July 2016 Glacier National DAY ONE

The boat tour… July 29

Good morning, Sunrise (6:05 am)from my window.

I had a nice buffet breakfast at the lodge. The coffee was good and the biscuits flakey.

I’m now (8:08 am) waiting for the bus to take me to the boat tour of Two Medicine area. 

The boat tour of Two Medicine Lake is on the oldest boat on the lake. It was built in the 1920’s and has been in service ever since. 

So I’m back at the lodge and have been for a while went to eat, and read a book before posting.  As before the good pictures will be up Aug 8th or a bit later.

It seems more detail needed to be added to this trip.  It was not a 3 hour boat tour, but a 20 minute boat tour that took you across a lake so you could hike some of the shorter trails in East Glacier National Park.  I am glad I prepared for hiking, because some others didn’t and didn’t really see much of the park.

As before the good photos will be uploaded later, but I saw what is called here in the park The Twin Falls and further down the trail the Two Lakes both along the Bighorn Basin. I recorded some video that I will post later, but it needs some edits so I don’t sound like a complete idiot as a babel about stuff I know nothing about.

I’ve got two stories to tell, which is why anyone goes on an adventure…

The first, I met a woman who was 15 miles from completing the Continental Divide Trail.  She and a friend had just hiked 7 days and had stopped to take a shower and resupply as they made the final push to met the goal.  Sometime on July 30th this women will have hiked according to a google search 3100 miles from Mexico to Canada… That is dedication.  Admittedly, she said it was not all in one trek, but in multiple trips over a few years, but still that is way more than I’ve done nor most of us.

And story two, (insert chipmunk) Why is there a chipmunk here… he/she is the reason fro the story.  I was hiking the trail to the Two Lakes and at the end of the travel I stopped to drink some water and eat a bit of trail mix when I notice some of the native wildlife.  Since this is a frequently visited area with camp grounds near by, some of the smaller critters, ie a chipmunk were not as afraid as the birds and lizards I saw along the trail.  Why is this chipmunk so important? I saved a young man a bunch of money.  It seems he and a group of friends had been in that exact spot the day before and while leaving, this young man dropped something.  He dropped his car keys.  This little chipmunk I guess was interested in the keys, and as I was pointing him out to a group of ladies that had just arrived, one of their part noticed something and picked up some car keys.  They took those keys to the gift shop by the tour ferry and learned that the young man had called a tow truck earlier that morning and sadly he was already gone… but wait something had delayed the tow truck and he was sitting in the snack area drinking coffee and still waiting.  So the end of the tail, a little chipmunk looking for a candy bar helped out.

Well, I have another adventure tomorrow.  It is a bus tour of the park, so I’m thinking my feet won’t hurt as much… hehe.

 

Published in: on July 29, 2016 at 10:18 pm  Comments Off on July 2016 Glacier National DAY ONE  
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July 2016 Train to Glacier 

This was a long ride. I enjoyed a long conversation with a newly wed Amish couple and their extended family traveling to West Glacier visit family and then to do some camping and fishing. I asked him about their way of life and he asked me about politics. His family doesn’t vote, and leaves it up to God in prayer to pick the best leaders. For my political take, we need a miracle.

As I said this was a long train ride, over 24 hours and the train was full most of the time with people getting on and off as we went along.  To travel by train you must be very patient, you will see quiet, reserved people like the Amish to loud and rowdy college students taking a vaca before they start their freshman term…

Here are some pictures mostly of farm country, corn and wheat and a river or 2.

Published in: on July 29, 2016 at 9:57 pm  Comments Off on July 2016 Train to Glacier   

July 2016 Chicago 

(MORE PHOTOS LATER AUG 8th upload plan.)

Started with breakfast at Meli’s. I had an awesome gouda chicken bacon omelette that was the size of the plate.

Tour by boat. Took the architecture tour up the rivers and learned that Chicago is the birth place of the skyscraper so something good came of the Great Chicago fire.

Lunch at Tavern by the Park.IMG_20160726_122805

Sat outside under an umbrella and the breeze from the lake kept it cool. Currently the temperature is 80° at 12:26pm.

Tour of park.


Tour of art museum.

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Dinner in Italian Village. The food was good, but not great. The fish was supposed to be fresh from the great Lakes, but had that rubbery feeling from being froze too long. The service was great, and the restaurant looked like good inside.

Some Geocaching

Published in: on July 26, 2016 at 12:23 pm  Comments Off on July 2016 Chicago   

July 2016 Train Trip DAY TWO PM

I’m starting this post at 12pm but will not publish until I get to Chicago, 1.5 hours later which means I’ve been on this train for 24 hours. Why the delay? Bad thunderstorms last night messed up the signal tower system so the train is having to go below normal speed. we have also had to wait on side tracks to let other trains pass since the schedules are all off. Finally leaving Springfield we got up to 80 mph for a few minutes.  

Here is a farm house as we coast along.. 

welcome to Lincoln a few more stop then CHICAGO 

Here we are Bloomington what a view 😉

Next stop Joliet 

we are finally finally moving I lost track of the delay length … 

but finally Chicago is ahead… 

Published in: on July 25, 2016 at 12:13 pm  Comments Off on July 2016 Train Trip DAY TWO PM  

July 2016 Train Trip DAY TWO Miday 

Well it’s approaching 12pm and that cinamine roll my sister gave me was a few hours ago. Tip if you don’t want to eat $5 microwaved hot dogs… pack your own lunch.

