Category: Life News

Glacier National Park: Hiking

DAY 2: Western Tour
We woke up fairly early with good intentions, much like all first-time hikers. After a light breakfast in the cabins’ lodge, we headed out to the town of West Glacier, which is the western entry point to GNP. Checking the road that morning, we found that the road to Logan Pass [the highest point in along the Going-to-the-Sun road and where the Continental Divide crosses it] was still closed. So, we chose a pair of short hikes at the furthest drivable point: Avalanche.

On the way into the park, we stopped first in Apgar where we wandered around the town and gift shop and got a look at the lower end of Lake McDonald. The view was beautiful, but not clear – there was a little haze in the air, but at least there were no clouds in the sky. After browsing around, we decided to head up the road towards Avalanche, stopping along the way whenever we wanted.

There were several pullouts along the way where we stopped. Among the first was a place where I could see through the trees was an excellent view. I had to climb down a steep slope to the lake to get the pictures I wanted and even then, they didn’t turn out like I’d hoped. We drove on until there was a rocky beach where we got out and took quite a few pictures – some of which did come out good. By now, we’d driven only a few miles in a couple of hours. At this rate, the trip would take days.

Our next stop was Lake McDonald Lodge. It was around noon, and the lodge was just opening. We decided not to eat lunch, having just recently had breakfast, but instead we toured the site. The Lodge is quite beautiful with quaint separate cabins and a wonderul view of the lake. It also has a dock at which boat tours of the lake can be taken. We finally moved on to Avalanche, which is nothing more than a parking lot and a camp ground. There were road barriers up, but no snow that I could see which would account for the blockage. So, here we parked and loaded up for our hike of Trail of the Cedars and Avalanche Lake.

The Trail of the Cedars is beautiful and smells like the inside of a cedar chest. The air is so fresh in the park that we stood still many times just to inhale and enjoy the freshness. The trail is actually a long boardwalk through tall cedar trees along a loop 0.7 miles long. This was the easy part. Half way through the trail comes a fork. This fork is the begining of the 2-mile (each way) trail to Avalanche Lake. We took this trail, stopping along the path several times to rest and take pictures. On the way up, we saw several deer, each unafraid of us. In some cases, they even strolled casually within 6 feet of us. By the time we got to the lake, I was completely exhausted – I never knew hiking with a fully loaded camera backpack and tripod set would be so hard. Now, I know. I’m in bad shape and need desperately to improve my physical conditioning.

At the lake, we sat and had some snacks for lunch and took many wonderful pictures. I even tried my hand at a panoramic shot. Hopefully, I’ll get it stiched together and posted for you to see soon.

The way back was easier, but still hard. We even encountered a bear. It was about 50 feet from us and paralleled our trail for a while. We got a couple of pictures, but it was hard to do so since the shade in the forested trail was so deep. At the end/begining of the trail, we continued the rest of the loop around the Trail of the Cedars taking pictures of a beautiful waterfall. We made it back to the car and collapsed. The drive back to Lake McDonald Lodge was quick without stops. At the lodge, we ate an early dinner and tried to relax.

We drove a little more once we headed out. We passed Apgar and took a short side trip to the other side of the lake, then headed back to the cabins [after stopping for a huckleberry shake along the way].

We went to sleep early.

I Passed!

I forgot to tell you: I passed my certification exam, which gets me the new specialty certification MCSE: Security. I know, some of you don’t know what that is and most probably don’t care, but for me, it’s another check mark: something I wanted to accomplish and have. It doesn’t mean I am an expert now, but it does mean that I understand the Microsoft security model a bit better. I think I’ll be implementing some new security standards here at the house…

Road Trip: Glacier National Park

DAY 1: Arrival
Today, we left lovely Spokane, WA and set out on a short weekend trek to Glacier National Park in Montana accross three states: Washington, Idaho, and Montana. Now, having never been to the area, Laura and I chose to drive a more “scenic” route. After a wonderful sushi lunch in Coeur D’Alene [who’da thunk they’d have GREAT sushi in Idaho, eh?] in a restaurant called Bonzai Bistro, we left town and headed north.

The next town on our path was Sandpoint, ID – voted one of the best small towns in the country. I’d have to say I agree. We stopped in to a small wine bar [yes, again: population 2,000 or so and a very trendy wine bar] to have a cappucino. It’s quite a nice town and I would not mind having a summer home there. I think we’ll have to go back one day.

