If you have never visited the Biltmore Estate in Ashville, NC - you really need to go. Jimmy and I have been a number of times, including one evening tour that we did between Christmas and New Years.
Anyway, the first time we went to the Biltmore Estate, we parked directly in front of the home (kind of like guests driving up to see our friends the Vanderbilts!!!!). That was the good part of that trip. The bad part was that we locked the keys in the car. One of the security men wound up unlocking the car (with an unbent coat hangar no less).
I can only say that the estate has gotten better over time. Instead of buying your ticket at the front door, they have a really nice welcome center where the nice ladies will absolutely talk you into buying everything that they have to sell. Yes, I bought the audio tour package - and I would definitely advise doing so if you come to Ashville. You get an MP3 player which has the audio explanation of every room which is open to the public - on all five floors of the home (four floors of home and the basement). Plus, they have a short video to watch that gives first timers a little information about the estate.
Since 9/11 - you can no longer park directly in front of the house. But, they have really nice parking lots with shuttles to run you back and forth. However, since I needed the steps, Jimmy and I walked from the parking lot to the home. It was a really nice, shady walkway that led us directly to the overlooked at the end of the main lawn in front of the house. I took two pictures of the front of the house and then we went up to the main home.
I cannot describe the house. This was our first time to go on almost all of the floors. The last time we were here, there was a family member (or family) who stilled lived in some of the house - hence those rooms were closed to public tours. No one lives in the actual home now - so more of the house is now open. There are restoration projects going on currently, so there were rooms not open to the public which will be open within the next year. This was our first time to go above the second floor of the house since they were closed to the public our other visits. In fact, we didn't actually remember going into Mr. and Mrs. Vanderbilt's bedrooms before - so that might have been where the family lived at the time.
Of special interest on this trip was the carpet of flowers just off the side of the home. The area where the flowers were is just an open area which is used for various outside functions (like the BB King and Beach Boys concerts in August). Now, they have flats of flowers laid out on the space in very intricate patterns. I was kind of surprised that they were not actually planted - but they were not. You could see the flats under the plants if you got right up to it and looked. The walled gardens were not at their best, but they were still beautiful. There were lots of lots of butterflies. Of course, they were not in the butterfly garden where they were supposed to be - they were in the patterned area closer to the entrance. Jimmy was disappointed that the pots in the greenhouse were plastic - but I figured that was the least important thing that they had to worry about - plastic or clay!!!! They even had potato plants growing in the greenhouse. I doubt very many people had any idea that those were potato plants - you had to be from Mississippi to know that was what they were.
We did go to the winery. I was a bit disappointed. Napa has much better winery tours and tastings. It is, according to them, the most visited winery in the US. I guess that is because so many people come to the Biltmore Estate and you might just as well go to the winery for a tasting while you are there.
Anyway, I didn't take a lot of pictures. You can see more about Biltmore at their web site: www.biltmore.com I do suggest that you go on line and purchase your tickets on line - you save $5 a person. We don't have a printer on the RV - so I didn't buy them in advance. Of course, once I got there, I could have bought them and written down the confirmation number and they would have just looked it up for me. Pictures follow:
Friday, September 5, 2008
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Day 1 and 2 - Heading to the Wake Forest football game
We left home the day after Labor Day headed east on Interstate 40. We had seen a really nice looking RV park the last time we came to Pigeon Forge, and we decided to just leave a bit earlier than we actually had to in order to stay here for a couple of days.
We are pulled into a nice, spacious space overlooking the French Broad River. We haven't seen the French Broad (I think she lives in the house down the stream from us), but we did see a bunch of wild turkeys last night. There were 8 of them just strolling up the river bank across the river from us. Then I see a big bird with a white head land in a tree directly across the river. I decided it was a big duck, but the man at the office this morning told me that it was most likely the male bald eagle that lives down by the power station. So, one night and we saw 8 wild turkeys and 1 bald eagle.
This morning I got up a little before 7am (Holly Springs time) and killed about 45 minutes waiting for the office to open so that I could go and get my walk in. When it was about 10 till 8am, I headed up that way only to have to turn around and head back. I had the IPod and I had the telephone. I didn't have my pedometer. Anyway, the man was opening the office building about the time I got back up there, so I turned on the lights, turned on the air conditioner, turned on the flat screen tv and walked for about 45 minutes. I figured I didn't need to do the full 10,000 steps since we were going shopping in Pigeon Forge and to Gatlinburg later. Good thing I held back, because - as of right now - I have walked 17,000 steps and the day isn't over yet.
