On the Rails towards the Land of Disney

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amtrak travel, anti-princess, california vacation, disney, disney princess, disneyland, family travel, magic, southwest chief, Star Wars budding fan, travel, travel by train, travel with children, traveling with kids, vacation with family

This is an old trip, two summers ago, but since I never stopped to tell about it I figured taking care of some backbloging might be in order since I seem to be on a bit of a roll with the writing thing.

We’ve been on the train before for long haul trips. We took our first train from Washington, DC towards Portland in the summer of 2012 on the Empire Builder. It was a wonderful trip, even with derailment delays and rerouting and not fully getting to see what we had planned on seeing. So we were looking forward to the new trip. This time we were to take the Southwest Chief from Chicago to Los Angeles. We wanted this route as it would take us along the route that plays a prominent role in my mum’s Last Crystal trilogy. She wanted to make sure that what she remembered from her first trip was accurate so that the place setting would be true.  She was taking notes for the final book so we all went along on the train ride that took us to Los Angeles and then eventually to Anaheim and Disneyland! I won’t actually tell you about the traveling itself as some in our party did not pack things to keep “entertained” with so were rather grumpy along the 40+ hour journey. But there are interesting people to find a conversation with if you’re willing to start with a simple “hi” or “is this seat taken?” in the observation car.

I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Disney. I’ve gone through cycles of really loving the movies and the tv programs to really loathing them. I grew up with Sunday evenings being filled with supper in from the The Wonderful World of Disney and the movies/series they produced. And have hated some of the liberties taken with favorite fairy tales and legends. I never forced the movies onto my daughter, to some extent because they are rather terrifying and to another we don’t have cable so she wasn’t exposed to the channel of non-stop Disney stuff. I asked her once when she was in the second grade if she wanted to go to Disney World (lots of her friends were going with their families) and her response was, “Why would I want to do that?” So as we drew nearer to visiting Disneyland with my cousin and her husband who are true Disney fans she had one stipulation⎯KEEP ME AWAY FROM THE PRINCESSES. I did remind her that Disney was more than princesses, that they owned the Star Wars franchise so there would be plenty for her to enjoy other than running in the opposite direction should a Disney heroine other than Rey or Leia make eye contact.

I wasn’t expecting to fully enjoy Disneyland. I was expecting to enjoy the company of family, but not the park itself. However, being that my cousin and her husband and fans, go every opportunity that they can get away, are planning their retirement around joining the Disney family I had a blast!

We stayed at the Grand Californian Hotel & Spa all the staff, or cast members, were lovely to interact with. Checking in was easy, getting to our rooms was simple, and the resort was well laid out. And best of all it had its own entrance to the park itself so no waiting in massive front gate lines, just the lines from one part of the park to the other but once the first rush got through there was really little waiting time and this was in July. AEB’s uncle (okay, so technically he’s a second cousin-in-law, but I decided a long time ago that children of my cousins’ should call me aunt as it was less confusing and didn’t leave me feeling like I needed to sit at the kids table because I was being called “cousin” by 3 year olds.) took us to the pool to relax and settle in before taking her to The VOID to immersed in Star Wars before hitting the actual parks the next day. AEB loved it! And begged to go back but uncle Richard only goes once because the story doesn’t change and he wants to keep it enjoyable. Bummer. But good on Richard for standing firm and not caving in to her puppy-so-sad eyes. He even bought the girl her first pair of mouse ears. They’re Star War themed and flash, very cool!

poolside relaxation

the VOID

 

One of the things that Disney does is try to help families by creating all inclusive packages. And I have to say that helps a lot. Many families have budgets that they absolutely can’t be flexible with and being able to plan a vacation that lets you know what you’re going to spend is so helpful. Of course, there are always the take homes that aren’t part of the package and you can get caught spending more on the credit card on a watch or the chance to have lunch at the Blue Bayou Restaurant with the Pirates of the Caribbean ride floating past you at regular intervals.

There were plenty of rides for those that aren’t into roller coasters or being turned upside down. So there really was something for everyone. Of course there were characters walking about the park and you could have dining with certain characters if you wanted, but we were there to enjoy and be led around by the professionals.

nightly fireworks really does make for an incredible evening experience.

