Marc Ankenbauer's 10+ year quest to jump in every named lake in Glacier and Waterton National Parks for charity.
168 lakes. Only 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
ZERO LAKES LEFT!!!
-- Marc jumped into Fisher Cap Lake on Sunday September 8th, 2013 to complete his goal! --
Read about Marc and how this project started...

Carthew Pond : The Last Canadian Lake #162

One of the greatest aspects to the seasonal world of Glacier National Park is the people you call your peers.

It’s not about who you were in the past or even who you are in winter.

Right now, maybe just for this summer… you are the lucky few.

Right now you are here, no matter what demographic life would normally put you in.

No matter your age, gender, color, sexual preference, nationality, hometown or future path, when you’re here…

None of that matters.

 

What matters is that you bled your time in this park for all its was worth.

It matters that you got out and explored the park in your own particular way this past weekend.

It matters that you were overwhelmed by the power of this place and your moments in it.

Carthew 1

 

 

Some of my best friends in Glacier were not born in my same generation much less the same decade.

I often find myself sitting around a fire or planning hikes with people 15 years younger and 30 years older than me.

I feel lucky to call some of the parks greatest personalities, my friends.

 

With that said, I have two wonderful guys named Ed Bouffard and Dave Birkhead as hiking partners.

Their lovely wives Diane and Kathy are even more amazing than them… but this story is about Ed and Dave.

 

Carthew 2

 

Heading into this season, I was pondering the ideal hiking partners for the last 10 lakes.

Virtually everything I had was a brutal, multiday, off trail outing.

But, there was one last amazing day hike to be had and my ideal partners were these two guys.

They have been good friends to me and unendingly supportive of the lake project.

I’ve gone on countless outings with these two and I always have a terrific time.

Both of them more than hold their own, they’re impressive hikers.

 

Carthew 3

 

So, when Ed called me to ask what I was doing on a random Monday in mid-July, I knew exactly what was on the agenda.

Luckily it was Dave’s day off also and we were going to knock off Carthew Pond.

This shallow pond below the Carthew Lakes in Waterton National Park also represented THE LAST LAKE IN CANADA.

There are 38 in Canada, and this was number 38.

 

Carthew 26

Carthew Pond that is…

 

In 2004 I hiked through this area along the famous Carthew-Alderson trail.

I knocked off six lakes that day, but not this one.

Carthew Pond wasn’t even on my radar as I hadn’t looked at the official Waterton Lake list yet.

I was simply knocking off the obvious lakes anywhere I found myself on a pretty day.

It’s been almost ten years since I passed by this tiny, somewhat overshadowed pond.

 

Carthew 4

 

Unfortunately, the June floods that wreaked havoc in Calgary also took out the Akamina road which accesses Cameron Lake trailhead.

The hike normally runs from Cameron Lake over Carthew Peak and down to Waterton Townsite.

 

Carthew 28

Carthew Alderson Route Map

 

Instead, now it’s a seven mile, 3000’ push one way from town to the pond and then back down again.

Not exactly the ideal route, but it was time to go swimming and that’s what we were going to do.

 

Carthew 5

 

The day hedged on perfect as I drove north rocking out to the new Macklemore CD.

I pulled up next to Dave’s apartment with music blaring, windows rolled down and my car looking like I live in there.

Dave hopped in and we continued towards Babb to meet Ed, and grabbed a hitch hiker along highway 89.

He told us that he was starting the Continental Divide Trail.

He was hitching north to the Canadian border so he could start heading South towards Mexico.

 

Interesting story; I was the 3rd person to pick him up already this morning and the first person was one of my coworkers.

Ah, the small world that is the east side of Glacier NP.

We wished him safe travels as he headed in for a last meal at the diner in Babb.

We quickly switched into Ed’s car and headed for the border.

 

Carthew 19

Chief Mountain Customs with Cartoon Filter

 

It always goes better if a nice car driven by a distinguished gentleman pulls up, instead of a bald, crackpot with a dirty dorm room for a vehicle.

Everything went seamlessly and an hour later we were putting together backpacks and tightening trekking poles in the Cameron Falls parking lot.

 

Carthew 6

Cameron Falls, Wateton National Park

 

The shady, forested trail meandered uphill and felt like it would never end.

 

Carthew 7

 

An hour or so later we found ourselves popping out of the trees finally.

The massive headwall of Mt. Alderson dominated the scene.

