College Football

Another year of college football is drawing to a close and it's coming pretty quickly.
I will admit that I have been a fan of college football since childhood and of the 3 levels, high school, college and then the NFL, I am 10 times more of a fan of college ball than any other.
I love the high school games and especially the playoffs and these guys are the feeder systems for my college ball. I love it.
But, I love college ball more. By the time they get to the Pros, it's more of a business and not quite as much fun. I still watch the NFL sometimes, but I never miss a college football Saturday if I can help it.
Soon, I will not be able to help it because the games will be over and I'll have to find something else to do with my Saturdays.

Searching the internet, I noticed there are blogs on college football. But, I was not that overly impressed and I want to write my own next season.
Now, we have 2 or 3 games left and it's over.

I am eagerly looking forward to next August already.

Waffle House, I am falling for you

Today, I fell for Waffle House in a big, big way.

The lifelong roommate and I were in Dallas this weekend seeing our family. We decided to eat breakfast at a Waffle House.
It was chaos inside with a lot of hungry people and limited seating.
As we were patiently waiting on a table, I got a call from our answering service about a particularly annoying plumbing problem which sort of upset me because it should have been fixed already.

I stepped outside to talk on the phone in peace.

With the problem potentially solved, I returned to our group to again wait patiently.

As I came in the door, a very small boy ran out in front of me. I didn't really notice him in time to completely avoid him and had to swerve to miss him.

It was all a blur at that point and I really don't know what happened, but I somehow lost my balance and was unable to correct in time before I found myself laying on the floor. I don't know if the floor was slippery, or if I tripped over my own feet. But, somehow I wound up falling completely to the floor.

Everyone was completely stunned. The family with the small boy was just staring at me with shocked expressions, not quite knowing what to do or say.
I was not hurt, I don't think. The family apologized, the boy was fine and all was well.

But, I was embarrassed.

Most of all, I felt very, very vulnerable. There's no way you can fall on your face in public and ever be cool again.
There's no way of falling and ever having a chance at saving face. You have gone from an unknown person in the room full of people to being stared at by everyone. I was anxious for everyone that had seen the huge incident to be leaving the restaurant and forgetting they had ever seen me and my embarrassing fall.

And, I really don't like being stared at.

This was just one more big, grim reminder that I am getting older and I am not the man I used to be. That is hard to deal with at times, but something that everybody goes through if they are lucky enough to become older.
Older people fall a lot and I am not at that level, but this fall made me feel a little older than I want to be.


I had kind of hoped to make it through my life without taking an embarrassing public fall.

Too late for that now.

Atrial Fibrillation

I have it.



I have it and I am sick of having it.



Approximately 2.2 million Americans also have it.



Compared to a lot of diseases and physical issues it's not a bad thing. It's not cancer.

But, it is annoying and can cause strokes.

A brief description of A-Fib is it's an abnormal heart rhythm.



I guess my main beef with A-Fib is doctors. I started having these problems years ago. I went to doctors several times complaining of strange symptoms.

I was told I had this or that and was given drugs to fight this or that. Only problem is, after a while, you realize these guys don't know much about what they are doing and they are guessing.



I don't like to be the subject of guesswork, but that is often what you are when you enter a doctor's office.



My dad went to doctors for three years complaining of headaches. Then, one day, he had a brain tumor and died a month later.

Well, what had he been telling doctors for three years? Could there have been a reason for a man to have headaches for so long?



After years of complaining that I didn't feel right, I finally had had enough and went to a minor emergency clinic near my house when the physical outbreak was actually taking place.

Of course, the doctor had no clue what was wrong and said I should go to the real hospital immediately. I was hesitant, but they insisted and even called an ambulance to haul me over.



Low and behold, it was the ambulance driver that instantly knew that I had Atrial Fibrillation. Doctors may have never figured that out on their own.



The biggest step is often figuring out what exactly is going on in your body.



Well, not so fast.



Heart specialist prescribed drugs to control the A-Fib.

But, the problem is, the drugs don't work and A-Fib continues to creep up from time to time.

Too often to suit me. 15% of stroke victims have A-Fib and I don't want to be in that 15%.
I don't intend to be in that 15%.

At this point, I am reasonably convinced that doctors don't care because they make more money if people are sick.

Bringing the world to West Texas

One of the things I have enjoyed about owning a business here in West Texas is the opportunity to get to know people from all over the world.

You wouldn't think people from all over the world would be here, but they are.

Abilene Christian University brings in a lot of them and for really weird reasons sometimes. Some foreign students simply pick up a guide to American colleges and ACU is one of the first that comes up.

Strange way to pick a school to attend, but they come from all over.

ACU also has a world class track and field program which brings in runners from all over but particularly, Africa. They bring in weight throwers from Eastern Europe mostly.

So, there is a melting pot in the track and field program alone.

Dyess Air Force Base is another producer of outsiders.

Weirdest thing to me is that a lot of them wind up staying here after college or when they get out of the Air Force.

That doesn't seem logical to me, but it happens.

In our business, we have to have people help us with the maintenance and up keep.

Presently, I have help from Kansas City and from Fort Collins, Colorado.

Over the years, we have had employees from all over the place. The farthest employee from home was a rather wild and crazy individual from Russia. He hardly came from Russia with love as he was sort of an angry fellow, but he was extremely interesting and opened a lot of thinking in my mind.

I like, and liked, these guys because they are not like everyone else around here. They bring variety and color to the area.

One of the things I appreciate most about them is the different dialects they bring. I really don't want to talk like a West Texan and these guys help with that.

As long as we are in this business we will probably always have at least one college kid around to help with painting or other maintenance issues. I will always hope the kid is from somewhere far away so I will learn more about their area of the world, but also so they can help prevent me from falling into the rut of being like all my neighbors.

Not that there is anything wrong with them.

Letter to Mini-Me

OK, OK, I know this makes me look weak, but I am going to post it anyway.

I went through some hard times, lost a lot of money, lost my self-respect and put my roommate through some really rough times.
They aren't over yet. But, I am probably a little hardened and tougher now.

But, at the time, I went to a counselor just because I needed to talk to somebody outside my family and I had no real friends that I would burden with my problems.

He had me write a letter to myself when I was a kid. It's really too bad I couldn't get the letter to myself when I was about 10.

I called this the Letter to Mini-Me and I was going through my documents on my computer and thought I would post it here.

Stop calling me a wimp and get to reading.





LETTER TO MINI-ME
Dear Mini-Me,
Relax little fella, everything‘s going to be all right.
Trust me on this, some day you will have the final say, the last laugh if you will. Anyone that calls you stupid or insinuates the same, doesn’t know the real you or what’s inside of you.
Hold your head up and look people in the eyes, because they don’t know what’s in your heart. They don’t know your desires or your capabilities. They don’t know that you can do or be anything you want if you have set your mind to it.
Just because you don’t know the name of some tool that does not make you ignorant. In fact, I think that makes you brilliant at even an early age. Even then, you could see the uselessness of doing manual labor and realize, even though you were not fully aware yet, that you can be far more successful using your mind as opposed to your hands.
Because of your early life, you thought you had to live up to other people’s standards or lifestyles. You didn’t.
I wish I could tell you this now in reality and save you lots of wasted time and pain. Hard work is good, but only hard work that will take you in the direction that you need to go. The guy under the car is not the bright one, or he would have brought the tools he needs to get the job done correctly. You are a kid, be a kid. You want to play ball, look at girls and other things boys do.
Let your imagination run wild, because that is what will take you places. The traditional way of life may be good for some, but it will never be for you. Make your own way and don’t worry what others think. Worry about what God thinks and when all is said and done, you will be more successful and happy.
The world really is your oyster. You can do, or be, anything you want. You can live anywhere you want. Experience life and don’t be afraid. Fear is nothing but a lie and you don’t have to live under that. People will try and push you away, don’t let them. Stand tall and firm and fight for what is right and for what you want.
Decide what you want and just go for it. Don’t let things and especially fear hold you back. There are no legitimate excuses for not doing the things you are capable of doing.
People usually don’t mean to harm you or to do the things that they sometimes do to others. Rise above it and be strong, because that’s what you are. Be strong and courageous.
You don’t have to listen to what somebody else tells you that you are or how somebody else defines you. Define yourself and make your life the best that it can be.
Press on, Mini-me, but enjoy life now.
Sincerely,
Me

Cruise Night

Yesterday, they had a car show and a cruise night here in town. I was a bit skeptical and was not expecting much.

