Back inland
Morning troops. Well, the librarians are decidedly normal in Montana. Maybe Canada has particularly strict 'equal opportunities' employment guidelines? "(Act 3, Subsection 9: "All Canadian librarians must have at least 2 very obvious deformities, see subsection 10 for the definition of 'deformity'...") Nothing like a little political correctness eh?!
Since Vancouver we've gone east to Glacier National Park via the Okanagan Valley. The valley is famed for it's warm climate and excellent wines. We naturally spent a long afternoon wine tasting just to make sure that their claims were in fact legitimate. I think we found one that was decent (though Em would argue two), although when we proudly took our bottle back to the campsite it wasn't quite as decent! (I think it was because, try as you might, wine just doesn't taste good from plastic cups!) I soon discovered that I've officially become a lightweight through lack of booze this trip- two cups of wine was more than enough to upset my balance! The weather has since got colder and we enjoyed 18 degrees in the daytime which dropped to below freezing at night.
After spending another night in an idillic campsite in Montana we got talking to a chap in his truck. Our conversation went something as follows:
Hick: "So d'ya see any moose?"
Us: "Not yet- it's very beautiful here though isn't it?"
Hick: "Yeeep. This here is Gaaawd's country. I always said if Gawd had a diallin' code it'd be 406, Montana- yep siree."
Us: "...that's nice!"
This was coming from a chap with a battered baseball hat, a Bible on the dashboard, a large rifle by his side and an unusually quiet wife next to him. We were understandably cordial. After that we headed to Glacier National Park where we spent a few days chillin' with Oliver (another German hostelkeeper!) at the North Fork Hostel and Squarepeg Ranch in Polebridge. It reminded me a lot of the TV show 'Northern Exposure' given that there are only 10 year-round inhabitants of Polebridge! Described as being 'ultra-rustic' in our Bible we did some proper 'ranch style' living 'sans electricite' in Polebridge. However, our book didn't mention that there was in fact an outside woodfired hot-tub there. We spent a very pleasant evening under the most incredibly clear night sky watching shooting stars whilst soaking in the tub. Awesome stuff. (NB- I counted at least 3 more shooting stars than Em..!) Poor Em was mostly ill with a cold for our Glacier trip and we limited ourselves to very short walks and the odd bike ride. I certainly wasn't complaining after our marathon efforts in Jasper! Glacier was a very picturesque place, the scenery of which differed greatly to that of Jasper and Banff before it. We should have some photos for you soon!
So, lastly, we've driven east to Butte (no jokes please) in Montana where we're due to descend upon Yellowstone tomorrow, home of the 'Old Faithful' geyser!
Since Vancouver we've gone east to Glacier National Park via the Okanagan Valley. The valley is famed for it's warm climate and excellent wines. We naturally spent a long afternoon wine tasting just to make sure that their claims were in fact legitimate. I think we found one that was decent (though Em would argue two), although when we proudly took our bottle back to the campsite it wasn't quite as decent! (I think it was because, try as you might, wine just doesn't taste good from plastic cups!) I soon discovered that I've officially become a lightweight through lack of booze this trip- two cups of wine was more than enough to upset my balance! The weather has since got colder and we enjoyed 18 degrees in the daytime which dropped to below freezing at night.
After spending another night in an idillic campsite in Montana we got talking to a chap in his truck. Our conversation went something as follows:
Hick: "So d'ya see any moose?"
Us: "Not yet- it's very beautiful here though isn't it?"
Hick: "Yeeep. This here is Gaaawd's country. I always said if Gawd had a diallin' code it'd be 406, Montana- yep siree."
Us: "...that's nice!"
This was coming from a chap with a battered baseball hat, a Bible on the dashboard, a large rifle by his side and an unusually quiet wife next to him. We were understandably cordial. After that we headed to Glacier National Park where we spent a few days chillin' with Oliver (another German hostelkeeper!) at the North Fork Hostel and Squarepeg Ranch in Polebridge. It reminded me a lot of the TV show 'Northern Exposure' given that there are only 10 year-round inhabitants of Polebridge! Described as being 'ultra-rustic' in our Bible we did some proper 'ranch style' living 'sans electricite' in Polebridge. However, our book didn't mention that there was in fact an outside woodfired hot-tub there. We spent a very pleasant evening under the most incredibly clear night sky watching shooting stars whilst soaking in the tub. Awesome stuff. (NB- I counted at least 3 more shooting stars than Em..!) Poor Em was mostly ill with a cold for our Glacier trip and we limited ourselves to very short walks and the odd bike ride. I certainly wasn't complaining after our marathon efforts in Jasper! Glacier was a very picturesque place, the scenery of which differed greatly to that of Jasper and Banff before it. We should have some photos for you soon!
So, lastly, we've driven east to Butte (no jokes please) in Montana where we're due to descend upon Yellowstone tomorrow, home of the 'Old Faithful' geyser!
posted by Ben Deacon at 5:59 PM
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