To Our Grandchildren

When I was a little girl, my grandparents traveled throughout the United States, always bringing back movie films, pretty stones or little souvenir trinkets. It was at my grandfather's knee that I got my yearning to travel. In later years, my parents took similar trips out west and back. I waited a very long time to get to see the places they talked about.

Sadly, Bernie grew up not ever knowing his grandparents, but his family traveled a bit for band concerts, and as a young father, he took his children out to California and back.

And we were both inspired by a wonderful 80+ year old couple on a train ride in Colorado a few years ago who told us, "Don't wait too long! See as much as you can while you can!" And there is certainly a lot to see!

And so we dedicate this blog to our grandchildren: Sean and Sara Dolan, Kayla Smith, and Lucas Johnson; and our special "adopted" grand-babies, Adrienne and Zachary. We hope that you might be inspired to ask yourselves, "Where is that place? Can I go there someday?" Wherever you travel, when you learn something about whatever is around the next corner or over the next hill, know that in your hearts are the spirit of your Grandma Su and Grandpa Bernie, smiling at your adventures.

Long Road Home

Sept 8 thru 13, 2001

With approximately 2,000 miles to cover, we begin each morning at dawn, and travel about 350 miles. That’s about 7-8 hours a day on the road, including short breaks for meals, shopping, gas fill ups. We rode through Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. Last of all, we’ll travel though Ontario and back across the Peace Bridge to Home…Buffalo, NY!

By Sunday, we needed to get out of the RV to stretch our legs and take some photos. Having decided to take the northern route rather than return through Chicago, we thought Duluth, Minnesota would be an interesting city to visit. Connected to Buffalo as another Great Lakes Shipping Port, we wanted to find out more about its maritime history. And were we surprised!

Duluth has a lively lakeside park system, where families can enjoy beach, bikes and boats.

Restaurants and shops line Canal Park. 

The Corps of Engineers presents a wonderful free Museum, celebrating Duluth’s shipping heritage.

Here we learned about the shipping connection to Buffalo. Grain and ore from the mid-west and western states arrived in Duluth by train, were loaded onto freighters and delivered to Buffalo’s flour-milling and steel making facilities. Those same raw materials are still shipped out of Duluth, but most now bypass Buffalo by way of the Welland Canal and St. Lawrence Seaway.

   But Duluth also has a vibrant downtown, which includes a Casino!

Monday we travelled through the Upper Peninsula and mainland of Michigan, catching glimpses of Lake Michigan. 

As we travelled through the forests of cedar, birch, pine and maple, we were stunned to see the vivid colors of autumn appearing so soon after our fabulous summer!

 But it was clear we’re not the only ones headed home after a perfect journey.

Waterton_Glacier_Part 2

Sept 7, Wed

Once again we were blessed with great weather for our last day in this area. We began at sunrise      

And watched how the sun lit up the mountains as we drove south to the East Glacier entrance.

The Great Northern Railroad, already successful at Yellowstone, took a large interest in this beautiful mountainous area. John Grinell hired Native consultants to advise his engineers on a usable route for his railroad out there. He began building lodges and chalets to house the guests he brought out on the trains. One of those guests was a journalist from New York who began writing the paperwork to make this area a National Park. In 1902, Glacier National park became the tenth such park in the US.

This lodge had been built using giant logs of redwood and cedar, was called the “Big Tree House” by the Indians.  

Buildings have been connected by these wonderful lounge areas.  

As we have been doing, we ate breakfast in the dining room. 

This lodge is directly across the lawn from the train station. Amtrak still makes stops here, and has tour packages available.  

If a big lodge isn’t for you, how about a lovely cabin in the woods?

A group of Ford Model T owners have gathered at this lodge, and we followed one to a gathering at Two Medicine Lakes

Now we head north to the Canadian portion of the International Peace Park. 

The Waterton Lakes National Park was established in 1895, and in 1932, in honor of the peace and friendship established between Canada and the US, this area became the first International Park, Water-Glacier International Peace Park. Though managed by the individual nations, there is a co-operation on all levels.

After finding our campsite near the shore of Waterton Lake, we took a ride through Waterton Village, where 100 year round residents manage the summer tourists. 

We found a lovely log home that would suit us for retirement (smile) 

The mountains of Glacier were formed when million year old earth crusts, in “tectonic plates”, collided near what is now the Continental Divide. The collision was so violent, that layers which were on the bottom level folded over onto themselves. Then ice, water and wind took over, eroding these new mountains into sharp peaks. Evidence of this lifting of layers shows strongly in a water falls here in Waterton and along mountain paths.

We took a road toward Cameron Lake, passing Chief Mountain and other glacial peaks.

 The Lake was so peaceful, we just sat and absorbed the serenity for a while.

The crowning site, the Prince of Wales Hotel, built by the Great Northern Railroad in 1926, sits atop a bluff overlooking Watertown Lake. 

The twilight view from the hotel and the bluff was stunning.

Before too long, it was time to say “Goodnight” to this wonderful place, and good bye to Glacier Park.