Glacier National Park’s Going-to-the-Sun Road

On By pigtailsandpuppydogtailsIn Out & AboutLeave a comment

Our quick two-day stay at Glacier ended way to quickly. We were to arrive in the Seattle area before nightfall and had a good 9-10 hour drive ahead of us. First though, we were leaving the park via a sensational, awe-inspiring drive. One of the most famous mountain roads in the United States is Glacier National Park’s Going-to-the-Sun Road. This 50 mile road crosses the Continental Divide and spans the park from east to west. Construction of the road began in 1921 and was completed 11 years later. It was an engineering feat. It is the first to be registered in National Historic Places, National Historic Landmarks, and Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks. 

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Rising Sun Campground and Many Lake Hotel in Glacier National Park

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We were one of the lucky ones, who arrived before 6:30 in the morning, to grab a campsite as soon as the current camper decided to break camp and leave for their next destination. It was a beautiful site, in Rising Sun Campground, that nestled up to a steep granite wall with clinging shrubs and crisscrossing paths from the bears traveling berry bush to berry bush. Encircling our campsite was a thicket of thimbleberry bushes providing a nice hedge of privacy as well as tasty berry treats for snacking and on top of yogurt. All of these ripe berries are what brought the bears into camp early in the morning and later as the sun set. 

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Glacier National Park & Happy 100th Birthday National Park Service!

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August 25th is the 100th birthday of the National Park Service. In 1916, Woodrow Wilson established the National Park Service by signing the Organic Act into law. The purpose was to, “conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.”

What better way to celebrate than by looking at a true treasure and one of our nations most beautiful national parks, Glacier National Park. In 1910, President Taft signed the bill creating Glacier the 10th National Park. In 1932, Waterton Lakes National Parks in Canada and Glacier National Park were joined together and named the Waterton-Glacier  International Peace Park. In 1995 it was designated the first World Heritage Site. We were fortunate to be able to visit there this summer for two short days. It is a spectacular park with towering rugged mountains, sparkling turquoise lakes, thick green forests, beautiful vanishing glaciers, colorful alpine flowers and home to the big eight of wild mammals – grizzly bears, black bears, mountain lions, wolves, wolverine, mountain sheep, moose and mountain goats.

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Trail-Mix & My Hiking Buddy

On By pigtailsandpuppydogtailsIn RecipesLeave a comment

One of my all time favorite things to do, is to go hiking. If I get to go hiking in the mountains, that’s even better. 

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And if I get to take my furry hiking buddy with me, then life is just about perfect. Whenever I go on a longer hike, I make sure that I take my hiking poles, my camera, I wear my hiking boots and pack a snack for both me and my buddy. 

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Peeling Fresh Peaches the Easy Way!

On By pigtailsandpuppydogtailsIn RecipesLeave a comment

There’s nothing better than a ripe peach. My favorite way to eat it is just the way it comes, right off a tree. Sometimes though, you need a peeled peach for a recipe.

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There is a super easy way to peel fresh peaches. It takes only seconds to do! First you need to put water into a large saucepan and bring it to a boil. Using a spoon, gently lower a peach into the water. Don’t drop it! You will splash boiling water on you and bruise the peach!

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Mexican Kale Salad

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Do you have your garden overflowing with ripe veggies right now? Me too! I have a healthy, scrumptious, bursting-with-flavor kale salad that I’m betting will become a favorite for you to use up those nutritious vegetables. It is for me. 

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The thing that takes the most time when making this kale salad is chopping up the healthy ingredients. My all time favorite utensil for doing this is my Chop Wizard. I have the one with two trays. One that cuts larger cubes and the smaller one that cuts very small cubes or strips. For the red pepper and onions, I used the larger slicer. Core, quarter, and remove the seeds and ribs on the red pepper. One at a time, put the pepper quarter on the slicer and lower the lid pushing the pepper against the blades on the slicer cutting it into nice cubes. For the onion, peel off the skin, cut into slices,  put a slice on the tray and press the lid down again. It can’t get any easier and quicker than that!

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Happy Birthday to our Dogs!

On By pigtailsandpuppydogtailsIn Furry FriendsLeave a comment

Do you celebrate your dog’s birthday? We do. They’re really important members of our family so we couldn’t skip this celebration of their lives. Of our three dogs, two had birthdays in May. Heidi, our rescued puppy-mill Shih Tzu, turned 7 on May 4th and Charlie, our rescued Golden Retriever, turned 10 on May 29th. We will be celebrating Abby, our American Cocker Spaniel on August 3rd. 

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Springtime is Blooming Everywhere!

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As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “The Earth laughs in flowers.” This spring, it is definitely having a good belly-laugh ! Each day, something new begins blooming.

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Besides the springtime flowers making remarkable growth, the weeds are, too. This milkweed in the above picture is testament to that fact. Actually, I always leave a generous spattering of milkweed in the garden for the monarch caterpillars to eat and on which to lay their eggs. 

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