Saw a cool jet exhibit as I was leaving Calgary:
I have been thinking that I have been feeling very "under the radar" out here - nobody has looked at my car and said "MASSACHUSETTS" or anything. I finally realized that the reason is that the license plate for Alberta is almost identical to Massachusetts:
So my ego is still intact.
I'm not going to take another "It Sure Is Flat Out Here" picture.
Unless, of course, the beautiful Rocky Mountains are off in the distance:
Customs was easy:
althought the line did move kind-of slowly:
Which gave me the opportunity to hop out of my car and chat with the California car behind me. Going 7 MPH over the speed limit, I had passed them two times in the previous two hours; having them pull up right behind me in the line through Customs made me smile, so I hopped out and said to them "Well, I guess I didn't really need to go that fast down Highway 2." The woman passenger burst out laughing, and the guy driving smiled and said that they had been laughing at me when I passed them 30 minutes ago."
The views in Montana are GREAT!:
Unfortunately I got distracted by the views, and missed my turnoff in St. Mary. I was about 30 miles further down the road when I figured I was lost:
Even though I'm "Back in the USA", of course there is no cell phone service (think of those gray areas on the cell phone coverage maps that we really don't notice back east), but blessedly I have Microsoft Steets & Trips on my Dell laptop (which I also brought along with my Mac). Streets & Trips is self-contained on the laptop and doesn't need an internet connection. I booted it up and saw where I had made my mistake, so I headed back. Two things stand out:
1) I "lost" and hour, but because of my time-zone change today, I actually "had an hour to lose".
2) God works all things for good. If I hadn't gone further down the highway, I wouldn't have seen BEAUTIFUL BIG-SKY MONTANA!:
After groceries and gas, I headed into Glacier:
Because of early snow, I had not seen the eastern-half of the Going-To-The-Sun Road when I visited Glacier back in 2013, so I was excited this time around:
Going east-to-west, it goes alongside the north shore of Saint Mary Lake:
You get a nice view of Wild Goose Island:
Saw some fun little waterfalls in Sunrift Gorge:
The mountains and valleys are PRETTY COOL!!:
It is Great being up at Logan Pass on the Continental Divide:
Heading down/west from Logan Pass:
We got caught in a "bear-jam":
Nobody is going anywhere until Mr. Bear moves along.
McDonald Creek, looking downstream:
looking back upstream:
McDonald Lake was stark and beautiful:
I exited the park at 5, and chatted with Wendy at 5:30 - she decided not to go to a play in Ogunquit, Maine, but stay home instead for a praise/worship service in our house/chapel (I'm sorry, but isn't that a little like being able to go to a Counting Crows or Bruce Springsteen concert on the same night?)
I drove alongside beautiful Flathead Lake in western Montana:
And found myself heading west, into the setting sun:
Checked into Super 8 Spokane West after 13 hours on the road. Thank You God for these wonderful adventures!
Music today was from my big iPod, continuing in the W's:
various artists - Putumayo Presents: World Lounge, 2002
various artists - Putumayo Presents: World Reggae, 2004
Michael W. Smith - Worship, 2001 live album
various artists - misc. WOW Worship cds
fittingly, as soon I crossed the US Border:
Bruce Springsteen - Wrecking Ball, 2012
lyrics - "Land of Hope and Dreams":
Grab your ticket and your suitcase, thunder's rolling down this track
Well, you don't know where you're going now, but you know you won't be back
Well, darling, if you're weary, lay your head upon my chest
We'll take what we can carry, yeah, and we'll leave the rest
Well, big wheels roll through the fields where sunlight streams
Meet me in a land of hope and dreams
I will provide for you and I'll stand by your side
You'll need a good companion now for this part of the ride
Yeah, leave behind your sorrows, let this day be the last
Well, tomorrow there'll be sunshine and all this darkness past
Well, big wheels roll through fields where sunlight streams
Oh, meet me in a land of hope and dreams
Tom Rush - Wrong End of the Rainbow, 1970
I listened to this twice. Even though I had gone 30 miles too far (to "The Wrong End of the Rainbow"), I still found the pot of gold.
various artists - WZLX - From The Vaults, 2000
Lyrics: Running Down A Dream
Lyrics: Ramblin' Man
Lyrics: Volcano (another Great Geography song!)
Coldplay - X&Y, 2005
YES, that means I finished the W's!!
The Yardbirds - The Yardbirds Greatest Hits, 1967
Al Stewart - Year of the Cat, 1976
Michael Franti & Spearhead - Yell Fire, 2006
The Beatles - Yellow Submarine, 1969
The James Gang - Yer' Album, 1969
Still playing "Check Off The License Plates". Today I saw: MD, CO, MI, FL, IN, ID.
Temperature-wise, it was 47º F at 8:50 AM.
Shameless Plug: if you enjoy this blog, you may like my other one about Hiking the 4,000 footers in New Hampshire/Vermont/Maine (On Sept. 1, I joined Deede and Tad hiking Mt. Katahdin [Hunt Trail] - his final day on the AT!)
hyperlink: dixonheadingnorth
http://dixonheadingnorth.blogspot.com/
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