I've been climbing mountains and putting a lot of good, hard miles on the bike. Cody is getting better every day. I think he's still adjusting to "life on the outside." It's probably hard to readjust to being a "real" dog after spending two and a half months in a cage with another dog for twenty-three hours a day. He's great, though, and I can't wait to get him back to Pittsburgh to meet you. I'll be leaving here relatively soon. It's not that I want to go now -- I had originally planned to leave on August fifteenth -- but I think it's better to go prematurely so I don't get sick of it. I don't want to leave with a bad taste in my mouth. I love this place and I want to come back some day, but I don't want, nor need, to stay now. I don't miss Pittsburgh much, either, though, but it's home. I've come to terms with the fact that my friends lie within my interests and my interests lie within my friends. Bikes, music, drinking habits, girls. It's comfortable and true.

I "bought" a dog (or I "stole" a dog, I'm not sure ... that's another story)! His name's Cody! He used to wander Kalispell. Now he wanders with me! Who needs a woman; I got myself a man! A hairy-as-hell man! He's sweet and happy as can be; I saved his life -- I got him from a "kill" shelter; his date with "destiny" was less than a week away. Make a friend, save a life. Good deal.

Things up here have been busy. It's peak season -- it's a "Touronville -- Population: You" thing. You'd be amazed -- or maybe you wouldn't -- by how many people come here just to drive a forty-five-mile stretch of highway. You'd also be amazed to know that most of these people are a pain in the ass. "Where can I find a moose in the park?" one asked me today. "Um, do you plan on hiking at all, sir?" "No." "Well, uh, one might cross the road of you're lucky, I guess." Right on, man. When there are this many people in the park it's hard to call it hiking -- it's more like waiting in line to ride a roller coaster. I miss those cold-ass, mid-May days for sure. There was no one here, there was a ton of snow, and there weren't any tourons in RVs asking me where they can find a moose in Glacier National Park like it's a carnival petting zoo with better views and more exotic animals. I haven't been hiking much, as you might be able to tell, so instead I've been shifting my focus back to bikes. It's just short of a six-mile climb out of St. Mary; I've been climbing it daily to be ready for those 'Burgh hills when I return.

Glued-Up has two shows in August: the fourteenth at Howler's and the twentieth at Roboto. I'll be back with ample time for us to warm-up for those shows. So, I guess that means I'll be back on or around August sixth. See you then, Pittsburgh!

I was awoken from my afternoon nap yesterday by the sound of gun shots. The Park Service shot and killed a year-old black bear two hundred feet behind my cabin. It had been feeding from a Dumpster behind the manager cabins. Apparently, once a bear has accustomed itself to an "easy feed" it cannot be "reprogrammed" to live in the wild.