Suicidal Bunnies.

We made it, we're here, we're here!

ALASKA baby, ALASKA.



68 degrees and sunny!

The northern most border crossing in our northern most state. there was even a worker from Texas at the border.

It was an amazing day....clear skies, fresh air, amazing views. [the road to this point was drudgery. the experience of leaving behind a strong bitter taste into a new landscape was with us as we parted from Dawson City. crossing the border was the realization of that moment. from bitter to tasty. mmmm, Alaska.]



And then we came up with 10 reasons why Alaska is cooler than Canada:

1.Beer is cheaper
2.Its real beer
3.No more of that crazy Eh talkin
4.Less RVers
5.the highest mountain in North America
6.It contains 5,ooo miles worth of islands
7.Its part of America....The America, thanks mr. seward, no folly here.
8.The expensive food is at least good and 2x portions.
9.Chicken, Alaska
10.Suicidal Bunnies

Chicken. Chicken, Alaska. What an amazing place. Everyone should get laid there.

We were then on our way to Delta Junction [and bunnies, bunnies, bunnies, EVERYWHERE. all tempting fate on the side of the road. they all must have been so full of life, they were tiring of it. inches from the tire they would hop, then back into the bush on the side of the road. 20 or so had an adrenaline rush before....] and all of a sudden, out of nowhere, there was a bunny suicide. [sigh.] Chris was driving....thank god I don't have that on my conscience! [it was a sad moment, a bunny jumped out in front of the car, landed in the middle of the front, as we passed over it, i looked back in the rearview, and there were; unfortunately, no survivors.] There must have been at least 20 bunnies on the side of the road in a 3 second time span.

I guess they are screwing like rabbits up in here! [apparently it is for the best, with their live life, taste death attitude...jeeez, maybe they are australian bunnies.]

We made it to Delta Junction and were really peckish, so stopped in a roadside dive where we both fell in love.....with some halibut. Oh lordie was it fantastic.....soft, moist, not too fishy and delicious.

So Chris likes to call ahead and reserve places for us to stay....[after cori stressing like carbon being made into diamond about not having places to stay...i started calling places.] so he calls up this one place on his fancy phone and reserves us a room. Then after driving for about 15 minutes outside of town, in the middle of nowhere, I began to get a little worried....then we saw the sign....The Country Inn B&B.....well, they were not lying about the country part! This nice lady ushered us to our house....nobody else was there, so we had free reign....how nice it was to be in a house! Then she brought over this fantastic breakfast...i would say the best breakfast we have had on the trip....some omelet concoction with BACON and a giant slice of coffee cake ....chris kept trying to steal my cake....he has quite the sweet tooth...I, on the other hand, am sweet enough as it is.

Then I went to the main building to pay, and well, it was some kind of church with a huge kitchen and 2 old ladies a singin and a cookin up a storm. They gave us some Jesus coffee....Jesus was it bitter!

We decided to take the scenic route to Denali National Park by heading down the Denali Highway....we have now discovered that “scenic” must mean dirt road in some other language.
scenic: dirt road with lots of potholes and a washboard -like surface that is never driven down, therefore is deemed “scenic”.



not really...it was not so bad, and the scenery was really nice...but we were happy to hit the pavement.

and here we are Miss Sunniebee. Denali.

The Denali has reached Denali !!!!!!

4,938.5 miles, and we are here....in one piece....we have refrained from killing one another (but still have a ways to go)....and wine is cheap again!!!! yeah. [the denali np store is the cheapest store in alaska.]

So far the bear count is 11. That is, we have seen 11 bears on the side of the road (4 of those were cubbies).

So we pull up to the information center to get our camp spot for the night, and lo and behold....there were 2 more Texas plates in the parking lot. One was a mini cooper packed to the brim with crap. Me and Chris looked at one another and said.... heeeeell no..... that would have been us in my car.... thanks again mom! (although their trip is probably costing them half what it is costing us)...oh well....this is livin.

