Day 2 (8/20/07)

Our first night camping saw rain and ill-prepared tents. While everyone had some leakage, Nate got the worst of it, for his borrowed tent had virtually no water proofing abilities and allowed for the rain to pool up inside. Not only did his tent get wet, but his sleeping bag did as well. To say the least, he did not wake (if he slept at all) a happy camper.

With the rain still lingering in the morning, we had no chance to let our tents dry out before packing up for our day's drive (after being back in Portland for a few weeks now, I'm still working on getting the mold out). After throwing our belongings in the car and tying down the big stuff to the top, we drove the Going to the Sun Road on our way out of the park and toward our next destination.

The Going to the Sun Road could easily be one the most scenic 50-miles I've ever driven. As it turns out, the night's rain was a blessing, as it washed out most of the smoke that was in the air from surrounding wild fires, thus revealing stunning views of the northern Rockies. So scenic was the drive, Maggie felt compelled to stop every 20 yards to take a picture (thus contributing to the 450 pictures she ended up with at the end of the trip).


Before finally exiting the park, on our way to Yellowstone, we stopped at a lodge to buy coffee and look at some souvenirs. While in the gift shop, Nate was lamenting the disappointing absence of a bear sighting in Glacier (there is an abundance in the park). Still seeking to restrain a bear, Nate, while in the gift shop, seized his last opportunity before leaving the park. We found a Grizzly guarding the souvenirs and went straight into an emergency floor hold (one of the many skills we picked up at our job) with the furry thing. Amazingly, it didn't put up much of a fight and we felt all the more tough after the fact.

Before long, we were again in the car headed for Wyoming. The drive to Yellowstone was long and pretty uneventful. The only point of interest along the way was the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, where we stopped in the town of Browning. With its rows of dilapidated mobile homes and liquor stores with people begging for change, the town was pretty depressing. We did not let this keep us out, though, as we got some lunch there and went to a Native crafts museum.

We finally arrived in Yellowstone at 10PM. As we would soon find out, our late arrival times would become a theme for the trip (we had planned to get to the park in time to see some sights...instead we had to set up camp in the dark). We found a campground that Maggie said had campgrounds. The thought of showering in the morning made me giddy, so the campground was an easy choice. After a long day of driving, it did not take us long to set up our tents and call it a night. We again went to bed with the sound of rain pattering our tents.

Day 1 (8/18-19/07)

The first day of our trip really didn't start until day 2. Maggie, Stacey and I picked Nate up from work at about 10:30 PM. We took him to his apartment downtown, where he showered and gathered his belongings. From there, we stopped briefly at Maggie's so she could pick up a dress that was to be delivered to her sister in Philly. By the time we actually left Portland, it was midnight, thus actually putting us on our way on August 19th.

That night (early, early morning), we drove through Spokane, WA, Couer D'Alane, ID, and a bunch of mountain towns in smoke-infested Montana. I say smoke-infested because the whole state, seemingly, was covered by a big cloud of smoke, resulting from the wild fires that had taken over the mountains. Since the smoke blocked whatever views there were to see, we decided to entertain ourselves by digging through the care package that Gretchen made for us. In it, we found the popular teen magazine, Quiz, a few CDs, a list of tasks we were to complete while on the road (scavenger hunt), and some mini liquor bottles (that, after drinking, we were to fill up with some remnant of the trip). We popped in one of her mixes to find it had the mega hit, Rump Shaker, along with other fan favorites, Wind Beneath My Wings and Fergie's, Fergalicious. It was a joyous music-listening experience.


When finally in Glacier, we found ourselves a campsite (later to be the main thoroughfare for droves of kids running to and from the bathroom) big enough to accommodate four tents (nobody wanted to share, for we really hate each other deep down and feared it would come to surface before the trip ended). Not wanting to waste any time, I asked a ranger which trails she would recommend for quick viewing pleasure. Instead of actually helping us, she proceeded to remind us that we're in bear country and that wherever we go we should bring "bear spray (thanks for your help Ranger Dick..I was hoping to get eaten by a bear)." So, being the self-sufficient group we are, we looked at a map and found a place on our own. We headed to Avalanche Lake, where, along the way, we found friendly deer, little streams, and a couple of the annoying kids from the campground. The lake was beautiful, serene, and our first glimpse at how awesome the next couple of weeks could be. We hiked around the lake, admired the sites, stepped over a bunch of bear poop (which was a good sign, because Nate was intent on practicing his phyisical restraint skills on a Grizzly), took a bunch of pictures, and then headed back to camp before it got dark.

For dinner, I made some freeze-dried lasagna stew, Nate ate some noodles, and the others had PB & J sandwiches. We followed our meals with a couple beers, a game of rummy, some shots from mini liquor bottles Gretchen got us, and a couple hits of ganja by the creek we hiked by earlier. We then passed out and caught up on the sleep we missed while driving the night before (this turned out to be a major theme of the trip). In all, it was a nice way to start the trip, as Glacier was as beautiful as advertised.