Road trip, day three: potholes and lakes.

In the morning I ate breakfast at the hostel (which, by the way, has an AMAZING kitchen!), then grabbed some coffee at the Mercantile and headed north to Bowman Lake to see what I could see. The road to the lake was even worse than the road to Polebridge and I could feel Clarence's patience wearing thin over that short but verrrrrrry long six miles.

There were a lot of people at the lake by the time I got there. Most were picnicking but some headed toward the trails so I followed, my borrowed bear bell ringing like a Christmastime Salvation Army collector at the mall.

I hike alone all the time and never think twice about it but on this trip I was a bit freaked out by the bear prospect. Aside from the warning signs at the park entrances/on the park brochure stapled to my entrance ticket/along the sides of the road/at the head of every trail/etc., a girl at the hostel had walked up toward Bowman Lake the day before and seen a black bear from the road. (She immediately turned around and walked back to the hostel.) It's true that I want to swim with great white sharks someday but getting anywhere near any kind of non-stuffed bear is not on any kind of list I have going... so instead of doing the Numa Lookout hike that Oliver had recommended, I just wandered close to the lake ringing my bell.

not a bear

It took a few hours for the ringing in my ears to stop but I didn't see any bears. I did see some gorgeous reflections of the mountains in the lake.

After a few hours I headed back to the car and took the road up to Kintla Lake, "a place to go only on purpose" according to the Moon guidebook. No kidding - 15 miles of treacherous potholed dirt road leads you through lovely meadows and forest and drops you at a beautiful lake and campground.

serenity now

Unfortunately for me, a large Ford truck followed me the whole 15 miles kicking dust everywhere, and after the Truck Yahoos got out and made snide comments about my "little car" making it up that road (to which I replied, in my head, "yeah, it sure did, and it won't be Found On Road Dead anytime soon, AND I get better gas mileage" but outwardly just smiled in response), said Yahoos proceeded to throw large rocks into the lake where I'd just sat down for a peaceful view.

So I found a nice river/bridge combo a few hundred feet away and admired the lake, forest and mountains.

hey Yahoos, I said, serenity now!

A woman quietly walked by and pointed out two baby hummingbirds testing their wings in the tree above the bridge. She said she thought I "might enjoy that." Either I give off birder vibes, or she saw me walk away from the Yahoos. Whichever the case, I was thrilled to watch those babies flap around for a good 30 minutes while the river ran below my feet.

prepare for the flight

Lots more dirt road on the way back to the hostel, where I finished the second Harry Potter book (yeah, I'm only a bazillion light years behind on this, I know) and hit the sack in prep for another big driving day en route to East Glacier. Still decompressing from city life, but this intro to the mountains was definitely the way to go.

Again I say: well done, Polebridge.

Road trip, day two: hello, Polebridge!

It was an uneventful drive from Spokane to Polebridge, the highlight being a quick stop at the Paradise Whistle Stop Cafe for a sandwich and the most amazing beer-battered french fries I've ever had. The gal working there was really, really nice - but hadn't made it up to Glacier, even being so close all these years. I guess when you live (and work) in a place called Paradise, there's not much reason to leave.

(just one order of fries with lunch, occifer!)

dots on the maps inside represent people visiting from all over the world this year...

... and from the US too - mine is the dark green dot over Portland

After I passed through Paradise, I started to see mountains. Real Rocky Mountain mountains.

Clarence (road trip buddy since college) was ecstatic - I could barely keep him in the car

I was more ecstatic about the 75mph speed limits

After a few minutes north of Columbia Falls, I hit a dirt road that just wouldn't quit...

No, that doesn't quite do it justice. Let's just say it will be a long time before Clarence forgives me for that bumpy ride, and also that an alignment is in my immediate future when I get back to Portland.

Anyway, I started to hit the mountain version of civilization and eventually got to Polebridge around 5pm. I checked in with Oliver, owner of North Fork Hostel, got settled and started to explore.

A few things about Polebridge:

Population: 90. Yes, nine-zero. I saw about a dozen wood cabin-like dwellings on the town's main road, many that had camping tents set up in their yard. Not sure if that's the norm or if it was due to the wedding occurring that weekend and a lack of other accommodations - Oliver said that the weekend I arrived would their biggest 2010 summer weekend other than July 4th. (For perspective, the wedding probably had about 40 guests.)

They have no electricity. Everything runs by generator and conserving kWh is of the utmost importance.

power plant, Polebridge-style

Conserving water is a big deal too. As I was washing my coffee mug, Oliver stopped me so that he could set up three bins in the sink - one to wash, one for the first rinse and one for the final rinse. Naturally, it being the 21st century and all, wifi is available in the hostel and it's free - but sheet/towel rentals are not due to the kWh and water required to run the washing machine.

They have no flush toilets. None. In the whole town. The hostel had the nicest outhouse I've ever seen, though, and inside Oliver has preserved the original owner's quirky posters, mountain comics, placards and signed photos of every Republican president that reigned in my lifetime.

b. y. o. h(eadlamp)

There is one store.

Polebridge Mercantile has everything from groceries to batteries to bear spray to the most amazing cinnamon rolls I've ever had, made fresh daily. It also has one restaurant/saloon where everyone gathers at night to watch the volleyball game or listen to live music. It reminded me a lot of Nederland, Colorado, at least how it was 12 years ago...

The sun doesn't set until 10pm so I had plenty of time to walk up and down (and up and down, and up and down) the dirt road between the Mercantile and the end of the road.

hostel neighbor

the end of the road (the Mercantile is barely visible in the top left)

There are lots of signs reminding you to slow down.

These were not the doings of crazy mountain hippies, as the guidebooks might lead you to believe - they were referring to your car's speed on the windy, bumpy, dusty, dog-riddled roads.

