Hey all, after a couple of weeks back from my vacation, I'm finally collected enough to post pictures and give an overview.

First, here's a link to my flickr page with all my pictures.

Overall, the trip was great. I took an Amtrak train from Chicago to East Glacier, Montana. It was about a 30 hour ride, and it was quite enjoyable. I saw a lot of the country I hadn't seen before, and I got some good pictures shooting out the window.

My first day in Glacier I took a tour with the Going to the Sun tour company, a tour company run by the blackfeet tribe. After that, I took hikes to Cobalt lake (which almost killed this flatlander, who forgot to factor in elevation to his hiking plans), St. Mary Lake, St. Mary falls, Virginia falls, Twin Falls, Two Medicine lake, and got a good amount of relaxing and thinking in as well. I saw or hiked along Sinopah Mountain, Rising Wolf Mountain, Triple Divide peak, one of the few places in the world where water will eventually flow to three different oceans. I met some really cool people, and really relaxed.

After Glacier, I headed to Spokane Washington to visit a friend from seminary. What I had not counted on was catching giardia, or beaver fever, which made for an uncomfortable train ride. But, one visit to the nearest Emergency Room and a full day of sleep later, I was doing alright. We drove out to a retreat center in Idaho, and just hung out.

It was a great vacation, and it helped me focus on what I'd like to do next. I'd like to work at a retreat center, either as director, or in operations. It is a good melding of my seminary training, my natural inclinations, and my current work. So, the next couple months are going to be spent looking into job possibilities.

Glacier Park was a wonderful place, and somewhere I intend to visit again soon.