Chris decided to call ahead again early that morning to see which campsites were open in the park, and once again we lucked out and got a slot at Wonder Lake. (sometimes it pays to be a planner) [we really lucked out on that one...usually it requires a 6 month advance booking to reserve a spot there..]It is a nice campsite at the end of the road in Denali next to the lake, and if you are really lucky, you might get that amazing shot of Mt. McKinley with its reflection on the lake. (We were not that lucky) We woke every morning at 5:30 am , but did not get lucky enough for the reflection shot.

But lucky enough to see 2 momma grizzlies, 3 baby grizzlies, 1 golden eagle, 1 giant male moose, 1 caribou, 1 wolf (alpha), 2 red foxes, one beaver working away on his dam, and the freaking cutest thing ever.....a weasel. I dont know if you guys have ever seen a weasel, but oh my god, it was really THE cutest thing ever....look it up...short tailed red weasel....apparently they turn white, like so many animals here, in the winter.

We lucked out on the bus ride to the campsite and got Mona as our driver....she was awesome. We have decided that Denali is our favorite national park ever. Everyone (except this one cranky old smokin bus driver) was super nice. [and totally informed and enthusiastic about the park]

The crazy thing about Denali is that there are only about 4 trails in the park, and is therefore referred to as a trail-less park. Which means that you can just go off trampling wherever you like. In fact, they ask that you do not walk in a line....walk side by side, so that you do not create a trail.....Chris was really happy about this since he does not have to walk in front anymore. Then I thought on it a little more....hum, no trails....that means you need a topographical map and have to navigate your way around so as not to get lost in the wilderness with all of the grizzly bears and wolves and moose.....hum......navigate.....hum.....yeah, I don't think we are going hiking Chris....he happily concurred.

As most of you know, Cori and Directions don't really know one another very well, in fact, we are complete strangers. Then i thought of all those times me and my dad went tramping through colorado parks without trails and he would make me turn around and tell him how to get back to camp....but nahhhh....not this time.....not without the ol GPS. [Cori + City boy Chris on a hike with no trail equals a disgruntled rescue team in t-3 days.]

So the bus ride was stunning.... “the light is just amazing on those mountains” says Chris....so I made the bus driver pull over (as I have done 1,000 times so far) [she is thankfully exceptionally patient.] so that Chris could get a photo....which of course means that I am entitled to a print now......ha.



And then we rounded the mountain, and we saw her.....peaking out of the clouds....Mamma McKinley, or Denali....meaning “the great one” in native Athabaskan tongue.



What a sight she is....20,320 ft. So we are now in the 30% club....only 30% of people coming to the park actually get to see her....she sleeps a lot under a blanket of clouds, but she was alive, alert, awake, and enthusiastic this day. [30% is actually counting 24 hours out of every day...so apparently we are actually in the 10% club.]

There are so many mountains in Alaska that they don't name them all....too much paperwork i guess.
Lazy alaskans. [Most of the mountains surrounding Denali actually have no names!]

So camping at Wonder lake was pretty good....you know, we got to know the Alaskan state bird really well.....so well that Chris decided to write an Ode to it....here it is.



An Ode to the MOSQUITO:

needle piercing skin
all the blood therein
divine nectar of red
come and get thee fed

fly away your short days
between those with flesh
come and get your blood filled craze
after we leave our mesh

25 types of vampire
25 ways of crushing your empire
a fist, a hand,
a foot against the land

fly fly away quick
to a hidden place unmanned
for the ambrosia of sweet life
will overpower your fear of strife

although you come from the world
of pleasure and pain
that sweet sweet drug
will bring you back again

you risk all for living full
and with your multitude
you solidify your rule
through pestilence oh so cruel

one the precipice of death you hover
until my hand you discover
falls faster than you can find
your ever elusive cover

perhaps this is the life you choose
perhaps life has made the choice instead
either way,
i wish you were dead.

(but thanks for the fish, and the blueberries..ah balance)


Those damn things were ruthless....they bit me on the palm of my hand....the palm...and behind the ears...and on top of the head...on my scalp. I hate them!!!!!!!!! Thank god my dad bought me a mosquito head net years back.....I really never thought i would wear that thing, but it was absolutely necessary.

So Denali was everything we had hoped for and more...the more being a weasel....and about 50 mosquito bites. buggers...for real.

