by Kat
( Photo Gallery of derelict cabins "protected" by the NPS )
Just down the beach from our cabin in Glacier is a group of derelict buildings. They've been abandoned since October of 1989. There are four small cabins situated around one large, central lodge, several sheds, and a building that must have been a washroom with toilets.
The previous owner decided, for whatever reason, to relinquish the property to the Park Service. The Park Service, in typical fashion, placed the buildings under government "protection" and left them to rot in the extreme Montana heat and cold. Several trees have fallen on the buildings, roofs have caved in, porches have rotted, and god knows what's living in them.
It really is just a damn shame that this property has been so neglected. For a few dollars invested to make these rental cabins, the park could have had another valuable source of income. For just a little time and money, they could have preserved a piece of history. At the least, they could have removed the buildings rather than letting the paint and varnish seep into the lake as they rot. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad they're there because the buildings are beautiful to photograph and fun to explore (even if they're locked so you can't get inside), but it just seems sickly ironic to call something so neglected "protected" by the federal government.
Posted on September 18, 2007 @ 11:10 AM |
2 comments
by Kat
Apologies for the delays in loading the page recently. I'm trying to remember to compress my images more when I save them. I've compressed most of the repeated on-page elements, but once I stop forgetting to compress embedded images, the problem should go away.
Posted on September 12, 2007 @ 3:25 PM |
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by Kat
When last we left you with
Glacier Photos: Part I, Justin and I had just ended our first long day of biking and hiking in the park.
I have no photos of the next day because we spent all of it running wedding-related errands, grocery shopping, and having engagement photos taken.
First, we visited with Mikie of Mikie's Cheesecake out of Kalispell. Mikie makes fabulous wedding cakes comprised of layers of spongecake separated by cheesecake in a multitude of flavors. We talking with Mikie about our ideas for a wedding cake and she shared some photos with us. Because we gave her short notice for the visit, she wasn't able to prepare a sample. But her reputation will suffice-- even our photographer speaks highly of her cakes.
After visiting with Mikie, we went into Kalispell and stopped by Simply Sweet bakery to talk about tartlets. We're planning to have a "small" cake that will serve 45-60 (the smallest Mikie offers) and between 70 and 100 tartlets. That way, guests can choose between traditional wedding cake and a small pie. With three cake flavors and likely two tartlet flavors (cherry and huckleberry?) to pick between, the options multiply exponentially!
We wrapped up our trip into town by grocery shopping for the week and returned to the cabin for our afternoon photo shoot with Nicole Tavenner of
Piknik Studios. Nicole drove to the park from Polson (about an hour and a half away) and we had her to ourselves for the entire evening-- she started shooting at 4pm and we didn't finish until 8:30! Engagement shoots don't *require* that much time, but we were enjoying ourselves and there were so many locations we wanted to visit. I really can't wait to see the results. I'm certain they'll be amazing based on her portfolio, and if all goes well, she'll be our wedding photographer too!
( Day 3 Photos )Tom and Amy arrived late that night. We said a proper hello to them the next morning, and goodbye to Justin's dad, Cathy, her son Rio, and his friend "Gopher." The four of us took it pretty easy and spent the day
hiking up a mostly-dry McDonald Creek,
wading in and out of the cold water, and
swimming when we wanted some icy pain.
(Day 4 Photos )The next morning, we got up early and drove to Many Glacier to climb
Mt. Wynn. Wynn is a fairly low and non-technical peak with a lead-up that is mostly trail, so we figured it would be a good introduction to Glacier climbing for Tom & Amy. They've also never been to Many Glacier before, and I've only been there twice. It's a phenomenally beautiful area and even the 1.5-hour-long drive from Lake McDonald is worth it. Logan Pass is always
prettiest in the morning, from
both sides. And
Lake Saint Mary, well, just has to be seen to be believed.
I especially wanted to visit Many Glacier because it's where I want to marry Justin. I know, realistically, that it might not be possible for us to hold the wedding at Many Glacier Lodge due to park policy, but it's still my dream. I guess I just want to show all my friends and family how much better
this view is in person.
Our hike on Day 4 took us up the
Cracker Lake trail past
Cracker Flats for about 3 miles. The first 1.5 miles, before the trail starts to climb, are unbearably dusty and often smelly due to high horse traffic to the Cracker Flats. Once you turn off the horse-trodden section, the trail is very pleasant. The best part of the trail is the long, flat section on top of a wide, forested ridge. It's very unique terrain.
