Scott

Red Rock Canyon & Les Mis

July 25, 2013 by Sue Leave a Comment

Day 6-Canada
First stop was Wieners of Waterton where Brian and Jack were immediately recognized like famous celebrities. Aren’t you Marius? And you’re the Bishop! Yes, we commoners are allowed to hang with them. May we sell you an autograph? 🙂 Anyway, Wieners is a tradition with them so we had to experience it. The place was started by a former employee of JDawg’s in Provo but is way better, according to Brian. It turned out to be super tasty. I had the gluten-free option which was a lettuce wrap instead of a bun and was quite yummy, and the sweet potato fries with exotic dipping sauces were great.

Brian and Jack wanted us to experience Red Rock Canyon in Waterton so we headed out from lunch prepared to hike. The locals had told them that they always saw bears on the road to the canyon but when they had gone previously they hadn’t seen any and their local friends were totally surprised. We went with hope in our hearts that a bear would show itself and kept our eyes peeled along the road. We came around a bend and saw several cars pulled off to the side so Scott screeched to a halt and swerved over. We jumped out and walked to the clump of people and there it was: a cinnamon-colored black bear cavorting in the field. We were all ecstatic! We stood there watching for quite a while until he disappeared behind the crest of a hill. Joy!
I should interject here that last summer Brian and Jack worked at a theatre in West Yellowstone and never saw one bear. We visited the park twice and also went to Glacier last summer and never saw any, so we were all hoping to get a glimpse of a bear this summer. We had been told that there is a much better chance of seeing them in Canada than the States, so there you go.

To return to my narrative, we got back in the car happy and satisfied, when what to our wondering eyes should appear? A couple of cars pulled over with people pointing at nothing. Then we saw a small patch of brown nestled down in some bushes and wondered if that was an animal. A head popped up and it was another cinnamon black bear. Score!
We watched it eat for quite a while and then it lumbered out of the bushes and up the hillside so we got a great whole-body view at close range.
It climbed up and proceeded to tear apart a fallen log with great force, pulling off branches and digging into the log for something.
Scott was snapping photos like a picture-taking fool so we got plenty, including some with us in the foreground but the bear is kinda blurry.
We finally left when it got crowded with lookers so we could give others a chance because we are nice that way. It was a good thing the other people had stopped at first because we would never have seen that brown blob hidden in the bushes while driving by. So we were all happy-two bears in one trip.

Farther up the road we came to Red Rock Canyon, which was the purpose of the visit. They were really excited to take us but I had been apprehensive for days because Brian’s original description included the phrase “there’s potential for ankle-rolling on this hike”. Hmmm. We brought extra tennis shoes for hiking the streambed. There is a paved loop above the narrow canyon but hiking the bed is more fun and scenic. So we hiked up the stream and through the very narrow canyon of red marble.
There was seepage along the walls so lots of vegetation up the sides, small falls of water along the walls, and showers here and there.

We got to a large logjam which had an opening in the bottom that was navigable with lots of bending and twisting so we forged on to the water slide area.

We left the sliding to the younger folks and just enjoyed the water pouring down. You know I can sit and watch moving water for hours so I’m always up for that.

The water is super cold and by the time we hiked back down the stream we had frozen toes, but it was gorgeous and fun and I’d do it again. Here are some additional photos if you still have the stamina to view: the canyon on the way out, Rafiki makes an appearance on Pride Rock, assisting old ladies across the street, etc.

We got the guys back to get ready for their call time and we cleaned up for the evening show, “Les Miserables” at the Carriage House Theatre in Cardston. Brian played the Bishop and one of the student rebels and did a great job. He sang some short solos and had his own songs as the Bishop and sounded great.

Mark spent 10 days visiting him before the shows opened and did the sound design for the show plus bought a bunch of mics, equalized the room, and did a bunch of other technical audio stuff I don’t understand but made the show sound great. Lots of talent in the show but I think Brian and Jack were the best. I may be a little biased, but I don’t think so. 🙂

A sneak peek at Waterton

July 24, 2013 by Sue Leave a Comment

Day 5-Canada
We went to the single’s branch with Brian and some cast members and Brian played a viola solo for the special musical number. Then we took a quick drive into Waterton Lakes National Park and saw Cameron Falls, which is a beautiful falls right in the Waterton townsite.

It’s at the end of a street on a road leading to campgrounds and hiking trails.

It pours tons of water over and has diagonal slashes of rock that give the water a nice pattern.

