Five Parks in Five Days

Greetings from somewhere in Southeastern South Dakota!

We've had a busy few days since our last post as we've been in five national parks in three states.

Our last few days in Glacier consisted of a lot more great hiking and a little more cold misty rain.  We hiked the highline trail, which runs right alongside the continental divide.  It was 40 degrees when we started our hike, but nice and clear.  After a couple of hours the cold misty rain came.  The cold, rain and wind got worse as I suggested a detour to a glacial overlook that had us hike 1000 feet up in just under a mile (Gina was less than pleased with this decision).  We were able to warm up as there was a little lodge with a fire where we were able to eat our lunch and thaw out (Gina started speaking to me again after she defrosted).  After the long cold day of hiking we somehow stumbled into a really good Mexican restaurant, which was quite a nice surprise in the middle of Montana.  

Hiking the Highline Trail

Do you see Gina?

Overlook of Grinnell Glacier

Camping at Two Medicine Lake

We were going to leave the next morning, but when we awoke to a clear day we decided to hike up to Dawson's Pass, which gave us a perfectly clear view of the mountains in Glacier.  We were very close to Triple Divide Peak.  From the top of that peak water can flow to the Pacific Ocean, Hudson Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.  After our hike we drove across Montana and made it to Mammoth Hot Springs, on the north end of Yellowstone.

Yes, it was cold

Hiking along Two Medicine Lake to Dawson Pass

We made it to the top!

View to the south from the pass

In Yellowstone we took a dip in the Gardner River where the Boiling River flows in.  The Gardner is a forty degree snow melt river and the Boiling River is much like the name suggests.  The trick is finding the perfect intersection, which after some trial (cold!) and error (hot!) we found a nice balance.  We did a quick walk around the falls at the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and drove around the whole park, which is quite an endeavor, as Yellowstone is bigger than Rhode Island and Delaware combined.

Mammoth Hot Springs

Lower Yellowstone Falls

Jenny Lake (closest thing to a shower in the last week)

Don't worry Tetons, we'll be back

We didn't get to spend as much time in the Tetons as we would have liked, but did get to walk around Jenny Lake and got some great photos of the Tetons.  One of the most pleasant surprises we've had so far was the drive across Wyoming, which included many beautiful mountains, rock formations and rivers. We were also close enough to Denver to pick up the Giants on the radio and listen to Bumgarner's near perfect game and Posey's home runs.  It also contained very few cars which was helpful for making good time. Towards the eastern side of Wyoming we ran into a lighting storm, which was at first really awesome to watch from a far and then terrifying to drive through.  By the time we got to South Dakota there was lightning striking all around us and thunder shaking the car. Our savior was a big Safeway truck in front of us that provided an easy target to follow in the rain and we assumed an easier target for the lightning to strike.  After making it through the storm we arrived at Wind Cave, but not before South Dakota tried to kill us again by sending a heard of bison stampeding in front of our car.  We slammed on our brakes just before finding out who wins a Suburban vs. Bison collision.  So our first hour in South Dakota felt like we were trying to survive the hunger games (cue lighting, cue bison attack).

Driving through Wyoming

Near Togwotee Pass

Wanted: Assault on a Suburban

Our next day in South Dakota was exponentially more pleasant as we explored the caves of Wind Cave National Park (sixth largest cave system in the world), visited Mount Rushmore and drove into the Badlands, where we camped last night. 

We spent today hiking around the Badlands, and exploring all of the cool rock formations.  Now we're cruising across the middle of the country with the goal of reaching Chicago tomorrow.  We'll spend the weekend in Chicago (Wrigley Field and architecture boat tour are already booked), before completing our first cross county trip in Portland, Maine next week).

Spelunking at Wind Cave

The unknown fifth face at Mt. Rushmore

Hiking in the Badlands

View from the Notch

Love to you all,

Bryce and Gina 

Hiking, Glaciers and Grizzlies, Oh My!

Hey all! 

Life on the open road and in the great outdoors is still going great, albeit a little wetter and colder as we've hit a little Rocky Mountain cold front. 

On Tuesday in Banff we took a break from our long days of hiking and did a few short hikes to Stuart Canyon, Johnson Lake and along the Bow River Trail.  We saw a female moose near Johnson Lake, but sadly, no pictures. We also did some much needed napping, as it started to rain in the afternoon. 

Johnson Lake

Bow Falls

Gina over the Bow

On Wednesday we drove up to Lake Louise and rented a canoe to paddle around the lake.  Beautiful and very cold water!  After the canoeing we hiked up to Plain of Six Glaciers Tea House and then up to the overlook just below the glacier for some great views of the surrounding glaciers and Lake Louise.  After all the paddling and hiking we treated ourselves to dinner at the Eddie Burger and Bar where we both had delicious bison burgers and a huge order of chicken wings.

Canoeing on Lake Louise

It took like 15 tries before we got this one right

Plain of Six Glaciers.  Yes, my hair is awesome.

180 degree panorama of Lake Louise and the glaciers

Thursday we left Banff early and had a mostly rainy drive back across the border into the US and Glacier National Park.  We got in around 2:30 and decided to set off on a hike to Grinnell Glacier.  Beautiful hike along Swiftcurrent and Josephine Lakes before climbing up towards the glacier.  We saw three big horn sheep on the switchbacks above Grinnell Lake.  They were coming down the trail as we were going up, which caused some brief panic as the name "big horn" is really quite appropriate.  Gina hid behind me in preparation to use me as a human shield if necessary, but the sheep veered off the trail to munch on some grass.  It was a little foggy up at the glacier so we couldn't get the full views, but still a spectacular hike.  Best night of sleep so far in the Suburban as the cold drove us inside before ten and our new sleeping bags kept us nice and cozy.  We also got really excited when the couple camped next to us asked to check out the bed we built in the Suburban, as it was the first time we'd gotten to show off our "house" to someone.  I may have taken it a little too far when I showed them our off road commode.

