Month: July 2023

When I turned north on this journey and left the sweltering Texas heat and humidity, I expected to spend time in some mild temperatures. I did not expect that that would only occur once I reached the Cascades range of western Washington. This past week in Northern Idaho and Eastern Washington saw temperatures in the mid-90s, which really limited the amount of walking that Dad and I did during the afternoons. Our walks were mainly in the mornings before my workdays began—the promenade at Lake Coeur d’Alene is a very pleasant place for a stroll. We still had some good meals during this stretch, though Dad chose not to eat sushi when we went to a Japanese restaurant in Spokane.

Yesterday I drove along Washington’s highway 20 through North Cascades National Park. It was a pretty drive, though it doesn’t reach the levels of some of the stretches of road in Montana. I did a short hike up to a glacier-fed alpine lake, a hike that was surprisingly crowded for a National Park that I didn’t even know existed until very recently. That was a disappointment as it meant bits of conversation kept intruding into the solitude. Today I’ll drive through Seattle en route to the Olympic peninsula for a few days. There I’ll see the open Pacific Ocean some two and a half months after I left the open Atlantic in southern Georgia. That vista won’t mark the end of anything but it will be a milestone of me having truly driven all the way across America.

Glacier is one of the true gems of the national park system. I thought that after my first visit and I think it with even more conviction after spending a few more days there this week. The vista over Hidden Lake atop Logan Pass is right up there among the best views in the world, something I’ve mentally reinforced through the years by having it as one of the pictures that rotates through the display on my digital picture frame. There are several other lakes too that can be great end points of hikes—a hike up to Iceberg Lake on my prior visit was one of the great hiking days I’ve ever had. The Going to the Sun Road is among the prettiest drives in the world (as long as you aren’t in a hurry). There are high alpine meadows with dots of red, yellow, white, and purple throughout the park. There are bighorn sheep, mountain goats, and grizzly bears to see. On my first trip I also saw a moose but not this time. There are even little pika running around that are closely related to groundhogs but that only live at high altitudes.

I was joined again by my father for this portion of the journey. He couldn’t pass up a quick summer trip to Northwest Montana as he continues to settle into his retirement. I don’t blame him. There are several reasons I chose to be in this part of the country at this time of year. This also gave me the added benefit of being able to take advantage of his lifetime park pass, which for whatever reason costs the same amount as I would have paid for an annual pass.

I did not count on it being as hot as it has been in the afternoons, but during our walk up from the visitor center at Logan Pass to the Hidden Lake overlook we wore long sleeves into a biting wind coming off some of the mountains. That offered some refreshment after a morning drive that started before 6 AM. Quite a few of the days in Kalispell started before 6 AM, a product of the bedrooms in the rental facing eastward without anything approaching a blackout curtain to stop the 5:30 daylight coming through.

It does appear that others are finally catching onto the beauty of Glacier. You have to make vehicle reservations now to enter the various entrances during mornings and early afternoons. This was a new thing for me and the website functioned about as well as I expected a government website to function. I was able to get the reservations I wanted, but the exercise was not without stress.

I’m spending this week in Montana’s Gallatin Valley. I’ve stayed in Bozeman before but only as a waypoint going to and from Yellowstone. I’m enjoying this college town and its surroundings and the respite from the heat I experienced farther south. Yesterday, I took a good long hike, the first of over ten miles I’ve taken in a few years. I did a few warmup hikes over the weekend, but my feet and calves are still sore today. I expected that. Today is a full workday in between meetings with people spread all over the world.

This hike was on an out-and-back trail that goes a little over five miles along a creek up a glacial valley to a high alpine lake. There are also about ten waterfalls along the way with side trails to add to the total distance. I love a waterfall trail so this was a great first long hike in Montana. It won’t be the last while I’m here. All told, I was on the trail for about six and a half hours. Even though it was a Tuesday, I encountered other people though I walked alone.

A few miles before the trailhead, I lost cell service. I know that because my music stopped playing. I didn’t have cell service again until I was on the way back into Bozeman and that gladdened me. I remember a conversation during one of my law school summers when a partner commented that everyone would soon take vacations only to the most remote places in order to escape their phones. For whatever reason (most likely living in fear of my phone while I was a BigLaw associate), that offhand remark has stuck with me. If I could only discipline myself to stop checking my phone at all hours, I’m actually in a position to alleviate that problem now in my own life. I’m not there yet. Yesterday was a nice glimpse into what could be in that regard, though I won’t always need to walk on rocky ground to find that mental freedom.

I’ve been in and around Denver for the last week, and it has offered a brief taste of a life I haven’t had in several years. During my stay I’ve spent some time with one of my good friends from college and his wife and son, a little boy who is just old enough to show off his budding personality. The difference between being among good company and being alone is so stark as to be jarring. I’ve been with people for the last couple of weeks, first family and then friends. That will come to an end tomorrow as I continue northward. I’m sure I’ll reflect on the difference quite a bit over the next stretch of highway miles.

The only other time I’ve visited Denver was actually for their wedding but on that trip I didn’t have a car and so was confined to the downtown area for most of the weekend. This time I’ve been able to move about freely and that has meant more variety in restaurants and breweries. This trip had hailstorms (not as bad as what I drove through in Texas) but none of the rattlesnakes I encountered during my previous stay. I’m not sure how I feel about the city itself. That’s not really why I’m here. Walking through some of the parks was enjoyable though.

One day, after a work session in the morning, I drove into the mountains. From Denver you can see the Rockies but the city itself sits in the leeward plains. I didn’t actually go into the national park—that would’ve required more advance planning this time of year—but driving through and walking under the mountains felt right, especially so after driving across the plains where I’ve always felt a slight unease.