For today’s blessing I thought it would be neat
to yield my pen to one of the Niitsitapi tribe
We gave them the name Blackfeet:
What is life?
It is the flash of a firefly in the night.
It is the breath of a buffalo in wintertime.
It is the little shadow which runs across the grass
and loses itself in the sunset.
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.
Wherever you choose to go in life
Wherever you travel about
Whenever you get the chance…
take the scenic route
We awoke in Idaho at our little cabin in the woods to a chorus of birds…
one in particular thought it would be fine
to tap upon our window…as if to say ‘rise and shine’
So we rose and shone and said goodbye to Idaho.
In the short time we were there she left her mark…
then headed out on today’s adventure to Montana.
and Glacier National Park.
But first a note on what makes each of our trips a wonder for us to see
It has to do with what we like to call…our road trip philosophy.
It began when our children were children…and whenever we traveled far
we told them how are adventure begins…the moment we enter the car.
If someone saw something that looked like fun and wanted to stop
Say for ice cream, candy, a river or a babbling brook
Then we’d stop…we’d eat some ice cream, some candy…
or pause by the river to take a look.
We always felt for ourselves and for our children
it’s in everyones best interest knowing
the fun we have along the way Is as important as getting to where we’re going.
With that in mind today we saw a sign once we crossed into Montana from Idaho
Inviting us to Kootenai Falls……even though we still had over 150 miles to go.
So we stopped at the falls and took a hike down a rocky path along a ridge…
A path that ended to our delight…at one end of a swinging bridge.
And in the middle of that bridge we pausedto take in the amazing scenery…
why…we even kissed…
amazed at all this beauty that…if we’d kept going…we would have missed.
We rolled into Glacier a little later than expected…
but along the way…oh the wonders we did see…
All thanks to a few unplanned stops we made along the way
and to our trip philosophy
May we be blessed to understand and enjoy the diversity of art
whether in a museum
or on a nature walk….
from the artists who work on the canvases of today
to the artists whose canvases were rocks.
Before we left this morning on the next leg of our journey
there was one more place in Spokane I felt we had to see.
It’s called the Indian Painted Rocks Trail…so before we left for Idaho
we drove to see these rocks…painted over 250 years ago.
Since Deborah is a rock painter…
(she loves to paint messages on those little spheres)
we wanted to see how the art of rock painting has changed in all these years.
It was amazing to see the reds and yellows painted over 2 centuries ago.
What they depict have been lost with time…as no one seems to know.
The artists are no longer with us…having long ago expired…
but sometimes art doesn’t need to be explained…only to be admired
Because there remains an inherent beauty
in how these colors still bright and strong
absorbed into rocks so many years ago…have survived so long.
Next to these ancient paintings we noticed a trail…
It’s path shining in the sun
so before we left for Idaho…we thought a short hike would be fun.
To our amazement this little path…before we even had time to think
guided us through a rainbow of flowers,
purples, yellows, greens, blues, whites and pinks.
Walking through these colors brought us joy and pure elation
and it made me wonder if these same colors…
didn’t give those Spokane artists inspiration.
And if this wasn’t enough to leave the two of us without words
as we walked we were serenaded by a multitude of birds.
Which also made me wonder the more we walked along
if this was where the Spokane people got the inspiration for their songs.
We made it into beautiful Sandpoint Idaho…still talking about our walk…
where…at this wonderful little cabin we spent the night…
Deborah left a painted rock.
