It’s back to Glacier for part two, which has turned out to be the far more adventurous half of this trip. After meeting back up in the park yesterday, the three of us took a short, not-that-steep hike to two waterfalls.
Greggle Goes West
Relive the excitement of my cross-country trip and keep track of my new adventures.
Monday, August 29, 2016
Light the Sky and Hold on Tight
It’s back to Glacier for part two, which has turned out to be the far more adventurous half of this trip. After meeting back up in the park yesterday, the three of us took a short, not-that-steep hike to two waterfalls.
Labels:
Glacier National Park,
hiking,
lightning,
Montana,
mountains,
National Parks,
Sunrise,
Sunset
Location:
East Glacier, MT, USA
Saturday, August 27, 2016
Alberta, Alberta - Where You Been So Long?
Because there’s a $700 surcharge to rent a car in Montana and return it in Canada, I come to you tonight from Calgary.
Let me explain. Originally, this
trip had us flying into Kalispell, renting a car, making our way across
Glacier, crossing into Canada to see Banff, and flying out of Calgary. The
surcharge effectively ended that idea. Fortunately, I managed to pry enough
brain cells away from the Rule Against Perpetuities to come up with a solution:
Do half of Glacier, go to Banff, do the rest of Glacier, and return the car in
the country from whence it came. In my eyes, an eminently reasonable solution.
And one that no one wanted to do. I’m still not entirely sure why the
opposition, but in my delicate pre-bar state, I had no patience for people
being irrational. The only obstacle keeping us from visiting the Canadian parks
was gone, so what was the problem?
In any event, if they wouldn’t do
my solution, I’d split off from the group and do it myself. I figured it was a
good idea anyway, in the event of a repeat of the Yosemite situation, to give
us all a break if needed. It wasn’t really needed, but it did get me the
opportunity to see another of the world’s most scenic landscapes. So here’s how
that went.
Labels:
Alberta,
altitude,
Banff National Park,
Canada,
Driving,
glaciers,
hiking,
Icefields Parkway,
Jasper National Park,
mountains,
National Parks,
Rain,
Scenic Routes,
Sunrise,
Sunset,
Waterfalls
Location:
Calgary, AB, Canada
Thursday, August 25, 2016
The Legend of the Drop Bear
A wise man once told me of the
drop bear. A fearsome, yet rarely seen, beast, the drop bear lives among the
trees, waiting to strike any prey who dare pass below. When the moment is
right, the drop bear, true to its name, strategically drops from the branches onto
the unsuspecting passerby. Owing to its unusual largeness, this allows the drop
bear to incapacitate and eat its victim. The only known defense to drop bear
attacks is to place forks in one’s hair (tines up).
While Glacier seems to be free of
the dreaded drop bear, its grizzly cousins stand ready to “drop in” on park
guests almost anywhere, without notice. Over the last two days, they seem to
have been circling closer and closer, although I’ve managed to hold them off so
far.
Labels:
bears,
clouds,
Cold,
Glacier National Park,
hiking,
Montana,
Rain,
Scenic Routes,
Sunrise,
Sunset,
Waterfalls
Location:
Browning, MT, USA
Tuesday, August 23, 2016
Finding My Place
Two years gone. Has it really been that long?
As will probably become clear from these next few posts, in
many ways I’m a different person than I was when I took my last blog-worthy
road trip a little over two years ago. Although, as I’m frequently reminded, my
penchant for hokey sentimentality remains a constant, law school has sucked some
of the tolerance for hopeless unbridled optimism and positivity out of me. I’m
more inclined now to skip past nonsense and get to the point. I also spend more
time doing and less time observing. What does all that mean for a relatively
unknown travel blog with new entries coming at roughly the same frequency as new
Sherlock episodes? I’m not sure yet.
But let’s dive in already.
Labels:
Family,
Glacier National Park,
hiking,
kayaking,
Montana,
mountains,
National Parks,
Sunset,
Waterfalls
Location:
Hungry Horse, MT, USA
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Only Hate the Road When You’re Missing Home
I’m back.
My return journey, including a compelled overnight stop in New Jersey, has deposited me back in Boston, where I’ll have to settle for this
boring view from my apartment:
In the past, the return journey has always carried with it a
sense of dénouement – gratitude that this happened but disappointment that it’s
over. But this time was different. As must as I enjoyed all the sights and
experiences of this trip – and I did – when I took that eastbound ramp onto
I-70 out of Terre Haute
yesterday, I felt nothing but excitement. I knew that in only 2 days I’d be
waking up early and once again stumbling down Mission Hill and up Huntington Avenue
towards NUSL. I knew that soon I’d be back in my routine of morning classes,
afternoon reading, and evening freedom. I knew I’d soon have the chance to
complain about classes and professors to people who felt the same way (or who
would tell me I was wrong). And most importantly, I knew that soon I’d see my
school friends and classmates again and have the chance to share with them more
of the “Breakfast Club moments” that made this year so special – and that every
mile I drove would bring me closer to that. My speedometer rarely dipped below
80.