We did not make the car show, but attended the cruise night.

We found a nice place to pull over and park and just sat there for a couple of hours watching the cars and trucks drive by over and over.

The weather was perfect and in fact, was almost chilly out. I had a really fun time, actually.

There were a lot more cars than I expected and some were even really nice. Nothing like the car in the picture above which is a 1969 Yenko Camaro and is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

But, there were some nice cars. There were also a lot of ugly cars and stupid looking cars which were kind of amusing to watch.

This was a nice reminder of yesteryear. There were old guys and young guys and all kinds of cars, pick up trucks, low riders, and a wide assortment of vehicles.

Maybe the strangest one of the night was a pick up truck that somebody had removed the bed and replaced it with another front so it looked like two trucks backed up to one another and one pulling the other. Wish we had taken a picture because it was too strange to believe and quite the riot.

There were muscle cars. There were classic cars. There were piece of junk cars. Everybody that liked cars of all kinds were either driving one or sitting on the side watching.

It was a fun night for me.

I am an old guy, but I am just a little bit too young to have experienced much of the 'good old days' where every small town had a spot where all the teenagers cruised looking for racing action or whatever else might happen in the growing up years.

In my town, people circled a Dairy Queen. When I started driving, they blocked off the route around the Dairy Queen and the 'good old days' were effectively over.

People were sort of poor in my day and in my town. There weren't a lot of new cars in the high school parking lot, but there were a few muscle cars about.

Even though the hang out had been closed down, it was still possible to meet up and find somebody to race, occasionally.

But, for all purposes, I missed the really good ole days.

Just barely.

So, You Want to be a Landlord

I have decided to write a book about my experiences as a landlord. It makes perfect sense to share some of the experiences that I have known in 20 plus years in this business.

I am going to write about the good and the bad and there has been a whole lot of each over the years.

I'm not sure what this will do to my blogging time, but I will soon find out.

Poopoo Padooskoo and other stories

When my son was born I had to learn how to be around little ones in a big hurry as most young fathers do. I really had never been around kids much up until I was about 27 and I had no clue how to act.

One of the bigger details of life with young kids is getting them to bed.

Our girls were good sleepers, but our son was not. He still isn't to this day and he's 20 years old.

It was a chore getting Tyler to go to sleep every night.

When he got a little older, I had to try to get him to sleep by reading him a book, or telling him a story.

I will say that I didn't really know any stories, so I had to learn to make up a yarn or two. It didn't take long before I was quite the story teller, at least in my son's eyes.

I often created larger than life characters that were almost super human in strength and character.

One of Tyler's favorites that he enjoyed hearing a lot was Truck driver Nick.

Nick was a guy that drove his big rig around and helped others in need, saving life after life along the highways.

He was larger than life much the same was as Pecos Bill or Paul Bunyun. A real hero for the people and humble as could be.

There were several reasons for these stories. Obviously, one big one was to get Tyler sleepy. Another reason was to spend quality time with my son. But, I also told him stories of characters that I wanted to be like and I wanted as most dads probably do, for my son to think of me as a hero figure.

Another favorite story was Poopoo Padooskoo.

One night I wanted to get Tyler more involved with the story telling and asked him to name the main character. Poopoo was the first thing that popped out of the three year old's mouth. I told him that ole Poopoo needed a last name and Padooskoo came out rather quickly.

As you can imagine, I had to come up with something rather quickly that would match a name like Poopoo Padooskoo.

Poopoo became a major league baseball player that earned his nickname as a young boy by pooping in his pants as a base runner when he tried very intensely to beat a throw to first base.

Yep, ole Poopoo became a fairly regular story that I liked to tell young Tyler.

There were many more.

But, I am reminded of the relationship between a young boy and his father. As a really young boy, nobody is much greater than your father. Nobody is bigger, nobody is better and your father is indeed larger than life.

The dad is a real hero to a really young boy.

Some day when a boy grows that same hero becomes an embarrassment and a fool. Dad is not cool anymore.

I am reminded of the movie Big Fish where the son becomes ashamed of his father and his tales.

Really, the son's perception of his father is actually a bit more realistic as he learns that his father is no super hero but just a human being that makes mistakes and lots of them.

I am no super hero and I am a human being and I do make lots of mistakes and then some.

But, Poopoo Padooskoo lives on and I hope my son has a son some day and he remembers Truck driver Nick and Mr Padooskoo and the many other stories we shared.

For Your Eyes Only

For Your Eyes Only is the name of one of many Bond flicks and I have to admit that I am a Bond fan. I don't watch them a lot any more, but I still enjoy them.

One of the many reasons that I like James Bond movies is the many world wide locations that they film. They really go all over the world and have some fantastic scenery.

If I know it's on, I will watch the end of For Your Eyes Only just to see the monastery at the top of the huge rock which is where Bond has his final conflict with the villains and saves the day as usual.

This particular monastery sits on top of a huge rock and the only way in and out is by an ancient hand operated elevator. The ride up and down this elevator could be scary but this monastery is so incredibly beautiful that I long to see it in real life.

The life of of these monks in a monastery kind of appeals to me.

It's a simple life. No deadlines, no stress, no unhappy customers and seeking God.

I am obviously not going to join a monastery and will continue my life as is for now. Also, the life of a monk is probably not as easy as it seems.

But, the simple life is very appealing to me.

Some day I want to quit what I am doing and move off somewhere that gets a lot of rain. I want to have a huge garden with enough to feed myself and my entire family.

I want my biggest stresses to be when the crops are coming up or getting the crop picked at the right time.

Or, keeping the deer out of my garden. The simple life would be a nice way to live in my opinion.

In these times, we put way too much pressure on ourselves to have more. We often want to keep up with the Joneses and want all the material goods we can get.

In the meantime, we are killing ourselves off with the stress that we put on ourselves. I am as quality as anyone and put myself in my current situation because I wanted more.

I learned my lesson.

Now, I strive for a simple life

The Loud and the Proud

This morning, my lifelong roommate and I went to the balloon fest again and we were hoping to see all the balloons take off. We saw a grand total of one. The rest packed up and went home because it was a little too windy for them, the pansies. :)

So, we took off slowly for home not really wanting to go home just yet, at least I didn't and I probably should have asked the roomie her opinion on the matter.

We stumbled upon a really cool place in our meandering. It was a rather large piece of sculpture by the Bible Building at Abilene Christian University. Since it was Sunday morning and still pretty early there was nobody anywhere around. The sculpture probably deserves it's own time.

The roommate decided on taking pictures so I just kind of wandered around aimlessly. I saw a loose dog that looked to be lost and I sat down to call the little fella over to me. The stinking little fella wanted none of that and took off like shot out of a cannon. I decided to just sit and chill a bit.