After leaving Sandpoint, we had a run-in with the law: I was not paying attention to my speed and got pulled over and ticketed. Well, at least it’s not much of a fine, but I’m still disappointed that I wasn’t more careful. That puts us $62 over budget for this trip now. I guess I have to skip a couple of meals… 😦

After Sandpoint, we continued north [at this point, I was afraid we’d accidently drive up into Canada, we are so far north] through Bonners Ferry and then finally turned east. This part of the journey was even more beautiful, if that is possible. Northern Idaho is stunning, but it’s not quite up to the Montana standard.

Passing into Montana was uneventful since we could not see much besides the tree-lined road. And what a windey road it was: 70mph speed limit felt a bit too generous. Once we were on the downside of the pass through the mountains, we came close to Kalispell, MT. That’s where the view began to change. The trees faded back and the mountains opened up to a wide valley in which was the city. We didn’t go into the city, but skirted it’s northern edge on our way to the cabins.

Having not been up here before, we made the newbie’s mistake of forgetting about the time zone change. We are now in Mountain time which is an hour later. I had planned to be at the lodge to check in by the 8PM closing time, but since I forgot about the time zone change, it was after 8:30PM before we arrived to check in. The owners were very nice and understanding, however, and let us have our room and a place to sleep.

We’re here now and I’m somewhat astounded that there’s high-speed wireless Internet service at the hotel/lodge. So, I’m using it. We’ll let you know more when we start our day tomorrow as we travel into the park.

Good night, all!

Security Certification Test

One reason I’m taking this class in Spokane is that I want to complete my MCSE:Security certification. I also want a better grasp of how to implement security in a Microsoft environment.

So far, the training is pretty good and filling in some gaps I have in my experience. In fact, I will likely be implementing some security changes in my home lab to increase security and enhance my learning and experience.

Soon, I will be taking the test. Wish me luck!

Spokane Update

This week, I’ve been spending a good amount of time on training in the Windows security area. I have to say that I’m liking the format of the class pretty well. They have it set up so that I can choose my own pace and break whenever I want. This way, I’m much less likely to fall asleep or lose interest. I can just pause the lecture, take a walk, get some coffee, etc. It’s quite nice.

On the non-work side of things, I really like this town even though it’s a bit small. Spokane is in a valley surrounded at a distance by mountains. And it is GREEN here. Lots of evergreens and other beautiful plants. Then, of course, there’s the lovely Pacific Northwest rain… lots of that, too.

There are even some really good restaurants, although it’s not quite a cheap little town – it’s somewhat expensive here.

Well, back to the class now. Just wanted to update you all.

And The Journey Begins…

We’re in the airport now – in Minneapolis. Half-way through, we’re about to go grab some food before our next leg.

The trip is going just fine, but I’m suffering from a swollen finger that I injured this morning in a softball game. It feels like it’s going to explode, it’s so tight. Well, I guess I’ll just have to survive. I can’t do anything about it. My whole finger tip is purple and it hurts to type – but, here I am… typing.

I guess it’s time for dinner now.

Dive Turkey 6 [Now Dive Turkey 2007]

After Dive Turkey 5 [or DTV], we have by remote consensus began using the year name in the description of the Dive Turkey event. So, if it happens this year, it will be called Dive Turkey 2007 Dive Turkey 6, or DTVI, is now in a conceptual planning stage.

For DTVI, we are thinking domestic – Florida: the SCUBA state. DT1 was held there on Islamorada with the founding members of the DT team and much diving and many good times were had by all. That was in November of 1999. Now, eight years later, we’re thinking of a return. There are many reasons but among them are:

  1. Ease of travel
  2. Cost of travel/accomodations [much cheaper than, say, Cayman or Hawaii or somewhere in the South Pacific]
  3. Nearness of neighbors [some of us have friends in Florida that can drop by if not for the whole time, for at least a portion]
  4. Laura has never been to the Keys

What are your thoughts? Like to go?

[UPDATE:] I guess we are sticking with the original naming convention. Shoulda asked first, I suppose…

Some More Pictures

 

Some of the best things in Vegas aren’t in Vegas. Take for instance the resort at Montelago Village a good distance east of town. We had heard of this place on TV, so we stopped in on our way back from Hoover Dam. I have to say that it is quite nice and were we to have to go back to Vegas, it would be an ideal place to be away from the Strip.

Take a look at the pictures and you’ll find a nice little Italian style village. Of course, it’s not really like a small Italian village, but it’s good enough for what it is: a peaceful oasis away from town.