Month: August 2023

                             There’s lots to cover today, so get your cup of your desired beverage and set a spell! Glacier National Park is a gem, and contained within are the photos, stories, and of course, a few lessons to prove it!

I made my Miss Google Maps lady’s voice have a British accent, so its fun to hear her pronounce Glacier. Over there it’s pronounced Glaass- EE-ur. So now try to get that out of your mind every time you read Glacier!                

The word on the street is that you need at least five days in order to do Glacier National Park any justice.

That word would be correct.

But we only had two, so we made the best of it and jammed as many sights as we could into them. A return visit is certainly not out of the question.

                   There is a lot to see here, and if you get an early enough start you can cram a lot into a day. The issue is getting from desired sight to site (pun and spelling intentional!).

                   Glacier National Park is our twelfth largest, so it’s got some nice area to it. But that’s not the problem with fitting a lot into a day. It’s where all of the various highlights are located. There are several distinct regions of the Park, and they are not necessarily connected. To get from one to another you need to exit the Park and travel around its perimeter until the desired region is reached. That is because this place sits smack dab in the middle of the Rocky Mountains and getting from Point A to Point B is definitely not a straight line. In fact, even when there is road that connects two points, that road is about as straight as a toddler’s scribble on piece of paper.

But it makes for an exciting ride!

You know the kind, incredibly narrow roads cut into the mountainsides in the 1920’s when cars were as wide as carriages, precipitous drop-offs that are literally inches from the sides of the roads, thankfully lined with some big boulders and cemented rock walls but are only about eighteen inches tall. DO NOT look over the edge! It will only scare you to death!

Instead, just look out across whatever mountainside you are clinging to and take in the entire vista! We found these to be every bit as impressive as say, Yosemite or Zion.

                   It’s named Glacier National Park for a reason and that reason is slowly dwindling from sight. We were not in the section of the Park that most of the Glaciers are located in but were able to spy the only glacier that is visible from the road without having to hike to.

Across from the Viewpoint sat Jackson Glacier.

He looked sad.

 Unfortunately it was not as impressive as it has been in the past. For one, it’s August and the snowfields that surround it for a good portion of the year have melted, and second, the Global Warming Trend that is so controversial, has taken an obvious toll on Jackson and all of his friends around here.

Presently there are twenty-five named glaciers within the Park which used have close to ninety glaciers as recently as the 1950’s. They are all scheduled for the Wicked Witch of the West treatment by the middle of this century if our Warming Trend, real or imagined, is not brought under control or reverses itself.

          Anyway, Mr. Jackson was one of the highlights of a trip on the “Going-to-the-Sun Road” which spans the breadth of the Park and is as cool to traverse as its name implies. We did it three times and by the time we were done we could have qualified as one of the “Jammers” that drive the 1930’s era Touring Cars that bring paying passengers on a semi-private tour with twenty of their new best friends.

          This Park, and many of the other really popular Parks, have had to fall back on a plan to reduce the stress on the Parks from too many eager visitors. The most popular tool used is that of a Daily Reservation for entry into either the Park or maybe just the more popular sections.

          We had two passes. One for a single day admission to the Two Medicine area, and the second was a three-day pass for the main artery running through the Park, the Going-to-the-Sun Road.

          On our first day we went to the remote Two Medicine area for a short hike that turned into a relatively long hike, that story is forthcoming. But first we’ll go back to the Entry Ticket system. This system is quite successful. No one wants to be jam-packed into a Park. So, in order to be appreciated, it must be held somewhat under control with respect to how many eager visitors are able to visit along with you on any given day. The process is easy, it’s “On-Line” and it is definitely not a huge profit center for the Parks as the fee for the Reservation is only two dollars per vehicle. They are issued on a first-come, first-served basis. The tickets are released four months in advance and a number of them are held until 8AM of the day before. I found zero issues logging on at 8AM the previous day and procuring what we needed.

          Oh, and this system is only in place for the High Season where some control is warranted.

          And, most National Parks are open 24/7 and this entry system is usually in place for 6AM until 3PM, so if you want to get in early or arrive a tad later, then no daily permit is needed.

          So, let’s get back to those “Jammers” that drive these really cool vehicles. They are called “Jammers” because back in the day, from the 1930’s and before 1987 when automatic transmissions replaced the old manual trannies, the gear grinding was quite obvious as the “Double-Clutch Method” of changing gears was mandatory, thus the sound of jamming the gears!

These vehicles were used in most of the Parks out West for a few decades until the more popular Drive Yourself auto became the mode du jour. Here in Glacier, with that aforementioned “Going-to-the-Sun Road” becoming so popular (and harrowing) these Touring Cars remained very prevalent. Glacier is the only Park where they are still used and get this, they are the Original Vehicles! Now, obviously they have been re-built over the years and some modern attributes have been added such as a larger motor, power brakes (Yay!!!) and the old wooden chassis have been replaced with an elongated and modified F-350 one. In fact, Ford Motor Company donated over seven million dollars to the entire re-fit process, but as you can see, they have retained all of their unique, old-school charm!

          We left our site in the West Columbia RV Park which is on the west side of the Park at 6:30AM and drove down and around the bottom of the Park, and up the east side until we came to the Two Medicine area nice and early, which one needs to do if you want to escape whatever crowds will be on the trails later on. These are no glaciers here, just a pretty lake, some big peaks, and some great hiking trails. Now don’t get any misconceptions here. Paula and I are not “Avid Hikers” by any stretch. We are however, “Avid Dreamers of Hiking” and when the opportunity presents itself, take advantage of our locale and participate to the best of our overweight ability. (I still haven’t shed the “World Cruise Eight” (as I affectionally call my hangers-on)

And we’re at Elevation (about 4000’) and we’ve spent more than our share of time going from doctor’s office to doctor’s office, and the sun was in my eyes, and I stepped on a rock, and there may be mosquitos around…… (have I given enough excuses yet 😊)

          They have stopped rating the trails as Easy, Moderate, and Difficult and have adapted a system not unlike the Ski Areas use, but just slightly modified, these are, Green Circle, Yellow Square, and Red Diamond, and they start with Less Challenging, then on to Challenging, and finally Very Challenging. Note the words Easy and Moderate are nowhere to be found.