Then, the Blue Jays arrived in all of their glory. Ah, I know a lot of people don't like these loud little rascals, but when I hear them I am often transformed into another time and another place.

They always make me think about my childhood and the many summers spent in Gainesville, Texas. I was born and raised in the lower Rio Grande River Valley otherwise known as just 'the Valley'. But, my Pappy had his college degree and my Mom was finishing up with hers at Pan American University in Edinburg and also North Texas State in Denton. Gainesville is just a few miles from Denton, so we spent a lot of my early summers in Gainesville staying with my grandparents.

We called my grandfather Papa, and I was my Papa's boy. Hate to brag, but I am pretty sure I was his favorite. My siblings or a cousin or two might argue that, but to my dying day I will claim to be his favorite. He will always be one of my favorite people that I have ever known in my entire life.

We didn't have the Blue Jays in the Valley to my memory, but they were plentiful in Gainesville and they made enough noise to stick in my mind and last through the school year until we got back up to Gainesville. The noise these birds made was so distinctive to me that it still stirs up thoughts of yesteryear even today some 40 years later. To me, that's kind of incredible in itself.

Now, Gainesville days were happy days. My Papa was special and he took good care of us.

He was a cowboy. He had been forced to sell his home place when his brothers and sisters wanted their fair shares, but he never gave up his love of horses and cattle so he had a small place and he leased a bunch of ranch land. We spent a lot of time helping him take care of things around the places.

I learned to ride at an early age and like to brag that I grew up on a back of a horse. That's not entirely true, but we did ride a lot and looked forward to those times. Later on, my Papa also bought us our own little horse that we had down on our tiny hacienda in the Valley.

Fun times. It's almost amusing that I look at it that way because sometimes he worked me pretty good. I helped him haul hay a couple of times and we worked cattle and all kinds of other chores. But, I guess I tend to look at it as good times mostly and overlook the work and the sweat.

As I was sitting by that sculpture this morning, I was taken back to that place and time when things were simple and easy and they just made sense.

My Papa has been gone a long time. So have his horses and all those cows. The land has all changed and I doubt I could even find it anymore. Those old Blue Jays are dead and gone and have been replaced by newer just as loud versions reminding me of the good ole days. Thinking those thoughts that I am now typing made me feel a little weird and a little sad, but I am so thankful for those good ole days and my Papa and the wonderful memories that I have of him and being his favorite.

I wouldn't take the world for them.

From my father I learned a work ethic, from my Papa I learned that there's always tomorrow.

Thanks, Papa, for the wonderful memories and the knowledge that tomorrow is sometimes soon enough.

And, thank you Blue Jays for being so dang loud and proud and for taking me back.

Tyson the Flying Dog

I've told this story one million times verbally, so I thought I would take a shot at writing it down because I was one of the few people that has ever seen a flying dog.

Well, the dog didn't really fly. At least, not on his own. He flew, but he had a little bit of help.

Once upon a time we lived in a house on Cedar Creek in Abilene. Our children were raised in this house as was my roommate for the most part.
It was a happy time for us for the most part.

Across the street lived a family with a couple of really rotten boys. One of them was worse than the other and the other actually turned out to be a really good person.
But, these boys were everywhere and out of control. They were always at our house and getting into everything and getting into trouble.

They had a boxer named Tyson.

Tyson was a good dog as most boxers are and really gentle and easy going.

One day the boys were playing in the street as they often did. Cedar Crest street was our address and not such a bad street. But the side street by our house and the neighbor's house was College Drive which is sort of busy. It's one of the main thoroughfares linking Abilene Christian University with the rest of Abilene.
So, consequently, college kids drive down this street pretty often and they also often speed.

The boys were playing in the street and Tyson was right there amongst them playing as he often did.
I was working in the yard and noticed their usual antics and yelled at them to get out of the street and watch out for the dog because he could get hit by a speeding car.

As soon as I yell, sure enough here comes a car being driven by ACU coeds. The story might have been different if they had been driving something else, but lucky for us the young lady was driving a Pontiac Fiero which is tiny.

I like to say in my story that they were going 50 MPH, but honestly I really don't know how fast they were going.
But, they were going pretty fast.

They hit Tyson pretty hard right before my eyes.

As the title of my story says, Tyson took off in flight. In my mind, he is spinning around and around in slow motion and I can still see it vividly as I type this.
He sailed an incredible distance and at least 10 to 15 feet in the air.

After viewing this with my mouth open, I take off on a run towards the street but have to hop down two terraces about four to five feet high each.
By then, the boys are crying at the top of their lungs. I am running and finally get down the terraces and onto street level.

As soon as I hit the street, Tyson comes running by me at top speed heading towards his house. Again, as before, my mouth has dropped open in unbelief as I realize this dang dog is not even injured.
Everybody runs to the neighbors house following Tyson.
By the time we get there, the college girls are pulling up in their sports car and they get out shaking with mixed fear and grief at what had just happened.

We examine the dog all together and are amazed that this amazing little beast just got hit by a car at that speed and flew through the air so high and so far and was not even scratched. I have been impressed with the toughness of boxers ever since this day.

This is my story and I have told it a lot. A million times s a bit of a stretch but I have told it as many times as I can find somebody to listen.
Thanks for listening as I amuse myself one more time with what I think is an amazing story.

Tyson is long gone. The neighborhood boys are grown and moved off and I have moved on as well.
But, Tyson the flying dog is still among one of my favorite stories and I love to share it with others.

My Ole Pappy and the South Rim

Growing up in the Taylor household was not always a picnic. I did my best to protect myself and stayed outside and out of trouble as much as I could, but there were often outbursts that couldn't be helped it seemed.

I do have some good childhood memories and even some of them involve my immediate family.

But, I will admit things could have been a lot better.

A case could be made that folks did the best with what they had to work with and I am not opposed to that at all.

But, the truth is what it is as they like to say these days.

My favorite memories of my Ole Pappy were actually adult memories.

Twice in my adult years I met my Mom and Dad on Interstate Highway 10 west of San Antonio and we drove to Big Bend National Park.

We stayed at the Lodge in the Basin up in the Chisos Mountains. The entrance to the Chisos Mountains is pictured above and is a very scenic area and especially when you get into the Basin.

On the first trip, the two of them and myself climbed Emory Peak which is the highest peak in Big Bend at 7,825 feet. That doesn't sound like much of a mountain but it is 3,000 feet above the Basin floor from where your hike starts.

My Mom struggled.

She gave it a good shot, but it was too much for her and she quit about a hundred feet from the top. That was still a nice accomplishment for her.

My Ole Pappy went to the top like it was nothing.

The following trip my Pappy and I hiked the South Rim Loop which is over 13 miles. Pretty long day hike but he handled it well and he was in his 60s.

The Chisos Mountains are an oasis in hundreds of miles of desert. The Basin and surrounding mountains are covered with Pinon Pine, Junipers, Arizona Cypress and some Ponderosa Pines and even a few Aspens. Compared with some of the other magnificent national parks of this country, Big Bend and the Chisos Mountains may not seem like much but after driving so many miles across extremely arid and treeless land it seems pretty incredible.

My Pappy knew all the plants and was like hiking with a tour guide.

Away from the stresses of every day life, he was a lot of fun to be around. He could cut up and joke and was genuinely pleasant.

My brother Roger never really got to experience this side of him and I feel badly about that.

But, I can't change any of that.

Hiking in the Chisos Mountains with my Pappy was a fun time and one of my favorite memories of my father.