But still, I was coming down from 12 hours of high-speed driving and being constantly wired (coffee, Internet, real life prep - interpret that as you wish), so I took artistic license with these instructions and told my car as well as my brain to shut up for a little while.

Finished the day with a great Big Sky Country sunset...

... and got an amazing night's sleep.

Well done, Polebridge.

Road trip, day one: Spokane, WA.

I stopped at one of the Spokane Motel 6's to break up the 12-hour drive from Portland to Glacier National Park. Just as I arrived, the sun was setting...


... which was a much prettier view than the bedspread at the Motel 6.

points for use of every Crayola color, though!

Last day Friday fives.

"So what was your favorite part?"

I suspect I will get this question a lot so I put some thought into it on the plane from BA-Houston. I don't have a favorite "part" or "place" or "country." There was too much! What I do have are favorite moments and favorite days.

Top five moments in the order experienced:

• kayaking around Melchior Islands on a gorgeous Antarctic day, listening to nothing but our paddles dip and the glaciers calf around us

(somewhere in there are teeny tiny kayakers)

• watching dolphins porpoise under my feet one night as we sailed under a bed of a gazillion Galapagos stars
• enjoying the last night on the Inca Trail where it was finally warm enough to sit outside, frogs were croaking, the clouds settled into the mountain but the stars and moon were still visible, and we had a great hike earlier that day

(somewhere in there are lots of clouds - the light is from the dinner tent)

• the jaguar sighting in Manu Biosphere Reserve (duh!)

(photo courtesy Tammy Palmer - I was too busy gawking to get my camera out)

• being stunned into silence by Gargantua del Diable Falls at Iguazu

Runner up: sitting at the top of Argentina, looking out across Paraguay and Brasil, wearing a shirt I bought in Ecuador and a bracelet I got in Peru, thinking about our upcoming trip to Uruguay.

(Paraguay to the left, Brasil to the right)

And the top five days in the order I experienced them:

• our first day in the Falkland Islands where the sun was shining, the penguins were totally goofy, the albatross colony was ginormous and we took a nice walk around the hills of Steeple Jason

(gentoos running madly around the beach)

(rockhopper posing angrily)

(albatross colony of about 150,000)

(Steeple Jason hike - just gorgeous)

• our third day in South Georgia where the skies were gray and the cold hurt at times, where we walked along Shackleton's last few miles of his famous trek and stood around his grave at the end of the day to drink a toast to "the Boss"

(Shackleton hike)

(cheers!)

• Bellavista Lodge and the Mindo butterfly sanctuary outside of Quito

(my first entry into the cloud forest)

(hummingbirds galore)

(Mindo butterfly sanctuary)

• hiking at Parque Nacional El Cajas near Cuenca

• the second day at Manu where we sat peacefully in the rain for hours waiting for macaws and saw everything but, then the skies clearing for a sea otter family viewing, a peaceful oxbow lake tour and a lovely sunset

(I'm sure I have the name of this bird somewhere... chances are high it's a flycatcher)

(sea otters playing and drifting by)

Runner up day would be the continental landing when we all turned into 10-year olds, having snowball fights and glissading down the hillside.

(somewhere at the top right is a teeny tiny person - great perspective on how enormous the ice is)

See? I can't even narrow it down to five of each of them. It was an amazing trip. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Chau, Buenos Aires. For the last time.

The "best pizza in Buenos Aires" turned out to be "just OK" but maybe that was just our gringo taste buds talking. (No pepperoni?? Snobs.) The place was worth seeing though - full of locals and animated waiters. A fun evening. The taxi rides to and from, not so fun for me... my knuckles were white the whole time.

Tuesday I felt a lot better so after breakfast I went to the Reserva Ecológica Costenera Sur along the shore. It was the one place I hadn't been able to visit when I was first in BA and it was probably for the best - I am so glad I went in the fall instead of the hot, humid summer. And I am so glad I went in general. Getting there involved crossing many busy intersections so it was good (although a bit nerve-wracking) to put myself back into the crazy BA streets, but once I was there I got nature's mental reset which I desperately needed.

In the reserve there is a big loop path that goes through pretty marshland and overlooks the city. After about a mile I unexpectedly came to a small beach and sat there for a while enjoying the scenery.

The reserve houses all kinds of birds and at one point I looked around and noticed that about eight different species of birds were pecking the ground around me, and a handful of other sea birds were gliding above. No cars, no other people... just me, the birds and the waves. Chevere.


Heading back to meet Kim for lunch I went through the mall and up Florida Avenue for old times' sake (and to use the mall bathroom - when in need/doubt, hit the mall or McDonalds). What a madhouse of consumerism.

We had a great last BA lunch at a San Telmo trattoria and wandered the antique shops for a bit, then headed to the airport.

(ricotta vegetable crepes with pesto sauce for me...)

(...steak and sweet potato fries for Kim)

Surreal to think the trip is over. I saw too many truly spectacular things to list, I met some very nice people (locals and travelers) and I shared some good times with good friends.

I didn't "figure it all out" but I didn't expect to... However, I did get some great perspective on myself and on the world that I hope to put to use in my next endeavor(s). One point I don't want to lose sight of: how very fortunate we are in the US, for so many reasons. None of which involve TV, flavored coffee or name brand clothing.

So. Entonces. We now return you to my regularly scheduled programming. Not sure what that means. The 2010 Adventure is to be continued... As with Part One, I don't really know what to expect from Part Two other than lots of options and exciting times ahead.

And continued roaming, of course.

Photo of the day, 6/1/2010: if only.

much to my dismay, it was merely a restaurant

Photo of the day, 5/31/2010: exactly.

ArtFactory hostel wall art