Portland to Glacier

Portland to Glacier

At the beginning of July we set off on our summer vacation to Glacier National Park and then on to Winona, Minnesota for the "Watts Family Reunion" (i.e. visit Meghan and Ryan.) We attempted train travel and hoped the decision would be free of regret.

We left a rainy Portland (it was July 2nd for crying out loud--enough rain, already!) at 4:00 pm and rolled into Glacier the next morning around 9:00. If it hadn't been announced by the conductor, we would have not known, as the rain arrived with us hiding any evidence of mountains. We laughed at the irony. But as the day wore on and the clouds burned off, we began to see the amazing scenery. WOW! It was about 35 degrees at almost 7000 feet. The waterfalls were everywhere and cascaded down the ENTIRE mountain range. We hiked, were in awe over the CLEAR water and even saw a bear on a bluff. It was a fantastic day.

We caught the train out of Glacier the next morning at 9:00 and enjoyed the scenery on the outskirts of the park. There was a volunteer tour guide on the train that shared a lot of info on the area as well.

The kids were amazed at the tall sky and puffy clouds of Montana. We spent the day in the lounge car playing games and stepped off the train every few hours to stretch and breathe fresh air. After a night on the train, we awoke to the Mississippi River and soon reached our destination.

CARAVAN PALACE at the zoo

On the way home from work yesterday I heard a couple of French musicians interviewed on NPR (I am a public radio junkie.) The music sounded cool and I hoped to remember the band's name so Slade could check out the CD from our library.

But even better, at the end of the story they announced the band was performing in PORTLAND. THAT NIGHT. It's been a few years since we've been to zoo concerts so we considered it. And then we found ourselves there a few hours later.

After a fine dinner of popcorn and soda, Kennah and her friend, Abby, headed to the stage to hang with Slade. Sawyer did not.

The group was INCREDIBLE. It had a funky-jazzy-techno-(saaaaweeeeet!)-sound and beat. They were all great performers and made it impossible to not dance or smile!

(And here is my conservative mother commentary--the dancing was all great DANCING, not the pseudo-suggestive stuff that I don't want my kids mistaking for "dancing".)

We felt pretty lucky to have stumbled upon such a great concert on a perfect summer's eve. Especially after the previous evening's conversation with Kennah which in a condensed version:

Kennah: My friend wants me to go to Justin Beiber's concert tomorrow. She needs an adult to go too.

Us: We didn't know you liked Justin Beiber.

K: I don't. But she needs someone to go with her.

Us: Tickets are $50 for the nose bleeds to the side of the stage. Do you have $100 for your ticket and one for us. (We know she doesn't so we know we won't be subjected to teen-love-boy.)

K: No $$.

Us: So sorry.

So when we asked Abby (NOT the girl with Beiber fever) if she thought THIS music was better. She immediately responded, "This is so much more heartfelt" and showed us.

While waiting in line to meet the band and have CDs signed, this guy asked the girls what they liked and recorded their answers. They were not short of words or expressions.

The musicians were very playful and happy of the stage as well. Even with a language barrier, they each took time to write on the CD and talk with people.

And WE LOVE THEM!!