Just remember the Red Bus valley

Magnet #610 - Glacier National Park Red Bus

Ya'll know how I have a habit of going to places, and missing the biggest things to do there? Like when I went to Dublin, and missed the Guinness tour? Or went to Philly and missed Benjamin Franklin's grave? Or when I went to New England and missed well, Vermont?

Yeah. Glacier National Park. Didn't do the Red Bus to travel the man-made, superamazing Going-to-the-Sun Road. I do kinda feel like a cheater with this magnet.

But, we did drive the Going-to-the-Sun Road - even saw a goat along the way. And a bear that was really a cow! But, we opted not to do the Red Bus. Mainly because we had rented a car (from the tackle shop!) for that part of our cross-country trip. So we skipped the Red Bus. Sigh.

And instead, ended up like 35 miles away from Canada, and making our way back in twilight and dark on some of the scariest (and most beautiful) roads ever. Scary. Especially when you're in the passenger seat with nothing but sheer drop-off to the ravines and canyons below.

It almost made me regret fulfilling the promise I made my grandmother years ago, about vising Montana before dropping everything and moving there.

Not too much regret though, because I did love Glacier Park Lodge, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Great Northern Railway built the lodge a century ago, when the west was still expanding, and people needed a place to stay along the way. Makes you wonder who else traveled the same rails. In our case, it was the same Amish guys on their rumspringa who shared the ride from Chicago, stayed in Montana, too, and then we saw them in Seattle (so. weird.). But I digress.

The Lodge. Loved it. The lobby was amazing, with its giant open atrium, and supercool gift shop where I bought one of the first magnets of this collection. The rooms were small and bunky. No television. The dining room and the food was terrific. Truly, this place was everything you'd expect from a lodge in Montana.

Well, I suppose if I did have to improve anything about the lodge...maybe have a television in the room. That's just unnatural right there.

They delivered for me

Magnet #255 - Glacier National Park

I talked about Montana before in this Wyoming magnetpost, plus I have a few magnets from Glacier National Park, with a few stories for those. This one sort of screams, America the Beautiful for me.

A roadtrip buddy and I went on a cross-country train trip, where we left from NY, stopped for lunch in Chicago, did an overnight in Minneapolis, then did two nights in Glacier, then an overnight to Portland. We spent a morning in Portland, then took another train up to Seattle, where we then rented a car and drove up to Vancouver for a couple of days, and then flew back out of Seattle.

Long trip. I could have used an extra suitcase just for the treasures I picked up a long the way.

Instead, I made use of the U.S. Postal Service - because they ROCK. They're everywhere. Heh. Which I knew, of course, but it was never so apparent than on this trip. I feel like every time we got off the train, I was off mailing a package back home to myself. And I'm not exaggerating that one - I seriously have USPS receipts from East Glacier and West Glacier.

Thanks, USPS!

Of course, all this mailing back and forth made it all the more ironic that when we got off the train in Portland, I inadvertently left a stack of stamped envelopes in our train car. We had to run back, only to find out that the wonderful guys at Amtrak mailed my bills for me.

Thanks, Amtrak guys!

The prodigals return - GAR Day #17

Magnet #100 - I Heart NY

So, after a long drive from Montana back down to Salt Lake, we were to fly home to New York (and North Carolina) today, the end of a superlong trip.

After 17 days on the road, I was planning to take Monday off, just to recuperate from the trip. I probably would have just gotten into bed, and not left it until Tuesday morning. Oiy - I'm tired just thinking about it.

It was a lovely trip, and superfun trying to find magnets in my collection for joy magnetism to take the original Great American Roadtrip. And, I managed, too - with only a slight cheat here and there. Thanks for coming along with me!

Ironically, this magnet was the only one that I went out and specifically bought for this GAR series. Despite living here for 13 years, I didn't have a real I Heart NY magnet.

Anyway, this is doubly fitting, since I just saw Sex and the City on Saturday, and New York was truly a fifth major character in the film. Well, you know, what I saw of it through the tears and tears and tears. I'm not normally a big movie sobber, but I seriously was Sobby McSobberson for this flick. And, believe you me, I wasn't even a huge SatC fan to begin with!

But, whether you thought it was awesome or not, it seems that most women seem to be having the same reaction to this movie - which is, leaving the movie theatre, desperate to call and reconnect with every single close girlfriend you've had over the years.

Luckily, I just spent the last 17 days with two of them - thinking about it, it probably would have been great fun to end the trip with a midnight showing somewhere in Montana. If anything, had the trip gone insane and we with it, SatC would have sorted us right back out again.

GAR Track of the Day: New York, New York

O Wyoming! - GAR Day #16

Magnet #99 - Devils Tower, WY

Yeah, I'm cheating again. Today was supposed to be the last of Wyoming and then the drive into Montana for a quick peak. Devils Tower wasn't on the itinerary, and is on the opposite side of the state from Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons.

I've never been to Wyoming, but figured that I would eventually combine it with some sort of western trip...eventually. It's one of the final 10 or so states I haven't been to.

The rest of the day was to be Montana, just over the border, so that we could check off another state for the trip. Two of us took a cross-country trip, and did a couple of days in Glacier National Park - but there are magnets for that visit.

I do so love Montana - after all, it's the quintessential Loveswept (actually, probably more like a Harlequin, or even a Silhouette) romance novel, where the heroine gets tired of the big city, is ordered to take a vacation, heads out to some remote ranch in Montana, and falls in love with the gruff, yet hot, rancher on the next spread over...you know, the one looking to buy the remote ranch she's staying at. You know, the one who makes fun of the silly city girl trying to make a go of the ranch, and then ends up teaching her the ropes of managing the ranch. The one who - when the newborn calf is lost out in some ravine in the pouring rain - goes out after the girl and manages to save both the girl and the calf.

What? I used to be a romance editor. Who read a lot of romances.

Anyway, so, I grew up fancying that this would some day happen to me - that I'd chuck it all and move to Montana. I told my grandma this, and she made me promise to visit Montana before I picked up and moved - hence the cross-country trip. But, she was right - because as much as I loved Montana, I think I've learned I'm not quite the outdoors girl I thought I could be.

Well, I suppose I could be. Depends on the rancher, I guess.

GAR Track of the Day: Wanted: Dead or Alive