 

Carthew 8

 

Alderson Lake’s deep blue contrasted against the meadows of vibrant bear grass.

 

Carthew 9

 

I have a different experience hiking with these fella’s than I do others.

We talk about life, philosophy, politics and just the prospective differences that 30 more years can provide.

I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the time that I get to bounce my life off of these two wise, pleasant men.

 

Carthew 10

 

When Carthew Pond came into view we struck off through marsh ponds and stunted sub alpine trees.

The mosquitoes were enjoying the area as much as we were.

Thanks to our bug friends, like so often, we sped through the actual lake dip portion of the day.

 

Carthew 11

 

It’s funny; this whole thing is not about jumping in lakes.

It’s about the journey and experiences along the way.

The last decade for me was about the friends, the miles, the bushwhacks and the epic experiences in such a profoundly wild place.

Not, swimming.

That is just a medium.

 

Carthew 27

 

Ed waded into the lake with me to get some video as Dave photographed from shore.

Tiny little stunted fish swam around my torso as I floated in three feet of tepid water.

 

Carthew 12

 

 

I waded out to dry off as Ed took his own refreshing dip.

We were surrounded by amazing alpine scenery at this point and were not in any hurry to drop back into the woods or end the day.

The trail continued uphill along the two Carthew Lakes.

 

Carthew 13

 

It would be foolish to not investigate.

Heck, for me it had been ten years, I was going to hang out for a bit.

A flower choked waterfall area drained the Upper Carthew Lake which provided a stellar stopping point.

Water was filtered, sandwiches were eaten, jokes were told, and scenery was soaked in.

 

Carthew 14

 

We stared down valley from a rocky outcropping.

Carthew Lake dwarfed Carthew Pond as the valley opened up like a mouth into the Eastern Alberta Plains.

 

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

As we descended the trail we dropped through a snowfield which passed a strange little cavernous hole.

A baby marmot popped out to investigate the racket outside his tiny snowy home.

We only stayed a moment, so the marmots could have their peace and quiet.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJIwMprzy-I

 

We headed back into the forest and downward towards town.

Waterton townsite is a colorful bugger from above, nestled in between the Waterton Lakes.

 

Carthew 16

 

We got a great view south beyond the border and back into the U.S.

Glacier National Park’s largest peak, Mt. Cleveland dominates the landscape above Waterton Lake.

 

Carthew 18

 

Tired, stinky but in good company we packed back in for our trip south across the border.

Thanks, Canada, for all of your lovely lakes, friendly folks and Toonie Coins.

But I’m heading back home for dinner, a cold beer and more good company.

 

Carthew 20

 

Great Day!

Thank, Ed and Dave.

For being so cool, loving this place and always being my friends.

To Life,

Marc Ankenbauer

Kessler Lake – Right on the Edge – CAN

Kessler Lake Fence PicHi there every body!
I’m here to tell you about Kessler Lake, Ed, Diane, Jenny and a galloping  black bear.
Now, you see.
 Purple Flower
Ed went with me to Crypt Pond in Waterton last year.  However, this was the first lake outting for his wife Diane and our friend Jenny.
Actually I had never hiked with Diane before now, and she’s  a rock star.
Mt. Dungarven

June has been cold, rainy and even snow off and on.

So, this was a great day by just being alright… Clouds were threatening but luckily that just added cool clouds.

Kessler Lake is at the base of the Eastern Front which is literally where the plains hit the mountains.

Plant and Clouds

To the west of the Rocky Mountains are hundreds of miles of rolling mountains all the way to the coast.  For the most part…

However when you go east of the park its open plains till you hit Chicago.

The plains get better weather and since Kessler is right on the edge we got a pretty fair shake on weather.

Cows Running

We drove up to Canada in the morning and found a road just north of the park.

The Easment Pathway

It lead in to private property but there is a right of way through the cow fields to the boundary of the park.

Cows and Mountain

There we met up with the barbed wire fence that marks the boundary and had to climb under it.

Fence Line Waterton Border

 

From here there was basically a trail leading along the fence line which we followed directly towards the Mt. Dungarven and Mt. Galway.

Ed and Mt. Dungarven

 

Along the way we had to schwack around marshy impoundments and over little grassy rises.

Kessler 10

 

Kessler 11

The lake was well larger than I envisioned.

Kessler 12

It was very shallow through.

Kessler 13

When I did finally get in I had to basically just lay down out in the lake.