By the time I got back to the RV and got cleaned up, both Jimmy and I were basically starving. So, off to the Flapjack Pancake House in Pigeon Forge. It is kind of a tradition to have pancakes or waffles for breakfast when we are here. But, it was about 10am (our time) and it filled us up for most of the rest of the day.
Then, off to the Tangier Discount Mall. Jimmy finally found his new tennis shoes. Since they had a buy one, get the second pair for half price sale - I got me a new pair of walking shoes also. Since I am up to over 200 miles since mid-July, I don't think I can have too many pairs of walking shoes - do you!!!!
We wandered around the rest of the shopping center and I found the pasta servers and slotted serving spoons for the Church. Then off to Gatlinburg. What a trip. No parking. Nothing but t-shirt and wood carving shops interspersed with the fast food restaurants. I am really depressed by how commercial Gatlinburg has become. But, you have to walk up and down main street at least once. We also drove out and through the artist community just outside Gatlinburg. Quite frankly, we were trying to kill time so that it would get to be late afternoon and we could go see animals in Cade's Cove.
We finally realized that, by the time we drove to Cade's Cove and with the time change, it would be mid-to late afternoon by the time we got there. So, off to Cade's Cove. We had barely gotten onto the one way lane when we saw the first of three black bears. Two were right at the road (pictures will be uploaded later) and one was just wandering around the hill. I just couldn't get out of the car and up to where I could get his picture quickly enough!!!
Here are the pictures of the bears we saw.
We also saw one white tailed deer, a bunch of butterflies and a few birds. But, the time was well spent since we got to see three black bear in one less than 11 mile drive. We spent three days in Yellowstone and just saw two bear!!!
I think it is Cherokee, NC tomorrow, but I'm not sure.
Stayed tuned.
We are pulled into a nice, spacious space overlooking the French Broad River. We haven't seen the French Broad (I think she lives in the house down the stream from us), but we did see a bunch of wild turkeys last night. There were 8 of them just strolling up the river bank across the river from us. Then I see a big bird with a white head land in a tree directly across the river. I decided it was a big duck, but the man at the office this morning told me that it was most likely the male bald eagle that lives down by the power station. So, one night and we saw 8 wild turkeys and 1 bald eagle.
This morning I got up a little before 7am (Holly Springs time) and killed about 45 minutes waiting for the office to open so that I could go and get my walk in. When it was about 10 till 8am, I headed up that way only to have to turn around and head back. I had the IPod and I had the telephone. I didn't have my pedometer. Anyway, the man was opening the office building about the time I got back up there, so I turned on the lights, turned on the air conditioner, turned on the flat screen tv and walked for about 45 minutes. I figured I didn't need to do the full 10,000 steps since we were going shopping in Pigeon Forge and to Gatlinburg later. Good thing I held back, because - as of right now - I have walked 17,000 steps and the day isn't over yet.
By the time I got back to the RV and got cleaned up, both Jimmy and I were basically starving. So, off to the Flapjack Pancake House in Pigeon Forge. It is kind of a tradition to have pancakes or waffles for breakfast when we are here. But, it was about 10am (our time) and it filled us up for most of the rest of the day.
Then, off to the Tangier Discount Mall. Jimmy finally found his new tennis shoes. Since they had a buy one, get the second pair for half price sale - I got me a new pair of walking shoes also. Since I am up to over 200 miles since mid-July, I don't think I can have too many pairs of walking shoes - do you!!!!
We wandered around the rest of the shopping center and I found the pasta servers and slotted serving spoons for the Church. Then off to Gatlinburg. What a trip. No parking. Nothing but t-shirt and wood carving shops interspersed with the fast food restaurants. I am really depressed by how commercial Gatlinburg has become. But, you have to walk up and down main street at least once. We also drove out and through the artist community just outside Gatlinburg. Quite frankly, we were trying to kill time so that it would get to be late afternoon and we could go see animals in Cade's Cove.
We finally realized that, by the time we drove to Cade's Cove and with the time change, it would be mid-to late afternoon by the time we got there. So, off to Cade's Cove. We had barely gotten onto the one way lane when we saw the first of three black bears. Two were right at the road (pictures will be uploaded later) and one was just wandering around the hill. I just couldn't get out of the car and up to where I could get his picture quickly enough!!!