I’m sure I could say more, but since I was going with the flow and just enjoying myself and others did the planning. If I were to go again I’d probably do the same and find a time to join up with Shannon and Richard and just tag along for the ride. Being at Disneyland is a bit like being around bubbles. It’s hard to grumpy around bubbles, they just make people happy. And that, I suppose, is why they say it’s the happiest place on earth.

 

Taking a Moment for Ourselves

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Beach, Beach vacation, captain woody's, eating on Hilton Head, family friendly eating, harbor town, hilton head, Hilton Head ice cream, Hilton Head Island, quarterdeck waterfront dining, sonesta, Sonesta hilton head, Sonesta resort, south carolina, the black marlin, the sea pines, travel, travel with children, travel with kids, traveling with kids, us beaches, US travel, vacation with family

So, this year has been bumpy. So bumpy that I’ve not stopped to work on updates here at all. But time moves on whether we are ready for it to or not and so I am now making time for some posts to catch up.

The year started out with my dad in and out of hospital. Eventually he died surrounded by friends and family. That blow, while not wholly unexpected, was a blow none-the-less. Then my health has been not that great over the last few years and finally came to a head at the end of June. I’m about to get a bit personal so if you’re at all “squeamish” Skip down to the next part. I’ll put ✤ at the start of the next bit so you know when you’re safe.

I have been deal with a rather large fibroid for some time which has made my menstruations something to fear. I had explored options other than a hysterectomy to deal with the issue and eventually had a fibroid embolization done to cut off the blood flow to the fibroid and get rid of it. Well, it worked so well I “gave birth” to the fibroid, but not all of it. I went in for surgery hoping that the rest of the fibroid could be removed, but knowing that it would not be so easy and I’d have to have the hysterectomy I’d been avoiding all along. I came out of surgery with one less organ than when I went it. Thus I spent most of my lovely summer on pain killers and just trying to recover from the surgery. Fortunately, it was done laparoscopically so it wasn’t the recovery of a full cutting, like for a caesarean birth.

✤ Okay, you’re safe now!

So, having had the surgery and recovering. It was time to give our family a little time away from it all and enjoy a bit of vacation time. AEB wanted to go to the beach, so I started hunting places to go. We’ve been to Delaware, Maryland, and North Carolina beaches so I thought I’d search for some new beach that sounded interesting. I settled on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. I’d heard of Hilton Head before, but knew very little about the island. When I’m going into a new place and planning for the family I feel pressure to plan something where no-one is going to be disappointed. My greatest fear is that I will have planned something and it will all fall to pieces at my feet like a washed out sandcastle. So, with fear in my heart, I started to look for places to stay.

I settled on the Sonesta Resort at Hilton Head. It had good reviews, though sometimes you have to take these with a grain of salt. And it seemed to be a good location on the island. There were some complaints that things were expensive, but being a resort I figured things would be more expensive. But my bigger criteria were that the rooms looked nice and spacious and it had beach access which I thought would mean it wouldn’t be as crowded as other areas of the beach. And the overall look of the place seemed inviting. I found a lovely reduced rate on TripAdvisor (I did look at Expedia and Travelocity for comparison and they seemed about the same so there really is no rhyme or reason as to my going through one over the other. I am, admittedly, a bit of a price whore and will go where I can find the best deal possible.) and so I held my breath and made the reservation. We were going in August so school was getting started in the southland so the place wasn’t as heaving as it might have been had we chosen to go in June or July.

We went the “long way” as as we were wanting to see friends along the way and breakup the driving time. We ended up stopping in Greenville, SC to see an old friend. In my youth, when we moved to New York City so my father could take on a pastorate there was a man who became known as the “pumpkin man” as he always brought me a pumpkin come Halloween. Mr. K eventually moved to the city and worked with my dad, but upon retiring he and his wife moved south to be nearer their grandchildren. We did drive further out of our way, but sometimes you do the right thing for the right reason, not because it’s convenient.

