The Red Bus Tour

We were almost to the airport

when this little voice in the back seat says,

"Nana, are you not going back to Texas with us?"

And this little house on the North Dakota Prairie

is painfully quiet.....

But we had such a wonderful time

and took those kids around all over

Montana and North Dakota

(probably about 2,000 miles).

The ten day whirlwind is just a memory,

but I still have pictures I want to post.

In Glacier Park, we rode a jammer,

a tour bus built in 1936,

to the International Peace Park

and crossed over into Canada

for probably the most beautiful part of the Glacier trip.

The buses have been rebuilt by Ford

in recent years and are a

"must do" for Glacier visitors.

The view from inside the bus is incredible

The border is maintained by Canada

(the clearing between the trees is the border)

We drove to the Alberta, Canada town of Waterton

and the Prince of Wales Hotel

We were in time for tea, but chose buffalo burger lunch instead.

(The guys weren't too excited about tea.)

Built in 1927,

The hotel was blown down twice by high winds

before it was completed.

All the lodges in the park were built by the Great Northern Railway,

in an effort to lure American Tourists to visit the park by train.

The best part was the view of Waterton Lake from the hotel

This might be a place to stay for a week and just sit

and bask in the beauty of creation.

Also inside the town of Waterton

was a beautiful, sideways waterfall

but the children were more interested in the critter

The T-shirt said:

Glacier National Park

On Earth,

As it is in Heaven

Going to the Sun Road

"Going To The Sun" Road

is the only road that crosses Glacier Park.

Of course, pictures don't even begin to tell its beauty!

The road had only been open a few weeks

because of the snow

We stopped at  a waterfall along the way.



I'm just starting to figure out this video stuff...

but press play to see and hear the water fall

(and maybe it will work)

The road was built in the 30's

and is considered a national monument

It is 50 miles of steep, winding roads

and takes about 2-3 hours to drive

When we got to the top (Logan Pass)

The tourist were lined up with their cameras

snapping away at an oblivious big horn sheep

and of course we joined them....

We climbed higher to get to the snow

and found more wildlife

This guy seemed to be letting us take pictures!

He walked along beside us

posing all the way.



Somebody wore flip flops to play in the snow

and her little toes turned as pink as her sweatshirt!

And just maybe, it should be called

the Going to the SON Road

May the glory of the LORD endure forever;

 may the LORD rejoice in his works--

(Psalm 104:31)

Glacier National Park - Float Trip

The whole earth is full of His glory.

 (Isaiah 6:3)

Our first excursion in Glacier was a float trip

Down the Flathead River

(the babies daddy had flown in from Texas and joined us

in East Glacier, Montana - yeah!)

Row, Row, Row the Boat!

Everyone participated.

Motorized Water Craft are not allowed on the river at all.

So the quietness and serenity of the river

brought a sense of awe in us all

We couldn't keep our eyes off the fly fishing family on the river

Mom and Dad were casting lines

Kids were rowing and netting the fish

Our eyes had seen the Glory of the Lord

Amtrak Adventure

So, Papa says....

"We should go to Glacier National Park

on Amtrak"

So we loaded up our clothes, snacks, books, and electronic gadgets

and headed west by rail.



All ABOARD!

The chairs were extra roomy

and great for napping

When will we be there?

When will we be there?

It was a 10 hour ride

and some of us got a little bored



and headed to the Lounge Car,

 Where we had a great view of the passing landscape

Interesting things about Amtrak travel:

No one checked our ID

We didn't go through security at all

We could wander around

We could bring food and drinks

We could have gone to the dining car

We DID try the snack bar

What did we think of Amtrak?

Interesting.

Bore-ing

Slow

Bore-ing

WHEN WILL WE BE THERE?

More Gifts

#105.  Precious Cargo

at the airport

The Incredibles arrived from Texas

# 106.  Safe Travel

Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center

Lewis & Clark

and their dog,

Seaman

#107  Free Admittance This Week

(we would have been disappointed to have

given them $6.50 each to look at

the little museum)

#108  The Climbing Tree

in front of our house

#108.  The Playground

Around the Corner

#109  Green Eggs & Ham

#110.  The Holly Sugar Train

#111  Restored Fort Union

(Important 1800's Trading Post

for Indians and Trappers)

#112  First Lost Tooth

And

#113  Grandchildren Sleeping

on my living room floor

Giving Thanks in All Things

In her book, One Thousand Gifts, Ann call its Ugly/Beautiful.

Can I thank Him for the ugly as well as the beautiful?

The bad as well as the good?

So today, I thanked Him for the package of mail from home

that was late by 3 weeks.

It was an irritating uncomfortable inconvenience

(or "little ducks nibbling at my feet" - as friend Louise Rice used to say)

 

Thank you, Lord, for this lost package of mail.

You know right where it is and what's in it.

Upon arrival at the desk,

the Post Mistress handed me the beautiful

(the most recent mail package)

and the ugly

(the first one that had been sitting there on a shelf  all along).

And guess what?!

There was nothing of significance in either of them.

A friend said that Jesus words,

"In this world you will have trouble.

But take heart! I have overcome the world."

(John 16:33)

Always make her think of Lynn Anderson's song:

I beg your pardon,
I never promised you a rose garden.

Along with the sunshine,
There's gotta be a little rain sometimes.

When you take, you gotta give, so live and let live,
Or let go.

I beg your pardon,
I never promised you a rose garden.

#104.  Neighbors with Green Thumbs