Adventure 14/50 : Glacier National Park and the Red Bus Tour

** Hey readers -- I'm catching up with a bunch of "adventures" over the next couple of weeks. We've been so busy doing things, I haven't made the time to do much writing. So enjoy these stories of our adventures in May and June. **

In June we headed east for a few days to visit Glacier National Park with Tony and Sue. After one looooooooong day of driving ... with a stop for huckleberry shakes, of course...

... we arrived in West Glacier, Montana, at the KOA and our deluxe Kamping Kabin.

our beloved Lodge 12

The Kabin had a small bunkbed alcove, a full bath, a kitchenette and a queen bed in the main room, and a private "patio" area complete with barbecue, picnic table, and fire pit. And we didn't even have one of the super fancy Kabins!

our private "patio" area

We spent the evening settling in -- and recovering from the drive. The next morning was one of the highlights of our trip -- our Red Bus Tour!

The red buses are part of the history of Glacier National Park. They were developed to take visitors -- many of whom arrived by train in the early days -- through the park. Other parks had them too, and each park had a signature color. Yellowstone's were, you guessed it, yellow. But while other parks may still have a couple of buses, Glacier has nearly all of the buses that were made for their park: 33 in the fleet.

Each bus holds 17 passengers -- 4 across on 4 rows of seats, plus a passenger seat up front. They're cozy, but beautiful and comfy -- AND someone else does the driving!

Our visit to Glacier was too early in the season go to on one of the looooong tours -- the Going to the Sun Road wasn't fully open yet. But we chose the one tour operating from the West side early in the season: the Huckleberry Mountain Tour.

We thought we would be going to the Huckleberry Mountain Nature Trail, and then along the lake out to the Sacred Dancing Cascade -- but we were in luck, and the road was open a bit farther along, so we walked the Trail of the Cedars instead.

We were picked up from the KOA -- convenient! -- and headed out with the covers on. We drove the short way to the park, where we pulled over and rolled back the canvas cover. Our driver was friendly and chatty, though most of his patter had to do with the fires that sweep through the park with increasing regularity.

We drove partway up the road to the North Fork first:

We had some nice views, but didn't leave the bus.

Then we turned around and drove into Apgar, where we got out and admired the lake.

I still can barely believe how clear the water was.

Pam had told us before we headed out there that the lake is famous for its multicolored pebbles, and they did not disappoint:

After a little while we piled back into the bus, and drove out along the Going to the Sun Road. It was a Sunday morning so traffic was pretty heavy -- again I was really glad that I wasn't driving!

We got to the Avalanche Campground -- where the Going to the Sun Road was closed to cars -- and then slowly circled for a while to find a spot to park. See, the road was open past Avalanche for bikes, and hundreds of people were taking advantage of the day and the closed-to-cars scenic road.

We eventually squeezed the bus into a spot -- wondering a little why as a special concession in the park, there isn't a reserved spot for the red buses -- and then were turned loose to explore a bit. Slight error here -- we weren't told when to be back, just that we "couldn't possibly get lost" -- so the 4 of us and another couple went off along the Trail of Cedars and were gone for oh, 45 minutes.

But it was worth it -- we walked over a bridge crossing a rushing waterfall:

And then walked through an ancient grove of cedars on a beautiful raised boardwalk:

Before recrossing the river lower down:

on another handsome bridge:

Finally we made it back around, found our patient, chipper driver (and perhaps less patient fellow travelers), and headed back. 

As we made our way back toward the lake, we stopped in a little pullout. Our driver said that this pullout was larger than it used to be, so there was nearly always parking... especially since the park moved the sign for "Sacred Dancing Cascade" to the next pullout down the road. Now, none of us knew what's what. Maybe we saw what used to be the Sacred Dancing Cascade, maybe we didn't. But we did see a really beautiful waterfall. 

our group on one of the viewing platforms

We all piled back in the bus for the ride back to the campground. I think we all enjoyed our Red Bus Tour adventure, but it would have been even better if we had been able to go farther up the Going to the Sun Road. As it was, there wasn't all that much for us to see. Still, a really nice day out (and did I mention I enjoyed not driving???).