Mr K with mum and AEB

We then made it Hilton Head Island and got ourselves settled into our room. We were greeted by very personable valets/bellhops who helped us figure out where to park, took our bags up, and gave wonderful information about the island with recommendations for food and explorations. The room we had enjoyed a view over the front of the resort, but the palms and the Spanish moss made the parking lots more bearable. But truly, we weren’t there for the view but the beach and the island to explore. The room, I will say, was wonderful. There was no smell – no must, no mildew, no overt fragrance from the cleaning products or washing powder. Since Hilton Head can be very humid it was wonderful to be a room that fought the humidity. I am sensitive to fragrance and do have asthma so it’s important to me to be in an environment that is comfortable for me. The room ticked all the boxes for me.

We decided to eat at one of the restaurants at the resort. It was pricey, but we were expecting it to be, but the food was very nicely done. Living in Maryland meant that we weren’t going to be doing crab, but trying any of the other seafood options. I had the shrimp and pasta and they did not skimp on the shrimp. I came to the end with shrimp for every bite. AEB had the salmon which is her go to choice and she complimented the chef. For dessert I was convinced to try the Key Lime Tart. I was disappointed. The crust was not very flavorful and the filling was rather grainy and not as lime-y as I felt like it ought to have been. It was beautifully presented, but ultimately dispiriting.

points for presentation but negative points for flavor – disappointing

AEB wanted to swim before bed so we sat a let her enjoy the pool before heading down to the beach to see how close our room was to things. Our first night sunset was spectacular.

I hardly read as I enjoyed napping and people watching far more than the book I brought.

Sonesta Resort

beach at night

the girls

We brought our own beach chairs and umbrella with us but the lifeguards will rent you chairs and an umbrella if you don’t have your own. We left our beach things in our car and then unloaded every morning. At the Sonesta they share the property with apartments and other living/rentals so the beach house for the community is open for folk to load and unload for easy beach accessibility. Most days we decided that we wanted to enjoy the beach in the morning, pack up in the afternoon, enjoy something on the island in the late afternoon and find some fun place to eat, come back to the room and then an evening stroll on the beach before just relaxing in our room with a movie or something else. We were there first and foremost to unwind, relax and enjoy the downtime at the beach and not really there to go to museums or other venues available for us to enjoy. Maybe next time.

Our first full day we enjoyed the beach and then went and had supper at Captain Woody’s which had been recommended by one of the helpers at the towel hut by the pool on our first evening. The food was fresh and really tasty. We had the place pretty much to ourselves as we were really eating a very late lunch and early supper. Then we just drove around to get a sense of the island’s size and finally a stop at the Piggly Wiggly to pickup some luck items so we could take a cooler down with us for the rest of the week. Though we didn’t have a kitchenette we did have a refrigerator in the room so we could prepare lunch to take with us.

Days 2 – 4 were filled with beach, more exploring, and good food. We enjoyed exploring the shops at The Sea Pines and specifically Harbor Town where the famous candy stripe lighthouse is located.

Harbor Town Lighthouse 

 

The Sonesta has turtle feeding in the afternoons where guests can help feed the turtles in the large pond on the property. The turtles are so trained that even if you stand for some time at the edge they will all start making their way towards you in anticipation of a treat. One afternoon AEB and I were coming back to the beach and found a baby turtle trying to make its way across the path. I imagined it getting squashed by some unthinking child or adult and so I took my flipflop off and scooped it up and moved it across the way in hopes that it would find friends and not become a seagull or pelican’s next meal. I used my flipflop as I didn’t want to get my people smells on it in case that would mean its doom.

 

We enjoyed ice cream at Hilton Head Ice Cream. They make their own and have interesting flavors like: Spumoni, Lemon Custard, and Kalua Chip. It was worth the stop after a day at the beach.

We also ate at the Quarterdeck Waterfront Dining one evening. We got in just before the rain of the evening arrived. The food was lovely and our view was made enjoyable as we watched boats coming and going and supper cruises getting ready to set out for the evening.

Our last evening we visited The Black Marlin for supper. So good! We ate outside and enjoyed the bayside view as well as the live music that started while we were there. It was a nice way to end our time at Hilton Head. We got back and decided to try a kite that we had brought. It was far too windy to get it airborne but it was fun trying.