Surviving Tough Times

At the intersection of Loop 322 and Oldham Lane in Abilene, Texas there is a cactus growing out of the middle of a Mesquite tree. I first noticed this strange sight a year ago and now I look at it and shake my head nearly every time I drive by it.

Compared to Glacier National Park, or Yosemite National Park it's not really all that amazing. But, it's still kind of a cool sight.

How does a Prickly Pear Cactus grow right in the middle of a tree?

To me, it's just an example of toughness and survival.

It takes a special kind of plant to survive in West Texas. There's not enough rain on a regular basis and the winds are brutal.

Weather wise, it can be tough times on vegetation.

Similarly, it takes a special kind of person to survive and ultimately thrive in tough times.

Let's face it, there have always been tough times.

Look at the people from the Great Depression. They hit rock bottom in 1929. Times were hard and they didn't let up for years. Then, WW II hit and hit hard. That lasted, for America, from 1941 until 1945.

So, pretty much from 1929 through 1945, there were hard times for American citizens.

A lot of people jumped out of buildings in 1929. Those that didn't and kept on keeping on became very tough.

They were tough like that cactus growing out of the middle of the tree. They were survivors.

There were many other times in America when times were tough. The Revolutionary War, the Civil War, WW I, and numerous other recessions all through our history meant hard times for many.

America today is going through a hard time. Nothing like the Great Depression, but a hard time none the less.

How about today's citizen? Are we tough? Are we survivors?

On the surface it looks like we are weenies and will crumble at the drop of a hat. But, really, I think the opposite might be true when all is said and done.

People in general are survivors.

There was a time, not so very long ago, that I thought things were too hard to continue. I thought I couldn't take another single thing happening to us or to me.

Turns out I could take it and not only take it but thrive when all is said and done.

I preferred my life to be easy, but when all is said and done, I may turn out to be like that cactus.

I'm surely not going to lay down and die in drought conditions or heavy winds.

If you think Texting and Driving is Bad

Abilene has a balloon fest every year. It's not a big deal, just a few balloons usually numbering less than 20.

That's not many balloons compared to other fests they have around the country, but Abilene is a lot easier to spell than Alburrqu, uh Albukirke, uh Albuquerque, New Mexico.

I have heard they have as many as 2500 balloons out there and we'd love to go check it out some time.

However, for small town West Texas, 15 to 20 balloons is enough for a good time.

Any more balloons floating around out there and you'd have some issues more than likely.

We didn't make it to the park in time to see them lift off, but maybe the most fun part is chasing the balloons around town trying to get the best views and attempting to figure out where they will come down.

We picked a couple of favorites and followed them mostly.

There was a ReMax Realty balloon, but we can't stand those damn crooked realtors when they are on the ground much less airborne so we paid it no attention.

The balloons were only in the air for slightly more than an hour, but it was a fun hour and we'll do it again in the morning.

Tomorrow, we will try really hard to be on time and watch them take off.

Fun morning, but I have to say that texting and driving is not a good thing. However, balloon viewing and driving is much worse.

People have no concept that there are actually other humans out and about. We are also looking at the balloons but I really don't want to wreck our car.

People would just stop abruptly in the middle of the road viewing the skies. No warnings, no flashers, no blinkers, just randomly stopping.

Part of the challenge became not only viewing the best shots of balloons, but avoiding bad drivers.

Every town's residents think they have the worst drivers, but having taken a recent vacation I am reminded that people drive poorly everywhere.

But, watch out when there's a balloon fest going on.

Balloons are fun to watch and if there's ever one near where you live and you have a chance to go, I highly recommend it.

Ella

Ella is a boxer.

Ella is a mess.

One day I had just gotten a call from work and it was Sunday. I don't really like working on Sunday if I can help it. So, I was a little put out.

I was riding in the car with Lynette and I asked her to say something funny.

She said one word, "Ella". We both instantly received pictures in our brains of Ella and all of her cuteness and character and we both laughed loudly.

If we are ever feeling a little down or blue, our word has become "Ella".

Just thinking about Ella and we can't help but smile.

First Cold Front

It's not exactly a big secret to those that know me, but I am a big fan of cool weather. I love it and I can't stand it when it's hot outside.

I grew up in far south Texas, in the Rio Grande Valley. I hated it at the time, but thinking back, I have a lot of great memories of the Valley.

But, one thing about the place, it is nearly always warm down there. If it ever freezes, they have big problems with the citrus crop.

We moved out of the Valley when I was in junior high school and I will never forget our first winter in the Great White North of Austin, Texas. :)

Yes, that is a joke, but that first winter there we had a freak ice storm which is one of my great memories of child hood. My first real experience with cold weather.

Thinking back, it was just a tiny sheet of ice and they have probably not had more than a few ice or snow storms in the nearly 40 years since.

But, it was just my luck that we happened to get ice my first year out of the valley.

Each year, I eagerly anticipate the first cool front to end the brutal heat of summer in Texas.

Tonight, in Abilene, Texas, we are supposed to have our first cold front of the year. Tomorrow is the first day of Fall and we will have our first cold front when we get up in the morning.

I can't wait.

I might even jump up and click my heels together. That is, if I could still jump up.

The first cold front and the many cold fronts to follow are one of my bigger joys.

Big Sky Country

I wasn't really aware that it rained so little in Montana. I did not do my homework before my trip and obviously I didn't even know I was going on a trip. But, it rains very little there. It snows pretty heavily, but as far as actual rain I was reading that the state wide average is 11 inches per year.
That's about as much as Midland, Texas gets which is pretty dry.

However, in spite of my love for rainy, cloudy weather it is hard to beat the skies of Montana.

As you can see from the picture above which was taken by my lovely roommate, the skies are incredibly blue.
The blue tint of the sky is only matched by the unique color of the glacier water throughout Glacier National Park.

I found myself time after time scanning the cliffs for mountain goats and scenery, and just getting distracted by the color of the sky. It was just amazing.

Montana is not for everybody. If you are into sandy beaches, bikinis or the night life of a New York or a Miami, then Montana is probably not for you.
But, if you are into incredible mountain scenery, and nature, Montana is hard to beat.

Montana is truly the Big Sky Country. I highly recommend a visit.

Things I like

I like a nice, slow stroll along a beach with my lovely friend;

I like the smell of rain;

I like the smell of fresh cut grass especially if I am not cutting it;

I like really tall trees;

I like an ice cold beer;

I like to see wildlife in their natural setting;

I like mountains, big and small;

I like a well played football game;

I like great food and the people that prepare it;

I like a good movie especially on a lazy afternoon;

I like a long, passionate kiss;

I like to create things;

I like a nice hiking trail with unlimited potential;

I like a mountain stream and a waterfall;

I like a mountain lake in the summer;

I like the first cold front of the coming winter;

Funny, but I like a lot of things and you'd think I'd be happier.

I think I'd like to work on that.

A Tree in the Desert

Many years ago I was talking to an Abilene Christian University student and he told me that his grandfather planted a lot of the trees on the ACU campus.

I was impressed with that because Abilene, Texas is basically a desert. It's not as bad as the desert pictured above, but it's pretty dry for the most part. The trees the man's grandfather planted are fairly good sized trees now and a big improvement on the other option, no trees. Without people with foresight planting trees, there would be none of any size at all in this part of the world.

I've planted a lot of trees. Not all of them lived, but most of them did and some of them are getting fairly large now. I consider that making some kind of difference in my life and the lives of people that live here many years from now.

It was my way of making a difference.