Climbers leave the beaten path at a log bridge that crosses the creek after it has risen from the gorge far below. The dry creek bed is
good climbing and apparently can be bush-whacked if there's water-- but I wouldn't recommend it. The hike up the creek bed was long and slow, but really over really enjoyable rock. Once we reached the
high alpine meadow where the creek fades, Amy and I crashed and had nap time while Tom and Justin climbed
up the shoulder and
summited Mount Wynn. I like climbing, but sitting in the flowers and
enjoying the view was a nice change for once.
We made record time hiking down and were treated to a beautiful sunset
behind the mountains and
over cracker flats.
It was 8pm when we reached the parking lot and we had to be nearly home by 10pm or risk being barred from the road due to construction closures, so we quickly raided the "grocery" at the lodge for snacks and bolted for the pass. When stopped at the ranger's station to turn in our hike notification (essentially letting them know we weren't dead in the back country), we saw two Bighorn sheep aggressively licking the tires and wheel-wells of a poor SUV in the parking lot, mercilessly clonking their horns against the side panels. Oops, must've driven on a salted road. We made it down in plenty of time and even glimpsed a black bear crossing Going to the Sun on the way home.
I think we ate leftovers (mmm, lasagna) and drank several bottles of wine and tequila before passing out planning for a lazy day. More to come.
Posted on September 10, 2007 @ 9:15 PM |
2 comments
by Kat
The other night it rained. This isn't typical Seattle high-summer weather and it wasn't typical Seattle misty rain. It fell long and hard through the night, but before it did, we were treated to an even rarer treat-- a good, ol' fashioned thunderstorm. Granted, this storm paled in comparison to the regular midwestern weather patterns I grew up with, but it was still pretty. The two of us positioned ourselves atop sundial hill at Gasworks Park and watched the lightning as it passed.
I brought my camera to see what I could capture, but the storm didn't cooperate-- none of the lightning dropped below the clouds. The only picture where I managed to catch any lightning is the one above. Unfortunate, but still a nice evening and I'm sure the plants were very happy.
I also took a
series of photos of our kitty-niece, Phoebe. Rupert's afraid of the 20D's massive "eye" and shutter noise, but Phoebe isn't. She posed very nicely.
Last night, Justin and I went down to Fremont for a few drinks to celebrate because I got a pay raise at work. (Yahoo!) We were originally going to meet some folks from the gym at Nectar, but the reggae show that was playing had a $10 cover, and I didn't need $20 worth of reggae. I mean, shit, don't they make enough of a profit margin off of
drinks? So we chilled at Tost, which had a series of DJs emceeing, several of whom were very good. The bartender, Aleko, makes fabulous drinks, and I think he was pleased that we were asking for something other than vodka and redbull or jaeger bombs.
After we'd drank enough that we loved the world, Justin and I made complete fools of ourselves on the dance floor. I say this only because we were the first ones out and I wanted to see if we could manage to get other people to join us. Surprisingly, it worked. If it didn't cost so much to drink outside of the house, I'd say we'd have to do it more often-- we had a great time and met some interesting people.
Posted on September 08, 2007 @ 7:42 PM |
4 comments
by Kat
Woo! I just edited & uploaded the first batch of Glacier Photos, which includes "Day 0" (driving 10 hrs from Seattle to Glacier, MT) and Day 1 in the park.
( Photos from Glacier Day 0 and Day 1 )We left early enough on Saturday to stop and have lunch with
Justin's friend Jaye in Spokane and still got to the Cabin in time for dinner served by Tim (Justin's dad) and Cathy. As usual, most of
Montana was on fire so the air quality and views were poor, but not as bad as they could have been.
Our first morning in the park, Cathy and I got up early and rode our bikes from the cabin up to the top of Logan Pass. It's a 2500 foot elevation gain (I think) over 21 miles, most of it in the later half. Bikes have to be off the road between 11 am and 4pm, so we started cycling at 7:30 to avoid traffic and make sure we had plenty of time. It took us about 2 1/2 leisurely hours to reach
the top.
