Glacier National Park: The Slide Show

                                                                

Rocky Mountain High

Date of events depicted: 14 August 2011

Two Crazy Chicks Productions, in association with WorldWild PhotoGraphics and What Am I Going to Tell Your Mother? Productions, is proud to present episode 2 of The Adventures of Yumiko and Eden in Glacier National Park…  

“Is there some sort of medication you need to bring with you on the raft?” Ross eyes Eden closely as she attempts to buckle her life vest with shaking hands.

“Nope,” Eden assures the guide. “Just had a bit too much caffeine.” She bounces on her toes. “Yup, yup. A bit too much caffeine.”

Ross looks doubtful. “You’re sure you don’t need medication?” he asks, tightening the vest. “You’re as jumpy as I’ve ever seen anyone.”

“Okaaay, I’ve had waaaay too much caffeine. But no worries.  No worries. It should wear off soon.”

It has been hours since our intrepid heroines, up since before dawn in search of owls, stopped at a small, crowded café near Glacier National Park’s east entrance for a much-needed cup of coffee and breakfast.

But Eden did not limit herself to one cup – in a disturbing demonstration of lack of common sense, she imbibed three – and for someone of her temperament and constitution that has serious and long-lasting consequences. Among them, apparently, is giving strangers the impression that she has some sort of grave medical condition.

As Yumiko, Eden, and their fellow adventurers negotiate the rapids of the wild and scenic Middle Fork of the Flathead River, the icy water washes away the lingering effects of Eden’s excess consumption.

On the stretches of flat water, conversation flows easily among the rafters, who swap advice and suggestions regarding what to see and do in the area.

Yumiko and Eden enthusiastically endorse hiking the Hidden Overlook Trail. Still partially snow-covered even this late in the season, it boasts stunning views of the glacier-carved landscape and opportunities for close encounters with wildlife. Just the day before, our fearless females came within feet of mountain goats, marmots, and ground squirrels while bighorn sheep grazed in the valley below.

Ross guides the raft to the pull out and points to a short blue bus. “Hop on.”

The ride back is not a long one, but there is time enough for the group to serenade Eden with a rousing round of “Happy Birthday” and for a one-question trivia contest, which Eden wins. Food allergies, unfortunately, mean she can only watch enviously as Yumiko collects and eats the prize: a double scoop of delicious locally-made huckleberry ice cream in a waffle cone.

In the golden light of afternoon, our dynamic duo drives the rough roads of the remote and uncrowded North Fork Valley to the tiny community of Polebridge, where, according to Ross, they will find some of the best food around at the town’s only bar.

The Northern Lights Saloon, with its five tables and six barstools and frontier feel, doesn’t disappoint. The food is outstanding and, Eden discovers, the drinks strong. Yumiko, on antibiotics, can only watch enviously as Eden downs a celebratory Jack & Coke.

“Yup, yup,” Eden says, finishing her elk burger (no bun) and handing over the car keys. “I’ve had bit too much to drink. But no worries. It should wear off soon.”

The memories of her 40^th birthday weekend, however, will stay with her for a very long time.

© Eden Feuer

The Bear Essentials

Two Crazy Chicks Productions, in association with WorldWild PhotoGraphics and What Am I Going to Tell Your Mother? Productions, is proud to present episode 1 of The Adventures of Yumiko and Eden in Glacier National Park…

“Swiftcurrent Pass is posted for bears. Actually, grizzlies have been seen recently on all of the area’s trails,” the ranger reports. “Two are completely closed due to bear activity.”

“I’ll understand if you’d rather not hike,” Eden says to Yumiko.

Yumiko deliberates for a long moment. “No. It’s okay. We’ll just have to do as the Park Service recommends and be sure to make a lot of noise.”

Our intrepid heroines, on high alert as they set out, can’t help but recall the hike they took not far from here 15 years ago.

On that fine summer’s day, as they were nearing the end of their 9-mile trek on the spectacular Iceberg Lake Trail, a loud roar made their feet and hearts come to a complete standstill.

“There’s something big in the bushes.”

“No shit,” Eden muttered as a huge grizzly sow and her two cubs came crashing onto the trail. “Don’t run, Miko!”