          We were looking for our friendly Green Circle trail to Aster Falls which was only 1.3 miles one way, and an elevation gain of 197 feet.

          Totally doable as we had no time limits except our own. We got to the Falls which were quite nice and there we saw a sign that said Aster Park – 0.7 miles. Aster Park ostensibly had the other Holy Grail of hiking, an Overlook! We felt pretty good, we had our water, a snack, and thankfully our Lekki Poles which are adjustable walking sticks/ ’ski poles’ with shock absorbers with us. They proved invaluable as we now were going up an additional 600’ of elevation. None of this can be construed as anything remotely difficult if you are considered to be in the previously mentioned category of Avid Hiker, which of course we are not!

          Onward and upward, we slogged our way through dense forest, tangling underbrush, clinging vines, and dangerous wildlife, wielding our machetes from side to side, pausing only to swat the bird-sized mosquitos that were dive-bombing us with ferocious regularity.

          Well, that what it seemed like except there was no underbrush, vines, or mosquitos, just a narrow path that a few times became a little steep. We did not even need the Lekki Poles to fend off the Grizzly Bears that frequent this area. They did come in handy for their intended use however. We were rewarded with an impressive early morning view of Two Medicine Lake and its surroundings.

We were hoping to see a moose, which frequent these parts, or maybe an elk, but all we saw were chipmunks and a Black Squirrel who scared the bejeezus out of Paula when he accosted her on the trail.

No prisoners were taken by either side.

Upon our descent we encountered the Hordes of Latecomers, those other Non-Avid Hikers who slept in that morning. We were thankful that we got our early start and realized that the secret to seeing these Parks is to GET OUT EARLY!

Down at Base Camp we thanked our Sherpas and had a nice “Hiker’s Lunch” of carrot sticks, cheese, some tuna and crackers, all washed down with some flavored fizzy waters.

My first mistake was sitting on the ground for lunch. It was not the ants crawling on me trying to steal my lunch that was the problem. It was the simple act of standing up after that “Hike of the Century”. I was fairly sore, but it was that good kind of “sore”, the satisfying one. We were quite proud of ourselves because we did not collapse in a heap on the Trail only to be eaten by a bear or need to be carried unceremoniously and embarrassingly back down to the Base by pissed off Rangers.

We decided that for the afternoon we would reconnoiter for the next day which was our drive on the extensive (45 mile) “Going-to-the-Sun Road”. We would enter from the East, which would be the exact opposite from where we would enter the next day. Besides, it was a direct way back to our RV Park.

          Here comes our first lesson of the day and that is how important ‘light’, and its source, direction, and intensity affect your photos. (Everyone takes photos when we’re away on Vacation. Do just a little bit of homework and you will find that your photos will improve nicely. There are even courses that you can take specifically for your cell phone.)

          And… how we see what is in front of us, vs. the way that our digital/film cameras or cell phone cameras do.

There have been many times when I have not snapped a pic because even with the magic of my old-fashioned darkroom to play in, or nowadays, the equally important Light Room software (an Adobe product that I use to “develop” my “film” that is used for digital photography) there wasn’t even a chance that the scene would reproduce nicely enough for viewing.

          Did you ever get your photos back from the drugstore and say to yourself, “I remember these scenes being much more colorful, clearer, and by extension, impressive? You’re not alone and that is because our eyes have the ability to enhance and clarify, even if it’s in our ‘mind’s eye’, the scenes in front of us.  Film or megabytes can only record what is presented to them, they do not know what’s good or pretty, they only want the facts, just the facts. “Click”…..

That is where we, and our technology, come in with film or digital processing. We get to reproduce what we “saw” when we took the photo. Of course, there are extremes, like when you look at a photo and the colors are way too saturated and look “artificially vibrant” or that shot of a full moon that takes up half of the sky. At that point the photos cease to be accurate representations of what you saw when you snapped the shutter and are now moving towards the Artsy Side of things, which is fine and tons of fun to experiment with. See the next example!

          Along with all of that comes the times of the day when Photography is at its best. Morning and afternoon light is preferable and mid-day should be avoided. But if mid-day is the only time that you have, then make the most of it. Don’t ever not take an important shot because conditions are not perfect. Look at that (fake!) photo of the Loch Ness Monster taken so long ago! If they had waited for the perfect time, we would have never seen that creature 😊!

          Here in Glacier and the surrounding areas, there are several forest fires burning which inject some smoke and haze into the region, all of which have an effect on the photos. Photographers for years have had filters that help mitigate these items that get in the way of a nice photo. Our eyes have the ability to an extent to “cut through” this haze and we are able to “see” better to a degree. Definitely to the extent that if you just take an unprocessed photo, we would remark on how hazy it seems. I just attempted to illustrate that to you. This process is nothing new. I used it back in the ‘70’s when I was the Photo Editor in high school and college for the yearbook and newspaper and later in our basement darkroom. Those processes are identical to today’s digital formats except that we no longer have smelly hands from all of the chemicals used for processing film and prints!

You all saw the photos last week from down at Seeley Lake and  the quality (or lack thereof) of them because of the EXTENSIVE fires down there. Fires in the West are nothing new, but everyone agrees that they are becoming more frequent and intense. That is partially because in modern times, we have suppressed what Mother Nature and her pyromaniac son Mr. Lightning have tried to do. Believe it or not, forest fires are critical to keeping our forests in a lively and vibrant way. These combustible events have been going on for many, many, thousands of years, and everyone has adapted nicely except us.

