Going-to-the-Sun

This weekend we had an amazing trip to Glacier. We decided to combine our love of Glacier with our Agony Ride training and the result was taking arguably the most spectacular bike ride in the United States.

 

The starting point was at 3500 feet at the Avalanche campgrounds. We left with a friend from our church who didn't know what she was in for but stuck it out and had an amazing ride on her 20 year old Mountain Bike that weighed more then Rebekah and my bikes combined. We ended 14 or so miles later and at about 6000 feet (the whole Going-to-the-Sun road is still not open). The next picture is the view we had from the top of our ride (taken the previous day).

 

It was quite the sight to look back and know that we had started at the bottom of the valley in the right of the picture.


Riding back down was fast and only a little over the speed limit (okay 24%). So we didn't poke our heads up too much for views like this:

 

Agony Ride

As many of you already know I've been blessed to be a part of Christian Encounter Ministries in some way for my whole life. Every year they have a major fund raising event called the Agony Ride where willing victims get sponsors to support them in their effort to ride a bicycle as far as they can in 24-hours. Here is what they have to say about the event:

Christian Encounter Ministries is a domestic mission organization with the unique purpose of discipling and counseling troubled young people. These young people come to CEM with major damage from families, society, and/or their own poor choices. As a domestic mission, we are dependent on the loving generosity of mission-minded ministry partners. Our annual Agony Ride is an opportunity for our partners to participate in this vital mission. Some of our staff and approximately ninety other riders attempt to push their limits by riding as far as they can in 24 hours. The Agony has become more than just a personal challenge; it now stands as a pointed demonstration of Christ's love for our students as well as a witness for Christ in the communities of the Sierra Valley.

Rebekah and I are going to be riding this year (the 25th anniversary of the ride). While it is easy to see the obvious benefit of the ride in raising monetary support for the ministry what isn't obvious is the other ways that the ride supports the ministry. The students that are enrolled in the program are participants in the massive effort that supports the riders and keeps them safe and well fueled. While they are watching they get to see a working picture of the body of Christ, with each member doing their part to supporting those around them.

I'll post some more in the coming weeks about our training for the ride.

Glacier Animal Identification IV

The largest squirrel you will see in Glacier is not the illegally fed Columbian Ground Squirrel. It is instead the largest of North American ground squirrels, the Hoary Marmot.

 

Named for their speckled gray color, the gargantuan rodents enjoy life on the talus slopes.

 

As you can see by how close we took our photos, they are pretty much oblivious to humans. We did not intentionally approach that closely to them, they just popped out of the bushes right in front of us and went about their business. The one in the first two pictures might have been leading us away from its little baby marmot which, because of the mother's great distraction skills, we didn't notice in time to get in the picture.

 

They have a distinctive whistle that can often be heard when hiking near the tree line.

 

While they may not qualify as Rodents of Unusual Size, they are certainly Squirrels of Unusual Size.

More Deer

We went to Glacier again this last weekend and were pleasantly surprised to have Going-to-the-Sun road opened up most of the way for the first time this season while we were there. It was beautiful as usual, but we were unable to get pictures of any newly identified critters. There were a lot of our deer friends sporting their fresh new summer coats.