Cascades, Crazies, and Volcanoes. . .

. . . it was at this point that I took the longest drive of my trip and had some "interesting" experiences along the way. I was driving on some back-road highway in Montana, hoping to reach either Idaho or even washington before I found a place to sleep for the night. The scenery in Montana was amazing--it was a countryside that wound its way through forests and hills which had many lakes dotting the landscape. I was in the middle of nowhere when things got a bit erie. Dusk was soon approaching, but before its arrival a huge windstorm arose, blowing in ominous looking clouds and creating a strange haze that had a dreamlike quality or rather an other-worldly quality. It is hard to describe the scene, but I had to stop just to get out of the car and experience it. I pulled over next to an old barn that was nestled in its own little valley between some of the forested hills. Nothing else, other than nature, could be spotted. The tall, wild grasses danced wildly in the wind, creating interesting patterns as they bowed to and fro. The trees on the hills looked as if they were attempting to stretch their tops to the ground below.
I returned to my car and continued on my journey, arriving in a small town around dusk. According to my map this little town was the largest piece of civilization for hundreds of miles in any direction. I was hungry, tired, and in need of filling up my gas tank when I pulled into the community. The town seemed strange to me for some reason or another, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. When I pulled into the gas station, which had the feeling of abandon, I discovered that I could not pump the gas. A woman came outside and informed me that the power for the entire town was out and that there was no means by which to pump gas here. I would have to travel on to the next town and hope that they had power. As I continued to drive through the town I discovered that even the stop lights were out--there were no back-up generators for anything. It felt as if this were the perfect cliche for a horror movie. . . I just needed to find some little old motel or go wandering through the woods or something. . . well, we all know how those movies go!
I was loving it! The ambiance was as foreign as could be felt in America--circumstance has a funny way of dictating feeling, and this was truly making an adventure for me. As I was driving out of the town, perhaps I mile or two past the outskirts, I drove past a man on the side of the road with a chainsaw. I could not help but laugh hysterically at the sight, all things considered. Never fear, there was no blood strewn across his clothes. . . the man was actually cutting down trees in the wood. It was perfect though.
I arrived at the next town, the power was in tact, so I fueled up and headed on my way. Upon arriving in Idaho I stopped in some town on a river. I was extremely hungry with no food. Everything was closed, but fortunately they had a casino and while the restaurants were closed inside (it was quite late now) there was a little snack shop open for the slot players. I ordered a sandwich, ate, and continued on my way, stopping in some other small town an hour away in Idaho.
The next morning I continued on my way through Washington. Once more, I was taking the lesser traveled highways and I ended up near the Canadian border, passed a forest fire that had just been put out and continued the long trip to North Cascades National Park. I camped that night in some small mountain community just outside the National Park. The next morning I packed up my tent and headed for the mountains. I ended up doing some hiking to a place called pyramid lake. It was a relatively short hike, just a few hours up and back. The North Cascades are a beautiful mountain range, but as far as National Parks are concerned, well, it tells you something that they do not charge anyone to enter and there are no visitors centers. . .
As I drove out of the North Cascades I had to stop at a little roadside shop that was selling homemade ice cream from fresh blueberries and raspberries--it was awesome! After savoring the flavors I continued on toward Seattle. About 40 miles outside the city nature began to call and with a vengeance. I quickly pulled over at a rest stop, entered the bathroom and did my business. As I was sitting on the throne I noticed a little whole that had been cut out of the bottom of the divider. Strange, I thought but didn't much mind it until I thought I saw something shimmering down there. I thought it was awfully low for the toilet paper rack in the next stall to be that low, and I thought to myself, if there is some pervert with a mirror or a camera down there. . . I looked more closely and discovered that it was the rims of some perverts glasses trying to get his jollies through a peep-hole. I was livid! Not desiring to get into a confrontation with my pants down, I acted as if I did not notice, finished my business, and on my way out of the stall (when my pants were back up) I kicked the little peep-hole. I was too disgusted to say anything to this pervert and I looked over my shoulder as I washed and dried my hands, thinking to myself, "If that pervert comes out of that stall while I am here, I am going to kick his @?!" Needless to say, the dirty-old-man (who is actually middle-aged), slowly stood up and peeped over his stall door, saw me looking over my shoulder with the look of death, and sheepishly sat back down. Creepy, crazy pervert! The guy was much bigger than me, but I swear my viking blood was boiling and I would have unleashed a fury that Erik the blood-axe would have been proud of had that fool not sat back down!
I continued on to Seattle and randomly picked a spot to pull off of the freeway in order to get some photographs. I stayed in the city for several hours exploring new spots. Around 10 pm I figured it was time to head out and find a place to stay the night. Mt. Rainier was next on my list and it didn't seem all that far away so I drove there with the intention of finding a camping spot on the mountain (which happens to be a volcano for any of you who are not aware). I arrived at several campgrounds within the National Park, and all were full. Not having a backcountry permit, I couldn't just plop down anywhere in the wilderness, so I drove to the top of the road, arriving around 2 am, and ended up sleeping in my car for the night.
The next morning, I arose and spent the day exploring the mountainside. It was spectacular! A glacier covers the volcano and snow was all about the mountain which dominated everything around it. It made the other mountains that surround it look like little mounds. It was unbelievable! Needless to say, I went wild with my camera taking a number of photos, eating up the hours in this revery before heading on to Olympic National Park. . .

