Bronze art from the streets of Joseph

Joseph, OR

Joseph is famous for its metal foundries (there are two) and we got in to tour one of them. The tour lasted about an hour and we learned actually how the lost wax method of casting is done. They did not allow pictures in the foundry but, by special request, Jerry got to take a few. This foundry actually did all of the metal work on the WW II memorial in Washington DC which was quite a job. They are now working on display cases for the “American Originals” which will hold the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights and the Constitution along with other important documents. To see them in progress was quite impressive.

One of the Galleries had a couple of penguins that Jerry wanted to give a good home to. Unfortunately, they did not fit into the budget and, even if they did, Anna Lee did not want them leaving messes all over the house. She kept saying it would be tough to find krill at Costco to feed them. Actually, they were bronze and we did not have a place to put them on display. Jerry could have built something but that suggestion was also vetoed.

Hells Canyon

Winding road to Wallowa

We drove south to Oregon along a serpentine road that descended and then ascended the Wallowa Mountains. On our map, the line was an spiral. The ride was awesome in terrain and in twists.

We headed for Joseph, OR at the edge of Hell’s Canyon. Our Oregon friends, Anne and Jerry, reminded us that we had been her with them before but that was winter and this was summer with a blue lake and green trees with snow capped mountains all around. The area is so lovely we settled in for a few days (thought we kept having to change campsites.) The park was full of families with lots of kids and everyone was having a great time. One evening we went into Joseph and both had a pizza for dinner. Honestly, one of the best pizzas we have had in years. Jerry enjoyed one with all of the junk he likes to enjoy on pizza and Anna Lee had a BBQ chicken and goat cheese variety. We will finish off the last of each for dinner tonight.

We drove up to a Hell’s Canyon lookout for Jerry to try out his photo class lessons. There was also a tram ride to the top of the mountain near our campsite but it was still awaiting inspector approval after the winter so we had to leave that for a return trip in the future.

Not bad for a start

Our anniversary

June 23 is our anniversary and we celebrated 45 years in style. Before we left Missoula, we stopped by the Smokejumpers Training School. Jerry was not too interested but quickly changed his mind. The tour was very interesting and informative and we both learned a lot about this little known area of firefighting. (Some of the crew are fighting fires right now in CA). We then drove to Coeur d’Alene to spend a couple of days in a city Anna Lee has been wanting to visit for years. Neither of us were disappointed. The town is great with lots of small shops selling art and other stuff. We had dinner at Beverly’s which is supposed to be the best restaurant in town and it really served a great meal. The photo was Anna Lee’s first course. We took the picture before she started eating. We didn’t take a picture of the dessert because we were too busy licking the plates.

Anna Lee's Dandelion

Jerry's Columbine

Wildflower portraiture

We both took a second photography course on wildflower portraiture. The two hour class just scratched the surface of the subject but we had the opportunity to learn secrets of the pros. The teacher was so good, he helped Anna Lee take a pretty picture of a common dandelion.

Wildflowers in Waterton Lakes

More from Waterton Lakes

As a part of the Waterton Lakes Wildflower Festival was a landscape photography class that really interested Jerry. He signed up immediately and had a wonderful time and really learned a lot. The photo that is attached to this entry was not his best but it still looks pretty good. What do you think? After the class, in the evening, Jerry & Anna Lee went back up to the same area but they did not wander too much as Anna Lee was convinced that the bear we saw the previous night was sizing her up for dinner. We also had a great dinner for our anniversary (a few days early).

This is my road

The USA on the left, Canada on the right

Waterton Lakes National Park, Canada

Another wonderful day in Glacier Park, this time on the Canadian side, Waterton Lakes National Park. We enjoyed a boat ride on Upper Waterton Lake to Goat Haunt which is a ranger station, actually back in the USA. The lake at this point is surrounded by high peaks coated with snow and only one glacier (defined as a moving body of ice and snow). When we crossed the border back into the US we noted a swath of land that is cleared about once a decade to mark the 49th parallel, a treaty actually requires this defined line. Waterton was the first International Peace Park and it must work, we haven’t had a war with Canada in almost two hundred years.

On a drive up to Cameron Lake we had two bear sightings, our closest encounter. We also saw several pair of days old fawns near our campsite which is on the edge of the town.

Go ahead, blog me

A waterfall that needed to be photographed

The Many Glaciers area

Today, we did a little housekeeping on the RV then drove up to Many Glaciers, an area that was very well named. We were startled to see an ice shelf hanging out over nothing. We went on to view the Many Glaciers area and stopped to check out the 100 year old hotel. As we have noted the area is really beautiful as our pictures showed.