Scott, Brian, and Jack took a short trail to the top that looks over the falls and I got some photos of them at the top.

We sat on the shore of Upper Waterton Lake at the townsite, listened to the waves lap on the shore and skipped some rocks.

Then we drove up to the parking lot of the famous Prince of Wales hotel which sits on a promontory overlooking Middle and Upper Waterton Lakes.

It is very windy on top but has a great view of the lakes and the townsite. So far, Waterton is gorgeous!

Buffalo & actors

July 23, 2013 by Sue Leave a Comment

Day 4-Montana & Canada
We went to First People’s Buffalo Jump State Park and it was more developed than Madison. There was a new visitor’s center with really nice displays and stuff for kids. We were treated to a personal introductory talk by one of the rangers, who explained about jumps and how they were used. They had three taxidermied bison, one of which you could touch and she reassured us that none of them were wild but all from ranches. They also had a wolf skin that kids were allowed to put on for photos. I offered to take a pix of Scott with it on but he declined.
There was a walking trail to the top along the front face or a driving road around the side that went to the top of the bluff. I was getting tired so to conserve some energy for later, we opted for the road. At the top were some displays and a ginormous prairie dog town, much larger in area than the state park we had been to the previous day. It turns out that bison and prairie dogs live together well because the bison graze and trample the short grass making it easier for the dogs to see farther for predators and they also like to take dust baths in the mounds to protect themselves from bugs. The prairie dogs eat annual plants, thus encouraging the growth of perennials like buffalo grass and blue grama that the bison like to eat. Who knew? I thought the bison would just break their legs stepping in burrow holes, but apparently they are smarter than me.
During the “dog days” before the tribes had horses, this jump was used for harvesting buffalo by stampeding them to the edge so they fell over a cliff before they had time to realize and stop. Several herds of 75-100 animals grazed on top of this huge bluff and the buffalo runner focused on one herd. He was a teenage boy dressed in a calf skin who spent a couple days with the herd to identify the lead cow. If he could draw her towards the edge, the others would follow and his two teen mates in wolf skins lurked in the back of the herd to keep them moving to the edge. He dived over the cliff to a prearranged safe ledge or crevice where he hid as the herd thundered over to their deaths. Adult warriors also hid along the drive route to ensure the entire herd went over. Warriors at the bottom killed any animals still living and the women and children immediately began processing the animals’ meat, hide, bones, hooves, and organs, as the entire animal was used. The young buffalo runner became a man at once for his daring deed to help the tribe.
We loved the immense view from the top. We could see in all directions for miles and miles. I guess that’s why they call it Big Sky Country.

We left there and drove to the border where I got to use my very first passport as we entered Canada. We stopped to take pictures of Waterton in the distance.

Our destination was Cardston, in Southern Alberta, to visit Brian who is appearing for the summer at the Carriage House Theatre. We met him at the theatre for a quick behind-the-scenes tour, grabbed dinner during his call time, then saw the first show. It was called “Encore” and is performed three times during the summer by the full-time summer cast. They performed some group numbers from the summer plays and did some solo and small-group numbers in a showcase-type format, interspersed with short video clips of funny interviews of the cast members. Brian accompanied several numbers on the piano, including a Disney mash-up that he arranged that gave solo moments to each cast member, as well as three intermingled duets that included him singing while playing. It was awesome! The whole show was great with some fantastic talent and very fun to see.

Dogs, buffalo, & stalagmites

July 22, 2013 by Scott Leave a Comment

Day 3-Montana
We stopped off at Greycliff Prairie Dog Town State Park and saw, yes, you guessed it, many prairie dogs but no rangers. I guess the dogs trusted that we had a state park pass. We saw LOTS of the little guys and also listened to them make squeaky, chirpy warning sounds.
The town was just off the interstate but it didn’t seem to bother the dogs much. Very interesting but small and didn’t take too much time. It gave Scott a chance to experiment some more with the new camera, however. And both of us a chance to learn way more about prairie dogs than we ever knew before.

Next stop, Madison Buffalo Jump State Park which was interesting if somewhat primitive. We hiked up a short but steep trail to a pavilion with markers, looked at the face of the jump and read about teenage boys trained to be buffalo runners to lure the herd to the edge, jump to safety and then cling to a ledge as the animals fell over to their deaths. Sounds gory when I tell it like that.

