Tom at Virginia Falls

Me at a Waterfall

Wild Goose Island

Glacier is Gorgeous!

I had a bit of an epiphany today. Well, I guess I don’t know if that’s true because it is a realization that I’ve had in the past and I think lurks in the subconscious of many: Often the work and chores we perform feel tedious because they seem to lack purpose. This idea has come to me before (why it’s so hard to clean a house but easier to cut and haul wood) but it returned today. We had our hotel yesterday (yes, it was a nice reprieve and a chance to rest) but today as we got to camp and set about fetching water and establishing shelter, I felt a sense of purpose as opposed to the almost restlessness that I had at the hotel. It was weird, but it was almost like all the options and possibilities at the hotel stressed me out.

Ok, enough personal psycho-analyzing, here’s what’s going on in the trip (instead of my head): We got to Glacier in mid-afternoon and its motto holds true (where the prairie meets the mountain). The mountains are absolutely fabulous to look at and unlike the Tetons, once you are in the park (at least in this eastern area), you are surrounded by hills and pinnacles. And the water!! The lakes and streams are the most gorgeous blue-green that you can imagine; I doubt the pictures will do them justice. As a comparison, imagine the waters of the Caribbean with a color twice as vibrant and a temperature half as much.

We decided to do a little hike today (that inadvertently turned into probably over 6 miles) up to some waterfalls. There were some people jumping off of a rock into the water at the base of a waterfall; we considered it but hadn’t brought extra clothes, suits, or anything else like that on the hike. The temperature is still scorching so it is an immense relief to encounter the waterfalls in the forest as the air cools and becomes more refreshing. For an even better experience, one can walk up next to them and feel the mist. So that’s about it for today, you probably won’t get this until we’re in Seattle (7/14). Until then…

PS-sorry, no good quotes from Tom; I try to remember the funny/silly/stupid stuff he says but I usually fail…I’m used to the “in one ear – out the other” system when he talks! :-)