Just imagine a grand valley, whimsical mountains, meandering streams, and a lotta wildlife. a lotta.
Its pretty much fantastic...but I guess they say a picture is worth a thousand words.....



Bye Denali.....you were fantastico.

Talkeetna is a small sort of hippy town, well, filled with hippy type. We had an amazing breakfast at the Roadhouse (make sure to only order a half plate here folks), and it was on to our flight.

Captain Paul. What a good guy. The forecast was partially cloudy, but we went anyways. Flying, flying, flying along. where cars look like ants and everything is but a mere pattern down below.

[We began over the plains approaching the park, rivers and streams carved out by glaciation thousands of years ago. as we flew, the foothills outside of the windows slowly gained elevation, brandishing their barren rock, and hinting at the deep snows that continue to linger within the deep mountains. the abrupt change in landscape quickly became apparent once we passed into the southeast boundary of the park. as we passed the foothills, the landscape quickly changed. lakes, rivers and streams transformed into their former selves, ancient glaciers.







frigid cold, relentlessly pushing moraine down into the valleys below the glaciers push and pull the landscape as they slowly flow. the clouds obscured the high peaks and the sun occasionally revealed glimpses into the heart of the park. in these moments, we were able to see the seemingly endless mountain terrain, seemingly impenetrable except by plane, we were broaching an unknown territory...airborne and instantly miniscule. it was humbling and astounding.







as we climbed altitude and began to take note of the massive peaks surrounding us on either side of the plane, cori and i exchanged ecstatic glances. we were giddy, and smiling as both of us had rarely experienced an opportunity to see this raw landscape in such a unique way. both of us were overwhelmed and impressed.

And then i saw It.

Denali, the high one, came into view. clear as a bell through a din of noise, all else was put to rest beneath it.




Standing at over 20,300 feet, i had to tilt my head 45 degrees upwards, high above the surrounding mountains to view the summit. the apex was encircled by a wisp of a cloud that submitted to the height of the mountain. excitedly, i motioned to cori to look up and out the cockpit window in hopes that she could she what i was seeing. she did. her face lit up into a smile of amazement. it was a truly one of kind experience, and i'm thankful to have had it.]

Glacier landing what what?





We skied in the plane down a glacier...how cool is that? The plane had skis.....and we landed on a glacier. [so cool yep.] There was this guy from Cabo, mexico on the plane with us that had never before seen snow. And it was snowing up there.....he was in heaven....I made him make a snowball before we had to board again.

It was an amazing flight....here is a little clip i took.....



Then we were invited to the annual fiesta that Talkeetna Air Taxi (the company we went with) was throwing down that night. Whiskey Tango. Naturally it was a country theme....we felt right at home with all of the cowboy hats and chili....ummm chili. [cori wishes it was chile though.] did i mention free beer? yeah.....we stuck around for a while.....and met several people from Texas who have migrated there....basically I think a good portion of Texans have moved to Alaska...we keep meeting them...everywhere....and it is a little like Texas here....you know minus the mountains and sea life and green....a little like home.

And we also met the funniest guy in the world. Those new yorkers, you gotta love them. We got an ab workout that night. And saw our captain dressed in a full mariachi garb....he looked just like chevy chase from the 3 amigos....hilarious.

OH Talkeetna....good stuff.

SunnieBee

And the Yukon has landed....In the Yukon. Yukon Territory, Canadia. You are home SunnieBee. Did I ever mention that we named the car SunnieBee? Short for Sunshine Bear....way back in Santa Fe Chris won a miniature sunshine bear care-bear out of a little vending machine....he is our little mascot that lives on the dash. And I swear, sunny does his job....we say “shine on sunny,” and out comes the sun. its fantastic....our little bear bear. [It is an uncanny power, cartoonish, in fact.]

So back to Canada



“How do you spell Canada?” “C eh N eh D eh”

They even refer to their national team as the “Eh team”

OH Canada....
We decided to wiki the word Eh....and here is what we found:

The only usage of eh? that is exclusive to Canada, according to the Canadian Oxford Dictionary, is for "ascertaining the comprehension, continued interest, agreement, etc., of the person or persons addressed" as in, "It's four kilometres away, eh, so I have to go by bike." In that case, eh? is used to confirm the attention of the listener and to invite a supportive noise such as "Mm" or "Oh" or "Okay". It essentially is an interjection meaning, "I'm checking to see you're listening so I can continue."