          Humankind.

          The ones with structures that can be destroyed.

A forest is designed to burn every couple hundred or so years. This process helps clear out the detritus and undergrowth, spur new growth, and change habitats for critters, keeping them all happy. When we stop fires at all costs, we don’t let Mr. Lightning do his job in clearing out the old stuff. We delay it until it reaches a point where when it does ignite, it gets so intense that everything gets roasted because it develops into a crown fire which just runs rampant through everything until it’s all gone. Most forest fires, when kept on the ground, just sanitize, and keep that understory at a level that’s controllable, not by us, but by Mom.

          Notice I haven’t used the word Wildfires yet. That’s because there is a difference between Wildfires and Forest Fires. Unfortunately we’ve been experiencing more Wildfires that the latter. Smokey Bear has even changed his slogan from “Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires” to “Only You Can Prevent Wildfires”. A full 80+% of fires today are started by us and can quickly grow to those nasty Wildfires that are so destructive. Everywhere we go out here, that evidence of Wildfires is so obvious, but as you can see, Mom has a way of starting anew and here is some proof for you!

Even though the fires have disturbed the countryside, these Glacial Lakes just keep on being gems of beauty that go unrivaled in the world of aquascapes. There is something about water that is melted from snow and Ice that makes these waters glow with that special tint of blue. It comes from all of the pulverized rock that glaciers are so good at producing. Those teeny-tiny bits stay suspended in the waters and refract and reflect sunlight in a way that gives it that special blueish green, even as its clarity goes unrivaled.

There is still so much to discover here at Glacier, that a return trip is almost guaranteed. With Steve and Phillis only an hour and a half down the road at Seeley Lake, how can we not return? There are still the main Glaciers in the Many Glaciers section of the Park and the northern part of the area which in conjunction with the nations of Canada and the Blackfeet Tribe, we have the International Peace Park. This Park straddles the political boundaries of these nations, while invisibly encompassing and containing the same.

What a nice concept.

I guess that whenever there is a large concentration of trees, there is that potential for a forest fire. Back East that potential is minimized by smaller patches of forested woodlands, easier access to those areas for firefighting, and a generally “wetter” climate than out West. Having said all of that I am not trying to minimize that potential for dangerous fires in the Eastern parts of the country, just compare it to the conditions usually associated with the Western areas of the United Staes.

                   And, by extension, our neighbor to the North, Miss Canada, is experiencing forest fires on a scale yet to be experienced down here. The fires up there are massive. Canada is the second largest country in the world and over half of it is forested. The areas burning there are comparable to the size of Indiana, which is about a quarter the size of California. That means, for comparisons sake,  25% of California would have to be on fire in order to equal Canada’s dilemma.

                   Fortunately for Canada, the development of these areas is far less than any of the aforementioned areas of comparison.

                   So Don, why the mini lesson on forest fires?

                   I’m glad you asked that Mr. Smokey!

Yesterday we ventured up into the wooded mountains of this part of Montana. These mountains are not the rocky, craggy, enormous sentinels of the sky that are found a little to the east in the main part of the Rockies. They are, however, formidable peaks in themselves. We were on Mount Morrell, just one mountain that at 7900 feet in elevation is quite representative of this area.

                   And it is forested.

                   Or it used to be.

                   Before the Fire.

                   Before this time of year in 2017.

          That’s when lightning struck the area of Rice Ridge, about six miles north of here. The fire spread quickly, jumping from 40,000 aces to 100,000 acres on September 3^rd. Over 700 fire fighters were assigned to this fire, which at that time became the number one fire-fighting priority in the country. It was finally declared out in early October.

                   Our goal for the day was to find a nice place for a picnic lunch. A lookout is always a good bet, as the views are guaranteed to be expansive (because why would it be called a lookout if you couldn’t see anything!)

The road to the summit was thankfully in great shape and it wound its way around hairpin turns for about nine miles. The only issue was that at times, it was scarily narrow! Phillis was our pilot for the day, and she guided our vehicle like she had been on this road a hundred times. Our biggest fear was that we would encounter not a bear, (or Grizzly, as they are around here) or any other critter that could cause us harm, but we were terrified of meeting up with the very formidable “Oncoming Vehicle”.

                   These creatures can be quite stubborn when it comes to backing up and sometimes an Argument of Significant Proportions can be had as one of you will need to “put it into reverse” on this tiny narrow trail of a road with precipitous drop-offs. Fortunately, we did not encounter this creature on either the way up, or on the way down.

                   We did encounter one other life form on this venture, that of the relatively rare Lookoutius Rangerous. Our specimen, David, originally hailed from way upstate New York and was currently living up in the Tower. The rarity of this find, comes with the significance of his living in the tower full time. He only ventures down into civilization twice a week for some PT therapy for an unspecified injury received while at work.

                   There has been a tower here since the 1920’s and this one replaced that older one in 1962. It is on the National Register of Historic Fire Towers which I am sure that it is proud of even though none of us (including you!) knew of the Registers existence!

                   The deforesting of areas like this is quite common if you look at the word common and compare it to eons. Most forests have evolved and are designed to have massive burns every couple of hundred years or so. The burns and fires are strictly for Mother Nature’s benefit and by extension really ours also. I won’t go into the details here as you’re already probably bored to tears, but if you’re interested a quick search of this topic will give you answers that are concise and informative at the same time.

          Unfortunately, the topic of this Post is the very issue that kept us from having crystal clear views of the surrounding areas. There are no less than three forest fires currently burning within this region and their collective smoke has given everything a hazy look.