The mama bear stared long and hard at the two humans – as if they were lunch on legs – before abruptly turning and leading her cubs down the mountainside.

At the time, our dynamic duo sighed with relief and high-tailed it the remaining half-mile to the parking lot.

It was their first close encounter with Ursus arctos horribilis.

They have not gone far on the Swiftcurrent Pass Trail when Yumiko, walking a few paces behind Eden, lets out a shriek.

Bear! Eden’s adrenaline spikes. She spins around, looking for the grizzly.

But Yumiko is staring at the ground. At a snake.

“A snake?” Eden hisses as it slithers off. “Seriously? A snake? For heaven’s sake, Miko, you gave me a coronary!”

“It startled me.”

When their breathing returns to some semblance of normal, Yumiko and Eden resume their hike to Redrock Falls, clapping their hands and calling out “Hey, bear!” But that gets boring after a while, so Eden begins singing.

“One hundred bottles of beer on the wall. One hundred bottles of beer. If one of the bottles should happen to faaaalllll... ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall!”

Though Yumiko (not having grown up in the U.S.) is unfamiliar with the song’s challenging and complicated lyrics, it does not take her long to master them.

The trail meanders through shaded woods and over a stream, past shimmering lakes and rugged peaks. The air is fresh and clean and in the big sky above clouds ride the wind, hinting at rain to come.

Our fearless females DO see bears – a mother and her two cubs – but the grizzly family is high on the mountainside across Fishercap Lake.

“Well,” Eden says with some satisfaction as they step off the trail, “we made it back safely. Probably because my singing is... unbearable!”

© Eden Feuer

Photo of the Week: Eastern Grey Kangaroo

                                                  

Date taken: April 9, 2003

Location: Wilsons Promontory National Park, Victoria, Australia

Camera: EOS Elan IIE with 28-105mm lens

Film: E200 @ ISO 400

Photo of the Week: Harbor Seal 2

                                   

Date taken: July 31, 2011
Location: Monterey Bay, California
Camera: Canon EOS 20D with 100-400mm telephoto zoom

Photo of the Week: Harbor Seal

                                               

Date taken: July 31, 2011
Location: Monterey Bay, California
Camera: EOS 20D with 100-400mm telephoto zoom

Photo of the Week: Young Hyena

                                           

Date taken: July 8, 2005
Location: Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya
Camera: EOS 20D with 100-400mm telephoto zoom

Photo of the Week: Sandhill Cranes at Dawn

                             

Date taken: November 24, 2001

Location: Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico

Camera: EOS Elan IIE with 100-400mm telephoto zoom

Film: E100SW @ ISO 200

Photo of the Week: Topi

                                                    

 

Date taken: July 8, 2005

Location: Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya

Camera: EOS 20D with 100-400mm telephoto zoom

Photo of the Week: Burrowing Owl

                                 

Date taken: April 14, 2002
Location: near Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge, California
Camera: EOS Elan IIE with 100-400mm telephoto zoom
Film: Ektachrome 100SW @ ISO 200

Photo of the Week: Great Blue Heron

                     

Date taken: November 22, 2001

Location: Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico

Camera: EOS Elan IIE with 100-400mm telephoto zoom

Film: Ektachrome 100SW @ ISO 200

Photo of the Week: Glacier (Aerial View)

Date taken: June 30, 2001

Location: Northwestern British Columbia, Canada

Camera: EOS Elan IIE with 28-135mm telephoto zoom

Film: Ektachrome 100SW @ ISO  200

Photo of the Week: Brown Bear with Salmon

 

Date taken: July 13, 2004

Location: Brooks Falls, Katmai National Park, Alaska

Camera: EOS Elan IIE with 100-400mm telephoto zoom

Film: Ektachrome 100SW @ ISO  200

Photo of the Week: 3 Brown Bear Cubs

Date taken: July 13, 2004

Location: Brooks Falls, Katmai National Park, Alaska

Camera: EOS Elan IIE with 100-400mm telephoto zoom

Film: Ektachrome 100SW @ ISO  200

Costa Rica: The Slideshow

Welcome to the Hotel California

Date of events depicted: 13 February - 15 February 2011

Two Crazy Chicks Productions, in association with WorldWild PhotoGraphics and What Am I Going to Tell Your Mother? Productions, is proud to present episode 7 of The Adventures of Yumiko and Eden in Costa Rica…

The telltale sound of buzzing causes Eden to look up from the computer. “Oh, for God’s sake, not another one!” she grumbles, thoroughly exasperated. Already she has escorted a number of bees out of room 30. She is tempted to ask for another room, but she and Yumiko have already moved twice.

