A Long Time Coming

Since you last heard from us, Paul and I were on our way to Glacier National Park in Montana.  Since then we visited Glacier, Flathead Lake, and made it to Missoula.  Sorry for the delay in a blog response, but we have been busy bees trying to start our new life here in Missoula.

We made it to Glacier early in the afternoon one day.  When we got there all the camp sites were full, so we went and camped for a night at a KOA right outside the park.  It was an interesting time for the town of St. Mary's when we visited.  At the time there were three escaped convicts "supposedly" roaming around Glacier on their way to Canada.  One lady even told us that there were five sightings of one of them at a motorcycle bar in town.  That lady and her husband "slept with their rifles loaded" that night.  However, we did not have any problems.

Our first day we set out on the famous Going to the Sun road in Glacier.  We made it about half way before we decided to turn around and go eat dinner back at camp.  The next day we started off again on the Going to the Sun road.  My favorite part of Glacier was Logan's Pass.  I got to do a small half mile hike up the mountain while Chica and Paul waited for me at the bottom.  I wish I could have continued, but Paul and I are already planning a hiking trip in the future to Glacier without Chica (she isn't allowed on any of the trails.)

Later that day we decided to make it down to Flathead Lake.  The largest fresh water lake that side of the Mississippi.  We stayed at a state park on Flathead for 2 nights.  We got to go hiking in the park and in Flathead National Forest since dogs are allowed on those hiking trails.  We even saw a small baby black bear on one of the hikes.  

After Flathead, we finally made it to Missoula.  Thank you so much to our new friends Josh and Niki for allowing us to stay in their extra room, and introducing us to all their friends.  Missoula is a great town.  We had a little bit of problems finding an apartment, but we finally make a deposit on a small 1 1/2 bedroom basement apartment.  It is nice and a good deal.  Our landlord and her child live above, and we share a yard with her dog and her chickens.  

This weekend is Total Fest.  A three day festival featuring local bands as well as a few out of town bands.  Thursday night was the kick off at the Missoula Museum of Art with Japanther.  Friday we went tubing down the Blackfoot River with some old and new friends here in  Missoula.  Tonight we are going to a cook out before heading off for the last bunch of bands later in the evening.  I am looking forward to seeing Deranged Diction (one of the members of Pearl Jam is in this band.)  

Finally, here are some pictures from the last part of our trip.  We will update our blog again shortly now that we have a reliable internet connection.

We made it to Montana!

It's been exactly a week since our last update. Tonight we're in a hotel in Great Falls, Montana, with our first internet access since our cabin stay in Minnesota.

Last Tuesday morning, Ginger and Clark picked us up at Nelson's Resort on Crane Lake and took us by boat across the US/Canadian border to the island on David Lake to meet up with Kara and Ginna. We spent the next three days swimming, boating, fishing, and exploring the nearby lakes, islands and portages. Thank you to Ginger, Clark, Ginna, and Kara for allowing us to experience such a lovely three days. I hope that we will be invited to visit again.

On Friday morning, we all took the boat back to Nelson's and said our goodbyes, and we were off on our next journey to Theodore Roosevelt National Park in western North Dakota.  Our drive took us through scenic northern Minnesota before stopping in Fargo, ND for a night's sleep at Motel 6. Fargo however, will always be remembered as the place were Paul ate at his first Hooters. We even have the receipt as evidence.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park was named after our 26th President in honor of contribution to the development of our park system. The area of the park we visited was the southern unit of the North Dakota Badlands. They are located near this cheesy cowboy town called Medora. I do not recommend visiting Medora, however the park was beautiful! While exploring the park we got see the amazing buttes (not pronounced butts, Mom) and grassland, not to mention the numerous bison, wild horses, prairie dogs, a white tail deer, and Paul and Chica had a close encounter with a prairie rattlesnake. This morning while Paul was brushing his teeth, a buffalo walked right through the camp site. He was just going for a stroll looking for somewhere to get cool.

After the buffalo encounter, we jumped in the car and hit the road for a grueling yet beautiful drive across eastern and central Montana. This is also where we experienced our first car problem... one of our rear tires blew out. However, we were lucky because we just so happened to be about a mile from the only town for miles, Circle, Montana. Here a nice man at a Sinclair gas station replaced our tire, checked our fluids, and sent us on our way.

Tomorrow we'll head to Glacier National Park for a few days to cap off our journey before heading down to our new home in Missoula. It is a little weird to think of that right about now. For the past 27 years I have always lived in Virginia, so saying Montana will take some getting use to. It was only recently did I realize I have a new answer to this question.

Finally, we'd like to wish Paul's Uncle Randy a speedy recovery. We know this has been a very trying time for his family and loved ones. He is in our thoughts and we wish him all the best.

Here are some photos from the past week:

Land of 10,000 Lakes

After an exhausting day of driving, Paul and I are laying in bed in a cabin on Crane Lake in northern Minnesota. We have this amazing cabin to ourselves for the night (thanks Ginger and Clark!) and the view is absolutely amazing! I can not believe that we are really here.

We already told you about our last crazy day of driving, which left us off just south of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Yesterday we took an easy day and spent the afternoon in Milwaukee which was beautiful.  If you ever have a chance to visit you should. The city was so clean and it is right on Lake Michigan which we spent most of the day walking along side. Then we went to this cute little restaurant, Palomino in the Bayview area of town. They have vegan, vegetarian, and meat options. We both got hamburgers, and they may have been the best we have ever eaten! The burgers were made with local Wisconsin beef and local Wisconsin cheese, and trust me, you can tell a difference in the taste.

After our yummy lunch at Palomino, we drove the two hours up to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, with a quick stop at REI for some dorky water shoes for our lake travel and other upcoming adventures (thanks VisArts staff for the gift card!). We spent the night in Oshkosh with our great new friends Adam and Carrie who showed us around their cute little town like true Wisconsinites. We stopped at Lake Winnebago to stretch our legs before heading back to their house for delicious vegan dinner. Then we played an awesome board game called "Small World" before passing out on their living room floor.

Today we woke up early and drove ten hours all the way up to the top of Minnesota. We didn't quite make it in time to get through the Canadian customs, which closed at 7, however Ginger and Clark set us up with a cabin for the night. After a great fish dinner at the lodge, we took Chica on a walk around the camp and are now relaxing in bed, catching up on email and charging our i-things. Tomorrow morning we'll head to an island to spend the next couple days fishing, canoeing, and just relaxing.

Until next time, here are some photos from the last couple of days...