Ultimately, we enjoyed just being together and having the downtime that we all felt that we needed more than anything. We all three highly recommend Hilton Head Island for the beach and the warm water. The rest of what the island has to offer: the shopping, the food, the museums, etc. we dipped our toes into but will have to wait for another visit another year. But don’t take our word for it ⎯go and find out for yourselves.

Next train ride

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amtrak, car travel, driving across america, driving I-70, driving the US, driving US-40, I-70, national parks, travel, travel with children, travel with kids, traveling with children, traveling with kids, US travel

Now that mum’s first book is up and out in the world for others to enjoy it’s time to turn our attention to the next two books and summer travel plans.

Last summer we drove across the United States. It was awe inspiring and brutal. I only had two weeks vacation time and that’s what we did – across and back in two weeks and a couple days (we had couple of sick days on the road). As the girls said, “I want to do this again, but next time…NEXT time, we are renting a caravan and taking a month!” I agree. Whole heartedly I agree!

It was a a feast for the eyes. The United States just about has every sort of landscape you could want to explore, expect for rain forest or fire swamp with R.O.U.S.s. Our route started in Maryland and had us follow along I-70  mostly because of this sign:

just an image I found on the internet. i don’t own the rights to it.

Which makes me want to just keep driving until the bitter end. We took I-70 into Colorado and then veered off. From Maryland I-70 takes you through a sliver of West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, and into Colorado. It’s a lot of ground to cover, but beautiful. Once in Colorado we started moving up and into Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, Oregon and then into Washington. On the way back across the United States we followed the coastal route into Oregon and California before starting back across and going through Arizona, New Mexico, a bit of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas,  Tennessee, a corner of Kentucky, Virginia, and back into Maryland once again. Whew!

both are from Rocky Mt. State Park near the continental divide

Wyoming 

how many of you know about the Stonehenge of North America? look it up! It was the first memorial built to commemorate WWI in the US

Puget Sound, WA

Oklahoma

This summer we decided to let someone else do the driving. We’re doing another train trip. This time we’re taking the Southwest Chief across. It’s something we’ve talked about doing after our first train adventure on the Empire Builder several years ago.  While the United States put their money into an interstate road system and not the rail system it’s still a great way to see the landscape. If you’ve travelled Europe it’s no Eurorail. It’s not always easy to get from a train station to a town you think might be worth exploring. I used to work at a Bed and Breakfast in an American Civil War town and I always felt bad for Europeans that were trying to backpack and rail their way across. It’s not like doing it throughout European countries and towns. But it is worth doing it you can deal with the quirks of the US rail system as it is.

We haven’t planned much further than getting things booked. And once in California there will be time to explore Disneyland, but the girl is more interested in the possibilities of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. She’s never been overly enthusiastic about the Disney princesses, but I think there will be plenty of things she’ll like once we get to actually explore the Magic Kingdom of Disney.

 

my trouble with blogging on the road

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driving I-70, lewis and clark, national parks, st. louis, travel, travel by car, travel with children, traveling with kids, US travel

 

So, I have found that on this particular trip it has been almost impossible to stop and write down the chronicles of this particular adventure. It has just been all get up, drive for 7 hours, stop to sleep, get up, drive for 7 hours, etc. with very few pauses to collect thoughts and put them down within the annals of this blog. I feel a bit like we’re running a race to see where we can get to fastest only to pause and start the race again. I know my daughter feels this way – “we’re not getting to SEE anything or DO anything interesting!” is the main complaint. And, quite frankly, I agree. We aren’t really stopping to enjoy any one place or another. But mostly that’s the time constraint of a two week vacation time frame for getting across and back so that I am back to my job in time. Having been a teacher for many years being in a job that has a two week vacation package is tough going. So this trip’s journal is mainly going to be a collection of pieces that recounts and reflects with other goodies thrown in for good measure.

Let’s see, we last left you as we were heading out of Indianapolis, Indiana having spent the night in the Pullman car and continuing our journey west…

We first met a relative for breakfast before continuing on I-70 to head towards St. Louis and the Gateway Arch. We ended up stumbling upon the home of the world’s largest Wind Chime, Golf Tee, Rocking Chair, Pencil, curbside Mailbox, and Pitchfork in the small town of Casey, Illinois.

