Monday, June 20, 2005

After a fitful sleep, I got up early to check and answer a couple of emails. Monique had mentioned she had sent me one, and I got a great chuckle out of her admonition to stop analyzing every shoulder and sidewalk for biking potential. I was also delighted to learn that she has also started up a blog, and I hope all of you will check it out. It’s at www.cheerleaderbikerbabe.blogspot.com . When you do, you’ll understand why I’m looking forward so much to having Monique join me. She’s a French Canadian fireball, and she’ll keep me going for sure.

Albert and I left Calgary after breakfast, on a side trip highly recommended by Mike and Jan Jarvis. We went to the Waterton/Glacier International Peace Park, part of which is in Alberta, and part of which is in Montana. It was through scenic countryside, the likes of which we had only seen in wild west movies to this point. We did wonder occasionally if the trip was going to be worth it, but I can attest to the fact that it was. Especially in Montana were we thrilled by the scenery. One travels along the Going to the Sun Road, through Logan’s Pass, which is an astonishing 6,646 feet high, and on to West Glacier. The road is narrow and winding, and often there are no barricades to keep a vehicle on the road. However, everyone drove slowly and carefully, and there were many pullouts and scenic lookouts where we could stop for photos. Several waterfalls came right to the road, and walls of snow were within arm’s reach. I took lots of photos of the steep mountains and valleys, but have to confess I often found myself looking not so much at the grand vistas as at the beautiful roadside flowers, many of which I was not familiar with. After leaving the park, we drove to St. Mary, where we had a lovely dinner and camped for the night. I spotted a biker setting up his tent near our spot, but did not speak to him, as we were heading out for dinner at that point.