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Today’s trip was all in North Dakota…from Minot to Grand Forks 

On our way to a city named f Lakota

we made a stop in the little town of Rugby, North Dakota.

Rugby has a valued place in the hearts and minds of cartographic esoterica…because Rugby, North Dakota is known

as the geographical center of North America.

Rugby’s celebration of this fact is subtle…

apparently this distinguished fact Rugby is not one to flaunt.

Its true they built a rock obelisk to commemorate this fact

but it sits outside a Mexican restaurant. 

As we stopped to take a picture…and were searching for the best shot

another car with tourists just like us pulled into the parking lot.

This is how we met Pat and Sherry…which on this trip has become a familiar scenario.

They were returning form their place in Texas…to their home in Ontario. 

We took each other’s photos…made sure to catch each other’s smiles

And then we stood around, as travelers do, 

and talked with one another for a while.

And though we started out two sets of strangers…

two unlikely pairs…

we shared with them a little about our life, our travels…

and they shared with us…a little about theirs.

After spending a few minutes together at the beginning this day

we wished each other safe travels…and all went on our way.

And now Pat and Sherry…hold a place in our Great Northern Trip esoterica…

friends we made while standing…in the center of North America

 Today we drove from Wolf Point, Montana to Minot North Dakota

making one major stop on the trip…

at the Dakota Drug Store in Stanley, North Dakota to enjoy a Whirla-Whip.

What makes this treat so special and why we had to stop today

is they have the only remaining original Whira-Whip machine in the entire USA.

In the 1930’s Whirla-Whip thought they knew what their customers deserved.

Their machine took frozen ice cream…mixed it with other flavors 

and, voila, the mixture came out soft serve.

What made this machine unique, still does, in the 1930’s speak…it was dreamy

how frozen ice cream went in…and came out smooth and creamy.

Whirla-Whip didn’t take off like they hoped it would…

soon these machines were nowhere to be seen…

replaced by soft serving establishments…like those at Dairy Queen. 

But the Dakota Drug store’s Whirla-Whip remains…

and as far as ice cream on this trip…we haven’t had our quota…

which brought us to this soda fountain…in Stanley, North Dakota.

We shared a spoonful with each other…but the rest ate a capella 

I had chocolate with brownie cake and peanut butter

Deborah…vanilla, peanut butter…with Nutella.

And it was smooth and it was creamy…but what really blew us away

were the people we met and talked to…at the soda fountain that day.

Two air force men (I must be getting old because they looked more like boys) 

talked with us a bringing us such joy.

And we stayed and talked with the three young girls 

the ones who made our Whirla-Whips

We talked about their winters in North Dakota…

and they asked us about our trip.

If I had to describe, so far, each part of the first 3000 miles of our trip

I’d have to say it’s been amazing…and a lot like our Whirla-Whips 

How different people, each with different flavors, mix together…

just as we did at the Stanley, North Dakota Drug Store….

and how those flavors once mixed together…

come out tasting better than each flavor did before.

As part of planning this trip—-for one night we were set to reside

in a tiny house in Alberta, Canada…that came with a teepee on the side.

This tiny house had all the amenities we needed…much to our delight

 while the teepee had the bed…where we’d sleep under the stars at night.

That was the plan at least…. 

until we received a text when we reached our Spokane destination

It was from the owner of the tiny house alerting us to a…’situation’.

Apparently Alberta where the tiny house sits, (this is something we  didn’t know)

is subject to the strong Chinook winds which across this part of Canada blow.

The situation was…we learned that fateful day

the teepee which was to be our bedroom…in the night had blown away.

Which meant a last minute change of plans…

so to the internet and through the listing on Air B & B I plowed

and luckily found this little cabin on the prairie outside of Fort Macleod.

So we left the mountains behind us…stopping every now and then

to enjoy the country where the land, the hills, the valley together seemed to be flow

ending at this beautiful cabin on the prairie…where the Chinook winds still blow. 

Protected in this beautiful little cabin…so comfortable and pleasing to the eye…

and it was here we watched the sunset on the prairie…and the stars light up the sky.

It turned out to be just what we needed…and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay…

making a memory we would never have made…

if our teepee hadn’t blown away.

The indigenous people have occupied these lands

for over 10,000 years in all…

Their name for this beautiful place was Mini hrpa…

which means Mountain Where The Water Falls

So I imagine they were a little perplexed…

perhaps a little torn….

when George Stephens the president of the Canadian Pacific Railway

named it Banff in honor of the place where he was born. 

To honor Mini hrpa today we took a hike in Johnston Canyon.

Walking through a place like this always makes us feel so small

And mixed in with the beautiful trees and rocks and chipmunks

was the roaring sound of the Bow River…and of course her waterfall.

We keep thinking as we continue with this trip that we’ve seen everything

that nothing new can possibly come before our eyes

But as we turn the page each day…nature continues to surprise.

Walking in Johnston Canyon as we stopped to savor in her beauty

talk to the trees and inspect the diversity of her flowers

The canyon walls were echoing the roar of the Bow River

and we could actually feel her power.

We know the name of this beautiful land is Banff…

but after walking along the Johnston Canyon walls

In our hearts she will be forever known to us 

as…Mountain Where the Water Falls.

 We planned this trip with forethought…it’s the way we both prefer

but no matter how well we planned it…unexpected things occur:

Today instead of using our GPS to take us to Banff

I used a map …and apparently I still have a lot to learn…

because it wasn’t until we entered British Columbia 

I realized somewhere along the way…I’d made a wrong turn.

What made me realize I’d made a wrong turn?

that I wasn’t a great map-reading man?

because the province of British Columbia was never in our plans.

But on the lost part of our journey (when I turned left instead of right)

we drove through some beautiful country and saw some amazing sights.

