Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Good morning!! Our view from the balcony

Okay so the balcony felt 80 years old and after our initial foray, all our enjoyment of the view came from inside our room! But what an INCREDIBLE view!!!

The past couple of days we took a few short hikes and drove through the mountains for some breathtaking views. We ended our stay with a boat tour on Waterton Lake this morning and learned a few interesting facts. One is that Glacier-Waterton International Peace Park was the first of it's kind.  Since the biodiversity and geography did not end at the border, the rotaries of East Glacier and Watertown met and agreed to merge these 2 Parks reflecting the spirit of peace and cooperation between the two countries. 

Okay so this is all very nice, but apparently there is an agreement between the US and Canada that dictates there be a visible line at the border when possible.  Who knew?! We could easily see it on both sides of the mountains surrounding the lake.  All the brush had been cut down.  We then noticed it again when we crossed back to MT!  Even more entertaining was the "border crossing" for hikers getting off the boat at the MT side of the lake.  If you were a Canadian or US citizen you needed to show your passport before you could take the hike there. Ah the complexities of international relations!

Now Adelaide reminded me that we had forgotten to mention some of our culinary delights.  We had some yummy desserts the other day at that great little restaurant we went to.  The kids devoured their Buffalo Jump Brownie Sunday while we equally enjoyed a Huckleberry cobbler.  Huckleberry anything can be found throughout this region.  We sampled gooseberries last night.  Very pretty, dark yellow, cherry-sized berries with a sweet-tart taste.  Oh and Isaac may just prove that old adage, "You are what you eat" and come home transformed into a chicken finger : )

Now let's end by testing your bear knowledge.  As you know we have been a bit consumed by bears while we have been out West.  It's hard not to when every piece of literature, posted sign, ranger, guide, news story etc. warns you about them.  We have had many conversations about this, as you can well imagine!

Now the two types of bears out here are grizzlies and black bears.  Are these bears carnivores, herbivores, or omnivores?  Here's a hint--they are different.  Now don't immediately run to Google it (even though I have been doing that the whole trip)!  We look forward to hearing your best guesses.

On our way east through Montana...this is one BIG state.  Beautiful too. No real plans except catching up with Ohio relatives this weekend and maybe a lunch stop at Maid Rite for those loose meat sandwiches if we can find an open restaurant heading East.

Stay tuned....

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