Many Glaciers

 We "broke camp" early - 7:30am - and headed up to Babb and on into Many Glaciers Hotel for breakfast. This wonderful hotel is celebrating its centennial, and still going strong as an outpost for tourists seeking a bit of the genteel lifestyle. We wandered through the hotel, snapping pictures at the phenomenal views outside every window, and enjoyed a lovely breakfast seated by large picture windows overlooking the lake.
It was a calm, quiet morning, and every view we had was of mountains reflected in alpine lakes.

 Wildflowers abound at this time of year, and the morning light was simply spectacular.
We drove around the southern perimeter of Glacier National Park, enjoying the views as we climbed through hairpin turns and descended into lovely valleys.
We arrived at the West Glacier entrance to the park, and the western terminus of Going to the Sun Road, around lunchtime, so we ambled up the road, stopping to photograph tumbling turquoise waters, mountain waterfalls and elusive bears, before stopping for a lakeside lunch.

One of the few remaining glaciers

 Bidding the park a fond farewell, we made our way south on the east side of Flathead Lake, with its beautiful vistas, homesteads with cherry orchards, and pine forests right down to the water line. A gorgeous afternoon, and a quiet campground tonight to rest up and savor all the sights we've seen. God is good!!
Now heading south and west...and on our way home with special visits with family along the way.

Many Glaciers Hotel

Morning reflections on a peaceful lake

Many Glaciers Hotel with many glaciers in the background

wild snapdragon...just one of many beautiful wildflowers!

Lake McDonald - peaceful and calm

On to Glacier National Park

Float fishing on the Yellowstone River - Montana (no, that's not us!)

On the road again. Montana also goes on forever...

It's so good to be back in the mountains! Leaving Yellowstone through the North gate, we spent most of yesterday driving through southwestern Montana, with a stop overnight at Fairmont Hot Springs. It has been VERY hot up here, so we were glad to dip into the hot springs pools for a bit.
This morning, we were on the road again for the rest of the trip north through Montana to Glacier National Park. After many miles of big-sky nothingness, it was a joy to see the promise of mountains in the blue misty distance.

...but here's the reward! Lake St. Mary with Glacier mountains in the background

View from St. Mary River, near our campground

 We arrived in St. Mary, at the east gate of Glacier, in time for a quick drive as far as they will allow our RV (we're over 21', so can't traverse the Going To The Sun Road, sadly). The end of the road for us coincided with a lovely late afternoon boat tour of Lake St. Mary, with spectacular views of lake, mountains and glaciers.
Our campsite tonight is in a little valley with views of the mountains, and it has at last cooled down enough that we don't need to sleep in the air conditioning. Looking forward to spending the day tomorrow (Monday) driving around as much of Glacier as we can. Simply stupendous beauty, some of God's finest handiwork!

1930s vintage wood boat - scenic cruise on Lake St. Mary

Amazing glacier/mountain views!

Two happy cruisers

Spectacular beauty!

Yellowstone National Park

Lake Yellowstone - the largest lake at this altitude in No America

 An absolutely splendid day driving through Yellowstone's many wonders. Here's a small sample of the hundreds of photos we took today.
We saw hundreds, if not thousands, of bison today, an eagle flying beside the lake this morning that eluded photo capture, and wildflowers everywhere - it felt like the Sound of Music!
Traffic in Yellowstone is already crazy, all parking lots full to the gills with people from all over the world and people stopped alongside every roadway to snap photos of the wildlife. We managed to see most of the sights we wanted to see, and got some great close-up shots.
Tonight we're camped beside Yellowstone River in Gardiner, Montana, just outside the North Entrance to the park. It's very hot and pretty windy, so we're cooped up in the air conditioning until the sun sets. The laundry area has a utility sink, so Sascha got a head-to-toe beauty treatment!

Yup, we saw Old Faithful erupt!

Morning glory!

Gibbon Falls - an 84 ft drop

Tower Falls - 132 ft drop

Wildflowers everywhere!

Lamar River

Lamar Valley, known as the Serengeti of Yellowstone; yes, those are bison!

Coyote ignoring the bison

Ready for his close-up - about 4 ft from the car

Mammoth Hot Springs' travertine formations

Lazy elk - of course, it was close to 100 degrees!

Wyoming

Kris and Tracy saying farewell in Gillette, Wyoming

The first antelope sighting!

Afternoon sighting - and some action shots!

