Day 7: Glacier!

Glacier National Park - All I can say is WOW. Up until two months ago, this peaceful gem wasn't even a blip on my radar. Now it tops my list of places to visit again - leaving Yellowstone, Vegas, Paris and Munich (as a drinker this time) in the proverbial dust.


Oh, Glacier, why do I love thee more than Harp when Liquid A or The Zoo are playing? Let me count the ways.

Emerald Water

At first you don't believe it. Then you accept that it may actually be true. Finally you venture down a rocky path to look, touch and feel the water. It is perfectly transparent with a green/blue tint that no image can truly capture.

Cascading Mountains

One Mountain isn't enough you say? Not even two? How about dozens? It is almost as if a large chunk of frozen water sliced large sections from between the mountain tops, leaving unlimited hiking opportunities with waterfalls, ice caps and various greenery and wildlife in every direction.

Myriad Adventures

Want to blow up a piece of rubber and shoot down the river towards jagged rocks? Rafting is for you. Maybe you want a little more control in a long, narrow fiberglass body? Grab a kayak. Wanna bike? You got it. Jump in 14 passenger tour car? Not my thing, but go for it. Of course, my favorite is hiking. And hike we did. With a view like this at the top, how can you not feel the desire?

The Unknown

The best part of this park is you never know what you'll run in to. We saw black bear and deer, a half burnt forrest and a mountain top weather tower. The best two surprises? One - the lack of obnoxious tourists. Most were calm, quiet and left the animals alone. Two - A hiking log book from over two years ago. Give people a pen, paper and one blank page and they get creative.

I really hope Dylan and Kelly had as much fun as they planned on.

And now a little Q&A for my faithful readers:

1. The Saab. It's a beast. No, it's not going to get the ladies like a Beemer would (I don't really like the snobby, high maintenance, bitchy type anyway). Yes, it has its' quirks, dings and scratches. But guess what. It runs, it goes fast enough, it's getting 30 miles per gallon and it is paid for. I can't ask for much more.


2. The Skirts. Believe it or not, I'm just not trying that hard. There is too much to see, do and experience to have to worry about impressing someone else that I will never talk to again. Maybe that's the point, but any lady I can coerce into the sack in a matter of hours probably has bigger issues than I really want to risk dealing with. So no fist bumps have been shared at this point (If you don't know the story, buy me two beers and I'll spill the beans - it's a good one).

3. The Changing of Plans. Yup, I'm already off my schedule. In this whole trip I have two places I MUST be - on a ferry next Thursday and back to work in mid August. Other than that, it's about kicking back, doing what I want and discovering a country I've seen very little of. I don't think I've stressed once in over a week and am going to try to keep the streak going. If I miss a Sox game or a walk around Seattle, so be it. I'm sure whatever else I end up doing is a lot more fun.

4. The Locks. They're not quite flowing, but are well on the way. The tops of my ears are slowly being covered and my widow's peak is long enough to warrant pushing to one side or another. I haven't shaved in 10 days, so a little stubble is finally showing through. While I can't promise a 70s porn mustache any time soon, I'm well on my way to a crazy mad scientist look by the time I get home.

Keep those comments coming. I'll try to keep the writing entertaining.

Off to Jasper, British Columbia tomorrow....