Kessler 14

Not much swimming going on.

 

When we first got to the lake, I had to sift through camera gear and we all ate lunch.

There is fencing that goes all the way to the edges of the lake as its half in the the park and half out.  I planned to make my way inside the park boundary.  So, I would be official, you know…

Kessler 15

We were about to head to the fence and out comes a black bear right where we were going to jump in.

He walked to the lake, swam in and right back out.  He shook off his coat like a dog and started bounding back up the little rise and out of sight.

The clouds all day were crazy.  The dramatic filter on my camera was able to get some pretty great shots.

Kessler 16

Kessler Lake

 

It was nice to have a so many people along.

I haven’t gone to a lake with four people in a while.

Kessler 17

Aside from great company, I had a mini film crew.

Ed took my GO PRO HERO 2 and walked out in the lake to film.

Diane took photos with their camera for evidence.

Kessler 19

Jenny staffed my new Olympus OMD EM5 and got video.

You three are awesome!   I really appreciate it.

Kessler 20

We eventually headed our way back to our car and drove back into the states.

Kessler 21

Chief Mountain Customs Station

Great day!

Even enjoyed a great dinner with friends and a good Ranger IPA.

 Kessler 22

Upper Rowe and Linham Lakes – Where’s that goat trail? – CAN

This is a story about last summer. I never got a chance to create a blog for this until now. So, hope you enjoy a backlogged lake blog (say that ten times)…..until I get something new for the year. Hope to a new lake before the end of May. Stay Tuned

So the story goes……………

Tradition has it that once, and it seems to be only once a year my friend Kieth and I go for a hike. He works for the boat company in Waterton and we tend to have contrasting schedules all summer. We were able to keep tradition going once again with an awesome day in late August.We completed a feat that I have only had success with once before. We got five lakes in one day. It takes putting a large effort in, but more so it takes a cluster of lakes to be able to pull that off.
This project is about the lakes and the park, well more than my or anyone else’s efforts. If they want to allow things to progress. then I progress.If not, then we kindly say thanks and slowly plod along to one lake at a time…. If you’re lucky.So luckily the upper Rowe Lakes and the Linham Lakes are in general vicinity of each other in the middle of Waterton National Park.We headed off pretty late in the day. I bet we did not hit trail till about 11:30 or noon. We had lots to do in a short amount of time. Up the Rowe valley till the Upper Rowe Lakes trail took a big, uphill left turn. I had done the single lower Rowe Lake last year, so to acquire the top two was a great hit for me.We found a little bay behind a rock to take a dip because the wind was kickin hard. After it we walked the outlet creek to the middle lake. What a lovely day for a bunch of dips. This would have been a brutal one if it were nasty weather. Five lakes would get terribly chilly going at it in the rain.There is a nice goat trail that connects the Upper Rowe lakes trail with the upper reaches of the Rowe valley trail. It was nice because we did not have to drop that whole way back into the valley bottom.

We had to push up to Linham ridge and find a spot to hop over the other side of it. We envisioned that we just had to get to the prominent saddle and head down from there.

When we finished the huge uphill slog we got up to that saddle and there was a 2000 foot cliff on the other side.

Alright…Keep looking.

I had always been told that there was a perfect goat trail heading down to these lakes.

Gotta try and find it.

So, folks…

“Go find the off trail lake insight #73”

Sometimes you find the ideal way to the lake. But more often, you find the ideal way back from the lake. Often, you just find “A” way to the lake”….

This was one of those days.
On top of the ridge we saw a goat trail. Why not try it…Time is of the essence. Just go!!!

“Go find the off trail lake insight #74”

Albeit I owe this entire project to the goat trail leaving goats. There are lots of goat trails. Not all of them are going the direction you want to be going. There is always paths going in the general direction of any body of water. But there are also paths going down a shelfy, rotten rock infested chute also..

Goats are much better at this than you or I.

I promise.

Well, we had to follow through with it though. There was no more time to fiddle and fuss about a better route, we did not leave the excess time for that kind of thing on this day.

So, we just dropped off a crumbling, steep ridge.

Eeehh……

I’ve since seen where we should have gone. This was not it. But this was the ridge we dropped down. From upper left to lower right.
It did work though..

Once down we started just busting through these lakes. There are three of them.

We did not have time to dilly dally…

Enter that whole, we started at noon thing. It is becoming an important part of our trip

So, we hit the first lake which was pretty obvious. We were looking at it all the way down.

