And still more...

We're back from Glacier Park. Somehow it wasn't the easiest trip for me, which was too bad given the excellent company (Mark) and setting (the absolutely astonishing mountains, waterfalls, wildlife and flowers.) I kept forgetting things (my wallet, left on a rock overlook and returned by some wonderful people who were as concerned about getting it back to me as I was about getting it back - I love Americans! - my jewelry in the hotel room, my CAMERA in the hotel room...) and getting overblown impatient with a few of the less considerate fellow travelers (no, you can't drive in the middle of the road; no, the entrance gate to the park - with a line of cars behind you - is not the best place to carry on a long conversation with the ranger while the other line of cars - always the one I am NOT in - passes through the gate with ease.) I'm not sure where the stress came from but at least it didn't entirely mess up the trip. (Thank you, Mark, for helping me with it all. How did I ever get lucky enough to have you as my best friend?)

The first day we were there it was about 95 degrees and we found that the heat plus the much higher elevation (we live at sea level, after all) really made hiking difficult for us - frequent hikers that we are, notwithstanding. The next day we decided to take a boat tour that involved two boats with a short hike between two lakes - in a very, very heavy rainstorm, no sign of which was evident when we left our coats in the car and boarded the first boat. We were soaked, but not as soaked as we got the third day when we hiked in pouring rain as well as gale-force winds. But what the change in weather did for the views of the park - in the light, the air clarity, the shadows - was well worth the heat and wet.

But even on the 'rain + wind' day we walked part of the way with a lovely couple about our age who had stories to tell about picture taking and weather and hiking and two-headed anteaters - we enjoyed their off-again, on-again company as well as that of other hikers who checked on our health (my very heavy breathing) and whether we should keep going for the view in spite of water dripping off our pants and into our shoes.

We did see a lot of wildlife. On our first (hot) hike we came to the waterfall that was our goal and immediately sat down to put our bare feet into the icy water (glaciers, remember?) With a big sigh of relief we looked around us to enjoy the stream and waterfall - and there, just above us, right where we had been standing two minutes before, was a big buck deer. We were evidently sitting right where he wanted to cross the water. He stood there as if to wish us out of the way and then finally decided to cross on the other side of the footbridge. It was a wonderful "close encounter." We saw a group of mountain goats standing right on the road. We also saw a herd of big horn sheep - one of which posed nicely for us right in the parking lot. We saw the same herd again the next day and I got another amazing close-up, focusing on the view-finder and not the 'bigger picture' beyond the camera - only to find out that he was standing still for so long so he could take a leak. Maybe I can photo-shop the urine stream out of the picture? We really wanted to see a Hoary Marmot - just because of the name - but that seemed unlikely. Mark resorted to the old "stump-bear" trick of seeing something in the distance and just declaring it to be 'a bear' when it was probably just a tree stump - only this time with what looked to me like a rock on top of another rock. But at his urging I took a picture with the super-zoom on my camera and when we downloaded the pictures and were able to see them full-sized - sure enough - a Hoary Marmot!

The "Going to the Sun" road is undergoing major re-working. Mercifully. They are widening it, over many years of construction, to suit today's larger cars and less patient drivers, so there were construction delays that provided great opportunities to get out of the car to take pictures that could never otherwise be taken. Visitor numbers are way down in the park this year (gas prices and the relative remoteness of Montana) and so there was plenty of opportunity to park the car and hike, or just look at the views. From the picture of the road, however, you can see why some drivers were reluctant to stay on their own (outer) side.

But - enough stories; enough pictures. Back to work!