We spent the night catching up with friends and then it was on to St. Louis, Missouri – home of the Gateway Arch, which we could hardly miss going by. We didn’t consider going up in the arch since tickets during the height of the summer months are sold out pretty quickly and it’s hot up there! But we did go into the visitor’s center and we did wader around the base and then took a stroll down along the river, which cut the heat of the day.

 

After exploring the arch and the water we met up with a former student of mine who lives in St. Louis. She gave us a driving tour of Forest Hill Park which was expansive and has an amazing history as well as present. We then decided on lunch and enjoyed conversation and great food at The Fountain on Locust. They make most everything they serve, are vegetarian friendly, and have the smallest ice-cream cone in the world as well as sundae. We celebrated mum’s birthday and then moved on to visit the Louis and Clark Boathouse and Museum.

The Louis and Clark Boathouse and Museum is a bit further down the road from St. Louis, but worth the time and effort to get out there. It’s traditionally where the pair took off on their journey to map out a route west, much unlike our own trek out west! We go there with less than an hour before closing time, but made the most of the museum before getting shooed out by staff – not really. In the boathouse is a replica of the boat Lewis and Clark set off in. You can read more about it, but it was built for the bicentennial four year expedition that recreated the historic journey. They were lovely about letting us wander around and made sure we got the most out of our time before heading out for Kansas City, MO for the night.

 

the road much travelled

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car travel, driving I-70, driving the US, travel, travel by car, travel with children, travel with kids, traveling with kids, US travel

So, we’ve been on the road for a few days now, but this is the first stop that has given me even a moment to write of our adventures so far.

We left on Thursday from Baltimore, Md – home of the National aquarium, home of the Walters Art Museum, and last resting place of Edgar Allen Poe.  We started where I-70 stared and began our adventure westward. This was going to be the big push to get the trip started and we went farther than we had originally intended. We started in overcast skies and moved into driving rain which made the trip longer and feeling a bit treacherous at times – not being able to see the marked lines on the road made driving a little more exciting that I would have liked it to be! We made stops for a stretch and a rest about every 2.5 – 3 hours of driving to get the wiggles out. Our first big stop was to see a friend from university just outside of Columbus, OH. We only had an hour, but it was good to see him in person and to know that there are just some friendships where you can pick up and keep going without lots of drama or guilt for not being the best as keeping up. We then pushed onward to our over night stay in downtown Indianapolis, IN at the Crowne Plaza Hotel at Union Station where they have Pullman cars that have been fitted up as hotel rooms. They were very comfortable, clean, and lots of fun! The hotel is filled with paster statues of various folk from past days of rail travel. The cars each have two rooms in them so they are spacious even if they don’t look much like it. BUT having ridden on Amtrak in one of the more modern sleeper cars, these are glorious! The staff was attentive, but not overly so. It was worth the push forward. The night’s rest was good and we’d all stop over again if given the chance.

After checking out we went to meet a relative (don’t ask me to give specifics, 2nd cousins or something like that) for breakfast.

One of the nice things about this trip is that it is giving us a chance to see folk we haven’t seen in some time. It may not be for long, but it’s nice all the same.

States driven through on day 1: Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, and into Indiana!

riding the rails – last day part two in retrospect…

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#findyourpark, amtrak travel, cross-country travel, find your park, glacier national park, national parks, train travel, travel, travel by train, travel with children, travel with kids

When last we left our three heroines they were returning from a day on the eastern side of GNP having been enjoying an afternoon of water coloring and one entering into the world of Junior Ranger-ship. Now we pick up as they return to the lodge and walk over to the Amtrak station to check the status of their evening train…

