By 8:15am generators were on and the campground was loud. Most people rolled off and those who stayed moved to better campsites. My neighbor Timber from Kalispell moved across next to the restroom. Timber has a Montana mustache that curls at the tip and a Montana mountain man gut. They have three generations coming tomorrow. The people I meet by the water source fascinates me.
Breakfast was at 10am, almost out of fuel so the water
took forever to boil. I made it out to
the bus stop at 10:44am. I took the path
behind my site, it led me straight to the road, the amphitheatre and the bus
stop. I looked at the lake water and
noticed there was lake access for swimming.
At the bus stop I met my new neighbor that moved into Evert’s site,
David and Margrite from Colorado with three small dogs. They are a sweet cute couple.
The bus runs at one per hour. The bus driver was a sweet old man. He could play as the perfect Santa Claus in
the winter. The bus went up to Avalanche
then I had to get into another line for a small shuttle up to the loop. This line was long and the shuttle took 12-15
people at a time. I managed to get on
one by racing to it. A tiny young bear
about three feet tall crossed the road and sat on the side and ate. It was very cute.
At the Loop Trail I had the choice of the trail or do the paved
path. I chose the Highline trail. It was quiet.
I saw a snow melt waterfall and dunked my head under it twice. It was hot and my wet hair dried fast. I enjoyed looking at new wild flowers I
haven’t seen before and I didn’t go to the Granit Park Chalet which was covered in snow. People who past me all had skis on them. I was not equipped for the snow trail and I
was out of water. I made it back onto a
shuttle at 2:18pm and I switched at Avalanche Lake for Apgar shuttle. The bus driver only picked up half the
capacity somehow and so the line was slow.
I met others and chatted with them in line about where to hike etc..I
finally made it onto a bus and the A/C was on, I had to put a jacket on and
hoodie.
I had dinner at 4:15pm back in camp and I heard claps
from the amphitheatre at 5:20pm. I saw
the road was packed with cars and people were all heading there. I heard singing and wondered if it was a
church service. I later found out it was
a mass. There is mass everyday at 4pm. Really would have been nice to have gone to
mass. I missed it.
Timber was on his bike with his nine year old Palmarian. Timber invited me to join their fire
tonight. I joined Timber and Meryle
Stevens his wife at their fire. Timber
made a perfect fire, an entire tower of wood of which he chopped with an eight
pound sledge. They were both reading
when I arrived and they put their books down to spend time with me. I learned that the Catholic Mass always occurs and is never advertised but the Sunday Christian service is.
Timber is a Gunsmith. He makes guns and repairs guns. He owns his own shop in Kalispell. Timber’s mom is Japanese and is still alive. His dad was a career military officer. His mom after giving birth to two children adopted two children from Japan, a boy, and a girl. The girl was dropped off by parents at a relative’s place and never came back. The boy was left in front of a door step as a newborn. Post World War II was a difficult and strange time. Timber does all the grilling outdoors. He is diabetic with no prior symptoms. It just sprang up at age 57. He is now 58 years old. Last year in March when he had his physical exam, his blood test came up as a #8 and found aggressive prostate cancer and because it was discovered early, he is alive today.
Meryle has a total of seven siblings, eight children in
her family. She cooks at home. She works with four year olds or preschoolers
at St Mary’s Catholic school. She takes
high blood pressure or blood sugar control pills. She said it makes her get up and pee so it is
better in the morning that she takes the pill than at night. So they love this site next to the
restroom.
When Meryle gave birth to her first son, the nurse wouldn’t hand Timber Jr over because he looked so Japanese. The second son looked Caucasian and can’t tell he is Japanese. Timber Jr is a neat clean perfectionist of which the parents can’t stand. Second son just remarried to a Greek wife and they have a beautiful baby girl. Rex, their dog leans back on two feet to get petted like Rocky my sister toy poodle. Timber said that dogs do that because they trust you.
When Meryle gave birth to her first son, the nurse wouldn’t hand Timber Jr over because he looked so Japanese. The second son looked Caucasian and can’t tell he is Japanese. Timber Jr is a neat clean perfectionist of which the parents can’t stand. Second son just remarried to a Greek wife and they have a beautiful baby girl. Rex, their dog leans back on two feet to get petted like Rocky my sister toy poodle. Timber said that dogs do that because they trust you.
How this couple met.
Timber had his father find him a community college where he can hunt and
fish and be in nature. Kalispell community college had
only been registering students in the second year and his father registered
him, put him on a train and sent him off.
He and his wife met in college.
They got married super young.
They will be celebrating their forty years together next weekend. They had their honeymoon in Glaciers. They are just a very sweet couple. 
Rex was abused by the first owner, locked in the
basement. Second owner was an elderly couple
who had knee replacements and couldn’t walk him so Rex got tied to a leash
outside to go out and then locked in the restroom so they can easily clean up
after him because Rex doesn’t bark or make a fuss, he just stands by the door
and wait for you to notice and if you don’t, he eventually won’t be able to hold
it. Stevens had a dog that died and they
waited a few years for a new one. When
they saw Rex, Rex jumped and licked Timber.
Rex is a good travel companion who goes to work with Timber each
day.
Meryle made a giant s’more. Timber insisted I eat one even though I had
brushed my teeth. He said I could brush
them again. I felt like I was eating the
s’more on Timber’s behalf because he can’t eat them anymore. The marshmellow was perfectly roasted on an
extendable skewer and it melted the chocolate.
I offered green tea, Timber dinks green tea.
We chatted until 11pm.
Meryle’s eyes drooped. Timber
gave me a map of Montana and drew the route to Cascades for me. It was very nice of him. He really wanted to ensure my safety on my
travels. I shall miss them. I miss them already.
Meryle Stevens’ die hard bullet proof Blueberry Recipe
3c fresh/frozen blueberr
1 peel grated apple
Flour/ corn starch
Sugar
butter