Labels:
Boston,
Dénouement,
Driving,
Indiana,
Massachusetts,
New Jersey,
reflection
Location:
Boston, MA
Saturday, May 24, 2014
I’ve Got Nothing
Sorry, folks. After hours of thinking it over, I’ve been
able to come up with nothing significant to say about today. Maybe it’s that
I’m becoming progressively more tired each day, as I stay up later and later to
write these things (which does not bode well for next week when classes start
again). Maybe it’s that spending time with another person in the car means that
I’m spending the driving days having actual human interaction, instead of the
kind of pure reflection that tends to produce the best posts here (although
when I make the last 2 legs of the journey alone tomorrow and Monday, I’ll have
plenty of time to myself). Not that I’m complaining – I’m sure this trip has
been better than if I had taken it by myself. It’s just that it may not lend
itself as well to blogging.
Labels:
Cities,
Driving,
Kentucky,
Memphis,
Mississippi,
restaurants,
Sunset,
Tennessee
Location:
Terre Haute, IN
Friday, May 23, 2014
But Do I Really Feel the Way I Feel?
It’s strange how things work sometimes. The day involving
the least walking is the day when I end up the most tired. Granted, my tiredness
during a given day isn’t determined by the amount of aggregate exercise done
that day, unless my tiredness sensors can somehow predict how much exercise I’ll
be getting throughout the rest of the day – in which case, they need to be applying
that ability to the useful parts of my brain. In any event, it’s probably the
cumulative effect of several long days and of staying up too late to write. So
thanks, guys. This is all your fault.
None of that prevented us from having a full busy day as we
journeyed from the Midwest through the heart
of the South. Tonight we’re in Memphis
(and yes, every time I say, hear, or think the name of this city, that song
gets stuck in my head. There are definitely worse songs for that to happen
with, though). Getting here took us through this trip’s first first-time state –
Arkansas.
I have no pictures of the other 75 miles of Arkansas we traversed today, mainly because the farms
there look pretty much the same as the farms in Missouri or Indiana
– large and flat. There were some oddly shaped irrigation ditches on some
plots, and we had a flyover from a crop duster, but that was about all Arkansas had to offer. Not
even a travel center to stop and buy a refrigerator magnet. So on to Tennessee it was.
Location:
Memphis, TN
Thursday, May 22, 2014
Do Elephants Lay Eggs?
For a day with an itinerary reading “ribs, Cardinals game” today
we managed to cobble together a full slate of St. Louis-iciousness – and one
that again left us both thoroughly exhausted. Again we found ourselves walking
more than we expected, although we didn’t come anywhere near the 12 miles (Lindsay did the math) that we’d covered in Chicago.
And, mercifully, it didn’t rain.
Location:
Hazelwood, MO
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Keep On Walking
Ah Chicago,
we hardly knew ye. Just as quickly as our time together began, it has come to
an end. But before the end, we two travelers checked off 3 items the
Quintessential Chicago Experiences list: taking the L, riding the Navy Pier
Ferris wheel, and seeing a Cubs game at Wrigley Field.
The fact that I have nothing of interest to say about the L
probably constitutes a positive review. The best way to explain the view from
the Ferris wheel is probably to show it to you:
Location:
Hazelwood, MO
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
It's Electric
This is one of the rare times when I’m at a loss for what to
say about today. Not because something so profoundly fantastic or terrible
happened, but because so much
happened. I was so busy doing today that I never really had time to stop and
think of a theme that tied it all together. So, as much as it pains me, today’s
Chicago
adventure will have to take the form of a bed-to-bed story.
It began with a 150-mile trip north through western Indiana. Since the
designers of the interstate highway system failed to consider the importance of
a high-speed linkage between Terre Haute and Chicago, we had to slum
it and take a lowly U.S. Highway
instead. Except, in parts of the country like this, I sometimes prefer those
over some cold Interstate. Because they’re not limited-access, there are
interesting things along the side of the road. Plus, these roads aren’t subject
to interstate highway rules, so they’re free to go in a completely straight
line with no bends whatsoever, all the way to the horizon.
Location:
Chicago, IL
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