 After a hearty breakfast prepared by Kris, we left Gillette and headed west. Bill wanted to see some antelope, and we were lucky enough to spot some just west of Gillette. Wyoming is a beautiful state, and there's  much more than "just" Yellowstone Park! We drove through the gorgeous Bighorn Mountatins on scenic Hwy 16, then dropped down to cross high desert between mountain ranges.
We were reminded of our drive through Utah and Colorado last fall - red rocks, cottonwood trees, jagged canyons and little rushing streams here and there. The little county road we were on was nearly deserted - only a few pick-up trucks and a FedEx van crossed our path. We were nearly to the turn to go up to Cody when we suddenly saw four antelope right near the road, so we turned our RV around and followed them, watching as they finally figured out how to duck under the fence and prance away. It was an awesome sight!
From Cody, we drove west through steep canyons and windy turns to the East Entrance of Yellowstone, with amazing mountain vistas at every turn. After 20-30 miles, we rounded a hairpin turn only to behold a solitary bison, munching away right near the road! After watching him for a bit, we continued on to Fishing Bridge RV Park, a lovely setting next to the Yellowstone River. Walking Sascha that evening, we kept a bit of a lookout for bears, as this campground is situated in the middle of their migration path! Sadly (luckily?), we had no bear encounters, just a nice quiet night.

Beautiful part of the country - Cody to Yellowstone

Wildflowers in bloom everywhere

Bison #1 - just before getting to Yellowstone Lake and our campsite

These marshy areas are just across the road from Yellowstone Lake

Prairie visits and back to the wild west

Joyce's cousin Judy, her husband Rod and their daughter Carissa

Quick stop at Wall Drug, South Dakota

We've had two great evenings, the first with Joyce's cousin Judy and her family in Mobridge, South Dakota (in the middle of nowhere!). We talked non-stop until late in the night, and Judy's daughters Carissa and Heidi and Carissa's husband Justin also stopped by for a visit. So good to re-connect with them after 45 years! Carissa and her mom work as professional photographers, so Carissa set up all her equipment to do a quick photo shoot with us. Loved being with all of them, and it felt so easy and relaxed!

Black Hills, South Dakota

 Yesterday we drove the rest of the way across South Dakota, making the requisite stop at Wall Drug to mail some postcards, then on to the Black Hills. It was incredibly windy which slowed us down a bit, so we decided to forgo a visit to Mt Rushmore in favor of getting to Gillette,, Wyoming at a decent hour.
It was another really late evening last night, chatting with Joyce's niece Kris and her family, who we haven't been with for a couple of years. SO great to catch up on family affairs! Bill went on a ride-along with Tracy, who is a Gillette police officer. Very interesting to sit in a patrol car and see how that work gets done.
We're enjoying being back in the west again - feels like home, even though we're still 2,000 miles from getting home. Today, we'll drive thru Wyoming, stop at Yellowstone and visit Old Faithful and the bison etc there. We're very lucky to book-end our trip with mountain splendor! God's majesty is on full display!

Back in the wild west!

Red rocks - good to be back in the hills!

Joyce's niece Kris and her daughter Michelle

Southwestern Minnesota

Redwood Falls, MN where we visited the historical society

Land of big sky and cornfields

 Today we set out from Minneapolis under cloudy skies and high winds in search of more information on why Bill's great-grandparents and other Barber relatives left Ontario for this little part of Minnesota.
A visit to the Redwood Falls Historical Society gave us some clues: after the US government made treaties with the Dakota tribes which were not honored, the native people attacked settlers and started a very short war in 1862 in which they were outgunned and outmanned. Once that rebellion was quelled, thousands of settlers left the region never to return. At least 1700 native people were interred in a camp at Fort Snelling in Minneapolis where many of them died. The land that was once home to many people was de-populated.
Along with this, the newly completed railway and the treaties conceding millions of acres to the government opened up homesteads for people looking for farmland. Two of the Barber sons came to Echo MN and homesteaded there; Thomas' daughter Sarah Lavinia (Sadie) grew up in Echo and married Bill's grandfather before moving to Regina.
We have now visited the homesteads and settlements of each of our great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents, and have learned more about the history and times they lived in. From here, we continue to head west and will enjoy the company of living relatives (!) and nature's grandeur before heading home at last. It has been a deeply satisfying trip with incredible discoveries about our ancestors' lives.

This is the little town where Bill's grandmother was born

The family plot where Bill's great grandparents are buried

Bill's great grandparents' gravestones