          Maybe, if we all get the courage up to face the Squeezing Gauntlet of the Drive again, and the fires are all gone, we will wind our way back up to the summit and be able to see it all more clearly 😊

The first thing that we did upon our arrival at our “Site” in Seeley Lake was to take a hose and scrub brush to both vehicles. We met up with Steve (one half of our friends and hosts, Steve, and Phillis) at a Sinclair Station, complete with a cool dinosaur, on the corner of Rt. 200 and Highway 83. He was on his way to Missoula to pick up Phillis and we were on our way to their place at Seely Lake Airport. As you may recall, the 200 was our route of choice to get to this part of Montana the other day. Highway 83 runs north and south connecting Swan Lake and Seeley Lake on its way to Glacier National Park.

                             Unfortunately, that same Montana DOT that has a penchant for ripping up roads willy-nilly and then spending a few years replacing them, had its eyes set on another section of our travels. Just after we met Steve at the dinosaur we headed north where this alleged improvement was being administered at a painfully slow pace. The need to open and close this section while this project is being worked on makes a trip that normally takes about twelve minutes, now clocking in at a minimum of twenty-five and can take well over an hour and a half.

                             Ouch!

                             We were fortunate that we came upon the line of stopped traffic just as the Signal Stopping Guy waved our side through.

What we found was a several mile long Ripping and Replacing Project that included some very nice Caking Mud Baths along the way as it had rained the night before.

                             Georgia Clay has got nothing on Montana Mud, hence the need to engage in a Wash Down as soon as we got to Steve and Phillis’s home.

                             And….. we needed to stop at the local NAPA dealer and procure two new Chassis Batteries. These are the batteries that are used in the starting and operating of all of the chassis related operations. (As opposed to the four House Batteries that keep us supplied with power when the generator is not running or when we’re not hooked up with power.

                             The need to replace these possibly offending guys became somewhat apparent two days before when were engaged in that Rt. 200 trip. Paula was driving when all of a sudden some of the Indicator/Warning lights on the dash began to flicker/blink and as we pulled to the side of the road the LCD screen that shows information began to act like it does when we first start the motor.

                             This is stuff that we just don’t need at any time never mind this far from “home”. The issue seemed to clear itself but now we’re waiting for the other shoe to drop and that definitely makes for some uneasy driving!

                             Nothing has happened ….. yet. But we all know that these events seldom fix themselves. The next morning, I called our “Guys” over at Campbell’s in Lafayette, where we have our work done while we’re in New Jersey. It is sooooo reassuring when we press “2 for Service” and the guy on the other end answers, “Hi Don, how’s it going?”

                             They obviously have a caller ID, and I couldn’t be happier to be on a first name basis with Bob and Corbin over there! After describing our issue to Bob, he asked how old our chassis batteries were and since I could not answer that and we’ve had the unit for almost three years, he said that MOST of these issues can be traced back to batteries acting wonky. So, since I definitely cannot trace wiring, or troubleshoot computer stuff, and since the age of our all-important batteries may be coming to an end, we decided to take the plunge and fork out the $400 shekels for two new ones. Installation, and hopefully peace of mind, to follow.

                             Our site here at the McNeill Family RV Park and Airport is quite nice! Steve and Phillis have made provisions for all of our hook-ups so we can stay here forever! And since it took us almost forever to get all of that caked-up mud off of the undersides of the vehicles, and that road project is scheduled for completion in several years, we may just do that!

                             We definitely could not find a more beautiful area to be in. We have yet to drive around the locale and see some of the area, but that is scheduled for today, so I should have some nice photos in the near future, especially since we booked ourselves for three nights up in Glacier National Park!  

But……. We were able to get that proverbial “Bird’s Eye View” of the area because we took a flight courtesy of McNeill Air based right here in Seeley Lake! The McNeill’s son, Matt, has the hanger/apartment directly next door and he lent us his Beechcraft Debonaire 285 which has plenty of room and power for four passengers. Steve and Phillis have their really cool 1946 Cub up here with them, which is a ton of fun to fly, but holds only two people at a time.

          Our destination was the town of Polson on the other side of the Mission Range, the local mountains that are related to the Rockies. We landed in Ronan and settled in amongst the many Fire Fighting Aircraft that are there because of some intense local forest fires. The conditions here are not dissimilar to those up in Canada, so hence the need. The smoke and haze from these fires got worse as the day went on but it was not too bad in the morning. These photos were taken then.

                             We had a really nice lunch at a place called The Shoe (as in horseshoe) on the shores of Flathead Lake, which is quite large and very picturesque. And….. as clear as you may expect Montana Lake to be! After a stop at the local bakery to pick up some pies, including a Huckleberry one) and a gift shop (where we got some interesting Huckleberry laced Chocolate (!) we went back to the airport for the flight back to Seeley Lake.

                             The Airstrip here is a meticulously maintained and manicured grass strip. It has runway lights and a rotating beacon for night use but there are no “facilities” here, so fuel needs to be obtained elsewhere. Landing on a grass strip is quite comfortable as there is a certain amount of ‘give’ when it is maintained correctly.

                   Of course, it helps to have a pilot with a zillion hours of experience at the controls!

Stay tuned for Seeley Lake (Part 2), coming soon!

                                                These days spent traveling from point to point can be tedious if we spend our time on the Interstates. You’ve all heard the old axiom, “If you want to see the country, get OFF the highway!”

                             Or something like that.

                             Easy to say, but harder to do when the goal is that Point-to-Point event.

                             But, what if one of the routes that you can take is a local road and it actually is a route that is somewhat direct? Somewhat being a relative word here. There was no doubt that we would need to be on local roads at some point as there are no Interstates that go to Seeley Lake, Montana, our final destination. But we did have a choice as to how far we would travel on the I-94, which stretches from somewhere in Michigan and connects up with I-90 in western Montana.

                   We chose to exit as soon as we could and book it westward across Montana, throwing caution, (and a few other things) to the wind. Which, being in the Northern Plains, was blowing nicely and only creating a few harrowing moments during the trip. We looked at the map and found a route that was a “Thin Red Line Road”. These are fairly safe for us as we know that they are paved and will most* of the time have a shoulder.

