Sshhh! Do you hear that?

Hah! Neither can I, 'cuz there's no rattling anymore, yay! New shocks got put on and life is good. It's not perfect, because if I let it sit and idle for any length of time it gets really hot. I let it sit earlier and it got up to 218 degrees! It was okay, because it was in front of a firehouse so if it got too hot, I could have put it out.

Sorry it's been a while since I've posted, I've been without dependable WiFi since Livingston. The fire tower had great cell phone reception, even 3G!, but no WiFi. I'm now in an Econolodge in Calgary and it's not much better here, so unfortunately this will be brief. My hope is that once I get settled in Banff tomorrow, I can put up some more pictures and stories. Thank you to everyone that has commented on the blog!

I woke up in Livingston where I did my last post and then went OnManeuvers in town. Cool pics and stories to follow tomorrow. After Livingston I drove through a long valley to Helena, then up and over the Continental Divide and through some really spectacular scenery to wind up at the Double Arrow Lookout. That will warrant a post of its own with pictures to really capture the essence of living in a fire tower, if only for two days. The next day, I had some adventures in Missoula, then Deer Lodge before heading back to Bozeman (Continental Divide crossing again!) to Renegade Off Road. There, Rob, TJ, Matt and Tom did me a solid by fitting me in and even staying late to put the new shocks on. If you're ever in the area in need of vehicle work, look them up. I didn't have to pay for the entertainment they provided either, funny guys!

I tried to get back in time to catch the sunset, but it was not to be. It was as close to dusk without being pitch black as it could be by the time I got back to the fire tower. Another night in the fire tower and then an early rise. I did house duties (you can take the boy out of the firehouse....) and then attempted to clean myself up.  After two days of no shower, I probably wasn't successful. I rode northward bound for the Canadian border through some of the most spectacular scenery I've ever seen. Again, pics to follow.

I headed up towards Kalispell but turned north east before reaching that town. The Going to the Sun road is still closed, but they are working on it. Maybe on the return trip? With my route closed, I navigated around the south of Glacier NP on US 2 and came around the south then east side. I had a great lunch (details and pics also to follow) in Hungry Horse, MT and later stopped at a firehouse in Babb, MT. Their first due area is over 400 square miles! I talked with one of their members for a bit, took some pictures and then ran for the border, trying to cool the truck on the way.

Despite my current Grizzly Adams visage (I promise to shave before the wedding Kristen!) the border officials took pity on my and let me in to Canada. One of the questions they asked me was if "I had cash in excess of $10,000 on me". Very hard to resist a smart ass comment there! Ever seen that show "Flashpoint"? It's set in some Canadian city, and the border officers looked straight out of that show. Again, hard to resist a comment.

Running up to Calgary reminded me of Kansas and the plains area of Colorado. The small Canadian towns I drove through were fascinating. They are very similar to US towns, but the little things make it different. It's hard to describe, but you know you're not in the US anymore. I still haven't figured out the gas prices, they must be in liters or something.

I was on the phone coming in to Calgary so I missed some of the scenery, but what I did see is much of the same sprawl and shopping center metastasizing of a generic metro area. I found the Econolodge and cleaned up for real this time. With the help of Yelp, I found an absolute gem of a restaurant. NOtaBLE is run by a famous Canadian Chef and it also deserves it's own post. I'll get to that tomorrow. I've got plans to check out a few places here in Calgary tomorrow morning before heading west to Banff. Stay tuned dear readers, I won't dissapoint with the promised pictures!