The Great Adventure 2011 Montana – 8/2/11

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After breakfast in Babb again, we headed for the Going-to-the-Sun road one last time. We stopped at the 1913 Ranger Station where volunteer Sheryl Mink, the artist, invited us to participate in the painting of the mural that when finished will be hung in the St. Mary’s Visitor Center. After that we did the Sun Point trail to Baring Falls which was very pretty. Then we continued across the road and out of the park. We headed towards Missoula on the east side of Flathead Lake because we took the west side to get to Kalispell. On the side of the road were tons of cherry orchards so we had to stop and buy some. A lb. of bing cherries were 2.50 and a lb. of Rainer cherries were 3.50 so we got both. We ended up for the night at Ruby’s Inn (King room for only $89). The staff were really friendly, the rooms clean, and we walked to The Montana Club for dinner.

What I Learned Today:

· The 2 bedroom cabin at the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn had more room and was worth the $10 extra if one is available.

· Singing on the trail must keep the bears away because we never did see a bear on the trail since I was always singing.

· Some mom and pop hotels are much better than chain hotels.

Posted on the Successful Teaching Blog by loonyhiker (successfulteaching at gmail dot com).

Original Photo: by Pat Hensley

The Great Adventure 2011 Montana – 8/1/11

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Our one bedroom cabin at the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn was small but cozy. The bathroom building was not too far away and they gave us 4 tokens for the shower (1 token = approx. 8.5 minutes). We got up early and did a wildflower hike around Lake Josephine. The area was abundant with wildflowers and I took lots of pictures. We saw a load of bear scat on the trail but no bears. After the wildflower hike, we had a picnic. Then we hiked to Apikuni Falls which was straight up a mountain. It was a great hike but it was tiring. After the hike we hit the restaurant for some pizza and then ice cream.

What I Learned Today:

· Beargrass was named by Lewis and Clark because it looked like grass and is found where bears live. Bears do not like to eat it unless they have to in order to survive.

· Sweet Cicely smells like licorice. You can eat the seeds that taste like licorice.

· Aspens shoot out roots underground for new growth.

Posted on the Successful Teaching Blog by loonyhiker (successfulteaching at gmail dot com).

Original Photo: by Pat Hensley

The Great Adventure 2011 Montana – 7/31/11

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I woke up early because I heard the wind howling and the rain pouring down. After I got up and tried to read my Ipad in the dark, I decided to go sit outside in my lawn chair. The rain and wind stopped and the sky looked like it was on fire! I was able to sit outside and knit while I listened to podcasts. When Don woke up, we checked out of our room and drove into Babb for breakfast. On the way back we hiked around Swiftcurrent Lake and looked for wildlife. The wind picked up while we were hiking and it felt like a fall day. After our hike, we stopped and had a picnic. In the afternoon we checked into our cabin and then joined the ranger on a nature hike which was wonderful. After the hike we came back to our cabin to relax before going to the restaurant and having a pizza. After dinner we went to hear the ranger talk about bears.

What I Learned Today:

· There is 1 species of salamander in the park and 4 frog species.

· The Calliope Hummingbird nest we saw was made from lichens, moss, and spider webs.

· Talking and making noise is the best way to let a bear know you are near.

· Human mother’s milk is about 3% fat and grizzly bear mother’s milk is 33% fat.

· The bears mate in the spring and is “almost pregnant.” If the conditions are right and the mother is in good shape, she is pregnant in November and the cub(s) are born in January or February.

· Black bear cubs stay for one summer and are kicked out the next. Grizzly bear cubs stay for 3 summers.

· Black bears get pregnant every other summer and grizzly bears every 3^rd year.

Posted on the Successful Teaching Blog by loonyhiker (successfulteaching at gmail dot com).

Original Photo: by Pat Hensley

The Great Adventure 2011 Montana – 7/30/11

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This morning we left Glacier Park Lodge and went to Browning for breakfast. The only place we could find was at the Glacier Parks Casino and the breakfast was great! After that we headed to Two Medicine Flats area. There we hiked to 2 waterfalls: Running Eagle Falls and Appistoki Falls. Both were beautiful! Of course we were on our own so Don did a lot of singing (off key of course) to scare away any bears and we didn’t come across any. I want to see some but only through binoculars or through a car window. After that we had lunch in Babb at Thorson’s Café and it was good too.

By then it was time to head to the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn to check in. Thankfully our room was ready for us. What a difference this place was compared to the Glacier Park Lodge! Everyone was smiling and seemed happy to be there. Our room was ready even though we were about an hour earlier than scheduled check in.

Once we checked in, we drove to the Many Glacier Lodge and looked around. It was a beautiful place! How different this place was compared to the Glacier Park Lodge. The staff was welcoming and the whole place was so much cleaner even though they were going through a major renovation! At 4pm we took the historical hotel tour with the ranger and learned about the history of the hotel. After the tour we headed back to Swiftcurrent where the ranger and some volunteers had scopes set up in the parking lot. We were able to see the mountain goats high up on the mountain as well as people hiking down the mountain. I think that was a neat activity to set up for visitors.

What I Learned Today:

· I can spray bug spray on my clothing and it will have the same effect as putting it on my skin. The bugs stayed away from me. Of course I had long hiking pants and a long sleeve shirt. I also sprayed the bug spray on the brim of my hat which helped keep them away from my face.

· The Two Medicine Flats area is not as heavily visited as the other sections of the park. This made it quite enjoyable for hiking.

· The Many Glacier Lodge which was built in 1915 by the Great Northern Railway.

· I would recommend the Many Glacier Lodge and the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn to others.

Posted on the Successful Teaching Blog by loonyhiker (successfulteaching at gmail dot com).

Original Photo: by Pat Hensley