Great Falls was an unexpected challenge to the Lewis & Clark and the Corps of Discovery. At first, encountering a waterfall was an exciting moment. It meant that the Corps of Discovery—tasked with following the Missouri River and (hopefully) discovering a passage to the Pacific Ocean—was on the right route, according to intelligence collected from local tribes.
Cracker Lake Trail is a 12 mile hike deep into Glacier National Park through grizzly territory. The 1,400 foot elevation gain may be less than half of what we experienced in Big Pine but is still considered "strenuous" by many hiking metrics. In the course of the hike, we encountered waterfalls, glaciers, a wide range of ecosystems, a bull moose, and a grizzly bear.
Some people think that bacon makes everything better. I maintain that prosciutto makes everything better. Tonight, I wrapped chicken thighs in prosciutto to cook in the cask iron skillet. Having learned from my time consuming first experience of cooking chicken over a campfire, I bought boneless chicken. It was skinless—the prosciutto would make a more flavorful replacement. While I did add some salt and pepper, truly, the prosciutto was what defined the meal.
We had lunch in a ghost town. There were skulls on the walls, animal flesh on the table, and partially collapsed buildings all around.
Going-to-the-Sun road is the premier throughway spanning Glacier National Park—from West Glacier to St. Mary. The road snakes from valley floors to the height of Logan Pass and back down. Along the way are awesome waterfalls, dramatic cliffs, no shortage of massive glaciers, and plenty of wildlife. We encountered both mountain goats and big horned sheep, which only leaves "grizzly bear" on our great outdoors bingo cards.
Well that's just great. There is no grate. Since we couldn't find a camping spot in Glacier National Park, we had to settle on a private camping ground outside of the park. We settled on one what advertised having WiFi but whose router was on the fritz. But, hey, it was somewhere the sleep.
That didn’t take long. We drove in to Glacier National Park to find a camping site and, instead, we found a bear. We really messed up this time. I knew this was high season but naively assumed that whatever challenges…
I was 7 when I came face to face with a bear. It was gigantic. But, then again, I was seven.
Helena, Montana was a mining town. A lot of towns around here were mining town. Gold was discovered in Confederate Gulch and with each successive discovery, more people poured into the region. Most of the people who remain in Helena have government jobs, be they county, state, or federal. Helena is, after all, the state capitol. It also possesses a pleasant mountain with a moderate hike.
We are trying something new. We wanted to get a lot of work done so we are spending a week at an extended stay hotel.