Mum went to the window while AEB and I took a look around the station which has quite a display about the Great Northern Railway and in particular the history of the station with the Blackfoot Nation and the park. I was impressed with the array of pictures and artifacts as well as the signboards explaining things. The station may be small, but it packs a lot of history into a small space!
The conversation at the window with the attendant did not seem to be going well so I went over to see what the news was. We were prepared for delays as most local, or at least returning folk told us that the trains never really comes in until 7:00 p.m. or later. I was not prepared for the notice that the train might be in by 3:00 a.m. Did I hear that correctly? 3? A.M.? Uh, okay. What’s happened? Well, what happened was apparently there was a derailment. A freight train, fortunately or unfortunately depending upon your point-of-view, had derailed somewhere east of Glasgow, MT on each side the passenger trains were having to stop, get everyone off, get on a bus, drive around the derailment, get on the train on the other side of the derailment and then carry on their way. So, that was the first bump in the road. 3:00 a.m. was not my first choice for leaving, but one could do it and if we could not re-book into the lodge they had a nice lobby and comfortable sofas to sleep on if there wasn’t some concert or other entertainment going on there. The next one was more difficult, especially for mum who had been planning this trip for years and dreaming of this next bit – the Columbia River Gorge. She had been talking about getting to see it by train, plotting out either getting into the observation car very early or seeing it from the sleeper window, planning what time she would have to wake up so we could all see the beauty of this incredible sight. We would not be seeing the gorge…we would not be seeing it from a train. We were told that to try and get back on schedule the train would take us as far as Spokane, WA where it would dump everyone off, turn around and head back for the next bus load waiting to get around the derailment. What?!? No gorge?!? For me, to watch mum, it seemed as if the whole trip was for nothing. Oh GNP had been great, but the whole reason for taking the train in the first place was to continue on and see the gorge by rail where you’d be right there alongside it and be part of it. The idea of seeing it from a bus felt like a “booby” prize. We talked over our options and decided to take the ride and see where it went. So, crestfallen we went back up to the lodge, took our luggage out and stashed it with the other “stranded” rail passengers’ things and while mum returned the car AEB and I set up camp at a table where she could console herself with a DVD we’d brought along and I with reading and doing a bit of writing. Sigh.
So, a movie later, we went in for supper, after supper it was check with the train – still no sign of it getting in any earlier. Time for bed, such as it could be that night. Now, upstairs on the second floor balcony where there are rooms and a lovely view of the lobby below there was a spa and outside the door of the spa there was a teepee. Yes, that’s right a teepee. We had been in that teepee the night before to check it out and see what it might be like inside. Inside there was a big, I’m talking almost life-size, black bear and two blankets. We thought that Amelia might be able to sleep in the teepee where it was darker and less noisy. It took awhile, but she did finally fall asleep. I slept for a bit and mum dozed on a sofa outside the teepee. In this not so ideal situation and in a not so ideal locale things were made even more not so ideal by the revelers in the lounge. There was to be a wedding over the coming days and folk were starting to arrive. A few adults, who I do not begrudge joy in catching up with old friends over a few drinks, got drunk and in getting drunk got loud and one gentleman seemed to be “holding court” and even after the lounge stopped serving drinks he stayed getting louder and more boisterous with every sip. I’m pretty sure he could be heard behind the doors of the rooms encircling the lobby on that second floor and perhaps even by those on the third. I wished very much to have been around for the morning so I could, in his hungover state, been there to make a loud racket for him to endure. I know this is an unkind thing to think, but thinking is different than doing. And I do hope that anyone reading this will never behave so rudely. Getting drunk is not pretty and the hangover is never worth the effort. At least I’ve never felt great after a drunken night out and always rather regretted the back-talk of the alcohol.
So, not much sleep between mum or myself. I did get out of the teepee earlier than I had set my alarm to find that the train would be getting in at 2:00 a.m. and that a van from the lodge would take us all over at 1:00 a.m. Mum got our girl’s socks and shoes on without waking her, but we rousted her when pulling her out of the teepee to carry her down to the van and the lobby of the station to wait the arrival of the train there. Oh – SO – tired! I hoped, rather than believed, that our room on the train would have the beds made up ready to just fall into them. The train came, the beds were ready for us to fall into and sleep – blessed sleep with no drunken revelers came over us all! We were on our way to Spokane, WA and who knows where next…

riding the rails – last day at GNP in retrospect…

Tags

#findyourpark, amtrak travel, cross-country travel, glacier national park, national parks, train travel, travel, travel with children, travel with kids

