Back In the 757. Maybe.

Is there anything better than looking at photos of someone else’s vacation? Of course there is, but that’s all I’ve got for you this morning.

I’ll make it up to you. Promise.

If you’ve never been to Glacier National Park in Montana these amatuerish photos may whet your appetite but they don’t begin to capture the majesty of the place. You have to see it for yourself. GNP is called the Crown of the Continent for a reason.

I’m writing this from the Kalispell airport - barely bigger than a McMansion living room - where my flight has been delayed for almost two hours, giving me about 18 minutes to make a connection in the vast Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport this evening (Tuesday). Who knows when I’ll get home.

For most of the past week I’ve been off the grid. No cell service, no internet. When I did find myself with connections, I resisted the urge to open emails or peek at the news. I did, however, check Twitter on Saturday to see how my Ole Miss Rebels were doing against ‘Bama.

No, I don’t want to talk about it. 

While looking for football scores I got a glimpse of the accusations aimed at Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. I’ll have plenty to say about THAT when I read all the details. But I can’t be the only one disgusted that these marinated memories have conveniently appeared at the 11th hour. Sen. Dianne Feinstein should be censured for sitting on this all summer. Shame on that woman.

Enough about that for now. Enjoy the view!  

This is the reward you get when you hike the Grinnell Glacier trail. Worth every second of that uphill climb. Just look at that glacial water!

You know what they say about bear cubs. When you see them, look out for mama. We did. She ignored us.

Checking the map.

This looks like a painting, but it’s not. My sister-in-law shot this moose from a looong distance. With her camera, of course.

Our lone frightening encounter with a grizzly. This mama and two cubs suddenly appeared about 20 feet above us on the descent from Grinnell Glacier. In seconds she could have killed us. Instead, she shooed her babies up the mountain.

Clouds in the valley.

Wildfires are actually good for the national park. Bad for tourists, though. This is a remnant of a massive 2015 fire that burned thousands of acres.

Another long-ago wildfire.

Grinnell Glacier trail. It’s steep! My panting kept the bears away.

Me, clutching the rope along the magnificent Highline Trail. Sheer cliff below. Adding to the fun, it was alternately sleeting and snowing.

If I wasn’t afraid of grizzlies before I got to the park, I was by the time I finished this book.

Ranger Ross.

There’s safety in numbers when hiking in grizzly country. So we let Ranger Ross lead the way up Grinnell Glacier. He was a wealth of information. And awfully cute. Pity you can’t see his face. Unfortunately he was well behind us when we encountered the grizzly on the descent.

A bar in Whitefish, MT.

Aaaah!