"Eh" can also be added to the end of a declarative sentence to turn it into a question. For example: "The weather is nice." becomes "The weather is nice, eh?" This same phrase could also be taken as "The weather is nice, don't you agree?".

Depending on the speaker's tone or the dialectal standard, eh can also be perceived as rude or impolite, as "Repeat that!", and not a request.

Further examples of Canadian usage include: "I know, eh?" (Agreement), "Yeah, eh?" (Agreement; tone of voice changes meaning slightly). "I know. Eh!" (Pause between 'know' and 'eh' and emphasise 'eh'. This is an excited agreement.) Although technically questions, these are also said as statements.

The usage of "eh" in Canada is occasionally mocked in the United States, where some view its use - along with aboot, an approximation of a Canadian raising-affected pronunciation of about - as a stereotypical Canadianism.

Funny.

Anyways....

Back to the Yukon. Our next leg of the journey was from Watson Lake on up to Dawson City.
A night of Camping in Whitehorse. Cute little campground. Me and chris were perfecting our salsa, and the old couple next to us insisted that we take their radio (from the 1970's)...while not exactly salsa music, it was a nice gesture. Campground camaraderie....gotta love it.

And they made sure to tell us all about their trip through the top of the world highway (where we are headed) and to make sure that we stop in Chicken, Alaska. Okay, great...will do, thanks.
They were about the 3rd set of RVers that have said the same thing....go to Chicken...must be a cool place, that Chicken.
And how many times can two people cross the continental divide really? Its ridiculous. It must be divided into hundreds of little pieces.

The road up to Dawson City was not as bad as we had anticipated, but creepy, it was.
There were just piles and piles, and piles of dead trees all piled up. And there was smoke. Everywhere. And there was this car full of drunk boys that tried to mess with Chris while i used the potty at a rest stop. Kids these days, I tell ya. [Seriously, drunk...leaving the gas station with 2 bags of ice for their leftover beers.]



And then the epitome of strange days, or daze.....Dawson City. want to talk about creepy.
There was this music festival going on....basically a town full of drunken mad youngans. So much aggression filled the air. It is an old mining town that really has not changed since the late 1800's.
Dirty...literally. Dirt roads and all. Drunken people lined the streets. We were told by these nice guys to make sure to go to this one bar, and this one casino that had has a show...Diamond Tooth Gerties.
They also told us that if we slept in the car to make sure to leave the keys outside the car or you can be charged with a DUI....hum. [Put the keys in your gas cap area they say!]

And after being harassed by a few boys walking down the street, we decided to duck into the bar. I think it was my favorite bar ever. Dark, Red, Old, Dank, really Dank, and The Barnacle was playing the piano. I love barnacles...except when you get hit in the head by a wild buoy covered in them that knocks your mask off and punctures your skull while surfacing in 10 foot waves in the middle of nowhere....buts that is another story. I once saw a barnacle the size of a grapefruit that was scraped off a turtle. crazy.
but The Barnacle was this old pirate that played the piano and sang some tunes in his pirate voice.....He was amazing. Barnarific.

Hey, did you guys hear about the new pirate movie coming out?
Its rated RRRRRRRRRRRR. Get it? rrrrrrrrrrr matie.

Then, as we were sitting there drinking some of Canada's fine brew (their beer sucks) the boys from the road walk in. Great. I look over at Chris and we begin to devise a plan of how we are going to whop their booties if they try to mess with us. I was going to take the short one down with a beer bottle to the head, and Chris was going to take on the other 5 with his kung-fu ninja moves. We were prepared.
They were drunk as drunk can be, loud, obnoxious, etc....so we decided to blow the joint, but we had to walk past them to get out. Here we go....almost out the door....and out the door..... and “Hey, Denali!, Hey, Hey, Denali!” Of course I knew they were talking to us. I turn to look, and one stumbles out.... “Hey, is your name Denali?” [He nearly fell over the bouncer to get to Cori...so drunk. Meanwhile, I'm thinking, great...kung fu time.] Uh, yeah dude, how did you guess? Dumbass. Then a slightly older sober fellow rushes outside and shews this guy back into the bar. He then begins to explain that they are all military boys (He is the commanding officer for all of these belligerent cadets).....he apologizes for their behavior explaining that they don't get out much, and therefore don't really know how to act in public quite yet. Great. Canada's finest. Ha. [Really, thank God that dude walked out, it would have been kung fu kane (me) meets canada, eh!.]