Here are the pictures of the bears we saw.
We also saw one white tailed deer, a bunch of butterflies and a few birds. But, the time was well spent since we got to see three black bear in one less than 11 mile drive. We spent three days in Yellowstone and just saw two bear!!!
I think it is Cherokee, NC tomorrow, but I'm not sure.
Stayed tuned.
Montgomery, AL trip - catching up
I've got a little catching up to do. On August 8, we traveled to Montgomery, AL, to help Travis move into his apartment. The cats enjoyed the new RV park that we found, and Jimmy and I worked ourselves to the bone helping Travis get unpacked, get things that were moved purged so that he wasn't having to keep up with stuff he didn't need, and getting the empty boxes to the trash. Montgomery has a really good process where they set up garbage trucks around the city on Saturdays to accept trash - including big things like refrigerators, sofas, and other such items. We only had empty boxes and boxes full of trash.
Anyway, we got that done and headed home only to suffer the roughest trip we have ever experienced once we got on highway 78 (the four lane part). When we got to Holly Springs, we both decided that the rear air bags were either not fully inflating or were not inflating at all. So, off Jimmy and the RV go to Memphis to the Spartan maintenance place. Sure enough, the rear air bags were not properly inflating - so we were riding on that fairly bumpy highway without the benefit of the air bags.
According to the Spartan guy, there was a problem with a valve. When they got the valve in and replaced it, the new valve also broke. Wound up that there was a maintenance kit that Spartan had put out for a misalignment problem that that chassis had. It was about 2 inches out of alignment. We got it back the Friday before Labor Day and it now drives like new.
The next post will bring you up to date on the trip we are currently on.
Anyway, we got that done and headed home only to suffer the roughest trip we have ever experienced once we got on highway 78 (the four lane part). When we got to Holly Springs, we both decided that the rear air bags were either not fully inflating or were not inflating at all. So, off Jimmy and the RV go to Memphis to the Spartan maintenance place. Sure enough, the rear air bags were not properly inflating - so we were riding on that fairly bumpy highway without the benefit of the air bags.
According to the Spartan guy, there was a problem with a valve. When they got the valve in and replaced it, the new valve also broke. Wound up that there was a maintenance kit that Spartan had put out for a misalignment problem that that chassis had. It was about 2 inches out of alignment. We got it back the Friday before Labor Day and it now drives like new.
The next post will bring you up to date on the trip we are currently on.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Days 22-24 - Just Coming Home
Nothing really to report. We are just traveling the interstate coming home. As I write this, we are in Russellville, AR and will be in Holly Springs this afternoon. It is Tuesday, July 8, and we have been gone since Father's Day. I believe it is the longest vacation that Jimmy and I have ever taken at one time. On one hand - I'll be glad to be home. On the other - those cooler temperatures in Montana were really nice.
But, the kitties are ready to settle and not be 'on the road' so much. Peaches has done really well. She only had to have a pill the first day. When we start closing the RV up to head out, we put one of my Grandmother's old quilts on the sofa. As soon as Peaches sees the quilt, she is on the sofa, in the corner, curled up and ready to travel. She hasn't been sick one time. Bear, on the other hand, is constant motion. He is on the dashboard, then on my lap, then laying down between the seats in the front, then under the table, and then back to the front to start all over. He never gets sick - well, unless Peaches throws up in front of him and then he works up some sympathy sickness!!!!
All in all, a great trip.
Hope you have enjoyed the blog as much as I have enjoyed blogging (if there is such a word).
Martha
But, the kitties are ready to settle and not be 'on the road' so much. Peaches has done really well. She only had to have a pill the first day. When we start closing the RV up to head out, we put one of my Grandmother's old quilts on the sofa. As soon as Peaches sees the quilt, she is on the sofa, in the corner, curled up and ready to travel. She hasn't been sick one time. Bear, on the other hand, is constant motion. He is on the dashboard, then on my lap, then laying down between the seats in the front, then under the table, and then back to the front to start all over. He never gets sick - well, unless Peaches throws up in front of him and then he works up some sympathy sickness!!!!
All in all, a great trip.
Hope you have enjoyed the blog as much as I have enjoyed blogging (if there is such a word).
Martha
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Day 21 - Battle of the Little Big Horn
I am writing this as we head across Kansas on Day 22, so I will update the site with pictures tonight.