following one of the many trails of GNP

So, since I’ve been on this adventure I know how it turns out – that gives me an advantage in the telling of the tale. I can build the suspense and I can drag out the details, or move along quickly as I so choose. Ah, the power of the writer. If I were writing using fictional characters I would have to move as they developed, but here the events have taken place, the characters are set and alive (fortunately not as doomed as Pirandello’s “Six Characters”) and I can tell the truth or create a great fish tale. However, in this case the fish tale might pale with the reality of the day, or rather the evening but you’ll have to wait until I get there!
Another glorious morning! Did we luck out with the weather on this trip. We were prepared for almost any sort of weather knowing that in the mountains things can change rapidly, but we had blue skies and warm weather – and fortunately not as warm as apparently home was

experiencing. We had one day left and the day before had us exploring the side routes around the Saint Mary Visitor Center. I know I posted about the 4th, but we did actually do more than go to the Blackfoot event. We took a short walk up to the old ranger station and found that it was closed, but a volunteer, Sheryl Mink,  was there setting things up for this day’s event which was water coloring and mural work. She told us to come back since she was closed for setting things up and shooing out the mice that had taken up residence during the winter. And really, who can blame the mice for wanting to get out of the cold?!? We took the trail leading to Red Eagle Lake Trail coming off from the old ranger station. It was beautiful and quiet and we sang to keep the bears away for our girl who was a bit worried about them being close by. On the day we had gone into the Trading Post to pick up the car she’d seen the bear bells for sale and asked, “Why would you want to give a bear a bell?” Good question. Why would you? So we sang since the bears aren’t deterred by the bells from what we’ve been told.
It was nice to have a slower paced day with no real need to rush here or there. We did our packing and our checking out since we were anticipating that we’d need to be at
the train station around 6:00 p.m. for our train leaving at 6:45 p.m. to Portland, OR. And once that was done we went back to the ranger station, the hike and just enjoyed the afternoon. We have a feeling that we’ll return to explore other parts of GNP – we haven’t even begun to explore this vast wondrous space. So, up and over to explore and do some painting!

Sheryl put us right to work first on adding a few clouds to the mural for 2012 and then we got to explore water coloring. it was really a nice way to spend an afternoon and it was rather full of people wandering up and into the old ranger station.  AEB had a great time working on two water colors and getting advice from Sheryl about her works and telling her about her field kit with sketch pad, pencils, pens, scissors, sharpener, clipboard, etc. so she could sketch when she felt the desire as we traveled.
We found out that Sheryl’s husband and daughter volunteer up at the visitor center and they come out for the summer to volunteer and enjoy GNP. I wonder if Amelia and I will do the same as she grows and decides what sort of summer adventures to have.
The last thing that happened before heading back to the lodge and turning in the car was that our girl was made a Junior Ranger. As a mum, I should have known to take the camera

for such a proud moment, but I forgot in the excitement of going into the visitor center so our girl could show a ranger her work and tell of her time in the park. The fellow behind the desk asked her if she’d done some hiking and what she’d done while at the park and approved the work in the junior ranger booklet she had worked so hard on filling out. He had her hold up her right hand and make a pledge to care for the park and help protect the wildlife. She felt very solemn doing it and said afterwards that if she had known it was going to be such a great responsibility that she might not have done it, but now that she was a Junior Ranger she was going to take her role seriously. She was given a badge and a sticker that said she’s been hiking. She put the badge on immediately – oh the pride! She wore the badge the rest of the day and would stop and look at it from time-to-time and beam.
Time to head back on winding roads to turn in the car, check on the train status and get ready to head on out and back on the Empire Builder to Portland! This next bit deserves its own post…

riding the rails – gnp: the blackfoot nation

Tags

amtrak travel, cross-country travel, find your park, glacier national park, national parks, the blackfeet nation, train travel, travel, travel with children, travel with kids

Retrospect can be lots of fun. I’ve been enjoying going back over the memories and the photos taken and experiences had over 4 years ago. It’s fun to be reminded of things forgotten and enjoyed…

