Birthday

I wanted to get back to Boise for my birthday. Turning 30, I wanted to be with friends and it just so happened my favorite band was going to be playing in town. On my way down, I checked out a couple sights I'd always heard about. First was the Grande Coulee Dam. It wasn't that impressive as I had thought. It is a mile across, but the size didn't seem to live up... But then I stopped by the dry falls from the prehistoric missoulan floods, and it was amazing. The idea of water pouring over the edge was hard to picture. Then I passed what has to be the smallest international airport I've seen. Must have a single flight to canada. When I got back to Boise we had a great time out for my birthday. We rode bikes down for a pre drink, then the Old 97's put on a great show. They were celebrating the 15 year release of their album Too Far To Care. They played the album straight through and I sang along to every song. They played for another hour and it was a great birthday.

Glacier/Revelstoke

From Jasper I headed south. I stayed the night in Golden so I could have a job interview on the phone. The real world was getting closer, but I still had exploring to do. I couldn't help but take a picture of the cut that was made to put the road through this mountain. Some camping neighbors said it was obviously done by a determined French engineer. I can't imagine what they did will all that rock. I stopped in Glacier NP, Canada version and it wasn't interested in any of the hikes, so went down the road to Revelstoke which had some nice evening wild flowers. I also needed to stop by the Tim Hortons in town which was becoming my wifi connection back to the real world. Free internet and doughnuts, what's not to like. The mountains were beautiful, extending in every direction. Revelstoke sits in the valley below glaciers in the mountains. It felt like an outpost on the edge of the untamed. There were no roads to the north, just continuous mountain tops. It is also a part of the headwaters of the Columbia.
The next day was grey and rainy. So I did a little hike around the valley floor. It was the site of an old rail road line and vacation lodge. All that was left were footings of the buildings and bridge towers of the rail line. It was kind of spooky, like a ghost town. But there was a picture of A.B. Rogers who had the most amazing facial hair imaginable.
I think the park is more popular in the winter, when trails are not as necessary to navigate the area. There was a really neat winter lodge at the base that was a great warming stop after the rainy cold day. I saw another awesome Canadian painted van. Then it rained that afternoon so I hung out in the car listening to the radio. The next day the storm was clearing and I went on a longer hike in Revelstoke. It was a nice hike with the clouds moving around the mountains.

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