Anyway, we had a comfortable night in Billings and got up in the morning to head south towards Colorado, with a short sidetrip to the Battle of the Little Big Horn Memorial. It is a part of the National Park Service, so in we went on Jimmy's Golden Age Passport. I don't know how much he spent on that pass when he and Garrie made one of their trips to Virginia, but I suspect it paid for itself many times over on this trip. The only national park where we had to pay any entrance fee was the one in Alberta, Canada. I guess it makes sense that they would not honor a US National Park Service pass.
Anyway, the Little Big Horn Memorial is just off interstate 94 in Montana. We had missed it on the way out because the highway we had planned to take was under construction and we had to take a detour that caused us to enter Billings 40 miles north of the site. I guess I didn't really kmow what to expect - not being a really big history buff. But, we parked the RV and cranked the generator for the kitties and off we went.
The site is a national cemetery. I believe the ranger told us that the cemetery had been closed 12 or 15 years. Basically, that means that it had reached capacity with veterans who wished to be interred there. We pulled up to the visitor center just as they were starting a 17 minute video to give the history of the battle. Quite frankly, I didn't follow it really well, but Jimmy said it was very well done. I did get the point that Custer was outmanned, outmaneuvered, and just plain out old fashioned beaten at the Battle of the Little Big Horn.
Once we watched the video, we strolled up the hill toward the two monuments. Shortly after the actual battle, soldiers who had been with the army which launched the attack, but separated from the main body, came onto the field of battle and saw the dead. They buried the soldiers in shallow graves and marked the graves. Two years later, all of the bodies were dug up and reinterred under a monument which stands on a hilltop overlooking the battlefield. The native Americans had not lost so many, but the monument to their dead was not erected until much later (I'll look up the actual date and put it in here as soon as I can). The National Park was originally named for General Custer. Under the senior Bush administration, the name was changed to the Battle of the Little Big Horn, thus honoring all who fought and died there. On the hillside between the original monument and the visitor center are crosses marking the original graves of many of the soldiers. The ranger (who, by the way was Native American - Crow Nation) told us that Custer had actually died at a place at the foot of the monument, but his marker had been moved as it was feared that tourists would carry off pieces of the marker (the area is surrounded by a fence). Of course, many of the officers who were killed at that battle are not interred in the mass grave, but were returned to be buried at a site selected by their families. General Custer is buried at West Point.
After we left the park. we headed the RV south. We got to Wellington, CO and spent the night. They have lots of black flies!!! Luckily I had a package of Corky's BBQ in the freezer, so we had that for dinner, watched a little NASCAR, and hit the sack.
Anyway, we had a comfortable night in Billings and got up in the morning to head south towards Colorado, with a short sidetrip to the Battle of the Little Big Horn Memorial. It is a part of the National Park Service, so in we went on Jimmy's Golden Age Passport. I don't know how much he spent on that pass when he and Garrie made one of their trips to Virginia, but I suspect it paid for itself many times over on this trip. The only national park where we had to pay any entrance fee was the one in Alberta, Canada. I guess it makes sense that they would not honor a US National Park Service pass.
Anyway, the Little Big Horn Memorial is just off interstate 94 in Montana. We had missed it on the way out because the highway we had planned to take was under construction and we had to take a detour that caused us to enter Billings 40 miles north of the site. I guess I didn't really kmow what to expect - not being a really big history buff. But, we parked the RV and cranked the generator for the kitties and off we went.
The site is a national cemetery. I believe the ranger told us that the cemetery had been closed 12 or 15 years. Basically, that means that it had reached capacity with veterans who wished to be interred there. We pulled up to the visitor center just as they were starting a 17 minute video to give the history of the battle. Quite frankly, I didn't follow it really well, but Jimmy said it was very well done. I did get the point that Custer was outmanned, outmaneuvered, and just plain out old fashioned beaten at the Battle of the Little Big Horn.
Once we watched the video, we strolled up the hill toward the two monuments. Shortly after the actual battle, soldiers who had been with the army which launched the attack, but separated from the main body, came onto the field of battle and saw the dead. They buried the soldiers in shallow graves and marked the graves. Two years later, all of the bodies were dug up and reinterred under a monument which stands on a hilltop overlooking the battlefield. The native Americans had not lost so many, but the monument to their dead was not erected until much later (I'll look up the actual date and put it in here as soon as I can). The National Park was originally named for General Custer. Under the senior Bush administration, the name was changed to the Battle of the Little Big Horn, thus honoring all who fought and died there. On the hillside between the original monument and the visitor center are crosses marking the original graves of many of the soldiers. The ranger (who, by the way was Native American - Crow Nation) told us that Custer had actually died at a place at the foot of the monument, but his marker had been moved as it was feared that tourists would carry off pieces of the marker (the area is surrounded by a fence). Of course, many of the officers who were killed at that battle are not interred in the mass grave, but were returned to be buried at a site selected by their families. General Custer is buried at West Point.