The first time, it was not because of the bee in the bathroom that welcomed them to the Hotel California (our intrepid heroines were quite unfazed and merely arranged for their unwanted guest’s immediate removal); rather, the manager wanted them to have an ocean view. But two cold showers later, Yumiko announced, “Hot water is more important than an ocean view.” And so the dynamic duo moved back into their original digs following a hike in Manuel Antonio National Park.

Known for its lush rainforest, beautiful beaches, and abundant wildlife, the tiny park (only 682 hectares) is enormously popular among both tourists and Ticos. Despite the crowds of people thronging the Perezoso Trail, Yumiko and Eden saw two-toed sloth, three-toed sloth, basilisk, golden orb weaver, black iguana, lesser white-lined bat, yellow-crowned night-heron, charming hummingbird, blue morpho butterfly, howler monkey, and the iconic red-eyed tree frog.

Eden does some research into bees and concludes that the visitors to room 30 are diurnal. As long as they only hang about during the day, she decides, then there’s no real cause for concern.

Thus, she and Yumiko are not happy when one makes an appearance after 10:00 p.m. It buzzes angrily around the ceiling fan.

“How the heck am I supposed to get it out of here? It’s nowhere near a door.”

At Yumiko’s suggestion, Eden lures it out the balcony’s glass doors by turning off the room lights and turning on the exterior light.

“Now I’m going to stay awake all night worrying that more will come in.”

“Leave the balcony light on so any stray bees will be attracted to it.”

Our intrepid heroines drift into an uneasy sleep only to be wakened in the wee hours by the telltale sound of loud buzzing.

“You have got to be kidding me!” Listening intently, Eden rolls out of bed and cautiously searches for the intruder. There is no sign of it.

“All right, where are you, you little…” She glances through the glass doors and is momentarily rendered speechless. For there, just outside the room, is an entire swarm.

It’s not exactly what our intrepid heroines had in mind when they decided to travel to Costa Rica to find out what all the buzz is about. Even so, their two weeks there have convinced them that this country really is the bee’s knees.

© Eden Feuer

Touch My Monkey*

Date of events depicted: 12 February 2011

Two Crazy Chicks Productions, in association with WorldWild PhotoGraphics and What Am I Going to Tell Your Mother? Productions, is proud to present episode 6 of The Adventures of Yumiko and Eden in Costa Rica…

White-faced monkeys surround the boat. Clearly curious, they leap from branch to branch, screeching excitedly. One scampers noisily across the roof, stopping to peer over the edge. Another clambers onto the side, reaches for Eden’s extended hand, and attempts to pry open her clenched fingers.

Eden is thrilled. "I've hugged a shark, kissed a giraffe - and let me tell you, that's a lot of tongue for a first date - and now I've touched a monkey!"

Wordlessly, Yumiko hands her a disinfectant wipe.

Our intrepid heroines are deep in the mangrove-lined estuaries of Damas Island. Black iguanas and crocodiles bask in the sun, bare-throated tiger-herons hunt in the shallows, and green kingfishers plunge headfirst into the water in search of prey while a silky anteater (the world’s smallest species of anteater) sleeps curled up high in a tree.

Yumiko and Eden are still marveling over the wonders of that distinctive ecosystem as they take a sunset stroll along Manuel Antonio’s crowded main beach. They revel in the cool ocean breeze and the tangy smell of salt in the air.

“Excusez-nous. Did you ever find your monkey?”

It is the young French couple Eden encountered in Tortuguero.

“Yes. And today I touched one. Now I am as happy as a little girl.”