Onto the show at Gerties. Really, we dont think this place has changed much in the last 100 years. And honey, it ant over until the fat lady sings, no ma'am. She was pretty good actually. But what the show mainly consisted of were 4 scantily clad young ladies shaking their tails. Of course it did.
After all, what would a gambling town be without alcohol, money, and half naked ladies.

We slept in the car....it was pretty nice actually....just really really bright. They sky remained at around a normal 5pm sunshine for the remainder of the night. Strange. But pretty cool since you don't have to worry about having a flashlight. You can read a book at 4 in the morning if you like.

At breakfast the next day, chris persuaded this poor old lady to have her photo taken. He is in love with her....stares at her photo all the time. sick. [i can be self-demeaning at times, and that photo makes me feel like a care bear inside. a sunny one.]



We stayed to catch one chick sing a bluegrass song about a dog that died on the mountainside, and then i went and chatted with this local goldsmith ....so unfair....she just goes out and pans for gold, and brings it back and makes stuff out of it....give me some!!!! And then, we were out. Oh, and I finally found a 1979 penny that morning as we were cleaning out the car....it made me happy. finally.
[that was kinda weird.]

Top Of The World, here we come, ready or not.

IT was fantastic. Really, it did feel like we were on top of the world. The whole area around there had been devastated by a fire a year or so ago, and you know what that means.....FIREWEED!!!!
These crazy flowers (Epilobium angustifolium), ingested by the natives for its high vitamin C and A content, and used to get the pus out of wounds. (Happy Kari?, that was for you!!!)
Pink mountains folks, think pink mountains. and you are driving on top of them. niieeece.
Im on top of the woooorrrlllldddd! okay.

Out with the old and on with the new kinda thing. Old growth down, new growth movin on in.

If Al-Can, we Can too!!!

Mile Zero.



Today me and Chris have been traveling for exactly one month....happy one month Chris!, (and its my mom's birthday (happy birthday ma, you don't look a day over 65!)) [One Month to the Day on Mile Zero! Love it!]

And here we are....one month on the road and we are back at mile zero. Mile zero of the AlCan highway. We can practically smell alaska now......only like 1300 more miles to go.

And we are at Dawson's Creek [actually Dawson...she just likes the show]....he he.....you know you use to watch it. The campers next to us (in an RV mind you) later asked me and chris if it was our first time setting up my tent....really?...do we look that pathetic....it was obviously because I am still having to order chris around and tell him what to do....he does not quite have the “cori routine” down yet.....gosh, making us look bad. really? did they really ask us that? it kinda pissed me off deep down inside. they were a lovely couple though...minus their unruly comments. [the cori routine is randomized. that is why we love the cori.]

Woke to a beautiful sunrise....then went back to sleep of course.

“Cruising on along.....the Alaskan Highway”.... Chris keeps singing that...right before he let out a big fart....we had chili last night....gross. [heh....like her farts don't stink. ahhhh the comfort that the road creates. at least i have the decency to refrain from farting inside a two-person, 6x8' tent. at night. with no airflow. after not pooing for two days....use your imagination for that smell. now that, my friends, is gross.] (( that is just not true...the only smells this body omits are of sweet ginger and lilacs )) and he does fart in the tent....a lot.

Now I want you to sit for a minute and imagine the brightest, most yellow, yellow that you can....then imagine it sprayed over the ground for miles and miles, next to fields of green, and a blue, blue sky.
Nice right? It makes me happy. It is some sort of crop that they plant up here...I still have not figured out what, but it is freakin gorge-a-mus.

ooh, and we saw a Giant Beaver and a Giant timber Man. I love all things giant.