After we left the park. we headed the RV south. We got to Wellington, CO and spent the night. They have lots of black flies!!! Luckily I had a package of Corky's BBQ in the freezer, so we had that for dinner, watched a little NASCAR, and hit the sack.
Day 20 - On the Road Home
There really isn't anything to report today, other than that we are on the way home. We got to Billings, MT today and stayed at the same KOA we stayed in on the way out. It is a long way with very little interstate. What we have found interesting is that even the two lane highways out here have maximum speed limits which are higher than (or equal to) the interstate speed limits at home!!! Interstate upper limit is 75, but it is 70 on most of the two lane highways. We set the cruise control at 60 and try to maximize miles per gallon!!!
We are kind of in awe of the numbers of people we saw at all of the places we visited on this trip. It did not seem to us that the gasoline prices have kept many people home. When we went over the Going to the Sun Road, it was full and almost all of the parking areas were packed. I am sure that there is some decline in travel, but it seems like the people from the states around Montana were out in force. I guess they didn't have as far to go as we did.
However, I am still concerned about the people who live out here with the high fuel prices. Children have to travel long distances to get to school. The fields have to be plowed, planted, and picked. Cows have to be herded. Grasses have to be grown, cut and bailed for hay. Mail has to be delivered. Emergency services have to be provided. With fuel over $4.00/gallon, I hate to know what the price of bread and hamburger meat is going to be in the near future.
And, for all of the politicians talking about using alternative fuels - electric cars will not go as far on one charge as these folks have to drive just to get their child to school. This is a problem that needs to be fixed.
And that is my political statement for today.
We are kind of in awe of the numbers of people we saw at all of the places we visited on this trip. It did not seem to us that the gasoline prices have kept many people home. When we went over the Going to the Sun Road, it was full and almost all of the parking areas were packed. I am sure that there is some decline in travel, but it seems like the people from the states around Montana were out in force. I guess they didn't have as far to go as we did.
However, I am still concerned about the people who live out here with the high fuel prices. Children have to travel long distances to get to school. The fields have to be plowed, planted, and picked. Cows have to be herded. Grasses have to be grown, cut and bailed for hay. Mail has to be delivered. Emergency services have to be provided. With fuel over $4.00/gallon, I hate to know what the price of bread and hamburger meat is going to be in the near future.
And, for all of the politicians talking about using alternative fuels - electric cars will not go as far on one charge as these folks have to drive just to get their child to school. This is a problem that needs to be fixed.
And that is my political statement for today.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Day 19 - Going to the Sun Road
I am going to have a really hard time describing today. I'm almost tempted to let the pictures speak for themselves. But, since I don't know when I will be able to upload the pictures, I'll go ahead and give you some impressions of the day.
For the last two days, I have been downloading audios from the iTunes store regarding
Glacier National Park. These podcasts are free. Some are video. It is something that was developed by the park to assist travelers who are taking the new park shuttles through the park vs. driving their own cars or taking the red jammers that are available (commercial tour company). We had decided to drive, but I thought having the podcasts would be beneficial to our knowing what we were seeing. And, they were. So, if you are planning a trip out here or to Yosemite, you might want to download the podcasts while you have a strong internet connection. We would up stopping in at the information center where they have the entire set of videos and audios on a cd that takes about 6 minutes to upload to your pc. That after me spending about an hour just trying to get the audio podcasts!!! Well, you live and learn.
Our drive up to Logan Pass was pretty much what we had done the first day we were in the park. My pictures of that section are from the top down, but I'll try to fix that when I get the pictures organized.