Postscript: In the afternoon Wil and I returned to the park and took a nice little hike on the Rocky Point Trail. 

We saw some "bear-country" signs, but were ready with our bear spray that we absolutely did not want to have to use. 

Sign #1:

Sign #2:

and, well, Sign #3:

Yep, that's bear poop. 

But the trail was lovely, climbing up through forest around the far side of Lake McDonald:

and the payoff was really gorgeous:

Luckily, the largest critter we saw was this guy:

A great first day in Glacier!

Adventure 13/50 : Seattle Waterfront Day

** Hey readers -- I'm catching up with a bunch of "adventures" over the next couple of weeks. We've been so busy doing things, I haven't made the time to do much writing. So enjoy these stories of our adventures in May and June. **

While Tony and Sue were visiting from the UK, we spent a day down at the Seattle Waterfront playing tourist. Being a Viaduct nerd, I always enjoy seeing the progress on the removal, and how the access to the waterfront keeps changing as the roadway is cleared.

But I know that most people *aren't* nerds about elevated roadways and such... so our real destination was the Seattle Great Wheel:

photo courtesy the Seattle Great Wheel

We arrived relatively early, so it didn't take long to buy our tickets and join the short line. We decided against a cocktail on board (sold at the boarding area to people not traveling with under 21s) and waited.

Each gondola holds up to 8 people -- which, if actually loaded that way, would make for a cozy ride... But on a quiet Sunday morning the 4 of us had a gondola to ourselves.

They load the wheel by turning it slowly, unloading and loading 5 cars at a time. This first loop (and last loop...) is the least comfortable, as the stopping and starting causes the gondola to sway.

But once all the cars are loaded, the wheel turns at a nice, gentle, smooth pace, offering nice views of both the city and the water.

All too soon (and another slow lap full of stopping and starting), it was time to exit the wheel. But then what?

Why, Wings Over Washington, of course!

I'm not gonna lie -- I had thought this was one of those VR simulators, where you climbed into a little pod and saw things on a screen. Then someone said, "It's like Soarin' ... but about the northwest." And I was sold.

We bought our tickets and joined another very short line. We were eventually let into an antechamber and had "welcome photos" (does anyone EVER buy them?) taken, and then waited a few more minutes. We weren't allowed to take photos inside, but I found a few online, including this one of the beautiful 3D map in the waiting area:

image from Wings Over Washington

We were eventually led upstairs and into a room styled like a fire lookout tower -- complete with animated "windows". Traditional northwest tribal masks are hanging around the room, too. The show started when a ranger appeared through the window, started telling stories about the northwest... while the masks come alive when the ranger isn't looking. It's a bit silly, but good fun.

Then we were led into the main room, seated on benches, and buckled in.

image from Wings Over Washington

The main show starts with the story of an eagle, which you magically transform into as you lift off... and then fly over Washington state. The video was beautiful ... apart from the slightly underwhelming animated orcas and other wildlife. We flew over Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helens, Snoqualmie Falls, the San Juans, and lots of other locations ... mainly in western Washington. (This is a big criticism on TripAdvisor by locals ... but western Washington has a much more diverse landscape. And it's prettier. Ha!) All too soon we came back down to earth, saw the raccoon with the stolen wristwatch (a nice touch), and headed blinklingly into the sunlight. 

We wrapped up our Seattle Waterfront Day with -- you guessed it -- a trip to Red Robin for another excellent Impossible Burger:

I've had Impossible Burgers in 4 different restaurants and Red Robin does it best. Excellent presentation (right down to the little Impossible flag, which serves as proof that they've brought you the right burger), perfectly cooked.

In this year of 50 adventures, they won't all be epic, but our Seattle Waterfront Adventure was an excellent day out. 

Adventure 12/50 : Tokara!

For years I've seen the little house on Phinney Ridge, with its small display case on the fence, and sign advertising "Tokara" and, sometimes mysteriously, the word "Tohryanse" and a date.

I'd peered into the display case, looking at pictures of "Japanese confections" and not really knowing what it was. It didn't appear that you could actually buy them … at least not there. Was it just a tiny manufacturer? Or someone with a hobby? Or???