(* Hah!)

                    They are not as good as a “Thick Red Line” or a “Yellow Line with Red Outlines”, but they are definitely better than a “Thin Black Line” or the very questionable “Thin Gray Line” or even worse, “The Dotted Line” (Road from Hell).

                   The day started in North Dakota, in a Walmart parking lot in Jamestown, just off of I-94. The day was promising to be nice as that was what the weather report was saying, but we started out in a dreary fog/drizzle event that stuck with us almost all the way to the Montana border. So, we really cannot say if North Dakota has pretty scenery or not as there were times that visibility diminished to about a thousand feet or so.

                             And….. the speeds on the Interstate were posted at 70 mph, which all of the trucks wanted to do because they knew that road, and the visibility did not factor in for them. It did for us, so we kept a nice balance between traveling at a speed that was safe enough for the conditions and not being so slow that there was a danger of being rear-ended. That all fixed itself when we came to the Montana border, the skies cleared, and the highway speed increased to 80 mph!

                             Montana is called “Big Sky Country” and I don’t know how they did it, but as soon as we crossed that border, there seemed to be a difference. It’s probably just that we’re brain-washed, but it works!

                   This place certainly lives up to that moniker!

                   We soon came to that point where we needed to make a final decision as to when we would exit the Interstate. That chance came in Glendive which is the junction of I-94 and Montana 200. The 200 is the road that will eventually bring us most of the way across the state. Our destination for the day was about 200 miles west of here in the town of Lewistown.

                             Getting used to distances out here is quite the experience. Here for your viewing pleasure are some examples of what it’s like. Most of you are in Northern New Jersey so these examples will nestle nicely in your minds. For the rest of you, I’ve got some Visual Aids!

                             Now imagine driving 200 miles on a two-lane highway, with (most of the time) no shoulder and the speed is 65 and the wind is of course, a crosswind! Next picture 200 miles of absolutely nothing.

                             That is nothing, meaning not anything!

                   Every once in a while, we would come across small settlement with a ton of abandoned vehicles, buildings from the 1800’s and not one reason to stop. They did however supply an ample amount of “Local Color” and were an integral part of this journey. They had names like, Circle, Mosby, Grass Range, and Tiegan.

                   What they do have here is hay.

                   Thousands and thousands of giant round bales of hay.

                   It got really interesting when we came upon a Road Project. Apparently, the condition of a section of Montana 200 was in so bad a shape that the DOT had no choice but to rip it all up and start anew. This stretch was approximately 20 miles long and was all dirt and gravel. That’s like ripping up Route 15 down to Rockaway!

                   Thankfully, there was no one in front of us as the dust cloud generated by traveling on this was quite immense. The poor guys behind us finally pulled over and stopped for a while. (My guess is that their air filters got so clogged that their motors conked out!) Needless to say, my penchant for driving a nice, clean motorhome went out the window! (which definitely stayed shut!)

                   So, now we have achieved that Holy Grail of Travel, that of the non-highway road. There were times that it was gorgeous and sometimes just a tad too harrowing, mainly because of the travel requirements of the motorhome towing a car. But it never got to the point when we regretted going “Local!”  😊

                   When we finally reached our destination of Lewistown, we decided to add and additional 100 miles to the day and forge on to Great Falls where we pulled into the Walmart parking lot and spied the sign that proclaimed, “NO OVERNIGHT PARKING”.

                             Luckily, right behind the Wallymart is a KOA Campground! Which is just as well because we have full utilities and that means we did not have to run the generator to keep the AC going! It was 93 when we arrived so AC was definitely on the “Needs” list.

                             Now we only have about two hours left until we reach Seeley Lake. We will be meeting friends here, Steve and Phillis, my partners from the Chatterbox. They have a place at a little airport here, complete with a hanger and apartment attached. We have our own little spot with all the hook-ups right there, courtesy of them!

                             More soon!

                             I did promise you that I would show you something about Gratiot. Here it is.

                             Sorry that it is so underwhelming and anti-climactic but that’s about it. There are two bars, one gas station, and a collection of other older domiciles. We waved at Bill, one of the bar owners as Danny drove us through ‘town’.  We know his name is Bill because Danny knows him, I did not make it up! I deliberately did not take any photos for several reasons, one was that it was kind of embarrassing to jump out of the truck and snap pics like were on a ride at Disneyland and second, there wasn’t anything remarkable about the bars, gas station or domiciles.

                             But…. have no fear! We did travel a few miles to visit the little town of New Glarus. This is opposed to (Old) Glarus, which is still in Europe, namely in Switzerland.

                             It’s fun to come across these little hamlets in the countryside that still embrace their folkloric beginnings from back in the day. You will find most of them are out in the country, miles from nowhere, making them somewhat isolated. That’s what makes them a little unique and special. These oases of ethnicity surround themselves with all the trappings of the Old World. They keep, or replicate, as much of the architecture and signage as they can, and most of the time you will find that a lot of the business still cling to their family roots that were sunk in years ago. If not, then at least the next generation of entrepreneurs are smart enough to know which side of their Brown Bread to put the old-world butter on and realize that this cultural respite is why people flock to their town for the day.

                                       We did!

                             New Glarus is a tiny slab of Switzerland  (minus the Alps) that was plopped here back in the 1800’s when immigrants liked its dairy land features and with that of course comes everyone’s favorite dairy product, Cheese! We are in the German-influenced regions of Switzerland. As independent as Switzerland is, it is also fairly small and a lot of its culture and all of its languages come from its larger neighbors namely Italy, France, and Germany. So that means that the language du jour is based on where you are located in the Homeland!

                             Ja! Und ve hadden ze bestest fooden en de Glarner Stube, a nice little place with on-draft Root Beer(!) and many other delicacies such as schnitzels, bratwursts, and fondues.