After him though, we started moving pretty frantically around this hanging basin trying to find the other two and waste as little time as we could.

There is an efficient and optimal way of doing anything in life. Finding and jumping in remote mountain lakes while working with serious time constraints is no different.

The second lake was over a wooded ridge.

The sun kept falling and creating that soft colorful light on all the rock walls around us. It is lovely, but when you know you have a long way to travel before you are back at the trailhead and in your car. It only creates a bit of anxiety.

Then, off in the completely opposite direction of our exit out of this valley to find the last one. It was right above the cliffs that drain the hanging basin. They drop off into Linham Falls.

There once was a trail up the face of the headwall that holds the lakes in place. It must have had a few cables and chains to hold on to along the sketchy route. At least one person fell to their death through the years, though. Needless to say, no one goes that way any longer.

Not being able to go that way, forced the “random, over the ridge and drop in” route to get to these lakes that we had to take. No matter how difficult it was to get here, at least we did not have to scale a crazy cliff to make our way…

Sorry, that was a tangent….
We found the last lake..

One of the truly ironic things about the project is the amount of work and time that it takes to get to these places… Most often I have to get there….take a dip,…and head directly back out again.

This place would have been a nice place to hang for a bit.

Oh, well…Maybe some day. Right now I just want to make sure that we get out of this hanging basin and back on trail before dark.

It is getting late and we have a big, ridiculous ridge to climb up and six more “on trail” miles to bust out.

So, out we head.

It is situations like this that I am very happy that I use trekking poles. Somewhere through the evolutionary process of most animals,. they found out that “four legs good, two legs bad” is a valuable thing to keep in mind.

Well, atop the ridge we took a few awesome pictures and dropped back into the valley on trail and headed back to the car. We got out about 30 minutes after dark. Never great, but it is so much better when it’s dark and your on trail. Dark when your off trail is “No Bueno”!!!

So,..thats that. Upper Rowe Lakes and the three Linham Lakes.

Check!

All went well. Keith and I got our annual hike in. I got to 126 lakes and busted out a great day with the help of a good friend and some crazy goats.

Hope your crazy goats are well!!!

To Life,

Marc

Deer Lake – International Lake of Mystery – CAN #118

The International Lake of Mystery….Duh, duh. Duh….

That last part was supposed to be pronounced like it just happened in a mystery movie and some important fact was just uncovered.

Try it again,

The International Lake of Mystery….Duh, duh, Duh…..

How’d it go?

One of the main things about humor that I have found out in my life is that it is not real great if you have to explain it. You certainly dropped the ball, if you are at that point.

Anyhoo….

In comes the saga of “Deer Lake” in Waterton National Park.

So, Saturday was a first for me. I had to access a lake and it was about a quarter mile into Alberta, but it was about two and a half miles from a road and was directly west of the customs station.

So, this meant that the path of least resistance was hiking the boundary swath.

What is that you ask?

If you knew it or not, there is delineation that visually and physically separates the U.S. from Canada. In some places it might just be markers like this one.

In the plains they may just mow a separation.

When there are forests, there is a 40 foot wide swath or clearing that runs east/west along the 49th parallel. So, since Glacier and Waterton are on the border, there is a boundary swath running east/west and separating the park the whole way.

I swear!!!

Why, I’m not entirely sure…But there is.

So on this particular day the route to the lake was an animal path that runs willy nilly up the boundary swath. I was happy to see that there was even a path, but I suppose the animals think it’s pretty cool that we keep this big clearing for them in the middle of the forest.

My friend’s cousin, Curtis and I drove through Canadian Customs. Had a really nice conversation with the nice men at the port and headed down the hill.

At the bottom of the ridge, we had to ford the Belly River. The water is low enough now that it is safe. Earlier in the summer it would have been terrifying.

The deal with this whole hike was that we had to stay in the swath. If we left it, it had to be to the north. We had entered into Canada, so we would be illegally entering into the country if we walked out of the swath to the south and back into the U.S.

All of this sound odd and a bit silly? I agree, but that is international law. I’m lucky that they extended this option to me to begin with.