Right after the giant man on the side of the road, was the decapitated elk....I guess someone ran him over on “accident” and cut his head right off.....trophy....I don't get it.....all those fools who kill just so they can have heads mounted on the walls...just so they can have giant elk heads mounted on the walls....i'm not talking about anyone in particular....hum, um.

endless trees. [really, endless endless sea of tree that begins on the side of the road and extends beyond site over hills, throughout the valleys, and up the mountainsides.]

which of course leads to huge lumber mills....stacks and stacks and stacks of logs. a tree plant. plant trees. [it seems as though the government here has tight control on things, so hopefully it is done in a sustainable fashion.]
also saw a coal plant....i guess you cant plant coal.

Sasquatch Crossing...., yes, Sasquatch. We needed a urination station, so we stopped at this tiny place and the really nice man behind the counter gave us 2 free cookies (because he could not figure out how to use the card machine)....now that is a nice Canadian....he let us pee and gave us cookies... yall come back now...ya hear?

Baby bears ....twins....a dor able.
Baby buffalo
baby moose....i gotta say, these last 2, just not so cute.
and a little red fox.
[and a caribou that ran along side our car for about 5 seconds]




After becoming a bit concerned that we were not going to find a place to stay the night, we finally made it to Liard hot springs. Yumi chan....you were soooo right! [we totally lucked out! rolled into camp at like 10:00pm and the host allowed us to stay in the overflow parking lot!] That was the coolest place ever! We arrived at 10pm...but still had an hour and a half before sunset to soak it up. Did i mention its like fern gully with a warm bath smack down in the center....and you know how i love the ferns......pretty much my idea of heaven. thanks again Yums.

then we passed the “Milepost” site in Watson Lake. Basically, if you come up the AlCan, remember to rip off some sort of sign that symbolizes you....like Austin, population: too many Californians.



[Basically, this segment of the trip has been lots of driving, so the pics have mostly been from the car/side of the road shots...here is what the camera yielded over these miles.]

[Rain Window]


[River Delta]


[Destino No Se]


[Big Rocks]


[Wipers]


[Me]

Blame Canada!

Dairy Queen, Subway, 7-eleven.....toto, are we back at home? Imagine a green version of west texas...that is the southern portion of Canada.
Except their funny accents....EH? EH?, I needs to talks to ya aboot somethin, eh?, ya, eh?.
And you want to know what they call cattle guards in these parts?
Texas gates. [The french have fries, we have gates.]
It cracked us up.....really. Texas Gate ahead. Dadada dadada....(that is the sound it makes when you drive over one).

We are on our way to Banff National Park.



Chris got word that one of his friends he met in Guatemala was working at a Ranch just outside the park. Why not stop in to say howdy?

The Ranch....the Dude Ranch. Hi Naomi. Bye Naomi. She was really busy...dudeing it up. Dude. [she was also wearing a hat. a cowboy hat. a dude hat. that was an odd shift in context...we spent four days on a sailboat together in honduras. dude.]

Our mission was to find a not so expensive crash pad for the night...got a little spoiled with all of my wonderful hommies hookin it up. Yeah, cheap and Banff National Park don't exactly get along...at all really. You have to pay day by day while in the park...again, we were spoiled with our American National Parks pass...great deal if you are cruising around. Chris managed to sweet talk the lovely young lady at the front desk of this very average hotel into giving us 10 looney's off (that is canadian for dollars...silly Canadians....they are a little looney...including you Carla!). I asked him how he did it.... “well” he says, “I just put on a little sweet southern accent....worked like a charm” (puke). But work it did. [i love the southern drawl. thanks mom.]

It is a bit like Glacier and yellowstone combined here....the mountains are rugged but a little more weathered. The lakes are gorgeous. Glaciers on the mountaintops. Similar to Patagonia in certain areas i would say. [really beautiful...it is like yellowstone in terms of quantity of tourists. instead of speaking russian and english, they were speaking french. i love french people.]