Bighorn above Grinnell Lake

The horn

Waterfall from the fog

Run, Gina, run!

Grinnell Glacier, it was approximately negative 200 degrees

Friday morning was cold and wet as we're in the middle of a pretty big Rocky Mountain storm.  We made the best of it with a great hike to St. Mary's and Virginia Falls and then went back to camp to drink beer and stay as warm as possible.  We didn't think we'd need to bust out all the warm weather gear this early in the trip, but at one point I think Gina had seven layers on.  It's been in the low thirties at night at our campsite at Many Glacier and the highs are topping out around 50.  Rain hasn't been too bad, more of a cold mist that blows sideways into you because of the wind.  Good hiking weather, but our tans are severely lacking.

St. Mary's Falls

Virgina Falls

Gina demonstrating a textbook waterfall dive

Today (Saturday) we hiked to Iceberg Lake, which, as the name suggests, is a lake with a bunch of icebergs floating in it.  The icebergs come from the glacier that is directly above the lake.  We saw four mountain goats eating on the banks of the lake, as well as two elk and a grizzly bear on the hike back.  It was the first time either of us have seen a grizzly bear while out on a trail.  It was exciting, but definitely a bit unnerving to see one that close.  We've moved from Many Glacier down to St. Mary's campground, as we're going to hike the Highline Trail tomorrow (hopefully in the sun!). 

Iceberg Lake

Lot of little icebergs

Water was about as cold as you'd expect for Iceberg Lake, Gina made me stand here for ten minutes

One of Gina's audition shots for her eventual job at National Geographic

Mr. Bear

Roadtrip Underway!

Four days into our new nomadic life and everything is going great !  We are now up in Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada for our third of four days.  Here’s a recap of the trip so far. 

Day 1 – Bend, OR

We arrived in Bend around 1AM after booking it up from the Bay Area.  We were really excited to test out our makeshift bed in the Suburban and it worked out great !  It might be a comfortable bed or it might just have been that it was 1AM and we were exhausted from a long day of driving after an even longer week of packing and cleaning to get ready for the trip. 

Our first day in Bend was awesome, as we went for a beautiful run along the river and then Suzie, Jen and Ronan took us to the Bend Brewfest.  One of our trip goals was to visit breweries and taste new beers.  A Brewfest with 60 breweries was a nice way to start.  We spent some time walking around Bend and enjoyed a beautiful sunset over the mountains.  Special thanks to Peggy and Suzie for tag teaming the hosting duties.

Deschutes River

Bend Brewfest!

Sunset from Peggy and Keith's deck

Day 2 – Bend, OR to Sandy Point, Idaho

Suzie took us out to an amazing breakfast at the Victorian Cafe in Bend.  If you are ever in Bend definitely check that place out and definitely get their 23 ounce bloody mary that comes with a grilled prawn, sausage and a cube of cheese.  We did not get one and think we will regret it for the rest of the trip. 

We drove from Bend to Sandy Point, Idaho with a stop in Cœur D’Alene to go for a quick hike on the lake and watch another beautiful sunset.  We also made a quick stop at the Slate Creek Brewery.  It was an adjustment to go from having over 60 brewery choices to just one, but their beer was excellent.  From their we drove another hour to Sandy Point.  Our plans to stay at a campground there were deterred by said campground being closed for the night.  There was a locked gate in the front preventing people from going in or out.  Since we were planning on sleeping in the Suburban anyways we just parked outside the gate of the campground/prison and saved $20.  

Sunset in Coeur D'Alene

Day 3 - Sandy Point, ID to Banff, AB

We got up and started driving at 6 :30 AM in part because we were really excited to get to Banff and in part because when we woke up we realized we parked just on the other side of the chain link fence from the camphost,  whose campground we had slept just outside of (not our fault, but still).  I (Bryce) was also peeing on the fence that bordered his home so we fidured best to get out of their quickly. 

The Canadian border crossing was quick and easy.  The drive through Southern Canada was beautiful and we arrived in Banff with enough time to do a hike along the Bow river and climb Tunnel Mountain.  Being so far north the sun doesn’t set until after 9PM, which makes for many hours of hiking and exploring..  We’ve got a great campsite that looks up at Mount Rundle (9,700 feet).  Since this is the first time we’re getting to settle in for a few days we set up our full camp with our tables, chairs and shade tent.  

Our campsite at Tunnel Mountain Campground

Looking down at the Bow River from Tunnel Mountain

View from the top of Tunnel Mountain

Day 4 – Banff, AB

Today we did a hike that may have ruined all other hikes for us.  The hike to Bourgeau Lake and Harvey Pass had everything on our awesome hike checklist : wildflowers, waterfalls, alpine lakes and spectacular views of the mountains.  Definitely a top five all time hike for us.  We also checked out the Banff Brewery and stumbled into their $4 pint day, which is an even better deal than it sounds, because the Canadian dollar is worth less and the Canadian pint is 18 ounces.  We had a couple at the Brewery and also filled up our growler. 

So far Banff has been amazing and Gina is even starting t develop a bit of a Canadian accent.  The weather looks like it might take a turn in the next couple days, which might force us to take some much needed down time.  

Waterfall on Bourgeau Creek

Looking down the Bourgeau Valley

Bourgeau Lake

View of the Canadian Rockies from Harvey Pass

B and G