After that we stopped in at the Chalet Cheese which is a dairy cooperative established back in 1885 by five dairy families. It is still here, now with thirteen families in shared ownership. Their products are all Swiss specialties, especially (obviously) Swiss, in its many forms, Limburger, with its many aromas (?) and they are re-kindling interests in some older recipes such as Liederkranz. These thirteen family farms generate over 100,000 pounds of milk per day and have numerous cheese (not cheesy!) awards not only in Wisconsin, but in World Competition also.

Maybe the best part of this area is just that. The area. The effects of long-ago glaciers leaving rolling hills, and sweeping vistas behind as they exited, gives this region a very pleasant feel to it. The undulating sightlines of rows and rows of corn,  interspaced with acres upon acres carpeted with soybean plants are quite satisfying! The farmers here also have a nice tradition (?) of keeping their producing fields surrounded by precisely mowed perimeters, especially along the roadways. There may be a practical reason for this, but I’m going to go with the natural neatness and tidiness that the Swiss are noted for!

I often wondered where all of the oils needed to make the fryer shortening for the Chatterbox came from. The main ingredient is vegetable oil and the main vegetable used for this is the soybean plant. Just how much oil can you possibly squeeze out of some teeny-weeny bean? It can be only a teeny-weeny amount! We went through thousands and thousands of gallons of this stuff, and we were just one place! The collective amount of needed oils is a staggering figure to grasp.

          I can now see how this is all possible.

          As large an area as it is, these fields are just a teeny-tiny part of the vastness that is the Mid-West. That section of our country that feeds all of us and allows us to have French Fries to our hearts content!

          So, the Lesson of the Day is  (as you can now see) lots of teeny-tiny bits of anything makes lots and lots of stuff!

          That ends our combined Geography, Economics, and Cultural class for today. There may be a similar one in the future, but only if I get Internet Access!

Tempered Timeliness Timeline Caveats:

There is no cell phone coverage here.

I do not have any Internet here.

I did.

But not now.

I do not know why I had it (barely, but enough to get that first Post out). It once was, but is now soon departed. (I’m blaming the nefarious Sunspots or other natural occurrences)

But no worries! The Laptop with my best friend Microsoft Word, is all charged up and working nicely. The phone still takes photos, but there they stay, safe within its billion gigathings, ready to spew forth whenever this situation gets addressed and that will not be until we pull up anchor, set the sails, cast off the lines, start the motors, taxi out, and accelerate to take-off speed. (to mix all of my favorite metaphors!)

This event will be at approximately 6 AM on Monday and since I am scheduled to be pilot on the first leg, this Posting Event won’t even be attempted for several hours and who knows what type of coverage awaits us in the Western Netherworld of this voyage!

So, when we get back to Zones of Coverage these Tardy Posts will be all addressed, stamped, and dropped off at the nearest Cyber Post Office for your eventual reading pleasure.

AND

RECORDS ARE BROKEN!

                   Dateline: Gratiot, Wisconsin

                   Where???

                   You heard me…..  Gratiot, Wisconsin.

                   Ok, we give up. What and/or where is a Gratiot?

                   I’m glad you asked that Mr. and Mrs. Geography!

                   Just take that little toe of yours and step just that far over the Illinois/Wisconsin border just about fifty miles northwest of Chicago and Presto! Here you are!

                   And guess how far Gratiot, Wisconsin is from Augusta, New Jersey?

                   It’s far enough to qualify as a new World’s Record Driving Distance in One Day!

                   While we are positive that someone has driven more miles than us in a day, we are also quite confident in our latest claim to glory. We are confident because these World Records are quantified under the very strict guidelines of the “World Records of Anything Organization” and we are quite sure that our defining category, that of “Elderly Drivers from Augusta, NJ driving Westbound on Interstate Routes 80, 90, 94, and Local Highways 20 and 78” is safe in awarding us First Prize for both mileage and time driven in one day.

                   The new World’s Record (in our category) is…….

                                      910 miles and 14.376 hours!

                   Our previous record was 774 miles and 13 hours.

          But, why Gratiot and how in the name of all that’s confusingly pronounceable, does one enunciate said destination?

                   I will answer your second question first.

                   The locals say “Grass-sh*t”

                   It’s named for Henry Gratiot. He lived and worked here in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s. Coincidently, he was quite friendly with the local Native American tribe, the Winnebago’s. Hmmm….. maybe that’s why we were drawn to this area!

                   As for why Gratiot…..

          That’s where Danny, Paula’s son is presently working. He’s one of the “Pipeline Inspectors” that need to be employed for all of our collective safety. The USA has a myriad of spiderweb-like underground pipelines delivering everything from natural gas and oil to chocolate milk to our urban centers for consumption. Someone has to make sure that these highly pressurized arteries are able to move their expensive cargo from Point A to Point B and lots of places in between. (I have been asked by the Authorities to check the taste of the Chocolate Milk in this location. I was honored to be able to help out. I did not even put a bill in for my services.)

                   When we looked at the Map trying to ascertain the best route to    take from Augusta, New Jersey to Seeley Lake, Montana  (which is another story to be related later)  we discovered that the best route took us down a little dirt road in southern Wisconsin that had the campground where Danny stays at, right on it!

                             Wow!!!  Who’d athunk that???  😊

                   No, really, that’s exactly what happened!

We inserted the appropriate data into the Navi-Computer and (hoping that it avoided the destroyed planet of Alderaan) we discovered that we’d barely need to turn the wheel and we’d be here!

So our plan was to leave the Augusta environs and our friends at Yetters Diner early Saturday morning and put as many miles under the tires as we could before stopping for the night, probably around South Bend, Indiana. Danny’s day off is Sunday, so we figured that we’d start driving again early Sunday AM, arriving morning or so, spend the day and night, and then book it for Seeley Lake, Montana, first thing Monday morning.

There was no guarantee on how we’d feel come Saturday afternoon. We usually crash (oops! bad word!) er…. stop driving in the late afternoon.