*****

This playing catch up is tough! We’re doing great things now and yet I still want to get to those things that we’ve done but I had no access to wifi or anyother-fi. I may have to re-think and do double entries for a bit while I continue to allow the soul to be filled with the past and the heart filled with the present, or visa versa, or something like that. At any rate, here are my reflections on day three, July 4th, at GNP…
What a day and what a place! The 4th of July at Glacier. I’m not expecting fireworks – avalanche? forest fire? So what to do? I’ll tell you. The National Park Service has a series of programs in the summer that are put on my members of the Blackfeet Nation. This evening there is a group called the Two Medicine Singers and Dancers (there are a bunch of videos on flickr if you do a search) that are performing tonight through a program created through the park in conjunction with the Blackfoot group. On an aside, we were told that locally they are known as the Blackfeet Indians, which I had never heard before. Growing up I had heard of the Blackfoot Nation, but never Blackfeet and apparently, if you ask someone who is part of the Nation s/he will tell you that s/he is of Blackfoot dissent. I’m not sure where the feet part came in, but I guess it won’t be wrong to keep on saying foot. If I’m understanding it has something to do with making a distinction between the Canadian branch and the USA branch, foot and feet respectively, but all those of the Nation do not consider themselves divided so continue under the foot. Just another way for the White Man to classify and divide I guess. Anyway, I thought going to see the performance would be interesting to see and something that our girl could enjoy as well. It was!
The pictures I took are fairly lousy, but I’ll post a few anyway. We were too far away and the lighting was not good enough for the small pocket camera we took with us on the trip.
It was a good way to be reminded of how free or what freedom means to different peoples. I’ve celebrated the 4th of July, the U.S. A.’s day of independence, in lots of different places around the world, but none that spoke to me more about what one nation celebrates another views quite differently – even in the USA.

opening prayer by an elder

jungle dress dancer was valedictorian of her high school class that year

quail dance – you knew what bird her was channeling!

reigning Miss Blackfeet of her division and area that year – a real princess

There were fireworks that night. We saw them from the front porch of the lodge, but didn’t stay to watch them finish. It was getting late for our girl and for myself, truth be told. The next day would be our last at the park so we wanted to make sure we were rested and ready!

riding the rails – the red buses of gnp

Tags

cross-country travel, glacier national park, national parks, the red buses of GNP, train travel, travel, travel by train, travel with children, travel with kids

When visiting Glacier National Park during the peak summer months when most of the paths have finally been slowed and the Sun Road are open for travelling it is worth the fun of touring on a Red Bus. Each time the snow melts there are new things to repair and as the snow and ice melt each spring/summer the road can be treacherous. . While we were touring a motorcycle had crashed into a guard rail and a worker that was rappelling and checking the safety of the rocks and soundness of the mountain where the road sits there was a mishap. So sometimes the road is closed to keep folk safe. However, while we were there we were able to go on most of the road, though not all of it. And while that was a bit disappointing, I’m glad to be kept safe. But back to the the Jammin’ Red Buses!

These buses have been part of the fun at Glacier since 1914, but the buses in current use have been working since the 1930s. They are iconic and worth every penny of the price of the tour. You’re bound to have an entertaining time with a guide who is fun and knowledgeable. Our tour guis, Larry, fell in love with the buses and Glacier as a tourist and he and his wife moved when it was time to retire so he could work with the red buses full time. He retired from Ford Auto as a film maker and worked on the quintessential film about the red buses. Larry was entertaining, a fount of knowledge, and ready to answer any question – even the ones posed by our girl. We took the full day tour, but they do have shorter options if you don’t want to spend the whole day out.

I’m not going to do anything more than post some fabulous photos of our time on the red bus tour. Some of the photos have captions to go with them. Soak it in, think about going, and enjoy the ride…

our red bus

stoping for lunch

Larry answering the question, “why are the Black Foot Indians call ‘Black Foot'”?

rivers are fast due to melting snow

we got to have the top down for a bit

the Paramount Pictures Mountain peak is the one just above the tiny island…

closer view of the peak

mountain goats

fast moving waters

our glaciers are melting

on top near the Nation Park visitor centre the snow was still pretty deep!

and home in time for tea!