After the river we found a nice mucky swamp and because of this tiny little rule, instead of walking around the swamp to the south, we had to walk straight on through. There was no end to it if you walked north…

Straight on through it was. The muck on the bottom of the swamp almost sucked my sandals off of my feet. I then lost my balance and basically fell face first into the swamp. I dunked my boots and half my stuff. I came out smelling awful. Note* This was not the swamp, it was the swamp after it that we could walk around. I have no pic of the awful boundary swamp. I am sorry.*

But we were in compliance with the law!!! I want to continue to make that very clear!

So, finally we headed back up the other ridge after the dreaded boundary swamp. It was really a pleasant walk. The animals cleared a great path the whole way until we had to deal with that “1/4 mile into Canada” part.

It is funny to be walking through a perfectly clear and very wide path with thick, impenetrable forest on both sides. Odd feeling, for sure.

So, we schwacked our way over, under and around the forest for a good while until we found a pretty pleasant lake. I was surprised because many of the small, forested lakes are really not too pleasant.

I spoke with a few guys who work for Waterton National Park and they said that they had both flown over it through the years. One said it was almost dried up at the end of a hot, fire filled season. The other said that he saw a moose swimming in it.

Now I have.

Lake #118

On our return we even found an amazing moose skull hidden in the willows.

Nooney,Wurdeman, Howe, Rogers, Arrow, Trout and six other Canadian Lakes – I was busy

Good evening,
It’s been an amazing summer, for sure.
In the last five or six weeks since I wrote alot has happened. I nabbed seven more lakes in Glacier. That brings the totel to 86. Then came the decision that I was going to include Waterton National Park in the lake bid project. So there was a push that incorporated seven lakes up there which brought the totel to 13. 99 in all, need one more before I leave…..I’m running out of time.
So, let’s get started.
I went to a place called Trout Lake.

Some of you may know this as one of the sites of the famous “Night of the Grizzly”maulings. For those that don’t know, here is a quick over view.

The first Grizzly maulings in Glacier NP were in mid August of 1967. Two different girls were killed on the same evening by two different bears in two different spots at virtually the same time. It had never happened before and now it happened twice in the same night.
My friend Pat and I went back there two days after the 40th anniversary.
Much has happened in the last 40 years in the world of bear management. Things are ran entirely different than they were back in 1967. That did not stop the weird vibe we got while we were standing there. Eeehhh….


So, we busted out Trout Lake, Arrow Lake and Rogers Lake. Rogers was a nice annoying thick bushwhack but the other two were right on trail. Great trip Pat. Hope Michigan is going well.

By far the biggest endeavor since last I wrote was finally tackling two of the five northern boundary lakes. There is a valley in my district that runs east west and was randomly placed by the mountain gods…directly along the 49th Parallel which is the line that delineates the border between the United States and Canada.

My friend Matt and I hiked up to the border and then dove directly into a pretty serious bushwhack. I think it was about five hours off trail just schwackin’ around in the berry bushes. You can see Lake Nooney and Lake Wurdeman from a real common trail in Canada. They are amazing lakes. Huh? This picture was taken many years ago and have been excited to down there ever since.
Matt thanks for helping me get these two.. I was impressed with you, those were cold lakes on cold days but we nailed em, huh? Great trip my friend.

By the way there is a jack-o-lantern face in this rock, huh?


Then there were the “worst” two lakes I’ve ever done…Nice distinction, huh?

Upper and Lower Howe Lakes. Two marshes on the western border of the park.
The trip was a good time though. My friend Clay and I headed back there one afternoon. He laughed the whole time cause all I did was lay down in them. I’ll spare you the pictures.They had to get done, but boy it’s moments like that were I can’t believe I opened my big mouth and said this was my goal. Cold water does not bother me, but mucky, muddy, goo does.
…but suck it up Sally and get in the freakin’ lake, huh?

Other than the lakes I dangled my feet off of Angels Wing with my girlfriend.

 

I decided to add the 30 named lakes in Waterton National Park in Alberta to the lakes project. We are Waterton/Glacier International Peace Park. Why not include them.

So, I’ll spare you the details but I drove around Waterton National Park and dipped by body in six lakes in about three hours. They were all either right off the road or just a real short hike. One was right below the Prince of Wales Hotel.

Six is six though, huh?
Best story entailed in this day was that I went swimming in a lake with a moose in it. No one else, just me and the moose swimmin’ in Akamina Lake together.


Just for the record they were Crandel, Akamina, Middle Waterton, Lower Waterton, Linnet, and Maskinonge Lakes.