I've been up Going to the Sun Road scores of times before, but this was a brand new view. The grade wasn't as steep as I expected, and though the road was rough (and
treacherous) in patches, it was easy enough going that I could take in the
full panoramic view-- much better than anyone can in a car. I took some mobile video as well, which I'll try to edit a bit later.
Once we'd rested and
refueled at the top, we set off hiking. Our goal was the
hanging gardens below the Dragon's Tail and above Hidden Lake. I hadn't been up there since the first year we visited the park, when vertigo forced me off my first summit attempt on Mt. Reynolds. I remember it being pretty strenuous that first year, but in reality it's an easy hike compared to most.
We schlepped over to the garden ledge and promptly plopped down for a hour nap. Justin spent some
QT with his dad and
Cathy and
bouldered some cliffs while
I slept face-down in the grass. After that, we hiked back and drove down from the pass. In retrospect, we could have biked down, but I think we were pretty pooped at that point. Of course, since we were at Logan Pass, we saw all the requisite critters including columbia ground squirrels,
bighorn sheep,
mountain goats,
ptarmigans, and
marmots. Aww, a veritable zoo. The
wildflowers were also particularly beautiful even though they were at their tail end-- this was the earliest we've been up there in years.
Also interesting and notable: as of this year, there are free shuttles to and from all major areas of the part several times an hour. This is to help cut down on traffic and increase park use. Surprisingly, there still seem to be a huge number of people using the pay-service red bus tours. There were
13 of them at one time in the Logan Pass parking lot... I've never seen so many!
That's all for now. Days two (photo-free) and three will be posted soon.
Posted on September 06, 2007 @ 11:02 PM |
0 comments
by Kat
Holy crap. I'm going to Japan in October.
This has been in the works for a good long while now, somewhere between absolute fantasy and completely taken-for-granted reality, but I've been loathe to mention it because it's oscillated so quickly between the two that I haven't been sure which it is.
As of tonights I have tickets to Tokyo for two weeks in Nihon-- likely spent between my "hometown" and Kyoto, where my dad's conference is. So yes, dad will be there, as will my mom and my sister, Eleanor, for one week of the two.
I don't really have the money for this trip. I will have to take unpaid time. I feel a little reckless and foolhardy doing it. But hey, when opportunity knocks...
More later.
Posted on September 05, 2007 @ 12:11 AM |
0 comments
by Justin
Because I still haven't landed a job yet I have the dubious task of finding something to do with my days until school resumes late September. One can only go to the gym so often so I've made it a point to visit my good friend
Monk since we tend to not see each other at all when our schedules are in full swing. So last week Monk and I indulged ourselves by going downtown for a late afternoon showing of the new Halloween movie. It's by Rob Zombie and is a retelling of the first Halloween movie. Its new take largely focuses on looking at Michael Myers' childhood. It was a fun movie and Monk and I got some good laughs out of Rob Zombie's hat tips to iconic horror legends. I think though that for me the movie was a bit creepier than for anyone else in the theater.
Why did I think it was creepy? I think it was creepy because of the time spent in the killer's childhood. I think it was creepy because, as you might remember, I spent a quarter working inpatient psychiatry with kids. I think it was creepy because I young Michael Myers reminded me of half my case load during that quarter. I'm not saying that I think those kids are going to grow up and become killers. What I am saying is that the sweet innocent face, the baby voice, the submissive demeanor...just like in the movie I've seen them disappear in a heartbeat. Suddenly the kid you were just watching is gone and has been replaced with a screaming, thrashing, scary faced monster that wasn't anywhere to be seen ten seconds ago. I wouldn't go so far as to say the movie was clinically accurate on all counts...but it certainly brought back some memories. And should you find yourself watching Halloween don't think for a second that kids don't really change. They change. Just. Like. That. At least the troubled ones do. Don't think for a second that an adult guard would have no problem subduing a 12 year-old.
Pause for the melodrama...yeah it was a creepy movie, but only because the kids I've seen off screen were just like the one playing in the theater.
Posted on September 04, 2007 @ 7:44 PM |
0 comments
by Kat
Okay, first things first. I'm in the middle of RFP season at the office, which means I have to prepare a large amount of very long, technically oriented proposals and I'm swamped, hence the lack of updates. Somehow spending 1+ of my 3 free evening hours working on photos and the blog seems much less appealing than it used to. I blame Netflix. I haven't yet edited all the photos from this year's Glacier trip, but I have pared it down to 300 shots and I'll take some time to get them all glammed up when I'm free from my latest project at work.
