Category: National Parks

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Glacier National Park, Whitefish Part 2

I drive back to Montana in awe of the Canadian Rockies. I was there two days and I want to go back. As I enter the United States the mountain seem smaller, less dramatic. 

My new basecamp for two days is Whitefish. I’ve never been here before and I walk around the downtown and depot. I check out the trains and the historic signs. There are trains blowing their whistles which is such a western sound in my mind. Tomorrow is race day and I’m not super excited about it. I’m actually looking forward to the after-race travel back to Glacier National Park and Polebridge. 

Back at the hotel I rent a kayak and paddle north on the Whitefish River. It’s been a long time since I’ve been on water like this. Very relaxing and just seeing where it goes. The day was stormy and I am taking a chance that I get poured on, but worth it.

The Whitefish Half Marathon isn’t  as scenic as the full marathon would have been. The half starts at the Amtrak depot downtown and runners head southeast into a residential, ranching area. The course loops around and through a park, then back into town. It is fairly flat and uneventful. The full marathon runs by the lake and close to the ski resort. I wish I trained better and ran the full. 

I finish the half and I’m sore. It was perfect running weather: sunny and cool.  I don’t stay around the finish. I walked back to my hotel, shower and head for the true adventure: Glacier National Park. 

The plan is to spend the entire afternoon in the place I spent five days back in 1988 – Polebridge. I want to see the mercantile and explore Bowman Lake. 

I drive toward Polebridge and the drive is mostly dirt road. I make the final turn and I see it. It looks so familiar. I park and walk around trying to find the hostel we stayed in and the river we played in. I don’t find the hostel and go into the mercantile to see if anyone knows about it. The woman at the counter is new and doesn’t know about a hostel that was in operation 36 years ago (ha!). The area I think it is in has no trespassing signs. 

It’s okay, I buy a sweatshirt and head into the park and Bowman Lake. 

The road to Bowman Lake is narrow, bumpy and not well maintained. It is slow going. But once I see the lake everything gets better. It is a cloudy day but the view is spectacular.

I’m not sure if I remember this lake but what I really remember is Numa Ridge trail to the lookout. Our group in 1988 hiked it wearing bear bells. We got to the lookout and saw the door with 200 spikes that was used to block the stairway to protect lookouts from the grizzly bears!

I also remember that once I got home years later I came across the essay from Edward Abbey, Fire Lookout – Numa Ridge in his book, The Journey Home: Some Words in the Defense of the American West. 

I’VE BEEN THERE. I read his essay and just understood what he was talking about.

I don’t have enough time to hike the 11 mile round trip to the lookout, and I don’t have bear bells or spray with me.  Another missed hike that I know I’ll be back to do. I do, however, hike in for about a mile, all while worrying about running into a bear and never being seen again. Instead, I do what I don’t ever seem to do in my life: I sit on a log and just watch the lake and sky.

I stay still and just watch. I think about being in this moment at Bowman Lake in Glacier National Park, Montana and how happy I am to be here in this place, again. 

I drive back to Whitefish for my final night in Montana. In the morning I drive south  back to Missoula and the airport.

That trip 36 years ago ignited in me the love of the west, the love of mountain and hiking, and national parks. And really, it showed me at a young age how to see the world. Sign up for a trip where you don’t know anyone and take a chance that you will see things you’ve never seen before.

I feel like this trip is a scouting mission because I want to go back to Montana and hike to the glacial lakes. Stay tuned for further adventures.

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Glacier National Park, Banff in May Part 1

Running the Whitefish Marathon was the original plan six months ago when I booked my travel to northwest Montana. Most of my plans change dramatically especially in 2022 and 2023, and now into 2024. This plan changed, too. I am still on the hunt to run a marathon in every US state; I have finished 12 states – which is why this plan became a plan. 

My training for a marathon starts out pretty well, following Training Peaks plan for several weeks. Then, I hit Week 8 and I miss days; I miss a key 16 mile run on the weekend. This is what happened with the Little Rock Marathon and the Whitefish Marathon. 

What tends to happen is I drop down to the half marathon and start planning all the things I will see before and after the race. When you run a marathon, you usually don’t have the energy to travel and go see things. When I dropped to the half at Whitefish, my plan for Montana turned into travel to Banff, Canada and more. This is part 1. I’ll have to come back again, some day to complete a Montana marathon.

On May 15, Wednesday I flew into Missoula and drove to Kalispell. I checked into my hotel and drove east to West Glacier to spent the rest of the first travel day in Glacier National Park. May is such a perfect time to visit; there were no crowds and  great temperatures; 67 degrees. I stopped at Lake McDonald Lodge and walked around the shore.

I promised myself I would stop at everything and read all the signs; and not rush through everything (which is my natural tendency because I want to see everything). I drive toward the Going to the Sun Road. I know it’s closed but I want to see if I can walk a few miles up. Instead, I walk the trails around Avalanche Lake trailhead and hike the Trail of the Cedars loop.

The trees and trail are gorgeous. I start to worry about bears but then see the turquoise water flowing down from Avalanche Lake and my worry dissipates. I keep walking and exploring. I read all the signs about the trees. I wish I had more time to hike to Avalanche Lake. I know I hiked this trail last time I was here but the sun is starting to set and I get nervous again. Next time, I say to myself, next time. 