There are many ways to make a difference and I don't necessarily recommend planting a tree and leaving it at that, but if that's all you can do then that is something.

Everybody should do something to make a difference in somebody else's life. I hope before I am done with this world, there are a ton of other things that I have done to help others.

I used to have a plan that I would do something each day to help somebody else out in need. A lot of times that meant jump starting a car. Or, carrying somebodies trash out for them. Or, helping somebody in any general way. How about letting somebody in when they are trying to enter a busy highway?

I am not placing a guilt trip on the one person that might actually read this, but what if we all went out of our way to help the people we run into every day.

What if our life time goal was to help as many people in need as we can?

What kind of a difference would that make in this world? Would it be a kinder, gentler world? Would people be less grouchy? Would we learn to love our fellow man and forget about the differences between us?

Let's give it a shot.

Abilene, Texas is not as bleak as Saudi Arabia but what if that man, or somebody else, had not planted a tree?

Last day of vacation

Day 6:

Last Day.

I haven't had internet in days and it's strange how spoiled I am these days.

I am sad in some ways that we are leaving, but on the other hand, there is a lot of beautiful country to drive through today before we get back to Spokane.

The western side of the park is very scenic.

As I wrote on my first day of my trip, Kalispell is a nice city and I would love to live here or nearby. It's got all the essentials of a spoiled boy like me.

We drove the scenic route on the trip back to the airport and it was well worth it.

There are numerous small ranches for sale on the way and my dreamer side is in full effect. Not gonna happen, but a fella can dream can't he?

As we drive further west, there are more of the traditional western tree, the Ponderosa Pine.

There are any number of incredibly scenic lakes along this drive. The Kootenai river dominates the landscape and has some falls along the way that are better than any we saw in Glacier National Park. Spell check is going to have a time with Kootenai. :)

Again, I can't get over the color of the water. It's clear but has a blue shade like I have rarely seen in my life.

Bonners Ferry, Idaho and Sandpoint, Idaho are along our route and again, places I would easily live.

On the down side of our trip back to Spokane was the sky. The sky turned more and more hazy as we drove south. It looked like Los Angeles.

From being so very clear and blue to smog like was a bit of a let down. But, it diminishes nothing from the trip of my life.

We thought we wanted to explore Spokane before we left, but we are tired of being in a car. It took roughly 7 hours to drive from Glacier to Spokane. Of course, there were many stops for eating, pictures, and other miscellaneous stops.

Sadly, we part with our cool convertible and catch a ride back to our hotel and our same old lives.

There was a restaurant right next door to the hotel named the Rusty Moose. If you are ever in Spokane, stop by, the food is great and we thoroughly enjoyed this last meal.

Overall, this was the trip of a life time for me. I hope for many more like this and better in my future, but this one was special in so many ways.

The planning and the heart used to surprise me with this was probably one of the best things anyone has ever done for me and I don't know if I can ever repay my life long roommate.

Day 5 at Glacier

Day 5;

It is chill day. We are physically tired.

We got up, it was 35 degrees at the Swiftcurrent Lodge.

I look up and see mountain goats moving on the cliffs a thousand feet or more above us. Probably, this will be the last time I see any for a while.

What a great morning.

We slowly meander through the park looking for wildlife and just soaking it in.
One last time over Logan’s Pass and it may be my last time ever. I have mixed feelings on that. It took me 50 years to get here and I don’t think I will be alive in another 50 so it may be my last time. But, I don't want it to be. Yet, I have so much to see and do in my lifetime.

We just stop and enjoy the same scenery. No hiking today, we are very sore from the previous days. We really should work out.

We take in several waterfalls. And just soak it all in.

On our 5th and final day in Glacier, we stay at MacDonald lodge. Too much money and the room is not good.

No electrical plugs and not much of anything else. The shower is tiny and the bathroom tinier. This wouldn't be so bad if it didn't cost so much.
The lodge food is way too expensive, so we drive down to the West Glacier cafe again and pay less and the food is probably better. I just don't enjoy paying $17 for a hamburger.

I still have a hard time with how early they close this park down. It's an amazing 75 degrees most of the day. Perfect weather, but again, I have not been here enough to know any better.

This place is a cash machine. All of the lodging is expensive as is the food and everything else. Just figuring on how much they take in at the front gates and seeing how many cars there are in the park, you have to believe they rake in a bunch of cash.

But, it's only open 3 months a year, and you have to figure on government waste.

It's been a great time, probably my best vacation of my life. It was a total surprise and made my heart joyful.

I would like to come back some day, but realize I probably won't and that makes me a little sad. Still, it's hard to be too down about this outstanding time.

We only have the trip across Montana, Idaho and to Spokane left to accomplish.

Good Night Nurse

Good night nurse was a phrase my brother, Roger, used to say.

I've been thinking about my brother a lot lately. The recent death of actor Patrick Swayze who died of the same disease may have brought these thoughts to my mind.
But, also, we have this stray cat that always comes around. Great, great cat and I would take him home if I could. But, I can't.
This cat has a couple of names that we call him, but the other day he comes in with a collar on and somebody put the name Roger on this cool cat.

That was kind of funny to me, but the truth is many people are still hurting over losing Roger.

I talked to his wife, Gayla, the other night by instant message on Facebook. Gayla was married to Roger so long that I consider her my own sister instead of a sister in law.
Roger's boys are still hurting, still grieving. It's been almost 2 years since his passing, but it doesn't seem any easier yet on anybody.

Maybe some day it might.

But, we all expected him to win his fight against cancer. We never expected him to lose and for us to lose. But, he did and we did and the pain still lingers.

Day 4 in Glacier

Today we are going to another part of the park that is only accessible by car from the east side of the park. This is where you supposedly can see more of the bears.

It is now Saturday and the increase in people from Thursday to Friday was dramatic, so I am going to believe that today will be really crowded. It will most likely be especially packed because it’s coming so close in time to the last day of the season up here.
The lodge we are going tonight actually is closing this weekend and we got the last night. I don’t really comprehend why it closes so early because the days have been really warm and there’s no rain or moisture so far.
But, this is my first time here so I really don’t know and I don't have anyone asking me my opinion.

The great little hole in the wall restaurant that we hit last night is closing on the 20th. The nice little people that run the joint will be disbursing back to their regular lives and all the tourists will be back to their worlds as well.

Back in the real world, I will be missing some quality college football games today. :)

But, this trip is way, way worth it.

Unlike the casual football fans, I love college football way more than the No Fun League that they call the NFL.
There’s just way more excitement in college football as well as basketball, but that is a different story and for another time. Now, my heart is in Glacier National Park.

The sun is up on the east side of the park, time to head to the mountains and see our grizzly bears. It will be a huge disappointment if we don’t see at least one.
However, I will say that my day was made yesterday upon seeing the mountain goats.

We took a boat ride on a lake called Swift Current from the lodge at Many Glacier. The lodge sits right on the shore of Swift Current Lake and has spectacular views.
When we come back we need to stay at this place. It was built in 1914-15 and is supposed to look like a Swiss Chalet.
It’s got some character about it. All I know from first hand knowledge is the food in the lounge is excellent as well as the views of the lake and surrounding mountains.
The boat tour, or ride, goes from the main lodge to the other side of the lake. The tourists get off there and walk .2 of a mile to another boat on Lake Josephine.

Lake Josephine is a bit of a nicer, cleaner lake than Swift Current and a little higher in elevation. It is also much deeper.
From there, they take you to the other end of the lake where there are several trail heads.
The trail we hiked was to Lake Grinnell.
Lake Grinnell is another glacier fed lake with, of course, ice cold waters. The waters are so very clear that it is almost amazing.

