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We left Kalispell in our rear view mirror around 4;45 AM. On to the main event: Glacier National Park (oops sorry Charlie and Alyssa your wedding is indeed the main event, Glacier is the warm up band!)

We know nothing, we are not hikers: backpacks, sticks, gear, yabba dabba dooooo goes over our pay grade, but the opportunity to hike in such a crown jewel is not lost on us. So our goals are commensurate, see as much as we can without being airlifted out from the back country.

First up, a grand plan to see the sunrise from Apgar Village. Alas this is a brilliant spot for sunset sightings – don’t laugh – roooookies! But we were up early so away we went. (Insert Picture) First stop Avalanche Lake Trail.

Quick note – I’m struggling to upload pictures but I promise a swath of them once I solve the hiccup. In the meantime I’m adding Insert Picture so my brain does not forget.

Avalanche Lake Trail has some elevation through the forest and then you end up at a lake. Close to 5 miles round trip. It was a great first start. Early bird gets the worm, less hikers on the way up, more on the way back. Did they lolly gag and have coffee? Pfiffff!!

On this maiden voyage, we learned lots of things. bears and the need for bear spray is real, water is your friend drink a lot of it, over prepare – lots of things happen on the trail. Runner/Walkers do better hiking than paddle players, some paddle players are afraid of heights (another topic for my someday stand up career). Lastly, look up, look around, pause. Unless you’re training for a trail run (we criss crossed with a few), this is why you’re here to soak in this majesty. (INSERT PICTURES)

Feeling full of ourselves, we did an additional 1M loop through the Trail of the Cedars. Very curated, boardwalk even, but signage indicated that many of the trees we were walking under could be as much as a 1000 years old. We were just Philadelphia giddy over a 250th birthday… 1000 years, put that in your pipe and smoke it. Super interesting to read about the ecosystem – big shady trees help the valley floor and the small animals that feed off the floor. Anyway, time to find food and drive along Going to the Sun Road. (INSERT PICTURES)

Insert another bookmark for my stand up career. Let me set the stage (haha bad pun), I’m the driver, the mister is on the “ledge side” heading west to east in the park. Clear to only one of us, we were an inch from plunging to our death for many miles into the park. And needless to say only one of us got out of the car at the Continental Divide (INSERT PICTURE)

Surviving near certain death, we made it to Logan Pass and hiked up the pass. Only so far however due to “frequent bear activity” and that was good news for both of us as we were walking on fumes at that point. Really time to find our hotel and food.

Hotel.. no, motel, yes. But no numbers this time. The park system for mere mortal has a few hotels/motels. Many many many people obviously camp. SwiftCurrent Motel was our spot for the night. Dumb me did not take any pictures, think tiny houses or old school motel rooms, we were in a motel room type. Had a huckleberry seltzer thing, we are in the land of the huckleberry, and a pedestrian chicken sandwich. Spoiler alert this would be a meal on repeat for a few meals.

Giving some perspective, GNP is only open from late May to September and that is snow dependent. The season is limited, the devotion to keeping the park pristine is paramount, the ability / access to update or bring in is limited to a two lane road as noted above..very narrow and probably not befitting an 18 wheeler truck hauling supplies. We leaned into the perspective and reminded ourselves for this trip the goal is to see / appreciate / wonder / wander. We’ll have downy sheets and escargot another time.

After a late lunch we walked over to the lake and sunk our feet in… for a while. Felt great. We also hatched a plan for a cocktail as our hotel for tomorrow night is a lodge.. they must have a bar. And just down the road. Let’s go blend in at the lodge… (INSERT Picture). Finished the day with grilled cheese sandwiches. Lights our baby, hikers need their sleep!

More hiking tomorrow.

Hope to see you along the way.

We made it, long travel day, PHL to GEG via PHX, take a guess what GEG is.. Spokane WA, weird code right? I’ll dwell on that for a bit, but best alternative for our game plan. Glacier National Park and then on to Charlie’s wedding in Big Fork, MT.

Anyway, from Spokane we drove to Kalispell, 4+ hr drive but a short gateway to Glacier. I could do a stand up about our night’s lodging but no need, aren’t we so lucky to be on vacation for a week in the beautiful state of Montana.  Here is the most I will say about our travel day, I’m sorry.  I’m sorry Tony and Cheryl when I teased you about having a checked bag for shoes.  We checked a bag and it was glorious.

Tomorrow we start fresh!