Then we went into the visitor information center to get the low down on hiking and camping in the area....and we met the other Chris.....the Ultimate Canadian Smart Ass. Oh I loved him dearly. We spent the next 20 minutes making fun of our little Chris....the highlight of my day. He gave us several tips on campsites to stay at and hikes to take....but after leaving the office, me and wee chris could not help but wonder if perhaps he was getting a laugh and sending us to overcrowded campsites and extreme hikes in the park....naaaa. [like the illustrious Mosquito Creek campground]

and off to Mosquito Creek campsite...yes....filled with mosquitoes. Maybe that was the joke.





Made a yummy eggplant pasta dinner and had a botella of vino ( they sell yellow tail wine there for 20 loonies.....a 5 dollar bottle of wine for 18 dollars......damn!) Our alcoholism might come to a halt here shortly....naaaa.
[the yellow tail wine is apparently sold there for the homesick Aussies...in the town of Banff, I would estimate that Aussies comprise of about 60% of the town's population.

Then Chris gave me salsa lessons... but I couldn't spin very well due to the wine... and everything was funnnnyyyy. We are preparing ourselves for Vancouver...apparently there is a big salsa community there....seems strange, but that is the word on the street. So chris is training me just incase there are not any cute little latin lovers there....always the wing woman. [cori is getting the hang of it fast, thank god for all those years of cheerleading camp, thanks mom.] ((I hate him)) [[loves it]]

And on the third day, the creator said let it rain........rain rain...rain. rain. rain. rain, rain. So our glorious plans of a 5 hour hike were, well, soaked. And I was so looking forward to owning Chris on another trek! Next time.

Drove over to Lake Morraine because Chris kept telling me how beautiful this one vantage point was (he has been here before). We get to the entrance and it is all roped off ....closed for maintenance. Darn. ((Then these 2 older women came up and hopped the fence....they said a young lady at the camp said it was fine....just to watch out for the helicopter dropping rocks on the site....ummm, okay)) So we hopped the fence. Just to catch a glimpse....just one peek....and 3 photos, and “Hey, EH.., you guys cant be here....the trail is closed Eh, ya, Eh...ya.” Busted. Criminals. But worth every shameful feeling afterwards....it really was the best view....glacial water is just so darn cool, or freezing. Did you know that it is so blue because of the silt particles collected by the glacier? Yep. thats why.
Good thing we missed the helicopter that was dropping rocks on the site!



We decided to be lame and go back into town for the remainder of the day. I will just blame that on chris, or Canada. Rain Rain, go away.

It didn't. but stopped just long enough for us to break down the tent the next morning and throw it in the car so that we could try our luck in Jasper. Hey, guess what we saw? Rain.
And some, for lack of a better word.....dumb-asses on the side of the road, out of their cars, taking pictures of bears....really guys? Really? Bears. [when she says taking pictures of bears, she means, people taking pictures of bears from the incredible safe distance of about 8 feet. Just enough space to ensure that the bear could rip out their entrails in .5 seconds.]

We stopped at the Columbia Ice Fields for a little, or really big rather, bus ride thingy up onto the glacier. Yep...it was a Glacier. Ice, ice baby... Dirty ice, ice baby. And I thought it would be really cool to drink some glacier water...it was delicious, but gave me a bit of a belly ache later that day.










Saw mamma moose and baby moose. They are so funny looking. Dopy or something.
And there was a Rave-in party. Get it, a raven party. like a bird rave...they were all partying on the side of the road. Oh, and we saw this pooper sucker truck...you know, the ones that suck out all of the poo from the porta-potties....and it had a picture of Poo Bear on the side....what a sense of humor!

When in Jasper, do stay at the Athabaska hotel, but whatever you do, do NOT eat at the Dead Dog Pub.[and accused of being a liar by the manager] You might just get charged for a burger that you didn't order (and what burger is worth $15 anyways...I dont care if it is composed of elk, bison, and deer....with wasabi sauce.....really? now i likes me some wasabi on fish, but on my burger....gross)...what did sushi A say to sushi B? Whatsaaa up B...wasabi..get it? [jokes like these comprise my daily existence now.]



