Monday, October 16, 2017

Vanabout 2017 Day 10: Leavenworth

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Whoa!?!?  What happened to day 9?

Well, that was spent driving from West Glacier to Leavenworth.  Not wanting to stop, I didn’t take any pictures.

I heard there was a tasty schweinehaxe here, so I had to stop.

Vanabout 2017 Day 8: Many Glaciers to West Glacier

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That was a terrible day. It rained almost the whole day, so not many pictures. I did finally get to use my weBoost that turned no 4gLTE into just enough to be reconnected with society, but not enough to post these last three galleries.

Maybe tomorrow.

Sunday, October 8, 2017

Vanabout 2017 Day 7: More Many Glaciers

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Well, that may have been the dumbest thing I’ve ever done.

Five years ago I hike the Grinnell Glacier trail ( a 6 mile trail each way with a 1200ft elevation climb) with no water, no food and no bear spray.  Well I wasn’t going to be that stupid again this year.  I brought water. I brought bison bars.  And I brought bear spray.

So I thought I was all prepared to hike the equally long and difficult Iceberg Lake trail. Except it didn’t occur to me that, although all the snow had melted at camp, 1200 feet up, there will still be substantial snow.  And so, the last half mile of the trial was covered in snow.  I couldn’t turn back. I was almost there. Actual experienced winter hikers kept passing me with their hiking sticks and snow chains on their shoes.

Somehow I didn’t slip off the mountain or break a leg/arm/skull/other wrist. 34,000 steps later I am able to share the amazing pictures I took.

Vanabout 2017 Day 6: Helena to Glacier (Many Glaciers)

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Wednesday, October 4, 2017

Vanabout 2017 Day 5: Yellowstone to Helena

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I once again have 4G LTE and it’s raining in Helana.  So there’s not much to do but drink Gewürztraminer and catch up on blogging.

Today I said goodbye to Yellowstone and thinking I could spend two weeks here and not come close to getting enough.

Vanabout 2017 Day 4: More Yellowstone

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Geysers! Nothing but Geysers!!

Well, almost.  There was also a visit to one of the most stunning places in North America, The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.

Also, Zoe tries her paw at fly fishing.

Vanabout 2017 Day 3: Tetons to Yellowstone

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Yay!  I have internets again. 

The weather didn’t improve much in the Tetons and southern Yellowstone – lots of snow and clouds.  So, not as many pictures. Camped at Madison Campground, conveniently located near Old Faithful, The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and West Yellowstone.  Most of the pictures at the end of this gallery are from around camp.

Sunday, October 1, 2017

Vanabout 2017 Day 2: Dubois to Tetons

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What an amazing day.  First, I woke up to a light dusting of snow.  I’m not sure I’ve ever experienced snow as early as October 1. Then I see a bear, and then more snow than I’ve ever seen in my life. Unfortunately the weather didn’t cooperate once I got to the Tetons as they were hidden behind clouds when I went to take pictures of the famous  Mormon barn. Fortunately, there was just enough 4G mobile network at the Gros Ventre campgrounds to upload this gallery.

As always, click on the gallery to see all the pictures in the gallery.  I’m always amazed when I hear that people think I only posted these seven pictures.  For this gallery, I think there are 40+.

Vanabout 2019 Day 28: Aberdeen

Still South Dakota. Found a cute campground that most of the year is a hopping family holiday retreat. But it’s cold and snowy and latish Oc...