But…..

What if we could pull this off?

What if we could keep going and arrive late evening?

That would mean that we’d have to be on the top of our game, which over the past few days I really wasn’t.

But…. again…. what if?

Turns out that with the right amount of time swapped between driving duties and co-piloting, the judicious use of not stopping except to roll into a rest area, Chinese Fire Drill the driving duties, and taking turns eating while not driving, we found that this may, in fact, be possible!

The key was me and my non-sleep issues that tend to give me a narcoleptic-type daytime personality.

          I know!

          Monster to the rescue!

          Now we could make it to California if needed!

The Chicago Traffic helped us out by not being Chicago Traffic and we whisked our way through and found ourselves rolling into the Backyard Campground just as it was getting dark!

It felt like we were a taxiing jetliner as Danny confidently guided us into our berth, directly next to his.

What to do in Gratiot, Wisconsin?

I dunno… but we’ll find out today!

 And so will you!

The lengths we won’t go through to get a sticker.

Sometimes it’s like we’ve never left kindergarten.

I am referring to the large adhesive map of the United States that is plastered to the side of the motorhome. This apparatus has the outline of the Country, and you must fill it in with the various States that conveniently have their own shape and fit together like a jigsaw puzzle, but in this case, they are “Stickers.”

          And…… they come with all of the pomp and circumstance attached to them as any self-deserving sticker should.

Except…..

These stickers are for adults, or at least persons that can pass as adults if only because they have attained an age that qualifies them as so.

Otherwise, they should probably be classified as juveniles if only because of the way that they act when handed the next “Sticker” to be applied to the aforementioned adhesive map of the United States.

I am here to report to you that there was joy in the streets of Gratiot, Wisconsin last night. The townspeople all gathered ‘round as Miss Paula was handed the next “Sticker” to be applied to the ever-burgeoning map of the United States.

The crowd cheered as the ‘Sticker” was affixed in its very own position that was previously void of anything until we graced the State of Wisconsin with our presence, and therefore qualified for the “Sticker” to be taken out of the Secure Safe and placed in the trembling hands of Miss Paula. Any grammar-school teacher would have been proud of Paula’s concentration as she deftly placed Wisconsin in its once vacant place on the Map. As the cheering subsided, the phone rang in our Campground. It was the Governor calling to congratulate us on finally earning the right to “Stickify” the Map with his illustrious State.

We don’t know if the Governor of Hawaii will ever have the chance to make his call to us!

                   Yesterday was spent in one of the most successful of the Maine Coastal Towns, that of Boothbay Harbor. Boothbay is maybe what you’d call a big Little Town and its location in the Mid-Coastal Region of Maine make it both very accessible and popular.

                    Its harbor is a good one, fairly sheltered behind some well-placed Islands and it is one of these islands that was our primary “destination” for the day. Still here with Paula’s son Brian and his wife April, we made our way down to the Coast, about an hour away from the home base in Readfield. Brian found a Harbor Cruise that was actually the ferry and “mail boat” for one of those islands.

                   Squirrel Island is a summer community and has been since 1871 when their Association was founded. Don’t bring your car because you can’t get it there and these are no motor vehicles allowed anyway! Everything is ferried over by the Novelty, which is the boat that we were the passengers on. We watched a fair number of residents/visitors embark and disembark along with their supplies for their stay. And I guess someone’s fridge fritzified as a new one was on the next voyage after ours. The homes are quite nice and definitely not all of them could be categorized as small cottages. Electric power and water are supplied by the mainland, but all of the plumbing is above ground and must be drained for the winter, hence a “Summer Only” community.

                   Before embarking on our “mail run” we had lunch in a great little waterfront spot overlooking the harbor, and our future transportation. It was obviously quite convenient and practically guaranteed that we wouldn’t “miss the boat”!

                   And, once again, the Freaky Forecasters from the Doom and Gloom School of Meteorology, who maintained that it was to be cloudy all day long forgot to just look out their windows. More and more we realize that unless it is an Event of Sizeable Proportions, to actually go about our plans and have a nice day out anyway!

It’s probably a good bet that most of us enjoy traveling. 

Some folks do resist leaving their familiar environs and need to be pried from their home turf with a dory oar, but by and large, when placed in a place of enchantment, even they have to admit that there’s something about seeing someplace new and exciting (?)

          I used the question mark there on purpose.

          Because not every place that we visit can be labeled “exciting” now can it?

          Sometimes we visit places that are just plain old satisfying, and if that’s all we get, then that’s fine too.

          If you smell a caveat coming with all of this build-up being thrown at you, you would be:

1.) Correct

2.) Have been reading this Blog from its Beginning several years ago!

                   We are still in the middle of our Swing Through New England and Visit the Relatives Tour. And that suits us just fine. Currently we are in Maine visiting Paula’s son Brian and his wife April. They live just a tad west of the capital of Augusta, out in the Woods and Lakes Country, which is most of what Maine is made up of.

                   Mosquitos are the main inhabitants of this region, which makes me crazy. I am known throughout the Entomology World; they affectionately call me the Mosquito Munching Magnet. They peer through the windows of whatever vehicle or building that I am in, impatiently waiting for me to exit and run for my life until I reach the safety of the next enclosure. These flying buzz-saws rely on my annual visit to this area to ingest enough of my O+ Blood to last them the entire year.

                   Needless to say, I am burdened (and by proximity, anyone that I’m with) by this malaise and turn to the only remedy that is currently available to me here and that is, Take a Trip To The Maine Coast!

                   So, now we’re back to the Traveling Portion of this entry.

For those of you that have never been to the Coast of Maine, drop what you are doing and get over here! This is one example of a region of our Nation that I am not afraid of throwing superlatives at! I harbor no fears that I can build this area up to the point of when you visit, you experience any sort of Over Promising / Under Delivering!