On the top end of this lake there is a spectacular little water fall plunging quite the distance down the cliffs. Like most of the waterfalls here it is a little weaker than it had been in the late spring and early summer.

At this spot on the side of this beautiful lake, we were able to see big horn sheep.

I would highly recommend this to anyone that asks about what to do at the park.

We have met many interesting characters along the way. Probably the most interesting folks on this segment of our trip were a couple from the Netherlands and another couple from Wisconsin. All these folks are so nice and having a blast and will share anything with you including their binoculars.

I am not coming back again without binoculars.

But, back to people. You always meet people from all over the world in these national parks. I always intend to keep in touch with the ones we talk to for long periods but I never follow up.
When whale watching a couple of years ago, we met these very interesting older people from New York that had seen the world. They had a wealth of information and I meant to keep in touch but I didn’t.
You meet Europeans, Asians, and other Americans that are all out here in the wilderness, or wherever you may be with the same interests as you.
They want to see a whale, or a grizzly or whatever else you are searching for and you have that common interest.

As we hiked back to our location to catch the boat, we saw our first Grizzly bear. It was across the lake and fairly far off, but we could all see it as clear as day.
On the way back on the boat, we spotted another just strolling along above us.
That was possibly the highlight of the trip so far. We hoped to see others later today, but we did not.
We hiked a couple of miles in the morning and about 4 in the afternoon.

Did I mention that I was out of shape?

Hiking is a lot like life. You just keep putting one foot in front of the other and no matter how tired you become you just keep going and going and you finally arrive at your destination, or your goal. Hikers get out our little trail maps and plan out our days and take off.
In life, we just keep going day after day and hopefully get where we need to go but it's not always planned out.
Hiking has boundaries, generally, in that you have a clear cut destination and you do whatever it takes to get there.
If only we were so clear with our lives and set attainable goals. In hiking, you don’t set out to walk 500 miles in a day, so why do we put upon our selves unattainable goals in our lives?
Why don’t we set daily goals like hiking? We can all reach and accomplish certain things in a day’s time. Yet, we often wonder around aimlessly.
I am the most guilty of poor time management and most everyone else sets daily, weekly and yearly goals.

We are staying on this day at Swift Current Lodge. They are rustic rooms that aren’t great but comfortable enough.
No TV, and I missed my entire day of college football. I have no idea who won which games or if any upsets occurred. But, the funny thing is, when the day was done and all the games were played, I somehow didn’t fall over and die because I missed it all.

But, from Swift Current Lodge, there are other trail heads. We took off so bravely on a hike to see some waterfalls and we hoped more grizzly’s.

Did I just mention that I am out of shape?

No grizzlies, but the hike was nice even if it was so very tiring. There was yet another lake and a waterfall called Red Rock Falls. It was yet another excellent waterfall.
There were several young girls swimming and yelling. We pulled off our shoes and stuck our feet in and found out what the screaming was about. The water was ice cold. I wanted to soak my sore foot in it for a while and it did actually make me feel better for a short time.

But, of course, typically of me I slipped on the wet rocks and busted my butt. It only hurt a little bit and was more embarrassing than anything.

This hike really wore us out, but the beauty along the way was inspiring. We didn’t see any wildlife and especially any grizzly bears, but it was a great hike.
It wore us out completely.

Tomorrow we go back out of the high country, circle around and go back to Logan Pass again. Then, we head for McDonald Lodge where we will stay our last night in the park.
We are having a blast, but we are exhausted.

It’s too bad I wasn’t here back when I was in shape.

Years ago, when my old Pappy was alive, we went to Big Bend National Park. I made him hike the South Rim Loop with me, ok, so he wanted to hike the Loop.
That trail is over 13 miles and a lot of it is really steep, with a climb of over 3000 feet in elevation. We did that easily enough. The next day, we hiked some more and I left my dad and my mom and went on another hike. I could have hiked as many miles as I wanted in a day back then.

I think of Christopher Stone who is about to complete the Appalachian Trail in a few weeks. I admire him greatly for that.
I am sure I could walk myself back into shape, but right now it is difficult.

I learned some about plants today and was able to find some wild berries and eat some as I went. We ate some wild huckleberries and some thimbleberries. I noticed the thimble berries a couple of days ago but I didn’t know what they were. They were very tasty and can understand why bears like them.

There aren’t many huge trees in Glacier, but there are some fairly good sized Firs and Spruces. I learned to tell the difference between them today.
There are also a lot of Lodgepole Pines and some Aspens.

The mountains here are rough and rugged and the trees are rare on some of them. They are extremely steep mostly. They are part of the Rocky Mountain chain, but much different in character than the Rockies in Colorado.
There are 26 glaciers here, but there were a lot more 150 years ago which was way before global warming. I hope the glaciers are still around for my grandchildren to see when they are my age and if there is still a planet earth in those days.

This is a very interesting and fascinating park. The mountains are superb as well as all the lakes and the vegetation. However, what sets it apart from many parks is the wildlife.
Yellowstone is the best for wildlife viewing, but Glacier is very good with a grizzly population of about 330, they estimate. Grizzly’s are the main attraction.
I think there are some 600 black bears, but nobody really makes a big fuss over them.
Mountain goats are numerous as are bighorn sheep. We only saw a couple of the sheep, but they come down to the lower elevations when the weather gets colder.
It seems most people we ran into came to see the grizzly’s.

The sky is still a beautiful blue. Not a cloud in the sky. There hasn’t been very many clouds since we have been here and I wonder how much it rains here.
The guy that drove the boat said it was the nicest day of the summer and I can only go off of what I have been told.
It was 38 degrees this morning and 75 this afternoon. Kind of warm on our afternoon hike but very pleasant overall. In the morning, you think you are going to freeze, but by mid morning it has warmed up nicely.
The only exception was the first day we went to Logan’s Pass. It was pretty cold there because of the wind that first day. We hiked on the second day and it was warm and pleasant.

I am drinking a cold beer as I type. Nothing like cold beer in the big sky country.
This beer is called Trout Slayer and it is brewed right here in Missoula, Montana.

I have had an Alaskan ale, a Kokanee beer that is brewed in nearby Canada, and a Blackfoot Indian beer. I have enjoyed them all.
Nothing quite like hiking all day and eating some dinner and then drinking an ice cold beer.
The only thing more I could ask is to know my football scores.
But, I will find those out soon enough.

There is no phone service out here and no internet. I am sure I will have hundreds of junk emails to delete when I get back to civilization.
But, overall, I find that I can do without if necessary. It’s kind of a nice break from the real world. And, what is the real world?
Your real world is what you make it to be.

We have eaten very well here at every place we have stopped. The park service food has been a most pleasant surprise. It is kind of pricey but very, very good.
Hopefully, we have hiked off any excess pounds, but we certainly have eaten well.
Outside the park has been good as well. These guys are all seasonal people and come in for the summer. They are all leaving in a week or two and it’s surprising the quality we have experienced.
I’ve always said it’s hard to mess up a hamburger, but MacDonald’s would argue that. We’ve had several cheeseburgers and buffalo burgers that were out of this world good.
If you are ever in the area, you probably need to eat at the Belton Chalet which is in West Glacier. Excellent eating.

What a day.

Day 3 and a lot of random baloney

Day 3

So, it begins, September 11 a day that will forever live in infamy.

I will never forget that day in 2001 as most of us can say.
But, I was taking care of my dying father when the planes hit the World Trade Centers and I sat there and watched the whole event, glued to my television.