© Eden Feuer

*For those readers who are not familiar with Saturday Night Live 1989-1993, the title of this episode is a reference to the Mike Myers sketch Sprockets. A clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jc7lPwfQAKk

Blazing Saddles

Date of events depicted: 10 February 2011

Two Crazy Chicks Productions, in association with WorldWild PhotoGraphics and What Am I Going to Tell Your Mother? Productions, is proud to present episode 5 of The Adventures of Yumiko and Eden in Costa Rica...

"On a scale of one to ten, Miko, ten being metaphysically on the verge of death, you are currently at a...?"

Yumiko considers the question for a long moment. "Seven and a half."

"Only seven and a half?" Eden asks, eyeing her critically. Yumiko is sweating profusely - they both are in the scorching midday heat - and panting, but her face is not that delightful shade Eden has dubbed I'm-about-to-pass-out red.

Our intrepid heroines are hiking in Rincón de la Vieja National Park. The trail climbs and drops through dry forest, moist forest, and transitional savannah.

They stop in the welcome shade of a strangler fig to drink some water. Though Eden is acutely aware that they are running out of time, she doesn't want to push Yumiko to the point of collapse.

She wishes that they didn't have to hurry, that they could have spent another fifteen minutes with the curious white-faced monkeys they encountered earlier, that they could have taken a refreshing swim in Blue Lake with its scenic waterfall, that now they could go slow enough to look for birds and study the flowers and let Yumiko catch her breath. But our dynamic duo worries that Freddie, their driver, is already preparing a search party.

Yumiko is at a nine and a half by the time she and Eden reach the trailhead, where Freddie greets them enthusiastically and ushers them into the waiting van for the bumpy ride back to the lodge.

While Yumiko is recovering in the back seat, Eden discovers that Freddie is an avid fan of 80s American pop music. He hands her his phone, which doubles as an MP3 player, and soon they are singing along to Starship's "We Built This City" and Samantha Fox's enduring classic "Touch Me."

"Phew! With the way we stink, nobody's gonna wanna touch us," Eden remarks once she and Yumiko return to their room. "But since we already reek, how 'bout we go horseback riding?"

Their guide is a wiry, deeply-tanned, non-English- speaking caballero named Jimmy. He points out the volcano in the distance as he leads them along dusty cattle paths to the Río Colorado. They dismount to soak their sore feet and skip stones in the cool water before beginning the return trip.

"¿Galope?" Jimmy asks.

"Lucky we have a good chiropractor," Eden calls out to Yumiko.

And they ride off into the sunset.

© Eden Feuer

Related links: Q Chiropractic 

The Heat of the Moment

Date of events depicted: 7 February – 9 February 2011

Two Crazy Chicks Productions, in association with WorldWild PhotoGraphics and What Am I Going to Tell Your Mother? Productions, is proud to present episode 4 of The Adventures of Yumiko and Eden in Costa Rica…

“Time for another ‘Costa Rican massage,’” Yumiko comments as she and Eden climb into the Interbus van and brace for a bone-jarring, teeth-rattling ride on one of the country’s infamous back roads.

“Lucky we have a good chiropractor back at home.”

Our intrepid heroines are sorry to be leaving the lush, cool mountain community of Monteverde. There they spent an afternoon strolling the hanging bridges, taking in the cloud forest from canopy level and spotting a male resplendent quetzal and a purple-throated mountain- gem. An entire morning was devoted to birding with an expert guide and Eden got fabulous shots of emerald toucanet. A night hike yielded sightings of orange- kneed tarantula, agouti, raccoon, coati, possum, and olingo.

“It’s hot,” Yumiko observes hours later upon arrival in Curubandé.

“‘Hot’ is an understatement,” Eden mutters testily. “It’s freakin’ sweltering.”

Laden with their luggage, Yumiko and Eden trudge to their room, conveniently located halfway across the lodge’s sprawling property.

Eden drops the backpacks and inspects their quarters. “Oh, goody, visitors of the six-legged variety. No walking around our ‘charmingly rustic’ accommodations in bare feet, okay?”

Though heat, humidity, and fatigue – the result of too many mornings waking well before dawn – aren’t doing much for Yumiko’s disposition either, she says, “At least there’s air conditioning.”

“Thank God. Let’s take advantage of it. Even if we were so inclined, we got here too late to do anything fun anyway.”