Btw that has been the view 90% of the time. corn 🌽 and 🌽 oh look…

more corn. Hehe 😄

Published in: on July 25, 2016 at 11:42 am  Comments Off on July 2016 Train Trip DAY TWO Miday   
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July 2016 Train Trip DAY TWO AM Part

I tried to sleep some last night, just hard to find a comfortable way to sit, but I’ve grabbed a cup of coffee here at 6:45 am just getting ready to stop at St. Louis. The train is adding a few more cars at this stop, so I guess the train will be getting busy as we head into Chicago. Enjoy this Sunrise pic from outside St. Louis. 

And here we are pulling into the station. 

Published in: on July 25, 2016 at 6:58 am  Comments Off on July 2016 Train Trip DAY TWO AM Part  

July 2016 Train Trip DAY ONE

Today I started the first day of my train vacation across the northern United States. 

My sister dropped me off at Union Station in Dallas.  We said our goodbyes and well wishes; she and my niece headed off to see a Sunday children’s matinee and I went inside the building. There were very few people this Sunday afternoon, and I saw no one in the ticket booth, but a sign posted said my train was now boarding. So I grabbed my suitcase and followed the signs into the unknown. For my first experience I was a bit nervous, not seeing anyone had me wondering if I was headed the right way. A short walk underground and then up the last set of stairs labeled Amatrak had me at my destination. The ticket agent was there. My ticket was scanned and I was directed where to board. 

Following the advice of a friend that has traveled by train, I went looking for the observation car. 

I selected a table, which I later changed because I was facing the “wrong way” and I wanted to get a bit further from this very noisey eater. 

The train finally got started for the first stop on this 19 stop journey. Here are some pictures from along the way:

So first stop is Mineola, TX. Don’t worry I didn’t know it existed either, but a map gives a good reference 

 A mom traveling with 3 small children came to the observation deck to eat dinner. I couldn’t help but laugh a few times while listening to them. statements like, “stop tormenting your sister”, “sit down and finish your dinner.”… There was a young woman  who had been talking on the phone, she decided to try and find a quieter car. A group of elderly couples only shook their heads. 


Next stop Longview, TX. No pretty view from the train at this stop. Here is where you transfer to the bus to go to Shreveport, LA.

on to stop 3 – Marshall, Tx

Just went through some rain ☔ at 7:12pm, sadly was short lived. 

7:23pm at Marshall now. This is not a smoke break stop, do not get off the train… Hehe. 

on to stop 4..Texarkana 

I’ve seen some beautiful rivers and ponds but can’t get my camera ready fast enough. 

Guess you might be wondering how fast a train travels? The top speed has been 75mph but that is only on the longer open stretches. The train drops to 30ish mph when it’s approaching a city. 

Pulling into Texarkana now at 8:50pm it is too dark outside to take pictures. Right now,  I’m trying to decide if I want to get organized to sleep or get out the laptop for some late night gaming… the snack shop closes at 10pm so my access to coffee will end there too until 6AM.

on to stop 5..Hope, AR and this is my last comment before I publish. I don’t have a reliable Internet connection so playing games is an issue. Seems even offline games use the Internet for something. 

Published in: on July 24, 2016 at 5:07 pm  Comments Off on July 2016 Train Trip DAY ONE  
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New York City, Spring Break 2015

So i had a great time in NYC.  Saw the Statue of Liberty, the museums and a play.  So need more than 4 days to do all I did.  My legs and back hurt most nights. Well here are some pictures.  Enjoy.

Time Square The Lady of Liberty Irish Coffee from and Irish Pub Baked Goods The Nightly Show Spring Break NYC_2015_03_16_0019 Spring Break NYC_2015_03_16_0020 Brooklyn Bridge Spring Break NYC_2015_03_17_0045 Spring Break NYC_2015_03_18_0087

Published in: on April 5, 2015 at 7:49 pm  Comments Off on New York City, Spring Break 2015  

Spring Break 2015

I’m currently in Dallas. It is 7:15 on a Sunday morning and there is a very vocal song bird out side my sister’s guest bedroom. Gladly, I’ve been awake for the last 15 minutes or I’d be made at this bird.

So far I’ve had a good start to my spring break. Saturday I arrived in Dallas in time to watch the Saint Patrick Day parade.
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Green Shirt

Had a really good burger at a place called, Rodeo Goat. Normal plain hamburgers are not on their menu. I had the Nanny Goat, which was a burger with goat cheese and herb mayo. my sister got the chicken burger and was impressed by the spices used in the ground chicken.

After lunch it was time to run a few errands. We tried to go to a local pie shop for pie on pie day, but there was a huge line of other like minded individuals. We gave up on that idea and went to Whole Foods for eggs, apples and two slices of pie for me and my niece. My sister and brother-in-law picked a bad time to diet.

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Pie any one? 3.141592653

Today’s plans are church, brunch and then another airplane trip for me. Where am I going? You will have to read the next post. :mrgreen:

Published in: on March 15, 2015 at 7:15 am  Comments (1)  

Nymph Lake

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Published in: on June 12, 2014 at 3:06 pm  Comments Off on Nymph Lake  
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