I drive back to Kalispell and wake up at 5am to drive to Banff. I cross the border and I’m driving through the freaking Canadian Rockies! They are just stunning and I’m on the Trans-Canada highway just thrilled to be here. The mountains in the distance are huge. The rivers are turquoise. I’m here with the biggest smile on my face.

I’m so extremely happy because I didn’t get to come to Banff 36 years ago on my first trip out west. I came west from New Hampshire in 1988 on a Youth Hostel trip. Our group traveled and hiked, and stayed in hostels in all the western National Parks. We went to Rocky Mountain National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park and Glacier National Park. We were supposed to go to Banff, but couldn’t since the trip leader forgot her Australian passport. We couldn’t drive into Canada so we staying those extra days in the hostel in Polebridge, later hiking Numa Ridge near Bowman Lake, and playing in the North Fork of the Flathead River. 

I drive into Banff and it’s not what I expect; it’s better. The downtown is small with huge mountains surrounding the town.

Light rain falls as I head toward the Banff Gondola. I really should hike to the top of Sulphur Mountain but I want to have enough time to do everything. I’m here for one night and want to explore.  The gondola was a great way to get to the top and see the  view that I’d been watching for months from their webcam. I walk the boardwalk to explore the top and see hikers coming up the trail.

The top of the mountain has an interpretative center with videos and photos to learn about the area. I read mostly everything. 

I walk around town, eat and check into my hotel, The Moose. I take a sauna and swim in the rooftop pool. It reminds me of living in Steamboat Springs where I started training to be a triathlete. I would swim in the Old Town Hot Springs thermal heated pool and sit in the sauna after. This is what I needed to end my day in Banff. An absolutely perfect day. As I start to leave the rooftop area, it starts to snow.  I walk around town and find a place to eat – Sushi!

The next morning it’s time to run – I need some cardio. As I leave the hotel it is snowing with about an inch on the ground. It is 2 miles to the top of Tunnel Mountain with 900 feet of elevation gain.

I’m so happy to be running in the snow and there is no one in sight; and there are no views. I read the trail description and know that there is wildlife here and I should be on guard. And like always, about a mile in I get nervous and think of turning back. But then ahead of me, out of the snow swirling a woman hikes toward me, coming down from the top. If she can do it, I can do it. I carry on. View my video of my run/hike here.

I get back to the hotel, shower, pack and head to breakfast. I love Canada so much. Steaming coffee, and just a perfect presentation.

And start the beautiful drive back to Montana through a snow storm.

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Day Three – Petrified Forest National Park and Saguaro NP

We woke up at 5am knowing that we had to get to Tucson before Saguaro NP closed at 4pm. Total mileage from Cortez, CO to Tucson, AZ: 538 miles. 

This time when we drove past Petrified Forest National Park it was open so we went in. 

I thought this was a small park off the side of the highway, but it ended up being a spectacular one hour drive south through an amazing landscape. 

Petrified Forest National Park was more that I ever expected. The views from driving through were beautiful, like a painting.

The Petroglyphs were so interesting to see and learn about the history of who did this to the rocks.

We got out and read the signs and learned about everything in the park. We stopped and walked the Blue Mesa Trail. We learned about how the trees became petrified and the climate change that caused them to be petrified. 

The biggest lesson learned on this trip is I want to know more about where I’m traveling before arriving. I would’ve liked to hike more trails in Petrified Forest. But also, it is sometimes hard to image a place and read about it before going there. Now, I’m reading more about this area and it makes more sense after being there. 

After exiting from the South Entrance it was onward to Tucson. The scenery is canyon and rock and desert. So many prickly pear. The cliffs made of sandstone dotted the landscape. We are in Apache country now. We drove through Tonto National Forest at an elevation of 5,840. 

Some of the signs I saw:

Truck Crossing
Free Wifi Wendy’s
Speedway – Fresh Coffee
Elevation 4,983
8% grade
Winkelman City Limits
Entering Pinal County
Aravaipa Creek
Biosphere 2
Entering Pima County

Saguaro National Park was exactly how I left it in 2015 – Gorgeous. We drove the road that I had run in a race and biked several times. The paved, hilly road that passed hundreds of Saguaros. 

Then we drove into Tucson met Kassandra for dinner and then back to Phoenix. The last day was a lot of driving in a beautiful landscape. I miss Tucson and I would love to live here again some day.

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Route 66, Four Corners, Mesa Verde

We left Flagstaff at 5am. Every morning on this trips was an early morning, packed with things to see. We purposely picked this route so we could see Winslow, Arizona and the famous location of the song, Take It Easy. We got there before the sun rose and there was no one around. 

It was so worth the trip of the highway to see. We played Take it Easy as we arrived. We studied the background of why Jackson Browne wrote about this location. Here’s what I found out:

As legend has it, Jackson Browne was driving to Sedona on Route 66 when his car broke down in the middle of Winslow. Winslow had some acclaim in the 50s with a celebrated hotel, the historic La Posada hotel. Then , in the 60s the town almost disappeared after I-40 was built and by-passed the town.