Hope to see you along the way.

Can I even say it’s been a minute when the last time we chatted was 6+ months ago? So much to catch up on, but full disclosure I’m back to my pen and ink journals, don’t be mad WordPress blog we’re still besties.

Original intent of this blog was Adventure.. Travel being just one of life’s adventures. Quite frankly understanding a good skin regimen and sticking with it is an adventure itself right?!!

So we’re going back to our roots – travel and stuff. For recent ‘stuff’, I am one month into putting corporate America in the rear view mirror. While some would characterize this as being retired.. blech don’t care for the word. Makes me feel too wrinkly and grey, which I am, but like the skin regiment, let’s try to find some smooth refinement of the real. I’m calling my current state, the next adventure.

Our next travel adventure? Montana on the immediate radar. Family wedding and a few days at Glacier National Park where me and the mister will pretend we are hikers. PS – Packing for a two fold trip, one part grubby sweaty hiking, one part festive party wedding = no bueno. May have to check a bag for the first time in forever! Details to follow soon.

Hope to see you along the way

Halloween… can you say French Toast?!!

Halloween Collab – Seidl scary, Ryan legs

November wildflowers hanging on…

November peeking… peaking…

Its out there for all of us to see, we just need to believe..

Soon the holidays

Hope to see you along the way.

I promised myself I’d write this a week or so ago. If you know me, haha reader of one, me, I procrastinated. The visceral reaction is a little less 2 weeks aged. Visceral reaction to what you say… simply, Reggie.

Reggie was a cutie pie dog who came into our life for a brief maybe 3 months. The Mister was helping a dear friend who suffered an immeasureable loss. Her partner of 25+ years went from I don’t feel fabulous, to staring down the end of his way too short, beautiful, and spirited life. When Mister said, what can I do to help, his friend said, “this is a big one and I fully appreciate no can do as a response, but could you take Reggie for a bit until we figure things out.”

We have an aging, okay nice euphemism for probably somewhere nearing end of life canine king. 22lbs of boss mahoss who rules the house. But this favor for this beautiful family meant the king would have to “deal with it”.

Mister picked up 10lb, 12lb, (who knows) Reggie one night after work. A Bichon, he came with crate, food, toys and a trainer wrap. Trainer wrap? What is this you say? A little belly wrap to help with bathroom oops. And there we were off to the races, hoping upon hope that helping Reggie meant helping Brian. Maybe it did help a bit as his Beloved said it gave him some peace knowing his canine cohorts in crime were safe.

I grew up with big, bounding, just open the back door dogs, the Mister grew up with none. The fact that we have a dog is testament to the Mister giving “the dog thing” a try one year for my birthday. A blog for another day. So two dogs, and a small dog with very distinct Bichon tendencies was new to both of us.

He imprinted on me, kind of surprising to both of us, but I am home much more, and as we learned, Bichon like the caregiver to be home. They can do alone but someone at home is much preferred.

Also quickly established, Reggie is an AM guy like me so the two of us started prowling the neighborhood while the world still slumbered. Prowled does not do justice to the marathon training this dog was interested in. He sniffed out the right turn into our driveway very quickly, but had no need to go home if more walking and exploring was an option.

And I fell in love.

Even canine king recognized something was not fully right in the castle. Periodically he would attempt a hip check of Reggie to show him who was the king and who owned the female human, and Reggie gave it right back. I was conflicted as my canine king has been with me for 12 years, but Reggie needed some real TLC and we were on a mission to provide it.

Life happened, and immensely sad, a death happened. And in the most inconsequential detail, I was told I have to be back in the office 4 days a week. An office that is 70 minutes away. So what were we going to do, and what was Reggie’s real family going to do.

Many details and surely another blog for another day, the logistical decision was made to find Reggie a home with “Bichon people”. I knew it was the right thing but all too soon moving day was upon us. I gathered up all of my pal’s things and readied him for pick up. He was so damn aware, and giving me the look, effectively saying…..this…this is how our short but deep love connection will end??

Mister’s dear friend arrived on a Monday morning to transport Reggie to his new home. She thanked us for our friendship and really it was us to thank her. Reggie looked at all the activity and his final opinion as he drove away was to give me the silent treatment, a pointed look away, not towards me.

They drove away, my heart broke, and the tears erupted. I sobbed a full Hallmark cry, head in my hands unable to look up or speak. I felt like I had let him down and after he suffered loss, he was on the move again. His disappointment was real.