Sapped of energy and motivation, our fearless females collapse on the bed and sprawl there listlessly.

A brief nap is all it takes to revive their sense of adventure.

"I'm restless."

"I'm thirsty."

There's one obvious solution to both those problems. And so our intrepid heroines head straight for the bar.

 © Eden Feuer

Related links: Interbus, Q Chiropractic,  Hanging Bridges, Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve

Getting Into Hot Water

Date of events depicted: 6 February 2011

Two Crazy Chicks Productions, in association with WorldWild PhotoGraphics and What Am I Going to Tell Your Mother? Productions, is proud to present episode 3 of The Adventures of Yumiko and Eden in Costa Rica…

“Let’s do this!” Eden says, tightening the chinstrap of her yellow helmet and tugging on a soaked pair of leather gloves.

She and a guide are standing on a platform at the top of a 220-foot waterfall, preparing for the fourth and final rappel of the day.

The guide locks the carabiner and checks the rope, then allows Eden to back off the platform and hang suspended far above the canyon floor. “You want to go fast?”

“Yep."

“Then this time don’t try to control your descent. Enjoy the ride!”

Eden lets go of the rope, spreads her arms wide, and hurtles down the line. The cheers and whooping of her fellow adventurers echo off the rock walls.

For a moment, Eden wishes that Yumiko’s voice were among them. But Yumiko is at the luxurious Tabacón Grand Spa Thermal Resort, enjoying a long-awaited, well-earned, and much-needed “spa day.”

It’s unusual – practically unheard of – for our intrepid heroines to go their separate ways while traveling. But down-climbing, rappelling, hiking, and swimming her way through a narrow river canyon didn’t appeal to Yumiko. And Eden freaked out at the idea of spending hours relaxing and soaking in the hot springs for which the Arenal/La Fortuna area is famous.

Our dynamic duo meets back at the hotel at 3:00 and has just enough time to change and grab their gear before they are picked up for the afternoon’s activity: a sunset hike near Volcán Arenal, Costa Rica’s most active volcano.

They learn about the 1968 eruption that buried the town of Tabacón and add bronze-tailed plumeleteer to their life list, but they return to the mini-bus thwarted in their quest to see lava glowing red in the night.

In an effort to ease the pain of disappointment, the guides pour copious quantities of Liquid Lava, a potent combination of guaro (a locally-produced, clear, 60-proof liquor made of sugar cane) and tropical fruit punch.

Soon almost everyone on the mini-bus is drunk. Really drunk.

Eden and Yumiko are not among the inebriated and they watch their companions’ sloppy antics with amusement until the bus drops them off in front of Tabacón.

Our intrepid heroines make their way to Yumiko’s favorite pool (for, of course, earlier she had checked out the entire property and weighed the merits of each and every one). The rising steam is illuminated by the slim crescent of the waxing moon. The muted roar of the waterfall drowns out any other sounds.

It’s not the kind of hot water in which Eden usually finds herself when she travels – and for that, both she and Yumiko are grateful.

© Eden Feuer

Related links: Desafio Adventure Company, Tabacón Grand Spa Thermal Resort

Monkeying Around

Date of events depicted: 3 February – 4 February 2011

Two Crazy Chicks Productions, in association with WorldWild PhotoGraphics and What Am I Going to Tell Your Mother? Productions, is proud to present episode 2 of The Adventures of Yumiko and Eden in Costa Rica…

“Have you seen my monkey?”

The young French couple Eden has accosted looks suitably startled and plenty perplexed.

“This place is a maze. How the heck am I supposed to find that monkey?”

Adjusting her photo backpack, Eden hurries along the path in search of the location where a few minutes prior she had spied a howler monkey snoozing in a tree. The air is steamy following a sudden brief tropical downpour and the sweat is making its way down her face in rivulets.

Miko would be able to find it. Where the heck is she when I need her? She has a sense of direction. I, on the other hand, have trouble finding my way out of a department store.

“Excuse me. Have you seen my monkey?”

So intent is she on finding her monkey that she doesn’t even stop to admire the huge iguana sunning itself or the collared araçaris flying overhead.