So Don, where exactly does this caveat of yours fit into this?

I’m glad you asked that, Mr. Art Appreciation 101!

First, we will need to jump into Mr. Peabody’s Way-Back Machine (with his assistant Sherman) and go back just one year. If you will recall in that episode our Traveling Nerd was all excited because a visit to The Farnsworth Art Museum, located in the charming seaport of Rockland, Maine was on the Itinerary. This repository of mostly local Art, with an extremely high emphasis on the Wyeth family. It is one of the Holy Grails and Grand Temples dedicated to N.C. Wyeth and his family, namely his son Andrew and his grandson, Jamie.

But alas, upon entering said facility, where his absolutely most favoritest painting in the world is housed, they informed him that due to Covid-Related Staffing Issues, the floor that this painting, which is entitled Her Room, was closed.

                   So, why this painting Don?

          I’m glad you asked that one Ms. Inquiring Minds Want to Know!

                   (Content Alert! This is where the Boring Part gets injected into the Blog)

                   We all experience art every single day of our lives. It may be just an illustration for a product in a magazine, or some framed something on our neighbors wall, or by choice, Art for Art’s sake, a deliberately sketched, drawn, or painted piece of work.

                   And we all react to these individual examples whether we know it or not. When we visit a gallery, museum of any place that exhibits artwork, we instantly become critics, because that’s what we do.

                             And that’s OK.

                             Because we are allowed to like or dislike something without having to explain to anyone our choices. It’s our own opinion.

                             “I hate Modern Art!”

                             “I don’t see anything worthwhile in a Still Life!”

                             “If it’s not an Oil, I’m not interested!”

                   All of these statements can stand on their own because everyone is entitled to their opinions. I never really understood art. It was always just something that I looked at and either immediately liked or disliked. No one ever (or I never gave anyone the chance to) explain anything about it to me.

                             Until.

                             Until a visit to the National Gallery in London, where I went with another person who was an Art Major. We toured this incredible museum with those little headphones on which explained stuff to me.

                   “Oh, I get it! That’s what’s going on in this painting!”

                   And that led to an understanding that Art is an expression of the Artist. An extension of what was going on at the time in their lives, the world, or anything else that may influence a particular work. We have to admit though, that not every work of art has a deep-rooted meaning behind it. When one picks up a brush and replicates a simple scene, I doubt that in years to come that someone else will stare at that piece of art and say, “Ahh, that has to be a ‘Don Hall’, I’m sure that it’s from his ‘Bug Period’, notice his anguish and torment from mosquitoes. It is quite obvious in this piece.”

                   Or something like that.

                   In my case, it was right here on the Coast of Maine that my Epiphany was realized. The Wyeth family had a home here in the nifty little coastal village of Port Clyde. (You may remember those little cans of Port Clyde Sardines in the grocery store). I had in the past spent some time in Port Clyde courtesy of a friend (the same one that I went to the Gallery in London with) whose family had one of those incredibly quaint seaside cottages that are the perfect sets for a movie. It was that good!

                   So, an interest in “local” stuff was kindled. I was vaguely familiar with the Wyeth family and their artwork, and you are too, whether you know it or not. I will prove this to you now.

                             See! I told you so!

          Anyway, for me, having experienced this part of Maine with its incredible coastline, infinite tree-lined islands, and cozy harbors, I was primed for an experience that I did not know that I was going to have, or know that I needed.

                             That experience was the painting of Andrew Wyeth entitled, Her Room.

The back story;

                   It was on July 20^th, 1963. There was a Total Eclipse of the Sun, and its shadow was cast across the planet with the ‘Down East’ region of Maine directly in its path. Andrew and his wife Betsy lived in a home on the banks of the St. George River in Cushing. The St. George is an arm of the sea projecting itself into an already crannied coastline. The day was obviously ominous during the Event, which only added to the parent’s concern as their children were out on a boat somewhere on the river and it was getting late. Andrew and Betsy were startled when a sudden gust of wind slammed open the door of the cottage frightening them. This event steeled itself in Andrew’s Mind’s Eye and the rest is history.

                   For me, the first time that I saw this painting, my throat tightened, and I didn’t know why. The scene was obviously somewhat familiar to me, as Cushing is right around the corner from Port Clyde. But what else happened to me? What chord did this two-dimensional replication of an event strike in me?

                   This was my Epiphany. This is when I realized that an artist, through the interpretation of their experience, using their skills,  could transport someone into their mind and by extension, into that scene.

                   I’m sure by now that you can see that a little knowledge is dangerous!  😊

                   On to more Art In New England!

                   Have you ever heard of Edward Hopper?

                   Well, we just left Cape Ann in Massachusetts where there was an exhibit of his works being presented by the Cape Ann Museum. He had spent many a summer there in the early 1900’s. Unfortunately for me, the only time that I had available to visit was on Monday and they were closed on Mondays.

                   Oh well.

                   But! Upon this year’s visit to The Farnsworth, I learned that there was a Double Exhibit (!) going on that was showing the combined works of Andrew Wyeth and Edward Hopper! They both had spent time here and accordingly painted some of the same scenes almost thirty years apart. Mr. Hopper was there in the 20’s while Mr. Wyeth lived here in the 40’s and 50’s.

                             Yay!!!!

                             I get to have my cake and eat it too!

                             Now, I know that you’re all asking, “Who in the name of St. Watercolor is Edward Hopper?

                             Once again, I will show you that you are familiar with at least one piece of his collection.

                             See! Told you again!

          By now either I’ve bored you to tears or you’ve managed to hack your way through this post and have already booked your trip to this part of Maine. You do not have to visit any Art Museums whilst you are here. Nor do you need to poke your heads into any of the numerous Galleries that dot the streets of these little towns.

                             But either way, I predict somewhat of a life-altering experience….. if you just let it happen.

                             See you down by the lighthouse.