Two weeks + removed I can tell you he ended up with Brian’s Beloved, not with “Bichon people”. Not how the story was supposed to go, but exactly as it should. She has so so much on her plate but she told us that Reggie and her dog Buddy are the good parts of her day. I take solace in this resolution.

We dug deep, we wanted to help and for a short period I think we did. We all have reserves right? I know this from running, almost always there are a few miles more in the tank. But this was the heart, happy to report I still have one. It is fragile, caring, weak, strong, breakable, and able to mend. Lucky me.

You too have reserves. And when you need to use them I …..

Hope to see you along the way.

practicing as a new Apple gal

Luck… oh how I wish it found me in lottery winnings, but have a few Irish friends and more than a few friends with Irish in them… so I am lucky enough!

What took me to you today, beyond the luck of friendship and family, is the annual contemplation of a credit card. Okay don’t laugh, and surely don’t try to find the connection. Zero connection at the surface level. Maybe by the completion of the blog, I will have found a connection?

Each year American Express hits me with the annual fee. It ain’t cheap, surely not the mac daddy fee that Platinum card holders pay, just the joe schmo price of admission fee. But each year I rail, what the hell, what’s wrong with this equation, blah blah blah, and pay it.

This year, maybe Marie Kondo and sparking “Joy” was in my head, maybe being more forward thinking was in my head, who knows, but I did not pay it. Payed the charges; I’m nothing if not a good citizen to the credit structure, I charge, I pay, but did not pay the fee. I’ll show that damn AMEX… and the thing does not expire until Dec 2024!!

Just received my latest bill, of course they zapped me with a late charge. Hah, go pound sand AMEX, as soon as I figure out how to move monthly EZ Pass charge that sits on this card, I’m done with you!! I pulled the card out of my wallet. And then I noticed.

Member since 1989.

Damn it AMEX. I was immediately in memories, 35 years ago, working for a law firm, the only credit card in my wallet… Sears.
Ps – good old Sears, loved them for taking a chance on me. I was the original chucklehead who associated checks in the checkbook with money in the bank… oh honey, no, hard no. Checks = Pretend. Money=Money.

American Express took a chance on me too. And I was learned soul who did not mess with the AMEX model, charge today but pay it ALL at the end of the month. A friendly loan if needed, but only until the end of the month. And then the jig (circling back to that Irish!) is up, pay the teller.

1989… the start of, the end of, all part of my history. A financial planner would not like me anthropomorphizing a credit card. Is that the right use of that word? But that card and its annoying fee does indeed spark Joy so I’ve met the Marie Kondo test?!

Tomorrow I will call AMEX, ask them to waive their late fee, in exchange I will pay their maniacal annual fee, and we’ll dance on for another year.

Good Spring tidings. Talk soon.

Hope to see you along the way.

An old friend is having serious cancer surgery today, it is weighing heavy on my mind. What is she feeling this morning? She has a family she is devoted to and they to her, what goes through the brain? Her path forward has a path, that’s good news, but not without treatment that includes a chemo wash. Don’t google, it sounds awful.

On the flip side, for the first time ever I will be a godparent this weekend. My niece’s daughter, my great niece (?) needed someone with paperwork. Yes, laugh aloud as my friend Susan says. I am not a trusted advisor, a dear member of their family posse, but more so… I got paperwork. Was baptized, confirmed, married in the Catholic church so my religious cred is good. Or something like that.

Couple those two events/thoughts with, January, and you have contemplative me. New year, new look at life, new hope, opportunity.

Scrolled through some old posts, not much has changed. Still want to challenge myself to write more, learn more (Spanish!!! Hola!!), do more, see “stuff” for pete’s sake. And those are all within me to do. So let’s get going.

Talk soon.

Hope to see you along the way

So I have a basket of masks, a passel of masks, a shit ton of masks… what do I do with them? Do I toss? Is that bad karma?

I was/am not anti-mask should the need arise, just not a fan. Never got to the “don’t even notice I have it on” phase that people described during the pandemic.

My instinct is to chuck ’em. And let the karma be positive and on we go, not tempting the fates or acting with false bravado!

That said, if pandemic type conditions return, feel free to blame me for hubris.

As a thought I googled 2nd hand uses. Super clever people are doing super creative projects per pinterest, so I cut the bands, will wash, and donate. Best I got, ’cause we know I ain’t handy!!

Wherever you’re doing your laundry,

Hope to see you along the way..