It’s a day that will forever live in my memory in more ways than one, obviously.

The reason I bring that up is that I often think of my father in the woods. He knew every plant that ever grew and I see so many new plants that I am curious about but I don’t carry the books around with me so I remain curious but uninformed.
If only he were here with me to be asked and I think that every time I got out into the woods.

But, at the time, he frustrated the living snot out of me. I wanted to hike and see the big picture and not the little details. I wanted to see what was around the corner, to see what was around the bend, to see what was over the hill.

Now, it’s only myself that is over the hill.
My energy levels were off the charts, but now that I am older I want to stop and smell the roses. I want to learn every detail that I can. Oh, I still want to se what is ahead and to see the big picture, but the little details are more and more interesting to me.
There is nobody here to ask and I miss that. My favorite memories of my dad were in later years when we hiked.

The first couple of nights here have been very enjoyable. We stayed at the Glacier Raft Company’s cabins. They are equipped with everything and have fantastic views from the West Entrance of Glacier Mountain National Park. Last night, I perused the Glacier National Park guide book and saw for the first time that the owners of the raft company were technical advisors for the movie a River Wild starring Meryl Streep.
She is a fantastic actress and the movie is enjoyable because of her and the fantastic scenery.
I would like to come back some day and run the river with these guys, but there is so much to see in this world and I doubt I make it back this way, unfortunately.
The cabins are rustic, but nice. They are amusing in some ways because nearly everything in the cabin has some kind of typed out sign right beside it with detailed instructions.

I think of my own father in the woods, but when I see signs on light switches or toilets, I think of Lynette’s daddy.
Like my own father, he was frustrating at times, but later on you learn to appreciate. Every time I see a note attached to something with info that should be obvious, I think of him and chuckle a bit.
I miss the old guy.
One of my favorite signs, and the most obvious, was on some of our rental properties.

In lovely West Texas, there are no basements to speak of. A one story building is a one story building. Mr. Hill, Lynette’s daddy, had a sign made up stating ‘ground level, nice’. This particular rental unit was a one bedroom in a really flat building and it couldn’t have been more obvious that the unit was on the first floor. Today, nearly 20 years later, we still laugh about that sign.
The signs may be obvious, but a lot of people need obvious instructions and I don’t blame the sign placers for their frustrations with people not being able to do the smallest things.

I will never be a sign placer or an all plant knower, but I have learned to appreciate the old ones and their ways.
No matter what we think of them, their hearts were in the right place.

I can relate to Lynette’s daddy in a few more ways now than I can my own dad. He moved off to California and started a business. He had investors. The business failed and he failed and had to answer up to his investors.

His wife suffered greatly through the process.
But, he kept his head up and restarted his life instead of laying down and quitting and he died a successful man.
He is an inspiration for those that have tried and failed. Keep your head up and keep churning away and success will come.

If you never try anything, you will never fail. But, at the same time, you will never get anywhere. Life is full of people that never try anything and I don’t want to be that guy.
A person should do what they set out to do, but a person has to set out to do something first.

It’s off to the mountains.

We got an early start this morning, about an hour earlier than yesterday.
There is construction on the Going to the Sun highway and we were first in line. The signal flag lady said we could get out and stretch our legs and we could look around.

When we left for the park in the morning, I was determined I was going to see a mountain goat.
Sure enough, right there above us were several of them just climbing around on the cliffs.
What a beautiful sight and it made my day.

Plenty more delights would be in store.

It was on to Logan’s Pass.

At Logan’s Pass we hit a hiking trail.
We are in horrible physical shape and that was clear early on. But, I didn’t feel too badly since everyone else going up was huffing and puffing, too.
We climbed only 400 feet on a trail to Hidden Lake overlook. The hike was only a couple of miles round trip, but it made us plenty tired.
Along the way, we saw about 7 more mountain goats.
Mountain goats just climbed up my list of favorite mammals. They are incredible and fascinating to watch. Some of the places they go, only a mountain goat or a few select other animals can go.
We watched them with great fascination as they hopped around nearly straight up and down cliffs like it was nothing.
One of them stood out on the edge of the cliff and was hit by direct sunlight illuminating it into an almost ghostlike appearance.

There fur is thick and very white which makes them very easy to spot.
Lynette took lots of pictures and I hope they are visible but they were very high above us and I am not sure how clear.
The destination of our hike was Hidden Lake. What an incredibly beautiful sight that was. We hung out there for quite a while talking to others but mostly just taking it all in. The lake is glacier water and as clear as anything I have ever seen with a slight blue tint. The word incredible as a description really doesn’t do much justice for it.

Above us, a few mountain goats just sat there on a ledge just chilling. Below us, was one of the more beautiful little lakes that I have ever had the pleasure to see.

After coming down from Logan’s Pass, we came by Saint Mary lake again. It was beautiful yesterday, but even more so today. The water is so blue, and there was not a single ripple on it. Everything reflected off the water even tiny little clouds that calmly floated by. There was a tiny waterfall on the mountain across from us which was barely visible. It reflected off of the water almost as clearly as the real waterfall.
Amazing sight, and Saint Mary might be the prettiest of all the lakes.

We made it through our hike and came to our next destination for the night, the small community of Saint Mary.
It’s not quite as scenic here as West Glacier, but it is still in the mountains and you can clearly see the high up mountains that are the bulk of the park.
We are trying to get our room in the lodge at Saint Mary.

On the downside of our trip is fire damage to the park. Some of the scenery has been temporarily ruined by the fire of 2003.
However, fire is necessary for the health of the forest. It is just too bad that many, many acres of trees were dead because of the fire.
The downside is minimal compared to all the grandeur around us. There is fire damage on both the west side and the east side of the park.
I don’t see, judging from the lack of rain we have seen, how the forests will recover in our lifetimes.

As I already wrote, once you get to Saint Mary, the scenery drops off in quality dramatically. It is the end of the beautiful mountains and the beginning of the Great Plains.
Saint Mary has little to offer other than a rip-off hotel and a small grocery store. However, there is a little dive that serves great hamburgers and pie.

Hard to beat hamburgers and pie. :)

Especially after an amazing day in one of America's amazing places.




9-11-2009 has been a much better day than the one we had in 2001.

Glacier National Park Day 2

Day 2:
Really, it’s the first day in the park. But, yesterday was such an adventure that it’s hard not to count it as part of the Glacier experience.
Our little rental car is a convertible Mustang and if you ever want to search for a dead body in the trunk of a car, I would skip these Mustangs. You can’t get much of anything at all in the trunk. We put one suitcase in the trunk and the other in the back seat which was fine unless you had to stop somewhere.
But, for cruising the mountain roads, it’s nearly perfect. You can take the top off and see so much you can’t see in a regular car. Mountains straight up on both sides of the car at times and nothing obstructing the views.