We took some photos and then it was on to the Petrified Forest National Park. We got there too early, it wasn’t opened yet. So we took a photo. I didn’t want to wait because I really wanted to spend as much time at Mesa Verde. I had been reading so much about the park and the cliff dwellings, I didn’t want to waste any time. [Note, we ended up spending a lot of time in Petrified Forest the next day, on the way to Tucson.]

We continued on toward the Four Corners Monument, Navajo Tribal Park. Monument on Route 40.

We drove past Gallup and Shiprock, and admired the Painted Desert. It was so beautiful watching the sunrise in the middle of the desert. 

We turned off the highway, for the Four Corners Monument not knowing what to expect. In the middle of nowhere was this park and buildings. We paid our admission and entered. There were vendors all around the middle of the park selling native american art and jewelry. I wanted to remember this place since it was magical with the flag and the history and wind, so I bought a ring from a native american woman. We took a bunch of photos and then headed to the hike. 

We hiked down the trail stepping in all four states: Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah. It is a rugged landscape and today the blue sky was accented with puffy, white clouds. October is the best time to go here. Very few people were here so there weren’t any lines, and it was cold-ish. 

Now it was onward to Cortez, where we would stay the night, and Mesa Verde. The drive was spectacular and clouds threatened the entire afternoon. We could see oncoming dark clouds most of the time and got rained on a bit. But there were not many people in the park which made it very nice. There was a fire here, too, in 2002. You can still see fire scars driving to the mesa.

Mesa Verde was magical. It was everything I expected and more. It has a vibe, something in the air that made me feel the history, the people who lived here. As we started the drive up to the mesa I was just awaiting after every turn something beautiful but the coolest part was when I got out of the car, walked the trail, and just around the first curve, I saw it – the cliff dwellings under the overhanging cliffs. Cliff Palace.

There is nothing like it in the world. I just stared and couldn’t take my eyes off it. I walked closer for a different perspective. It was spectacular, I felt the sacredness of this place. We stopped at Spruce Tree House, Cliff Palace and Balcony House. 

Guided tours of the cliff dwellings ended a few days before we arrived so we could only look from afar. Next time, and there will be another trip here, I will do a tour and get close. 

I wanted to come here and just be in the park, experience being there. I wanted to take in the landscape and watch the sky. This is exactly what I did. We brought our lunch and sat on a bench and just watched. On the drive back down we stopped at the Fire Lookout and took in the amazing views.

I cannot wait to come back here.

We stayed the night in Cortez and at first light, headed south to Tucson and Saguaro National Park.

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Grand Canyon and Flagstaff in October

My original plan was to run the Javelina 100K. I signed up six months prior to the start date. 

Training didn’t go as planned. Blah blah blah. 

In September I decided that I would instead take a tour of National Parks and visit the legendary 4 Corners. 

My travel partner was Mark, who initially offered to crew my 100K race, then decided that touring the National Parks was a good vacation idea, too. 

I planned to see my friend Mary on Friday night to wish her well on the 100K but my plane was late and the lines for the car rental didn’t get me out of the airport until 11pm. [Note: Mary loved the race and wants to do it again, so I have a second chance to do it at some point.]

Saturday morning Mark and I left for the Grand Canyon at 5am. We drove past Sedona and Flagstaff wanting to spend as much time at Grand Canyon and Bright Angel trail as possible. Our only stop was for a late breakfast in Tusayan. I had the most amazing Huevos Ranchos. 

We got to the park and headed straight to Bright Angel. I wanted to go down at least 3 miles. I loved seeing the trail in the distance; I just wanted to hike to the river. We occasionally caught glimpses of the Colorado River.

The trail was steep in places but also leveled out for a nice break. It was nice to just take a leisurely hike into the canyon.

Usually my hiking plans take on a life of their own and I go go go. But this time it was a slow pace, checking to make sure Mark was good. He’s more of a road runner and doesn’t really hike – but is in great shape. He did well. 

We ended up hiking 2.5 miles with 722 feet of elevation gain. 

After visiting the shops on the South Rim we took the shuttle west and walked along the Rim Trail. We were able to see the Colorado River and stopped at the Powell Monument honoring Major John Wesley Powell who was among the  first to ‘run’ the Colorado River in Grand Canyon. 

I’ve read Stegner’s book about Powell, and have read so many historical stories about Powell. He was the person who warned the government about the west’s aridity that wouldn’t be able to sustain agriculture. He was also a scientist. He also advocated for removal of Indigenous, which no longer makes him a hero, in my view. 

It was a cold day in October to visit the park – so much better than sweating, which was the case the last time I visited the Grand Canyon in 2015. 

Mark and I drove back to Flagstaff past Humphreys Peak in the Coconino National Forest where we saw the devastation from the fires in 2022. In the picture below you can see the blackened tree trunks.

We had dinner in town and stayed the night in a hotel. It was a long day seeing northern Arizona. I can’t wait to go back. Mark and I have a plan to come back this coming October for a Rim to Rim hike.

Next up Route 66, 4 Corners and Mesa Verde.