It was the approach to Logan Pass which brought all of the concerns about the roads into perspective. We went through one pass on the approach to the visitors center where there were mountains of snow on either side of the road. It looked just like some of the pictures that are posted on Glacier National Park's web site (go visit that site for a lot more information about the park). Then, we got to the visitors center. There was snow everywhere and it wasn't cold enough to anything other than shorts and shirts. We climbed up on the snow mass behind the visitors' center and watched a group of ladies hook up their cross country skies and snow shoes. There is supposed to be a fairly easy hike (via a boardwalk) up to the glacier. Well, the boardwalk was not there. Just snow. We just decided to enjoy the view from where we were. Now, the trip down the little snowmass was a little cold. I'm scared to death of falling, so I just went ahead and sat down and slid down the little hill. A lot of ladies my age agreed that was the preferred way to come down - that vs. falling and breaking something. Of course, Jimmy was totally embarrassed!!! And, my seat was wet for a long time.
When we got to the parking lot, I spotted a herd of mountain goats heading down the mountain across the street from the visitors' center. There was a man with a spotting scope right next to us. He let us look through the scope. Boy, those mountain goats needed a bath and some hair conditioner!!! The gentleman with the scope was leading a group of people looking for wild life in the park. All of his charges had gone to the rest rooms. So, he told us what he would have told them.
We head from the pass down the west side of the mountain. We had just gotten around the first two bends, when we decided to park and take some pictures of the waterfalls and scenery. When we looked back towards the visitors' center, the entire highway going both ways was blocked. Either the same, or a new, herd of goats were trying to get across the road. Our podcasts had just told us to stay out of their way and to give them plenty of room when they were in the area. The male goat was just running back and forth trying to find a way for his flock to get down and across. They finally gave up and just went back up the hill. You couldn't help but feel sorry for them.
There are a lot of pictures that will be uploaded that show the beauty of the park and the waterfalls. There was one area called the weeping wall where, if you were going west, you got wet. We laughed about all of the motorcyclists who didn't read about the weeping wall who were going to get soaked. The weeping wall was man made, in a sense. When they cut the road through, the blasting created this wall of stone where the waterfalls just spill their water onto the road.
There will be a lot of pictures showing the area where the road isn't. Yes, there is a long area where the left side (the side next to the fall away) isn't. There are a lot of big pieces of equipment and big piles of rocks blocking the road, creating a one way street. We had to wait about 15 minutes on the downhill trek until it was the westward bound side's turn. The winter slides had literally obliterated sections of the retaining walls and highway. Thank you Glacier National Park for making that section one way.
On down the mountain we go to Apgar Village where we decide to have lunch. I had forgotten to tell you that Yellowstone has much superior food service to Glacier. When we stopped to have lunch at the East Glacier hotel on day 17, we went into the dining room only to be told that there would be a 20 minute wait for a table. There were at least 80 tables available!!! We went to the lounge and had our food within 20 minutes. Today, it took about 40 minutes to deliver a hamburger at the end of the lunch hour. We never waited in line for fast food in Yellowstone longer than about 5 minutes!!!! So, heads up when you come to Glacier. Bring snacks or be prepared for long waits.
Once lunch was over, we headed out of the west entrance to the park to find diesel fuel for the Jeep. It was about 10 miles north before we saw a green pump handle. And, the price was back in the reasonable range (it is about $5.00/gallon today in St. Mary).
We made the decision to go back over the Going to the Sun Road instead of heading south around the south end of the park. It was just as beautiful going east as it was coming west. We did see two long horned sheep. There is no picture though. There was no place to pull over. So, you will just have to trust me that we saw two and you will have to look them up in a book or on the internet to see what they look like.
The rest of the trip back to St. Mary was fairly uneventful. Again, the trip is in the pictures, which I cannot upload until I have a real wifi network vs. a satellite link.
Tomorrow, we head back towards Mississippi. I don't know how often I will update the blog on the trip home. There are a couple of stops that I know we will be making. Plus, we are going to listen to the unabridged version of the Ambrose book Undaunted Courage. I'll have both the abridged and unabridged versions if anyone would like to borrow them!!!
For the last two days, I have been downloading audios from the iTunes store regarding
Glacier National Park. These podcasts are free. Some are video. It is something that was developed by the park to assist travelers who are taking the new park shuttles through the park vs. driving their own cars or taking the red jammers that are available (commercial tour company). We had decided to drive, but I thought having the podcasts would be beneficial to our knowing what we were seeing. And, they were. So, if you are planning a trip out here or to Yosemite, you might want to download the podcasts while you have a strong internet connection. We would up stopping in at the information center where they have the entire set of videos and audios on a cd that takes about 6 minutes to upload to your pc. That after me spending about an hour just trying to get the audio podcasts!!! Well, you live and learn.