The weather is incredible. It was 42 when we got up early this morning and the last I looked it was 70 and mostly sunny.
Hard to beat that coming from Texas where it’s been mostly in the upper 90s.
I don’t know what the temps were at the higher elevations but I can deal with 42 as a low just about any old time.
Montana is the Big Sky Country, but it’s more than that. It’s the really big, blue sky country. Up here in the higher altitudes, away from the air pollution of the thickly populated areas of our wonderful nation, the sky is blue beyond belief.
At one point during the day, we were waiting on construction crews. Unlike the hot areas of the world, it was no real big thing to sit and wait on the construction to let us pass. We were looking up at the mountains and watching really white clouds blow past and the skies were a blue that has to be seen to believe.
That was a truly great experience in itself.
Lake McDonald is quite the sight. It’s the third really beautiful lake we have run across so far, but it won’t be the last. Later in the day we came to Saint Mary Lake which fell in line with the others. Very, very scenic.
Really, right now, if I had to pick the prettiest of the lakes we have seen I wouldn’t be able to take a clear winner because they are all outstanding. One thing about Saint Mary Lake that might have set it apart is the surroundings. The glacier covered mountains of the park rise thousands of feet above the surface making it an incredible sight.
Lot’s of waterfalls in the park. We did a 1.6 mile round trip hike to Saint Mary Falls which was a nice little walk in the woods. I probably don't need to say that it was well worth the hiking distance, but I will anyway. It was well worth the hike.
Another very nice waterfall was McDonald Falls which was right on the road and the very first waterfall we saw in the park.

None of the falls were huge. Although, Bird Woman Falls were pretty tall, the width was not significant and it was dying out from the end of the season. Expect it to be a lot better in late Spring when the snow melt is so huge. I think late May or early June would be possibly the best times to see Glacier but I am not sure how early it opens up.

The Falls here don’t match anything at Yosemite or Yellowstone, but they are still outstanding and worth viewing.
Logan Pass is a bit crowded for my taste. The visitor center is crammed full of people most of the day.

But, in the scheme of things it is a pure joy to behold. I think the high there today was in the high 50s. The wind was blowing hard through there in the morning and it was actually a bit cold.
I am a little surprised by the lack of elevation of the local peaks. I did not know much before I came and I still have much to learn.

They seem much higher than 10,000 feet, but the tallest in the park is about 10,400 feet.
Logan Pass is 6646 feet which is not all that high and wouldn’t seem to be that cold, but it feels pretty nippy up there. Probably, it is not elevation as much as it how far north it is.
We didn’t see much wildlife today, just a few deer and smaller mammals.

Tomorrow, we are determined to see a bear and some mountain goats. Supposedly, they are visible often in the Logan Pass area.
They love the high up cliffs and their coats are bright white. Shouldn’t be hard to find one if they are out and about.
A bear might be another story.

Going to the Sun Road is the only real road in the park, or the only one that is substantial and goes all the way through.
This road is incredible to drive on and of course, very scenic. It is extremely narrow at some points and two full size vehicles can barely pass each other. It is also under construction. There were a lot of delays and we found out later that it didn't open until July because it was wiped out by an avalanche.
But, as I talked about earlier when I was enjoying the color of the sky, the delays were actually enjoyable. For one thing, it’s just not hot up here. Another reason is there is so much scenery to enjoy while you are waiting on the flag person to let you by.
Parts of the road have no rails and it’s a steep drop off making for an exciting drive. They are probably widening the road somewhat and improving it.
It would be sort of an inconvenience if you are in a hurry. But then, if you are in a hurry in this park you are making a huge mistake.

The food in the park, or right out side of the park has been surprisingly good. I don’t know how they got anybody talented to work out here in the wilderness, but we have had some really good meals. Maybe chefs like to see all of this scenery, too.
Huckleberries are a big thing here, so are Cherries. I think we missed on the fresh cherries but we have had some good huckleberries.

We had dinner at the Belton Chalet tonight which is located right outside the park and it was extremely good. The soup was as good as any I have ever had.
Go figure.

I think a lot of the people here are transients. They work here in the warmer months and head to warmer climates. Apparently, this whole area pretty much shuts down in the winter time which is too bad because it would be an incredible sight with all the snow.

What a day it was. My first full day in Glacier National Park. Incredible place

Glacier National Park Trip of a Lifetime

All of my life I have dreamed of coming to Glacier National Park and now I am here. After all this time I want to remember everything I can about this place. Lynette is taking pictures and I need to help remember exact details of each.

1st day

First of all, I didn’t know I was even coming to Glacier National Park. It was a complete surprise for my birthday dreamed up by my wonderful life long roommate, Lynette.
I thought I was going to drive to Colorado and then I thought we were going to fly to Denver and get a rental car and see the Rockies.

But, we boarded another plane for Spokane, Washington. I was a bit disappointed at first because I had my heart set on the big mountains of Colorado and I was thinking about all I wanted to see there.
When we boarded the plane to Spokane, my poor little brain tried attacking my memory cells to recall all I knew about Spokane, Washington.
Sorry to say it wasn’t much. I was disappointed in myself as I have pride in my geographical knowledge.

I thought it was along the southern coast of Washington for a few minutes and then I remembered that it was the Northwest corner of the state. I am disappointed to say that I didn’t remember too many details about that section of Washington.

I found out soon enough that Spokane is beautiful. That might be a trip of it's own some day.

I was still in the dark about her plans for me until she needed my help with navigation. Then, she spilled the beans.
By then, I kind of had an idea of what was in store for me but wasn't totally sure. I was in heaven.

Spokane is near the Washington state line, so we were soon in Idaho heading east on Interstate 90. That part of Idaho is stunningly beautiful. I hope I can spell it right but Lake Coeur D’Alene is incredible. She snapped off a few pictures that really didn’t do the lake justice really because of it’s awesomeness.
She got a rental car that was a convertible mustang which helped in our sightseeing immensely. I wouldn't go back to the mountains without one if I have any say in the matter.

Nothing to constrain the views.

Can the word stunning be used too much? How about the word awesome? Or Incredible, or even beautiful?
No words can really explain thoroughly the beautiful scenery of some parts of the great American West.
Yes, I love the East Coast and want to live there mostly because of family and it has it's own share of beauty, but nothing can replace the great American West in my heart. Ever.

We have not even gone into Glacier yet because we left the Dallas, Texas airport at 9 AM and got to Spokane at 1:20 Pacific time.
We rented a car and started driving. Lynette was told that it took 4 hours from Spokane to Glacier but it was upwards of 5. So, we didn’t get here until almost dark.
Some more scenery along the way that took the breath away was Flathead Lake. It wasn’t too impressive coming in from the West. Pretty, yes, but you couldn’t get a real feel for how great it was until you started to drive around it.
The lake is huge and the waters so blue and beautiful.

Again, even though my sweet one took lots of pictures, none can
really do the justice of the greatness of the rugged mountains in the background. There were nice homes and marinas containing nice boats.
Overall, just an really beautiful area.

Kallispell, Montana is a very scenic little city which most Americans have never heard of. It lies at the base of the mountains containing Glacier National Park.
It has all the chain restaurants and stores including the Walmart’s and Target’s and 5 Guy burgers. What more do you need?

I would live there.

We ate in a little dive by the gate of the park. Probably a bit too pricey on their food, but that’s the nature of the beast. Burgers were good, the beer was cold and the pie was excellent. What more do you want other than cheap prices?
The pie was Huckleberry crème and it was incredible. It had a lot of extras on it besides huckleberry and was kind of rich for some but we had no problem finishing ours off.
The beer was from Canada and I probably will never see it again, but it was really good and I was thirsty after a long day of travel. I can’t even recall the name of it right now, but it was a pale ale.

It was called the West Glacier Cafe so if you are ever in the area drop in.

She found a cabin that is really nice called the Glacier Raft Company. It had everything but no internet access. Ha, are we spoiled!
But, a day off the internet never really killed anyone yet, has it? We aren’t at home are we?

Montana is really huge. Not as big as Texas, but a big ole state and needs my attention badly. I always joke around about wanting to live here, and when all is said and done I probably don’t have the gall to just take off and come here. But, this part of the state is really incredibly scenic.
I have not experienced the winter here, but the summer is hard to beat.

More on another day.