We made it to Glacier on August 30th. It was cold and rainy and we drove going-to-the-sun road, which is supposed to be one of the most amazing scenic drives in America, which I'm sure it would have been if we could have seen anything beyond the fog. We camped on the Blackfeet Reservation in a turn out just outside an entrance to the park, continuing the free camping streak. Went on a hike to Iceberg Lake, saw some ptarmagin, moose and plenty of canadian squirrels.
When we got into Montana we gave an old friend a call. Hadn't spoken in at least four years, but she still had my number and we made plans to meet in Big Sky before cruising through Yellowstone. Andrea was awesome! She showed us the small town of big sky, got us drunk, baked us amazing breakfast scones, took us on some awesome hikes and a sweet camping trip and topped it off with a free Willie Nelson concert on her birthday!An unfortunate event happened in California while we were in Montana...we got robbed from 1,100 miles away! Lost nearly everything that was valuable sentimentally and monetarily. Ouch.
Now it's time to make the trip through the west side of Yellowstone and to Ernie's house in Jackson. Should be sweet!
2 comments:
woo hoo! Thanks for the birthday adventures, it ended up being a wonderful birthday.
Here is the email I sent to peeps about the week:
A friend of mine (Marisa) from the Bay area made an unexpected visit. We met up at Bogerts in Bozeman and had cocktails at Plonk; the next day we hiked Porcupine, watched Food Inc, then ran to Big Sky's Farmer's Market (where we made friends with an Angus farmer from Fallon, MT, a silversmith from West, and some Hutterites from who-knows-where) to momentarily ease our food consumer guilt. We backpacked to Blue Danube on Thursday, which was spectacular, and picked huckleberries, made good food, drank too much, and fished. Erin ended up puking several times that night, but apparently I was beyond sleep and unconscious because I didn't hear her leave the tent. On the way back to Big Sky we stopped at the Happy Hour bar on Hebgen and rehydrated ourselves with Moscow Mules, Corona, and Moose Drool, in preparation for another night of copious libations and Willie Nelson. I think I ended up second-hand stoned at the concert. Or maybe it was the effects of consuming 14 pounds of rum-soaked watermelon and 1/2 bottle of tequila between the four of us. It was a great concert. We sat in the "dirtbag" section (for free-loading poachers only) amongst the sagebrush on the hillside, under a clear star-lit sky, and had a perfect view. And to top it off, there was an epic shuffleboard tournament that my partner and I nearly won. It seems as though I always end up being the first place loser in that thing :) She truly ended up with a "Best Of" tour, which was a nice way to bring in the last year of my 20's... eesh, scary.
Friendships can be intriguing beasts... Marisa and I had only met twice, when I was working in California. Her mom was a neighbor of the research house I was living in, and she is a fun-loving independent lady who likes to host amazing dinner parties, which is how I met Marisa (roughly same age as me). And Marisa invited me to stay with her in San Fransisco for a weekend, and we had a great time. But we hadn't contacted each other in four years. (I'm not very good at keeping in contact with people, one of my serious flaws.) And then a week ago I got a random call from Marisa, telling me she was in Missoula, on her way to Glacier and then Yellowstone, and wondering if I was still in the area. The weird part of that phone call is that I still had her number in my contact list, which I erase numbers from frequently and without much prudence. And when Marisa and her fiancee, Albert, showed up, it felt like we hadn't missed a beat and had been in contact for years. I value those deep friendships, they give life substance and value.
Now I am contemplating old age and impending cold weather (and the first BIG snows!) as Marisa and Albert begin the next leg of their adventure.
Safe travels, Marisa and Albert!
Ahh, I love you Andrea! Thank you :-)
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