Glacier Part 3

The Deets:

Tuesday - leave around 5:45, come back for tools, leave, come back for passports, really leave at 6:30.

Day 12 of running: I still hadn't run all day so Nick suggested jogging on the highway from post to post with him driving behind. So. . .I did, in sandals and a dress. Running is fun! I couldn't help but imagine what we looked like to passersby. "Is she running from that car?!"

Arrive in Spokane at 12:30 and sleep.

Wednesday - Drive some more. Get groceries in Kalispell and arrive at Fish Creek campground in early afternoon. After setting up camp we make a fire, supper, s'mores and wait for 10pm to come so we can look at the stars under an astronomer's guidance. The sky is so dark in the park that the night was alight with glittering, brilliant stars. Nick brought binoculars and we stared at the sky for two hours. We saw Andromeda, ET cluster, and Cheerio nebula in the telescopes, the Milky Way arm, shooting stars and many constellations with the naked eye.

Thursday - We begin the drive through the park on Going-to-the-Sun-Road. A few miles in we stop at Trail of the Cedars which leads to Avalanche Lake. It was a crowded path but beautiful and worthwhile. Post-hike, we ate lunch near a river and then played about in it for a few minutes, looking for rocks. Farther down the Sun Road we reached Logan Pass and hiked to Hidden Lake. This was more crowded and the variety of scenery was amazing. We saw our first wildlife (mountain goats) and sun that reflected on the water like thousands of diamonds. I could not stop looking at it! We bounded back down to the parking lot and returned to camp. 

After a freezing cold shower - I mean freezing - we had fire, supper and stars again. We laid out our blanket on the parking lot pavement and listened to the people around us, taking our time looking at whatever we wanted.

Friday - Today was boat day. We camped near/on Lake McDonald and decided to take full advantage of the water. We rented a motor boat and from 12-3 drove our way around the lake, stopping here and there, getting used to the water until we beached in a remote part of the lakeside. We made lunch and then relaxed in the water: Nick skipping rocks (one time 10 jumps at once!), me floating and floating. 

The rest of the afternoon found us in gift shops, eating ice cream, looking through a scope at the sun. We saw a sun flare and tried to see a sun spot - mostly it just looked small and orange. Back at camp we laid down and rested, then decided to take early showers. Success! They were warm. After fire, supper, s'mores and getting things ready to pack up in the morning, we headed to the camp's beach by the lake to look at the stars again. It was easily one of our top sights - so dark and clear.

Saturday - We left camp in the morning and as we exited the park a neighboring camper said, "Are you going to Argon? We'll be right behind you." After telling him we were headed to Canada I asked Nick, "What's Argon?"

"It's where you live."

"What? . . .Oh! Or-e-gon."

"New Englanders."

 Canada was a first for both of us and a breeze to get into - especially when Nick disregards stop signs and attempts to drive on in. We headed straight to Prince of Wales Hotel where we make lunch and watch boats on the water. It was so hot and Canada seemed weird (especially at their tiny visitor center) but we powered through and drove the two recommended roads. The first one landed us at Cameron Lake where we dipped into the water for a short while and then laid down to read. I was bitten by lots of flies and we headed out pretty quickly. On our way to the Red Rock Canyon we saw a black bear slowly walking on the road and later big horn sheep eating something on the pavement. I was ecstatic. A real bear! Red Rock was a very quick trip, saw the canyon, left. On the border going back into the United States I asked for stamps from both countries for our empty passports. 

As we neared Many Glacier Hotel we saw lots of cars stopped on both sides of the road. We stopped and asked someone, "What are we looking at?"

"Bears. A momma and her cub." The man let us use his binoculars while Nick located ours. And lo and behold there was a grizzly momma and her cub. More bears! A few minutes later a third grizzly enters the picture and we are told it is the baby from last year, hanging around. He stands up on his hind legs, looking for his mom and it was awesome. I could not stop watching them. After they went out of sight, we did too.

We arrived at our hotel in time to put our names in for the dining room and take a lake swim before eating. It was much colder than Lake McDonald but worth it. I love floating on my back in clear water, looking at mountains and watching Nick skip rock after rock.

At supper we named our Top Trip sights and moments and enjoyed the lake/mountain view, knowing it was nearing the end. We stopped at the gift shop and looked at shirts. I tried on one that had a moose on it but since we didn't see any moose we weren't very interested. Where's my bear shirt?!

We slept soundly in a full and twin (Nick took the twin). 

Sunday - We awoke to a pink sunrise and 19 horses being led down the path for use later in the day. Nothing could have been better. . .except when we left Nick said, "Are those moose swimming in the lake?!" 

"I don't know. The sun in shining right where you are looking."

Drive a little.

"It is!" 

We quickly get the binoculars one more time and stop alone by the road. It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen and I saw a lot on this trip. The sun was shining just behind the two moose as they slowly swam across the middle of the blue lake. I could not believe our luck and Nick's keen eye. It was a perfect way to end our Glacier vacation. 

"I could have gotten that shirt."
Some of the prettiest views were on our way through the East park.
The rest of the day was spent driving and driving and driving - 12hrs40min to get back home.