**Special Note** This one picture was uploading for almost half an hour so I stopped using the hotel wireless and used my Verizon internet card. When it was finished uploading, I saw the message that said its something like $20 per MB to upload internationally so I think this one photo may have just cost me $40. Therefore, I will upload more pictures at a later date–thank you for your cooperation and patience. The text below should keep you entertained until a later date when I will add more visual stimulation.

So the whirlwind tour begins and it did so with a bang! I’ve packed in a lot in the last 48 hours. I left Spokane on Friday and arrived in Kalispell Montana about 2:00, only it turned out to be 3:00 because I lost an hour. I like that whole time change thing a lot better when it giveth rather than taketh away. I threw my bags in my room and drove the hour or so to Glacier which passed very quickly since I was on the phone most of the way with Gregory.

I’m dedicating this post to him btw, for the simple reason that he has been my guardian angel since the day I left the city. Whether its an awesome travel recommendation, an important reminder to do something (like did you remember to call AT&T to get a Canada plan so you don’t have a $500 phone bill like when you spent the first two weeks there at the beginning of the trip) or real time text updates of tourists getting eaten by bears in Yellowstone, knowing he’s just a phone call or text away has been a real source of comfort to me. He also makes me laugh a lot! So thank you Gregory my SJM.

Now on with the show. This is going to be a down and dirty post since I’ve already had an 18 hour day and I’m thinking this is going to be the pace for quite some time to come.

In the last 48 hours as I started to say, I:

Drove 248 miles from Spokane to Kalispell
Drove to Glacier National Park
Drove over “Going to the Sun Road’ Incredible
Stopped at top of the World and did a short hike in sandals on a glacier-yay!
Drove back to Kalispell at around 10 PM and collapsed
Got up and looked at the directions to Calgary and oops- driving over “Going to the Sun Road” again
Drove 275 miles to Calgary but not before stopping in Glacier at Sun Point to go on a 5 mile hike
Stayed at the Hyatt in Calgary, great hotel, nice people, but we hate them because they charge $13.95 for guests to use their wireless internet service. This is the first hotel in 90 days to do this, I lodged my complaint and they didn’t charge me, so we hate them a little less
Left Calgary early after enjoying a delicious Hyatt breakfast buffet (and hating them still a little less) and drove 260 miles to Jasper where a brief stop at Lake Louise just for a peek turned into an 8 mile round trip hike up to The Field of Six Glaciers and the lovely tea house where I had tea and biscuits (shout out to my beloved Jenny Sue we did that hike together to that tea house some 18 years ago–and yes my eye throbbed at the top this time too!)
Left Lake Louise and drove up Icefields Parkway whiich I stil think is one of the most beautiful roads I’ve ever seen!
Stopped for a few photo ops and then damn another Glacier to climb, The Columbia Glacier, so that was another hour of wicked fun!
That was followed by an hour of torrential downpour while it was sunny
I arrived at the Pyramid Lake Resort and had my dinner over-looking the lake, made it to my room at 10:30
Now I am sitting in my fantastic lakeside room that I love and will only get to stay in for about 6-8 hours.
The screen door is open and I’m listening to the wolves howl off in the distance.
So that’s my last 48 hours. Time for some photos no captions and no proofing of this post its real time blogging if you see a photo and have a question ask away!

Glacier National Park

Mountain Goat Mit Baby

Me Hiking On The Glacier With Completely Inappropriate Footwear

No Caption Required

Hiking At Sun Point in Glacier National Park

Hello Little Mule Deer