After staying two nights in the East Block's field station, we moved on to the West Block for a night of camping. The East Block isn't really open to normal visitors, but the West Block has a public road that winds through it. We pulled over on the side of the road and set up our tent about 100 yards away, about half way down into an old river valley. As I first walked to the edge of the valley and crested the ridge, there was a group of about ten deer about a stones throw away. The buck led the group away from me and out of view. I didn't feel to bad about taking their sleeping spot for the night because it was definitely the most beautiful campsite I've ever had. We finished getting our tent ready just as the sun's light faded and Emily and I spent an hour or so lying in the grass watching the stars appear. The clouds couldn't seem to decide whether they wanted to come or go, and so our view of the stars continued to change while we watched. Jupiter was shining brightly in the east and the moon turned a deep orange as it made it's way to the horizon.
Today we spent the day driving through the park and stopping to explore its various features. We made it to town, Val Marie, in the afternoon and decided to stay at the inn. Val Marie has to be the smallest town I've ever been in, second only to the one we ate in yesterday, called Mankota. The people here recognize Emily and are very friendly. We ate at the inn at a table with staff from the Canadian park system. I keep eating cheeseburgers, which I don't do often at home. It is great to see the cattle here given so much land and to know the food your eating was raised the right way. Tomorrow morning we set out for Montana. Emily and I have never seen the Rockies before. I know it will be an awe inspiring experience for both of us. We will drive through the Blackfeet Reservation, which is bigger than Deleware, and then camp for three nights in Glacier National Park.
The lichen on the rocks had some fascinating patterns.
No comments:
Post a Comment