On the road

Usually we do not just drive to see pretty places like Lake McDonald in Glacier Park, Montana (above). We have seen lakes and mountains before. Last year we spent over a week in the Italian and Bavarian Alps and saw plenty of glorious views. This year, while sticking to pinnacles and peaks, we really went to visit the people of Canada and Montana that we had not met yet. While we had to wade knee-deep in tourists lugging cameras and dodge tour buses the size of British Columbia, we still got to meet some of the locals. One thing that helps is that we stay at Bed and Breakfasts and ask to be pointed away from crowds. The people we met and got to know were warm, friendly and down-to-earth folks. They know their land as they like to walk it. They know their history as they are proud of it. They are simple in the best ways possible. We liked them.

And, yes, they live in a lovely area.

Antique lights in Railroad Hotels of the Rockies

McDonald Lake Lodge

The Prince of Wales

The Deer Lodge

The Prince of Wales upper balconies

The Red Buses at Glacier National Park

Marietta's Uncle Dean drove these buses when he was in college 75 years ago. They have been updated, but still a great way to see the park.

Canadian Rockies series

We begin the promised new series on the Rockies: the places, the people and the adventure. Hope you enjoy it.

Johnson Canyon Alberta Canada

Canadian Rockies

Chateau Lake  Louise

To travel is to explore the self

I have learned a good deal about myself while traveling. While focused on what I am seeing and who I am encountering, I go away with an understanding of who I am.

I like me when I travel. Somehow I am more open, tolerant and willing to meet new people. Away from where we call home, we can accept the unkempt musician or the noisy drunk so much easier.

As you make way though hotels where people speak a different language, or you grow to know a Bed and Breakfast owner and her family, your world is more inclusive even as you realize how there are so many experiences common to everyone.

While you are struck by the sameness you also learn to celebrate the uniqueness of others. New friends can be from South Africa or West Virginia -- two places that I find very remote.  When you are in Bellagio or the bayou there a people who mirror back who you are.

We find the world a friendly and generally happy place. We find people mostly kind and caring. Most everyone treats you ethically. These things must be given in order to receive them, however. Yet, they are easy to give if you dust off your cynicism before pulling out your passport.

Bellagio, Lake Como, Italy

Boats in Venice

Italian baptismal founts

So, if you are a teacher you look at schools. If you are an engineer you look at the bridges. If you are a member of the clergy...

Yosemite, California USA

The Irish Republic: Kilkenny

The river from the bridge near the castle

St. Canice (President Obama's relative is buried there.)

An elder will take you on a tour of St. Canice and you will learn about Ireland, farming, the church, the town and his grandchildren!

The castle from the bridge.

(Kilkenny Castle is actually a huge and wonderful manor house.)