As I was driving around I had to give way to a little family crossing the street. Does that not look like the Abbey Road album cover?

I hope everyone’s summer went wonderfully. I feel like I was the most blessed guy on the planet. I kept telling visitors that I felt like I won the lottery.

I have a bad habit of bringing the bummer at the end. I would like to dedicate this entry to a guy named Mark. I don’t know his last name, but he was cool and from Oklahoma. He worked out here for a few summers and we hung out and played some great music. He was a good guitarist, and a great guy. He died about a week ago, driving to work in Oregon. Either he fell asleep or his car gave out or something, but he went off the road and died. This park will miss him and he will miss this park. He attacked it in large bites, which is always admirable.

Now, since I’m sure Mark would prefer us happy…

I bring you a picture of a man hurding cattle with a 4 weeler on the side of the road in Babb, MT. Toto, I’m not in Cincinnati any more…

To Mark from Oklahoma…

and…

To Life

Marc

Goat Haunt Lake – Beginning of a New Era

Good evening…how is everyone? I find myself writing these well into the evening. Hope all my word choices are up to par, I’m kind of tired.
In the last week, I finally swam in a new lake. Goat Haunt Lake was #67 swam in out of 168 named lakes. It hangs out on the other side of Goat Haunt Ridge which makes up much of the eastern landscape of Goat Haunt.
 
There is a trail that heads about 800’ in a mile straight up the side of the ridge to an overlook and a wood bench. The trail ends there and to get to this lake my friend and I had to hike off trail about another 1200’ further up the ridge. From there we side stepped along the ridge to a big red saddle that is visible from the head of the lake.


We figured that we could be visible through the scope that hangs out at viewing platform as long as we had something bright on our packs. So, we tied bright orange bandanas to our packs so my girlfriend/coworker could watch us climb the ridge. I’m sure that was pretty interesting to watch us plod along a few thousand feet above the lake level. Even with the scope we were just tiny orange specks.

Once we gained the saddle we had to drop about 800’ down the other side to get to the lake. I’ve certainly been through well worse bushwhacks, but the other side of the ridge was entirely forested, so it was straight through trees and brush for the entire way.


It’s funny, being in situations that most “normal” people would view as completely unacceptable…in a strange way I derive some twisted pleasure from it. No one is forcing us to do this; it’s completely voluntary to thrash through alder bushes well taller than me. It just seems like a very logical thing to do, all in the name of jumping into a 38 degree lake, then turn right back around and do it all backwards.

Some were born to build bridges, others to be kings….I suppose I was sent to spend pleasant days off work becoming entirely more tired and beat up than I was when I got off work.
All in the name of a refreshing dip.
 
And like every other endeavor in life, you tend to find your own like minded weirdo’s. Luckily this place is jam packed with them, so I’m seldom at a loss for goofy people who will assist me in my lake tasks.

The lake was quite pleasant for early season. Things are starting to thaw out pretty good around here, so more of the off trail ideas are becoming possible. I draw the line at having to break ice on a lake to jump in. So, until now most of this has been impossible.

We climbed back through the tree covered ridge to the saddle. I snapped a few photos of the view directly back down at Waterton Lake 2000’ below. It’s so great to get such a wild view of how small Goat Haunt is.

 
They are but specks amongst the behemoths of the northern portion of the park. It was great to see the tour boat in the lake.
Its multi leveled and holds a hundred people or so and it was tiny compared to its surroundings.
Boat on right side of lake about half way down.


We followed our path back down the ridge.

A great start to the lake bid season. I’m happy to have gotten one under my belt.

 
 

So, needless to say…everything is great on my side of things. I hope you are all well, finding your overlooks to be amazing in themselves. Get out there and search them out. Maybe wake up for a good sunrise. No matter where you’re at, it’s more amazing at 4:30am. Some of the most colorful sunsets I’ve ever seen have been in my hometown of Cincinnati and it’s below 1000’ elevation. So, I’ll wrap this up. Maybe go get some sleep. I wish you well. Till next I write, please email me or leave a comment. I would love to hear from you all.

To Life

Marc

 
P.S. My friend Cara’s 30th birthday was the other day. So, since I was not there to wish her well, I will do so via blog. She is actually the one that taught me how to do any of this and what the word blog was in the first place. So, Happy Birthday Cara. Welcome to the rest of your life. Enjoy a picture of Kootenai Peak in where else but Glacier National Park. I hope you have a wonderful day.