Countdown to Syttende Mai--Fjords

Alright, so the fjords of Norway are not really a part of the "culture" but they certainly are a part of the Norwegian landscape that leaves any visitor to the country in awe of the beauty and splendor that Nature provides us. Anyone who does not take the opportunity to visit the Norwegian fjords at some point in their lifetime is truly missing out on one of the greatest natural wonders of the world. Whether you are hiking above the sea, looking down into the fjord, taking a cruise through the fjord, or enjoying one of the towns beside a fjord, you are bound to be both content and awe-inspired as you absorb the atmosphere of near-perfection. If you love mountains, the sea, forests, waterfalls, small towns, or even large cities, there is a fjord for you to enjoy. Here are some pictures so that you may see of what I am speaking.

Countdown to Syttende Mai

So I was contemplating what I could do on this blog to support and promote Syttende Mai and I thought that on the very day of the celebration I could post a blog celebrating all things Norwegian. Then it occurred to me that I would be spending all day on the 17th blogging--that is not how I want to celebrate the day, so I have decided that I will do a countdown to Syttende Mai. . . or in other words, each day between now and the 17th I will post something in relation to Norway.

I figure that a good place to begin the countdown would be from a journal entry I wrote the very first time I visited Norway. This particular entry was written on July 21, 1999:
". . . I arrived in Narvik [a city in Northern Norway, located about 200 miles above the arctic circle] just a little before 1 p.m. today. I made many notes in my notebook concerning the scenery during the train ride today. I shall share that progression of thought with you now, writing as if at the moment as that is what I did in my notebook.
I feel like a young lad on Christmas morning; each scene by the train window is like a new gift being opened up to my eyes and I sit with eyes fixed in awe and wonder at what next passes by. The purple and gold flowers that line the embankment nearby the railroad tracks is a symbol to me of nature's embroidered nobility here in the north. The forests are as thick as darkness on a long winter night and occasionally open up to a lush meadow or a brilliant lake. I cannot sit but five minutes without passing either another lake or river.
It is a bit overcast today and a great mist or fog lies hunched over the hills and is creeping slowly downward, stretching its fingers through the valleys. The flatlands have turned to hills and hills to mountains and as the train races ever upward I peer down upon a giant lake like a hawk that views a writhing sea of snakes slithering towards the shore.
There is snow to be seen upon the distant mountain peaks. Rocks protrude through the forest's skin and rivers course their way through the land like veins that carry the lifeblood through the earth. Every scene seems to build upon itself, heightening what you feel will soon be the climax only to realize that nature's plot only thickens and increases your love and respect with each passing mile.
Further in the north there are not so many trees. Mountains awake and hills swell and wrinkle through the land. It is very rocky here and small streams and ponds scatter themselves between the hills. Grasses and shrubs surround the rocky hills and mountains which bring about a green and gray jig-saw puzzle. Homes leap across the way from hill to hill, rock to rock, sparsely showered about.
The trees have returned and the train pushes forward on the edge of a rocky cliff. Below in a ravine winds a torrent river and an occasional waterfall cascades down the face into the depths below. There is a stillness and beauty all her own here in the north, untainted by our grotesque human hands. The only movement seen besides the train is nature herself singing and dancing about in her traditional course which she has ever so stalwartly performed throughout the years. Her's is an art that we rarely truly behold and understand.
The train passes above the fjord, peering straight down a cliff into the magnificent waters below. Mountains appear to mirror each other on either side of the sea. It looks as if they were all just one mountain range that the Lord parted and said, "Let there be fjords!" That is the power and majesty that is presented with their sight. I was so excited upon first seeing the fjord. My heart began to pound, my body began to quiver, my mouth stretched forth a smile that could connect the rims of the Grand Canyon, and I felt like I was going to cry. At last, my life long dream of seeing the fjords is a reality, and my ideal dream cannot compare to the real life magnificence that I beheld. . . The mountain peaks soared into the heavens and they appeared to be the gateway to the Celestial Kingdom. If not so, than it is at least a real life Valhalla--home of the gods. . ."