Back in the car to listen to “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” and crochet while Scott drove us to Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park. We got there just as a tour was about to leave at 3:30 so we rushed to grab jackets and the camera and raced off to join the end of the line on the long climb up the mountain to the cave entrance. It was hot, somewhat steep, and I was pretty exhausted from the previous days’ activities, so it was a hard slog for me. We had neglected to grab water and I was dying of thirst while pushing myself up the trail. It was somewhat grueling. When we got to the cave entrance, blessed relief! It was cool! I was so hot that I didn’t put on my jacket until the very end of the tour-it took me that long to cool off.
So, the caverns. Very interesting formations. We noticed at the beginning that many of the formations seemed broken off, then the guide told us why. In the early part of the twentieth century, an entrepreneur built a spiral staircase down into the caves and gave guided tours. He also allowed visitors to break off a piece of the formations by the entrance as a souvenir to take home. Since the formations at the entrance are not active, no new growth there forever.
During the Depression the cave became part of the National Park Service and was developed by the Civilian Conservation Corps who replaced the wooden stairs with concrete and installed lighting. They blasted out a new exit so visitors didn’t have to go back the way they came and run into visitors coming down, and then found that it created a giant wind tunnel that was drying out the only live part of the caverns. So they built airtight doors at each end. When we left, we all got in the 500 ft. tunnel and the guide shut the “dungeon door” behind us. It made a loud bang and the vibrations moved right through us with a reverb all through our chests. Cool!
The NPS later gave the caverns to the state and it became Montana’s first state park. The first part of the cave had some nice formations that were mostly white but as we got deeper there was more color and more varied formations.
The entire tour is a two-mile trip which includes “some bending and stooping”, according to the signage. This is an understatement of the grossest proportions. We’ve toured some caves in our time and these were the tightest squeezes ever. “Bending” included completely over and still bumping our heads and backs. We also had to slide on our butts down the “beaver slide”, and walk backwards down some wedge-shaped steps so small our feet barely fit on them. So this trek is not for the faint of heart. But it was worth it.
The second half had the more impressive formations and one section along an almost continuous long down stairway had many beautiful sights we all had to keep stopping to take pictures of for posterity.

Because the tour descends inside the cave, when we exited the caverns we had a level trail back to the car. The view over the Jefferson River valley from the exit was lovely.

While passing Butte on the interstate, I happened to look up and see a statue on the top of a mountain. I made Scott take off at the next exit and go back so we could take pictures. She is called “Our Lady of the Rockies”, is 90 feet tall and stands on the Continental Divide at an elevation of over 8000 feet. She was built by volunteer labor and contributions and there is an interfaith chapel beside her. She is a tribute to the women of all nationalities and creeds who travelled through or settled this area and is an impressive sight from the ground. We circled back and stayed in Butte over a week later and pulled in at night. She is brightly lit and that was also impressive.

Pictograph State Park

July 20, 2013 by Sue Leave a Comment

Day 2 continued
After leaving Little Bighorn we continued our quest to see more state parks. Rosebud earlier that day was unmanned so we put our $5 in an envelope and slid it in a box. Then discussed how this was going to break us if we paid five bucks at every little waystop state park. But we moved on from Little Bighorn to Pictograph State Park. This had a small visitor center with a real person where we saw a sign for a non-resident annual pass to the state parks. Scott did some quick mental math because he’s just good like that, and figured it was a worthwhile deal because we had several parks in the pipeline. That was quite the experience for the summer help. Apparently non-residents do not purchase Montana State Park annual passes. Ever. (At later stops with rangers we had to assure them repeatedly that we had a sticker on our car window. Fortunately, most rangers turned out to be trusting souls, although one was unaware the state even offered such a thing. So fun to be a complete anomaly. Later in the trip I took a picture of the sticker with my phone for proof.)

Armed with our new pass, we hiked the short, but steep trail to the cave. There was a sign up saying to be careful because a rattlesnake had been seen on the trail earlier in the day. Scott’s response: Cool! Another lady’s response: No way am I going up there! Being brave adventurers, we started up. That couple did not. Soon we saw them following us escorted by the ranger with a snake-catching pincer-thing. So we got free patter in the cave. Score!

The cave was fascinating. It had red and black drawings on the walls, but the black ones are harder to see because there is seepage on the back wall which dries white and obscures the drawings. He said they are much easier to see when the cave is wet because the walls are dark.

We then hiked over to the Ghost Cave and got a glamour shot of me in a secluded shade area which was pretty and only lasted for a few feet, but was a nice break from the heat.

Ghost Cave had a series of concretions, which are snowball-like rock growths over ancient clam shells. Photos of Scott with geologic formations whenever possible as he endures my historical forays with good grace.