The second order of business is that we are taking care of a sweet baby kitty! My sister,
Liz, has gone to Cuba for three months on a college exchange. While she's there we're fostering her 4-month-old kitten, Phoebe Valentine.
( More Kitties! )We picked up Phoebe from Portland last weekend, on our way back from Eugene
visiting llamas. After a very cuddly car ride home, we introduced her to Rupert. He was very unsure how to feel about her at first, most likely because he's never been around very young cats. We separated them for the first night (after letting them get acquainted until 2:30 am) but they've been sharing the house ever since.
Phoebe has boundless energy and has practically ignored us since she set eyes on Rupert. She spends half of her day playing with him (typically high-speed chases, covert attacks, and
wrestling matches. She's only had one major snafu, which involved tipping over a plant and going to the bathroom in the dirt, but I think that was my fault for moving her litter box.
It's been a week since they've been introduced and despite tussling fairly often, I think they've really taken to each other. We didn't quite know how to interpret their monkey-wrapping at first, but after consulting the internet, asking other cat owners, and observing them (usually to our immense amusement), we've pretty much concluded that they're just playing. There's no hissing, spitting, or yowling. Neither of them draws blood or gets hurt. They change roles and separate easily, and when they're not excited they go about their business as normal. I wish I could get them to cuddle or groom together, but I'm sure that's way too much to ask for only having a week together. We've got another three months to see how this relationship evolves.
Lastly, this weekend was my friend Sara's Bachelorette party. All of the ladies met up in Portland for a night of drinking, dancing, and debauchery (the three D's!).
( See the Action! The Excitement! )We ate pizza dinner at American Dream Pizza in NE Portland, then got dolled up at home base for the Hawaiian drag revue at Ember's Club (near Hung Far Low in China Town). We rode the bus over there, which resulted in much hilarity. The queens were fabulous, our waiter was a mirror image of the hotness that was pre-crazy Tom Cruise, and we had a great time dancing in the adjoining club. Most of the night we all satisfied our attention-seeking behavior by dancing on the stage-- though Rachel and I were disappointed to find out that they only let one person in the cage at a time.
We capped off the evening to a trip to Voodoo Donuts, which was impressively busy at 2am. I'm not a donut fan, but that place is pretty rad. I attempted to give Sara a drunken piggyback ride, which resulted in me falling on my ass and some passerby dude commenting, "I like how you're all shiny." Thanks for the hand up, fella.
A bunch of us crashed on the floor of Sara's friend Laura's house, a la middle-school sleepover and woke Sunday morning for leisurely breakfast. Sara decided she wanted to get a tattoo, so that became our quest for the day. All of us ended up at Forbidden Body Art (ooh, how dark and foreboding) where Sara had the tattoo artists place the
symbol of the Unitarian Universalist church on her lower back. And, because I've wanted it for a while,
I got the outline of of a llama tattooed on my left buttock.
I know that sounds odd, and I'll explain it if it requires clarification. I really, really enjoyed getting the tattoo and I understand now why it's so addictive-- the endorphin rush was mind-blowing. I decided just to get the outline for the sake of time and lack of planning, but I will be getting it filled in sometime soon. With what exactly, it remains to be seen, but probably a pattern reminisce of
kimono silk. I'm also going to get a kamon on my ankle at some point, but I haven't decided which one, or whether I will design my own.
This image directory holds a sampling of my favorites.Afterwards, Sara (and to some extent I) was in need of serious aftercare, so we all headed to the
Kennedy School, an old school owned and renovated by McMenamins. I had no idea this place existed, but I'm pretty sure I want to live there. It's... just... unlike anything else. They have a soaking pool! And hotel rooms! And a theatre with couches! And four bars! And a restaurant! Jesus!
After we had some low-level cognitive function back, it was time to end the party and head home. It's really, really rare for us ladies to get together. But, I definitely agree with
Rachel when she says we need to do it more often. And Portland is the perfect place for us to get away!
Thanks, everyone, for an awesome weekend. :-)
Posted on September 03, 2007 @ 7:03 PM |
4 comments
Kyle, at
6:13 PM, September 24, 2007
, at
8:06 PM, October 01, 2007
