with a lady I met after the service named Jewelya. This is a place I would definitely feel at home if I lived in the Helena area.
I had decided that today would be a “transition” day. Although I loved hiking in the Grand Tetons the weather forecast was not good for the next 2-3 days so I decided to head north. I spent much of the morning in a Starbucks in Jackson uploading pictures, blogging and making a video via Skype with the leader (Jon) of the missions trip I took to Indonesia last month. I left Starbucks around noon and after filling the ole’ Jeep with gas and grabbing a quick bite I headed northwest on Rt. 22 with my sights set on Bozeman, MT about 4:30 hours away.
The first thing I did when I woke this morning was check the weather. The forecast for today was still very iffy with a 60% chance of rain/snow mix and highs in the 40s. So, I decided to do another canyon hike that was recommended to me by a couple of people (thank you Walt Fromm) called Cascade Canyon (AllTrails, Images). I arrived at the trailhead next to Jenny Lake and started my trek for the day.
I woke early this morning excited to spend the day hiking in the Grand Tetons. My first order of business was the weather forecast. As expected had changed slightly overnight. They were still calling for rain today but they had pushed the “bad stuff” back about 24 hours. But they were still calling for a significant temperature drop and snow for the next few days. So I decided to do a day hike today (vs multi-day back country as I had planned) and see what the forecast looks like later in the day. With that in mind I had been told by a few people that the hike to Surprise Lake (AllTrails, Images) and Amphitheater Lake (AllTrails, Images) was a must do. So I set my sites on that and drove to the trailhead.
This morning I set my sites on another mountain summit. This was a hike the couple of met while hiking Mt. Washburn (the woman whose father worked at Yellowstone) recommended. So I woke early, made/ate breakfast and headed east. Like yesterday, this morning began with another amazing sunrise…..
I woke this morning before daybreak. And although I had another busy day planned I couldn’t help but stop and take some time just to admire another gorgeous sunrise while listening to elk bugling in the valley below. How is it that something that happens everyday never gets old or insignificant? And all we have to do is slow down long enough to notice and appreciate it.
I made & ate breakfast this morning beside a beautiful river between Fishing Bridge and Canyon Village while watching a small herd of buffalo graze in a field on the other side. Now that’s my idea of how to start the day….
I woke in Bighorn NP this morning to the sounds of silence and smell of fresh pine…ah, nice. I made/ate breakfast and drove the 7 miles back to highway 16 and headed west. The Western side of Bighorn was even more beautiful than the Eastern side as you descend for 7 miles through the canyon.
I started my morning in a new state….Wyoming, and it was cold!
I woke early today, made/ate breakfast and headed south to the highest point in Black Hills National Forest, Black Elk Peak (Wiki, AllTrails, Images). It took about 35 minutes to get there. Now, what I didn’t know was that Black Elk Peak is “just” inside Custer State Park (I think it’s actually in Black Hills NP but the trail-head is in Custer) (Custer State Park, Wiki, Images) and of course the all access National Park pass I purchased doesn’t work in state parks. When I arrived at the state park gate there was no one there but it was $20 for a 7 day pass (and several of you already know where this is going :-). Well, I was planning to be there for less than 3 hours (maybe 4) and I wasn’t about to pay $20 to do a 3 hike! 🙂 So….I found a place to park just outside the park and hiked to the trail-head inside the park! (ha ha) I mean, come on…seriously? $20 for a 3 hour hike…NOT! 🙂
I woke fairly early this morning, ate breakfast and hit the road anxious to visit my first national park on this trip. But as I was driving down I-90 I saw a sign for the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site (Minuteman Historic Site, Wiki) at the next exit. It sounded pretty interesting and since I wasn’t on any particular schedule I figured why not.
After doing the MLB tour for the past 5 days I decided that today was going to be a “down” day. With that in mind I didn’t have any big plans, expectations, or things I had to see or do when I hit the North Dakota state line and I’m happy to say that Fargo did not disappoint in that regard (my apologies if there are any Fargonites or Fargoians reading this. 🙂
I woke this morning with the intention of touring around Minneapolis and St. Paul and then heading West to North Dakota late in the afternoon. But there was one “problem”…last night, while I was at the Twins game, I was texting with my cousin and he reminded me that the Dolphins were playing the Viking in Minneapolis tomorrow night (which of course is now tonight). So for a little background information….although I have not followed them closely in several years I actually grew up a Dolphins fan, so it would be pretty cool to see them. But I was planning to leave Minneapolis today.
I started early on day 4. I was still in Chicago and could not for the life of me stop singing “Go Cubs Go” (don’t you hate when that happens?). Before leaving Chicago and heading North I had one more stop….the United Center (United Center, Wiki) home of the Chicago Bulls. Not that I’m a big Bulls fan but I had to see the place where the greatest player of all time (NC born and bread 🙂 played for many years….
The morning of my second day began with a 2 hour drive from Michigan, through Indiana (short distance) and into Chicago. I considered leaving my car outside the city and taking the train in (to avoid the traffic) but decided to drive. So I reserved a spot in a parking garage close to Wrigley field, since I was planning to attend a Cubs game that evening. So I expected very heavy traffic, for a weekday, but was presently surprised when I drove straight in with no issues. My route took me down Lake Shore drive and right past Soldier Field (Soldier Field, Wiki). Like the parks I visited the day before, as a lifelong sports fan, Soldier field is one of those legendary places that you hear about your whole life and see on TV so of course I had to stop and get some pictures…..
“Afoot and light-hearted I take to the open road, Healthy, free, the world before me,
The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose.” – Song of the Open Road – Walt Whitman (Wiki)
After a year of waiting & healing (somewhat) I finally departed on my 9000+ mile excursion around the US and BC, Canada on Saturday. As is always the case I spent the first 100 or so miles playing the, “what did I forget” game. Aside from a few small things, that I can easily pick up along the way, the only potentially significant thing was a second ATM card (I usually carry two when I travel just in case). Oh well, I was about 50 miles from home when I remembered so I threw caution to the wind (ha ha) and carried on without it.
