On the Wings of a Dolphin: September 2011

(Posted by Caitlin)

I'll let the pictures do most of the talking and try to keep this short.

We bought backcountry permits for two 3 day/2 night backpacking trips spaced one day apart out here in GNP, Montana. Our total mileage was 49 mi and our total elevation gain was almost 9,000 ft. The first trip was through Two Medicine. The other was through Many Glacier, which the rangers call "Bear City".

After setting up our first camp in Two Medicine, we realized we had encroached the territory of North America's most formidable creature: pushy, sneaky, hungry chipmunks. Samara quickly came to our rescue, leaving our food and bags intact. Our time in Many Glacier was cut short by a mild rain storm. We decided to hike the remaining 20 miles in one day instead of two because we (and our sleeping bags) were soaked due to our lack of rain gear (sometimes backpacking IS a rich man's sport). We returned to the comfort of this luxurious camper and are spending tonight at a KOA just outside the park. We cleaned, vaccuumed, washed, and waxed the camper. Tonight, we are looking forward to unnecessarily long showers and NyQuil assisted sleep.

Lake McDonald at Park Entrance

Two Medicine

We were less than 10ft away and it wouldn't move

Bear-Aware Practices

Mountain goat

Samara gets the Thermo-rest

We get pine needles

A view from the front our second camp

Swimming holes that were too cold

Many Glacier

Black bear prints

Our feet after hiking 20 miles in the rain and mud

Our KOA Campground Host

(Posted by Caitlin)

After we left Ashland, we visited Erik Johnson in McMinnville, Oregon. He was most hospitable in sharing his home and town with us. We enjoyed juicy burgers, showers, free laundry appliances, and the BEST breakfast I have ever had at a little cafe called Wildwood. They, like most cafes, serve their breakfasts with toast. Wildwood's toast, however, was thick and homemade! And their version of french toast is their homemade bread coated with granola and served with boysenberry jam :)

After a few nights with Erik, we made our way to Seattle. We ate dim sum as we strolled through Pikes Place Market and found a wonderful bike store called Elliot Bay Bicycles, in which Andy spent hours. We admired the Frank Gehry building which houses the Music Project museum and, of course, saw the Space Needle (nothing compared to Gehry's work).

We spent a night in the Cascade Mountains, east of Seattle and then came to Idaho on Sunday the 18th. In Rathdrum, just north of Coeur d'Alene, we met Erik Johnson's aunt Ann. She graciously drove us around the region, sharing knowledge of the wildlife, terrain, weather, roads, and real estate. One of our stops with Ann was here brother Tom's home. His wife, Sherry, picked tomatoes and carrots from her garden for us to take and they are delicious! Sherry showed us her 5 acre property, which helped put our desire for land into perspective. But 20+ acres would still be nice. Ann took us out to lunch and made us breakfast burritos and coffee this morning :) Which was especially awesome because the refrigerator died and took our food with it (we're getting that looked at tomorrow).

We drove north to look at some more rural property and love the land that's north of the boundary of Sandpoint, Idaho. We are spending the night back in Sandpoint and will be heading south to Athol to hopefully get the fridge fixed. Our next stop is Glacier National Park.

Oliver's neuter incision did not require stitches and he is nearly competely healed as of now.

Our pace will slow dramatically once we get to New England. We are trying to stay ahead of the northwest snow. And we'll be speeding through the midwest because it's the midwest.