Over the Great Divide

There are many reasons to put a line on a map; the bounderies of states or countries, the path of a roadway, international dateline, equator. Some of these lines are a bit arbitrary. It’s Tuesday over there and Wednesday over here, Oh well. Mexico on that side of the 

river, the US on this side, OK. But the continental  divide is something you can sink your teeth into ( or at least your feet onto). Water flowing off one side winds up in the Pacific, water flowing off the other side ends up in the Hudson Bay. To the west lies hundreds of miles of forested woodlands, to the east there is over a thousand mil

es of prarie. With this romance in mind we set off to walk across a pass that has no road,  we want to cross on foot (like Lewis and Clark) the great spine that forms the backbone of the continent. So we park the car in Alberta, walk into British Columbia ( the divide is

 also the boundry  between the provinces) have lunch at a delightful small waterfall and are back at the car in a few hours.

            In the evening, back at camp as we are feeling proud of our feat (it really wasn’t that hard) we have visitors. A black bear and her two cubs wander though th

e camp munching on grass. She comes within about 30 feet of our campfire but we are somehow not inclined to shoo her away. The little cubs are soo cute following mom. A peaceful threesome with mom in control. They pay no attention to us. Esten retreats 

to the step of the trailer. I put the stove into the back of the car (not good having food smells around). Then another visitor, a lady from a couple of campsites  over walk

s in and asks if she can take pictures from our camp. We say yeah, but I’m not really sure what to do with her if momma bear were to get aggressive. She takes a few pictures and starts to talk….and talk. We 

soon know her life history. Her daughter can’t train for alpine skiing this summer because she fell off her mountain bike and broke her wrist. Her parents, in their eighties traveled all the way  Alaska in a trailer like ours with a cat. Don’t cats hate to ride in cars, I ask?  Oh yeah, she says, that’s why they put the cat in the trailer while the drove. I’m picturing grandma and gramp driving along in bliss while the cat shrieks and shreds the trailer, hanging off the ceiling in terror. A scene from a Chevy Chase movie.

Meanwhile the bears have wandered on, in fact they’re now right next to her camp. She keeps talking, she hopes her daughters are Ok…., she left them in the tent, alone. Esten and I exchange a glance. We learn more about the broken wrist, the missed riding lessons. I bring the stove back out , stir the fire. Esten starts to

 heat dinner. Our visitor finally decides she should check on her daughters.

There’s a lesson here about parenting but we can’t put our finger on it.

Logan Pass, Glacier national Park:

 There is magic in this sunny alpine meadow filled with wildflowers. Add a 

few mountain goats and

 bighorn sheep, 

a glacier and cascading water and you’ve really got the makings for great hiking.. We wander around enthralled and feeling very lucky. This is also a very popular place and we endure a stream of foot traff

ic on the way to the viewpoint overlooking hidden lake. It’s worth it.  

The view of this turquoise gem graces 

many calenders and postcards. It’s also a great lunch stop.