Our drive up to Logan Pass was pretty much what we had done the first day we were in the park. My pictures of that section are from the top down, but I'll try to fix that when I get the pictures organized.
It was the approach to Logan Pass which brought all of the concerns about the roads into perspective. We went through one pass on the approach to the visitors center where there were mountains of snow on either side of the road. It looked just like some of the pictures that are posted on Glacier National Park's web site (go visit that site for a lot more information about the park). Then, we got to the visitors center. There was snow everywhere and it wasn't cold enough to anything other than shorts and shirts. We climbed up on the snow mass behind the visitors' center and watched a group of ladies hook up their cross country skies and snow shoes. There is supposed to be a fairly easy hike (via a boardwalk) up to the glacier. Well, the boardwalk was not there. Just snow. We just decided to enjoy the view from where we were. Now, the trip down the little snowmass was a little cold. I'm scared to death of falling, so I just went ahead and sat down and slid down the little hill. A lot of ladies my age agreed that was the preferred way to come down - that vs. falling and breaking something. Of course, Jimmy was totally embarrassed!!! And, my seat was wet for a long time.
When we got to the parking lot, I spotted a herd of mountain goats heading down the mountain across the street from the visitors' center. There was a man with a spotting scope right next to us. He let us look through the scope. Boy, those mountain goats needed a bath and some hair conditioner!!! The gentleman with the scope was leading a group of people looking for wild life in the park. All of his charges had gone to the rest rooms. So, he told us what he would have told them.
We head from the pass down the west side of the mountain. We had just gotten around the first two bends, when we decided to park and take some pictures of the waterfalls and scenery. When we looked back towards the visitors' center, the entire highway going both ways was blocked. Either the same, or a new, herd of goats were trying to get across the road. Our podcasts had just told us to stay out of their way and to give them plenty of room when they were in the area. The male goat was just running back and forth trying to find a way for his flock to get down and across. They finally gave up and just went back up the hill. You couldn't help but feel sorry for them.
There are a lot of pictures that will be uploaded that show the beauty of the park and the waterfalls. There was one area called the weeping wall where, if you were going west, you got wet. We laughed about all of the motorcyclists who didn't read about the weeping wall who were going to get soaked. The weeping wall was man made, in a sense. When they cut the road through, the blasting created this wall of stone where the waterfalls just spill their water onto the road.
There will be a lot of pictures showing the area where the road isn't. Yes, there is a long area where the left side (the side next to the fall away) isn't. There are a lot of big pieces of equipment and big piles of rocks blocking the road, creating a one way street. We had to wait about 15 minutes on the downhill trek until it was the westward bound side's turn. The winter slides had literally obliterated sections of the retaining walls and highway. Thank you Glacier National Park for making that section one way.
On down the mountain we go to Apgar Village where we decide to have lunch. I had forgotten to tell you that Yellowstone has much superior food service to Glacier. When we stopped to have lunch at the East Glacier hotel on day 17, we went into the dining room only to be told that there would be a 20 minute wait for a table. There were at least 80 tables available!!! We went to the lounge and had our food within 20 minutes. Today, it took about 40 minutes to deliver a hamburger at the end of the lunch hour. We never waited in line for fast food in Yellowstone longer than about 5 minutes!!!! So, heads up when you come to Glacier. Bring snacks or be prepared for long waits.
Once lunch was over, we headed out of the west entrance to the park to find diesel fuel for the Jeep. It was about 10 miles north before we saw a green pump handle. And, the price was back in the reasonable range (it is about $5.00/gallon today in St. Mary).
We made the decision to go back over the Going to the Sun Road instead of heading south around the south end of the park. It was just as beautiful going east as it was coming west. We did see two long horned sheep. There is no picture though. There was no place to pull over. So, you will just have to trust me that we saw two and you will have to look them up in a book or on the internet to see what they look like.
The rest of the trip back to St. Mary was fairly uneventful. Again, the trip is in the pictures, which I cannot upload until I have a real wifi network vs. a satellite link.
Tomorrow, we head back towards Mississippi. I don't know how often I will update the blog on the trip home. There are a couple of stops that I know we will be making. Plus, we are going to listen to the unabridged version of the Ambrose book Undaunted Courage. I'll have both the abridged and unabridged versions if anyone would like to borrow them!!!
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