[Back to the story at hand,] you just might tell the waitress that she made a mistake, that you ordered the bison burger, not the trifecta wasabi burger....”well, you ate it didnt you?”...uh, yes, but we didn't know it was the wrong one...wild game tastes like wild game, right?
“yes, but we didn't order it....so we don't really want to pay twice the price thanks.”
Let me take it up with the manager she says....okee dokee.
Manager walks over: “So you ordered the triple dipple?” [that is cori for big game burger]
chris: “NO, we ordered the bison burger, I think it was just all a misunderstanding since we had asked her about the triple dingle.” [again, big game burger]
manager: “So, are you calling the waitress a liar then? (huffy) [very angry] she said she was sure you ordered the triple dingy.”
chris: (awkward) “uuuhh...no, I think she just misunderstood.”
manager: “well fine then, she will just pay for it”
[wow, i have never been put in that situation before....the burger was even bad!]

Damn Gina.....that is what i call service with a smile! And we were under the impression that all Canadians were kind, gentle folk. Not so, just not so.....or maybe somebody just needed a little somethin somethin, if ya know what im saying.

[The next morning we exited the park with a happy belly full of tasty omelet that washed that burger right out of our systems]

Glaciation in Glacier

Glacier National Park.

ground squirrels. check
marmot. check
little black bear. check
mountain goats. check. check.
does a bear shit in the woods. check. check. check. (and on the trail)

[all the above were alive....these ones at the lodge, however....]




We headed straight for Jammer Joes pizza where my buddy Devin cooks up some mean slabs of dough.
He let us crash in his staff room at the park. It was very interesting to get a glimpse of the life of a staff worker in a national park. Somehow I always manage to be where Devin is....we met in Hawaii, then he hosted me in Portland for a few days, and now in Glacier Nat Park! Thanks Dev, and I swear, Im not stalking you!

[heh, i am.]









Thank you sooo much for the stay....sorry we could not hang longer!



Our drive north through the park was awe – some. as in awe – inspiringly fantastic. It is raw, it is misty, and it is not as damn touristy as yellowstone! praise the lord!

We stopped at a lookout and saw about 6 mountain goats right up close....and wee little goat babies. [mmm. baby goat.]







awwww....nothing cuter than animal babies...maybe if human babies were all hairy they would actually be kinda cute....naaaa.
And then came the Marmot. soooo funny that guy. he was eating up attention.....i got a funny shot of him munchin down. MMMMMarmot. say it....marmot.

[dude. cori's shot rules]






then came little black bear....at our campsite, Many Glacier. yikes, but cute at the same time. he was just bouncing around playing. silly little bear bear.
I convinced Chris to do the Iceberg lake hike....no big deal...a 10 mile-er....the couple that finished as we embarked said it took them just under 4 hours to complete. Nice.


Unless you are Chris. In jeans. poor poor Chris. he almost died [coffee. shaking.] i think....someone was NOT a happy camper. and it was not me. [pleeeeeeease.....after one apple for food all day, this man machine needed a bit more fuel to be responsive, i'm like a ferrari baby.] (and he thinks he is going to walk the camino de santiago....good luck bud!). But we made it....and it was fantastic. I was a little concerned when we were half way and a guy coming back down said that he just saw a grizzly...but not to worry, it was just minding its own bees wax up the mountainside. Ok, hum. I had a tight grip on my bear spray the rest of the trek. You see, I decided it was best that I carry the bear spray and make chris walk ahead of me.....what, it seems completely reasonable....Chris gets attacked, then I spray bear....spray spray spray. and then run like hell. See....I'm a thinker. [um. yeah.....]

The hike was stunning. Soooo many little mary poppins crazy white flowers everywhere. and the lake at the end was a beautiful ice-berg filled masterpiece. I dared Chris to strip down and jump in for $1,000. He didn't do it....good thing, I would not have paid.

(ally-g and some fun guy took a likin' to each other.....get it? algae and fungus = lichen) [that was her joke. she also knows the words to once bitten, twice shy folks. yay bar in jasper, canada that is stuck in 1983. love. it. now onto the pics]






[trees galore on hike]




[Lake on the way to the lake....]



[ok pic of iceberg lake....wish it was better but it was much cooler in person...]




So go to Glacier....it is really worthwhile.