With our trip to Japan coming up later this year, it seemed right to try to crack the code… what is a "Tohryanse"? What is the cadence of the dates? A tiny bit of research led me to the website tokara.com.

Turns out that Chika Tokara is a confectioner who moved to Seattle from Japan and makes exquisite wagashi -- Japanese sweets. (Lots of this information comes from an in-depth article about her and her story on Edible Seattle; read it on edibleseattle.com.) She uses local, in-season, and organic ingredients to create confections that are exceptionally beautiful. Each sweet is designed to capture the flavors and feeling of the season.

Wagashi are very labor intensive and so delicate that they cannot be refrigerated – so they must be eaten within a day or two of their creation. I followed the instructions on the website and called to reserve a box at the next tohryanse, or studio sale.

I was a little nervous on the day, but we walked in and were welcomed by Ms. Tokara. She had injured her back so made less than usual, but we were lucky to get the box of three seasonal sweets, along with one extra piece. We took them home and settled in to sample them.

Japanese sweets are less, well, SWEET than American or British sweets. We found the flavors incredibly delicate, and the pieces themselves were works of art. I wish I knew more about what we were eating!

This piece was filled with adzuki bean paste and was the least impressive, both visually and taste-wise. The texture was soft and silky -- possibly steamed mochi?

This piece, which features a delicate iris pattern, had a similar filling but had a spongy, cakey exterior:

And this piece, which was as beautiful as it was delicious, was made of firm gelatin and flavored with cherry juice. Exquisite!

Tokara holds an open house monthly, usually on the third Sunday of every month – but confirm the date on her site. She recommends calling to reserve a special box of three kinds of seasonal sweets – just like we did. We haven't managed to go again, but I like to imagine visiting every few months and trying different wagashi.

Tokara's sweets are also available at select locations around Seattle, and the next open house is on Sunday, July 21.

Swan Stitch-a-Long, part 14

Hi everyone! My blog has been pretty quiet -- it feels like June totally got away from me, somehow! But I've made progress on my swans needlepoint, and am excited to share!

Here's where I was last time:

And ... bam! Swans!!!

What's more, I finished the stitching on the side borders, and designed a simple repeating pattern for that bottom (and matching top) border.

Three weeks ago I felt like this was going to take a few more check-ins to complete ... but as of today I feel like I'll be doing a happy dance next time! Shouldn't get too cocky, though -- we'll see how the next three weeks go!

I owe a lot of my progress to the support -- and accountability! -- of this stitch-a-long. It's definitely keeping me motivated on this piece. If you fancy joining in, visit Avis's blog (first on the list below) for more info. And if you just want to look and feel inspired by a wonderful range of projects, check out what my fellow stitchers are working on!

Avis, Claire, Gun, Carole, Sue, Constanze, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Cindy, Helen, Linda, Heidi, Jackie, Hayley, Megan, Catherine, Deborah, Clare, Mary Margaret, Renee, Jenny, Carmela, Jocelyn, and Sharon.

See you on July 21st for our next check-in!

Swan Stitch-a-Long, part 13

Hi everyone! Just a quick check-in this time as we're still entertaining our in-laws from across the pond. Not as much stitching as I would have liked, but isn't that always the case?

Here's where I was last time:

and here's the current status:

I finished the light blue background (yay!), and the cream color on Mr. Right Swan:

And Mr. Left Swan has most of his cream filled in:

In the next stretch my plan is to finish out the swans and get ready to stitch the borders. As a reminder, the border pattern on the actual piece is weirdly uneven, so I need to spend some time designing a new one. Will there be new stitches? Maybe!!!

this uneven border pattern will not do!

I love this stitch-a-long -- it's definitely keeping me motivated on this piece. If you fancy joining in, visit Avis's blog (first on the list below) for more info. And if you just want to look and feel inspired by a wonderful range of projects, check out what my fellow stitchers are working on!

Avis, Claire, Gun, Carole, Sue, Constanze, Debbierose, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Cindy, Helen, Linda, Heidi, Jackie, Hayley, Megan, Catherine, Deborah, Connie, Clare, Mary Margaret, Renee, Jenny, Carmela, Jocelyn, and Sharon.

See you on June 30th for our next check-in!