We happened on Turtle Mountain…an awesome sight to see…

It’s where a massive rockslide buried part of the town of Frank…April 29, 1903.

There is a museum there to commemorate that moment…

of the Frank Slide and all the lives it took…

So, thinking we were heading in the right direction and had a lot of time,

we stopped to take a look.

The museum had this beautiful but eerie presence…from the moment we arrived…

as we learned about the devastation of that day…and heard the voices of those who survived.

If I hadn’t made that wrong turn…(which at this point was still unbeknownst to me)

we would have missed this wonderful moment to learn a little of Alberta’s history.

We would have missed this moment…

what happened on Turtle Mountain we’d probably never know…

and we wold have never stopped to pay our respect to those who died all those years ago.

It wasn’t long after Turtle Mountain (thank you Welcome to British Columbia sign!)

when I realized my mistake and turned the car about…

and once our GPS accepted my apology she guided us to Banff…

even took us on the scenic route.

Unexpected happenings will always arise in spite of our best wishes, plans and hopes….

the true measure of a vacation, however, is how we carry on…and cope.

We always leave time in our day for the many unplanned stops we make.

We know out there our new memories to be  collected

but we’ve also learned to embrace the unanticipated…the unforeseen…the unexpected.

And this trip we’ll add Turtle Mountain to the wonderful memories we’ve collected…

her memories join those of the mountains, the rivers and the lakes…

Because no vacation would be complete…without a few memories of our mistakes

Today we bid goodbye to beautiful Glacier

We’re traveling to a tiny house in Monarch, Canada…on our way to Banff

Which is distressing for a person who love rhymes

not because it won’t be beautiful…but because nothing rhymes with Banff. 

But that is for another day…today  we crossed the border into Alberta, Canada

and still illuminated by Na’pi’s sun

we spent part of the day in the National park…known as Waterton.

First a little history:

Glacier National park does not end at the Canadian border…no it continues forth….

In fact those Rocky Mountains we love so much we share with our neighbors to the north.

Instead of separating them into two parks…

our two countries decided these parks should be combined…

And in 1932 they established the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park…

the first park of its kind.

To this day the Blackfeet, Kootenai and Salish Indian tribes

hold these mountains sacred…as they do the Earth, the rivers…the sky

With teach step into this International Peace Park…you begin to understand why.

The beauty we experienced in Glacier…that we thought was second to none… 

extends itself northward…and into Waterton.

From its mountain lake, its giant peaks…its red rock canyon and falls

just like Glacier to the south…Waterton has it all.

We even saw a grizzly bear…couldn’t tell if it was a he or she

and a black bear with her baby cubs…not one, not two…but three.

As I’ve said repeatedly finding the words to explain all this beauty 

is extremely hard…

for these past few days it’s like we’ve been living…inside of a post card.

A post card I send out to you…

It’s message is a simple one…I pray…

that one day International peace will be more than just a park 

between Canada and the USA

Glacier has been so amazing (hopefully you surmized that from these rhymes)

but we thought this trip would not be complete 

without Going to the Sun Road one more time.  

After all the breathtaking views the first day…

we waited a whole day…then

we were ready for the next trip…once we could breathe again

The first trip was at six in morning…we were anxious to get there soon…

so the second time we decided to go in the afternoon.

We figured Na’pi  the old man who is the sun…

would shine his afternoon light

across his mountains, his glaciers and his streams

and illuminate different sights.

And the old man didn’t disappoint…around every turn a new surprise

It made me wish the words I write could keep pace with my eyes.

He lit up parts of his landscape we hadn’t seen before  

It was as if everywhere we looked…he opened a new door.

And once again as we tried to talk…we cold not make a sound

Suffice it to say it was even more amazing…

the second time around.

On the first trip we stopped a million times to take in every view

The second time I’m pretty sure we stopped a million…and two.

Once again I’ll repeat myself….the vistas were breathtaking

and the Aspen trees agree with me because they could not stop quaking.

I don’t know if we’ll ever be back here…before our final days are done

But I know if we do come back…for the third time…well be going to the sun

For our first full day in Glacier these two old children of the sun thought it would be fun

to get up early before the crowds …and head out to the sun….

It’s actually called Going to the Sun Road

named for Going to the Sun mountain…because the sun, from what I hear,

is an important God to the Blackfeet tribe…the one they hold most dear.

My apologies to the Blackfeet…but I’ll explain it as best I can…

They call the sun, Napi  which in their language means ‘old man’

The Blackfeet maintain there is no God greater…

for they believe, when it comes to the Earth…he is the creator 

The story goes there was water everywhere…

and that nothing else could be seen…

until Napi with all the animals on his raft…showed up on the scene.

It’s a 100 mile round trip…

and we found ourselves stopping a million times that day

because everywhere we looked…literally…took our breath away.

In fact from the beginning to the end of the Sun Road

and all points in between

the road contained some of the most magnificent scenery we have ever seen.

As we stood among these mountain giants …rising so majestically and tall.

we could reach out and touch the snow, the peaks the sky, the clouds…

and feel the waterfalls….

As the road wound through the mountains….

we’d stop to gaze…to hike…to climb up and down some stairs…

along the way we were greeted by three big horn sheep

a mountain goat…and a  family of grizzly bears.

The fog played hide and seek with the mountains

In the morning as our drive had just begun

but I’m proud to say by the time we finished

we made it to the sun.

We’ll be going to the sun again while we’re here

first…because we are infatuated

and second because this old man would like to find that old man

and thank him…for this world he has created. 

One of the wonderfully exciting features of traveling….

Is something all those who have ever traveled know:

No matter how many places you have been….

there is always somewhere else to go.