We returned to East Glacier to hike about a mile to Bering Falls, where a deer insisted on posing for Jerry. This was also impressive although not as big as some of the others. We also saw Sun Rift Gorge but the area was very dark and it was difficult to get a good picture. We also stopped to take pictures of Wild Goose Island. The wildflowers are just beginning to fill the meadows and the colors are a contrast to all the green, white, brown and blue we have been seeing.

An ice shelf just waiting to fall

Hotel in Many Glaciers

Off to East Glacier National Park

After exploring West Glacier, we decided to compare it with East Glacier. We could not take the RV over the Going to the Sun Road and it was closed anyway so we had to drive aroung which was an experience in itself. It is a big coach to drive on a narrow two lane road with no shoulder but we made it. Our first hike was to St. Mary and Virginia waterfalls, among a number of other unnamed ones. Wildflowers are opening as the sun has returned. The walk to Virginia waterfall, about 1.5 miles, was mostly downhill. The problem that we had was that we had to come back to the car. Anyway, we made it.

We debated which side was more beautiful. We would like you to compare pictures and give us your opinion. We will share our answer after we have visited our third Glacier site at Many Glacier (in a few days).

McDonald Lake near our campsite

Did we say mud???

Avalanche Lake, its waterfalls & Anna Lee

Sometimes you have to share the campsite

Glacier National Park

Continuing west we debated what the white shapes were on the horizon. Soon they took form, the snow covered mountains of Glacier National Park. You know I am rarely at a loss for words, but terms like spectacular, majestic and awesome pale when describing the beauty of this area. We stayed in a wooded campsite in the park. We thought the Going to the Sun road would be open by the time we arrived but that was not to be. Snow and avalanches have kept it closed at the top, so we made due with what we could. On the west side, the road ended at the Avalanche Lake trail head. We parked the car and took a muddy hike to Avalanche Lake and its surrounding mountains with more waterfalls than we could count. We are still trying to clean our shoes.

They even had a still

The madam of the house

Havre main street (Highway 2)

Havre, MT

For two days we drove west along Montana Highway 2. The color palette was limited but not dull. Beside us were the many greens of the grassland alternating with the buff and beige of the earth. Above Montana’s Big Sky was blue with white fluffy highlights.

For two miles of the road, we drove along a dirt washboard in pouring rain. Our car and RV turned mud colored.

We won’t complain about road construction when we get home. Havre, MT on Hwy 2 has had its main street, the highway, and side streets completely dug up for over a year. The continuing rain storms promised that the mess will continue. The only thing to do was head underground which we did taking the Underground Tour of Havre. The city burned to the ground in 1909. Wanting to continue to do business, the locals decided that their only alternative, until the city was rebuilt, was to go below the streets and conduct business. Some of these businesses continued open until the 70s. Today it is a unique museum with antiques, some of which we remembered. When you go underground, you can see everything from a butcher shop to a brothel. The ladies of the night did not have names by the way, you were assigned to number —

After a day of roaming at TR National Park

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

The next day was spent touring the Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Chateau de Mores and the remainder of the town including a visit to the ND Cowboy Hall of Fame. Theodore Roosevelt is a favorite son of Medora, spent a lot of time here, and also had business interests in the area. His contribution to the country is spoken of with reverence and he has much respect here. Another local character is the Marques who tried to start a meat packing business in Medora. He build a 26 room “cabin” in the wilderness and staffed it with people to make it seem like a home in New York. These two characters were in Medora at the same time and their interactions are the subject of much local discussion. The third major player in the history of the town was Harold Schaffer (inventor of Mr. Bubbles) who started the Musical.

The Medora Musical

Pre show elk

The Medora Musical

That evening we went to a steak BBQ that included great brownies (seconds if asked for, but we didn’t). The dinner was followed by the Medora Musical. The pre-performace entertainment were a herd of elk on the bluff behind the stage. The Medora Musical was a two hour show set in the wild west of North Dakota. The theater is outdoors and it was cold, but, wrapped in layers of clothes and our 49er blanket, we stayed warm for an enjoyable evening.

Gary Greff, artist, gardner, custodian and handyman of the Enchanted Highway

Fishermans Dream

Big Surprise in Medora

From Custer, we proceeded toward Glacier National Park and, on the way, stopped at the small town of Medora, North Dakota. The plan was to stay for a night and we ended up staying for three. At first, we just wanted to see the Enchanted Highway that Anna Lee had found a writeup on in Smithsonian. The story, which we got directly from the artist, a retired high school teacher and principal, is that his hometown, Regent, ND was dying and he wanted to do something to bring it back to life. He decided that people liked to see big things so he installed the world’s largest metal sculptures along the 30 miles of road between I 94 and Regent. He has seven installations and plans for four more. They are all great fun. Lunch in Regent was also excellent.

That's using your head