Pictures

I left Ann Arbor with plenty of energy, and zoomed across the prairies to the South Dakota badlands. Mt. Rushmore (a memorial to dead US presidents) was spoilt by heat and crowds, so I hurried on across the high plains of Wyoming, passed this macabre roadside attraction, checked out wild and tame life in Yellowstone, and then stopped for a while at the wonderfull Grand Tetons. After the crowds and heat and driving, I was very happy to hike a nearly-deserted trail that circled around behind these peaks. At the end of the 1st day's hiking I found the best campsite I've ever seen, sheltered among gnarled pine trees, where a stream left a lake and immediately plunged over a waterfall. Next day's hike lead over a pass, down past several small lakes, through meadows of flowers, into a long forested valley, and out to civilization. I was nervous about bears for most of the hike, but thankfully ran into just moose and marmots (the marmots shuffle up and fix you with a look that says "You know you think I'm cute. Now feed me"). Back in town, I bought a can of bear pepper spray (which many local hikers carried), supposedly to put my mind at ease on future hikes.

I had time for a side trip, so I turned North and drove across Montana, through the smoke of many forest fires, to Glacier Park (my road-numbed brain was entertained by the road signs, some sympathetic, others downright insulting). A highlight of the visit to Glacier was a hike to Lake Isabel. After the 1st few miles hiking I saw no humans on the trail, but I nearly walked into this unusually brave deer. In the middle of the night, camped alone by the lake, I was woken by crashing of branches, heavy thudding and tearing of soil, and clacking of displaced rocks. Then silence. Then the same sounds nearer my tent. Then silence. Then again nearer, just 15 m away. Then nothing for what seemed like 15 minutes. When I finally dared to move, I quietly put on my headlamp, and spent the rest of the night with the bear mace in one hand, thumb on the trigger. Next morning there were Black Bear prints all around the cooking area.

The rest of the drive through Motana, Idaho, and Oregon to Portland went smoothly, and I arrived in my new appartment on 10 August, bang on schedule.

Recently, Meredith stopped by on her way to London, and we checked out Lost Lake, near Portland.