Eden halts and surveys the area. “I thought it was right here,” she mutters. She is on the verge of giving up and heading to the room – assuming she can find her way back – when she sees the howler foraging in the foliage.

It is amazing how much wildlife hangs out on the grounds of the lodge, so our intrepid heroines anticipate that they will see even more when they explore the canals of remote Tortuguero National Park by boat.

And so the next morning, Yumiko and Eden stand bleary-eyed on the dock. It is 5:45 – just before sunrise – and as they wait for their guide, they listen to the howling of monkeys, the squawks of parrots, and the song of olive-backed euphonias.

Their guide, Roberto, lives up to his reputation as the best in the area. He navigates the small boat skillfully and patiently through the waterways, pointing out caimans, herons, emerald basilisks, green iguanas, and spider monkeys.

But for our dynamic duo the highlight of the excursion is the unexpected (but much hoped for) sighting of great green macaw. Four of the beautiful endangered birds fly past noisily, leaving Yumiko and Eden agape and somewhat giddy.

Still on a high, they return to the lodge, where they are greeted by the spectacle of howlers mating. 

Yumiko and Eden say nothing. They simply stare.

Finally, Eden clears her throat. “Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle,” she drawls. “That’s something I never reckoned we'd be seeing.”

Yumiko just groans.

© Eden Feuer

A Class IV Act

Date of events depicted: 2 February 2011

Two Crazy Chicks Productions, in association with WorldWild PhotoGraphics and What Am I Going to Tell Your Mother? Productions, is proud to present episode 1 of The Adventures of Yumiko and Eden in Costa Rica…

[Warning: the following contains profanity.]

“Oh, shit!” Cristián shouts.

Our intrepid heroines and their four fellow adventurers immediately scramble to comply with the Costa Rican river guide equivalent of “Get down in the raft now!”

They are about halfway through their run of the Pacuare, ranked among the world’s top rafting rivers. Nearly continuous rapids (most of them Class III) pass through lush jungle and between hundred-foot-tall canyon walls.

“Back in position!”

On this, their first full day of a two-week trip eleven years in the making, Yumiko and Eden soak in the sight of waterfalls cascading into the river and magnificent blue morpho butterflies fluttering along its banks.

We finally managed to get here, Eden thinks as she once more checks to make sure that Yumiko is in no danger of falling out of the boat. Twice before they had made plans to come to Costa Rica and both times ended up visiting another Central American country.

“Forward hard!”

The raft enters the Class IV Lower Huacas and Eden and Yumiko dig deep with their paddles. From their position in front, they can see the water churning and swirling.

There’s a sudden drop. The raft tilts forward steeply. And Yumiko watches in helpless horror as Eden is knocked halfway out of the bucking boat and slips relentlessly toward the roiling rapids.

Oh, shit!

Instinctively, Eden grabs the “chicken line” with one hand. She manages to stop her descent, but is unable to pull herself back into the raft.

A thought flashes through Yumiko’s mind: What am I going to tell her mother? As much as she wants to be able to come to Eden’s aid, Yumiko knows that she must continue to paddle through the rapids lest everyone end up taking an unwelcome and dangerous swim.

Thus, it is long moments before Eden’s fellow rafters can haul her to safety.

Our intrepid heroines are grateful that Eden has escaped her latest misadventure with nothing more than a spectacular bruise on her thigh. They breathe a sigh of relief, but the Pacuare gives them only a moment of respite.

“Oh, shit!”

text © Eden Feuer
photos courtesy of Rios Tropicales

Photo of the Week: Sea Otter

                                              

Date taken: July 20, 2004

Location: Kachemak Bay, Alaska

Camera: EOS Elan IIE with 100-400mm telephoto zoom

Film: Ektachrome 100SW @ ISO  200

Photo of the Week: Brown Bear

                                                      

Date taken: July 13, 2004

Location: Katmai National Park, Alaska

Camera: EOS Elan IIE with 100-400mm telephoto zoom

Film: Ektachrome 100SW @ ISO  200

Photo of the Week: Two Polar Bears

                                                                            

Date taken: November 11, 2003

Location: Churchill, Manitoba, Canada

Camera: EOS Elan IIE with 100-400mm telephoto zoom

Film: Ektachrome 100SW @ ISO  200