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Oh, Canada!

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We felt we had sufficiently exhausted the United States side of Glacier National Park so we decided to drive a couple of hours north and see what the Canadian side had to offer in Waterton Lakes. We stopped in at Two Medicine Lake on the way. Two Medicine was the initial big attraction for Glacier National Park before the Going the Sun Road was built. People would take the train to East Glacier and stay at the lodge there built by the Great Northern Railroad, then head out on horseback from there to Two Medicine Lake.  Fun history fact. All of Glacier’s chalets and lodges were in fact built by the Great Northern Railroad Company to keep well heeled adventurers in the states after World War One vs going to Europe to the Alps. Glacier was billed as the American Alps to attract those wealthy adventurers and one of our stops in Canada was at a hotel entirely constructed to attract those same well heeled adventurers during Prohibition since Canada ended theirs early.  The Prince of...
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Sunday Drive

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Since we lucked out and knocked my entire itinerary in an entire afternoon we adjusted our plans accordingly and decided we would explore the dam and drive the length of Going the Sun Road as well as check out the visitor center on the east side of the park today.  The campground we were staying at was a national forest campground with only pit toilets and potable water, no running water. It was a compromise since we really wanted to do the trip but due to other things going on could not commit early enough to secure a campsite in the national park proper nor any campgrounds with showers nearby. It was a little overgrown but the pit toilets were clean and the campground itself was quiet.  Jane Doe the resident lawn mower The reservoir our campground was near sat behind Hungry Horse Dam. It has the highest emergency spillway in the world.  Mama and fawns we saw leaving the reservoir that morning We headed into the park and spent the day driving Going the Sun Road, pulling ...
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Manage Your Expectations

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When we woke up in Post Falls the next morning we had ash on the rig from the thickness of the wildfire smoke. It was only a four hour drive to Glacier National Park which would put us in around noonish…not when we typically like to enter parks. We decided to set our expectations low and enjoy a scenic drive. Our original plans had us exploring the visitor center for the dam on whose reservoir we were camping along but it’s been closed for several years so into the national park we went.  The entrance gate had a bit of a line but nothing too ridiculous and we made our way to the big attraction for the park which is the Going the Sun Road which takes you to the Logan Pass visitor center. It’s a very popular destination as many hikes through the park start there as well as being known for wildlife viewing. I had given us four days to travel Going the Sun Road, explore Logan Pass, see the famed mountain goats and big horn sheep, and pop over the border to Waterton Lakes.  We enjo...
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Visiting the Silver Capital of the World

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 Took a tour through a non working silver mine yesterday in Wallace, Idaho. Wallace is the silver capital of the world and it lies in a valley dubbed the Silver Valley as there are 30 active silver mines. One of those mines, the Lucky Friday, has the deepest shaft in North America at 9,600 feet below the surface. Our tour guide through the Sierra mine was a miner for his career and we got to hear some of his stories along the way. His actual knowledge of mining as a profession enhanced the tour immensely.  We wandered around town after the tour a bit and poked in some shops but nothing tickled our fancy so we went back to Post Falls, Idaho and checked into our hotel.  We met up with your John’s second cousin Tina and her daughter Madeleine and Madeline's new baby for dinner at a local pub. We caught up over food, drinks, and dessert. I of course put the baby to sleep. She is just the sweetest little thing. Tina also gave us pointers on the drive to Glacier today as the ro...
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Redwoods & Southern Oregon Coast

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 Took a brief jaunt down to the redwoods and southern Oregon coast at the end of June. Weather was delightful and we were finally able to get out to the Cape Blanco Lighthouse. We of course made stops at Haceta Head and Coquille River Lighthouses as well. 
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