Glacier National Park

When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world. - John Muir

So long ago, John Muir saw the affects humans had on the wilderness. How much harm we could do. Glacier National Park had about 150 glaciers in 1850 and most were still there in 1910. By 2010, there were only about 25 glaciers larger then 25 acres left. By 2030, it is estimated that there will be no more remaining glaciers in Glacier National Park!

Glaciers are another amazing part of the wilderness. The lakes that come from them are such a unique color of milky blue. It was really important to me that the kids got to see this before the glaciers are all gone. So, we got up super early to be on the road by 6 am! That was hard considering we have been walking up at 9 am.

Being out that early was so totally worth it! I can't even describe how the fog and the clouds all looked, it was just so peaceful.

The forest in the lower part of Glacier was so thick! We drove to catch the shuttle to take the "Going to the Sun Road." It is said to be one of the most beautiful roads in the world.

On the start of our drive, the fog started to lift into the sky...

and they revealed amazing peaks in the distance.

One of my favorite parts of the drive is how many waterfalls there were. They were around every turn! I couldn't believe it. There were so many I lost count.

This waterfall was awesome, going under the road.

My least favorite part of the drive was how close we were to the edge of a straight cliff most of the way. There was even still a bit of ice on the road. Even though it freaked me out, riding in the back of the bus with a driver that I didn't know, I was still able to appreciate the beauty. Can you imagine building that road? I sure am glad many others have driven over it before me. It looks like it can just crumble.

SNOW!

The only hike that was open at Logan Pass (the highest part of the drive) was to Hidden Lake Lookout. Everybody that was in the park decided to do that hike.

Can you see that line of people going along the trail? It was like we were all being herded or it was Moses leading the exodus Egypt.

It got a bit cold in spots.

The ranger said we could go anywhere on the snow as long as there was snow. We were not aloud to walk on any vegetation. Of course, Craig had the idea to walk straight up the hill in the snow. It was a little more work, but the kids had fun.

More wild life! There were a ton of mountain goats. So far on this trip, we have seen about 3 black bears, 3 grizzly bears, elk, tons of bison, deer, marmots and mountain goats!

There were tons of goats and babies. They were everywhere and didn't seem to notice all the people staring at them. 

Hidden Lake! We made it to the look out. The actual lake is closed because of grizzly activity. I wish we could have seen another one. The grizzly's we saw were so far away, we couldn't really see the massiveness of them.

On the way back, little C tried to slide on his feet. Every time, he'd end up on his butt.

Another waterfall on the road!

Back in the bus for the ride down. This time the friendly bus driver let me ride in the front with the window down. (I didn't feel so well on the way up!) Much better on the way down.

See the color of the river? It is so pretty. It is even more blue in a lake that is the direct melt from a glacier. We only did one hike because it took so long and the kids were exhausted. I really wanted to do a lake, the lake we were going to do had about 8 waterfalls going into it. We are definitely going to have to make another trip to Glacier National Park and spend more then a day there!

Before heading back to the cabin, Craig wanted to stop at the lake and take a nap. Only after skipping a few rocks.

Finally, we couldn't leave without getting sworn in as Junior Rangers. This Ranger works at Joshua Tree National Park in the winter! Someone from one of our home parks. What a huge contrast, Glacier NP to Joshua Tree NP!

I'll see you next time from Bend, Oregon.

Cottage on the Lake

God never made an ugly landscape. All that the sun shines on is beautiful, so long as it is wild. - John Muir

Montana seems to be one of the few places, or at least that we have seen that there is so much that is still wild. It is amazing how much beautiful land there is out there. They don't have very many cities in Montana and in-between you drive through hours of land, much of it public that people can not own privately. There were ranches here and there, but mostly a lot of nothingness. 

Part of the drive wasn't very mountainy and L is just getting so antsy in the car. She wants to talk the whole time! When we are listening to a story, she wants us to stop it after about 10 minutes so she can talk. She will sit there and talk to herself for an hour straight. Here is a picture of her entertaining herself while we are driving.

As we got closer to the cabin, the landscape got more and more mountainy and filled with trees. There was no cell service anywhere in Montana except within city limits. So, in the drive from Yellowstone to the cabin we had service in Big Sky, Missoula, the Flat Lake area then Kalispell. The drive was about 7 hours and only 4 towns! The cabin wasn't in town so there was no service. That was kind of nice. 

Here is the view of the cabin if you were on the lake. I didn't get a picture from the other side.

This is the inside, I'm standing in the kitchen looking straight out the windows. That is the lake you see out that window!

This was just before 10 pm. Craig and Joey went fishing when we put the kids to bed. You can see them off in the distance to the left of the tree on the right.

There were actually lots of fishing excursions.

This is the kind of stuff that was caught. The kids had fun doing it though.

Actually one morning Joey got up at 4:30 am to fish and caught a few rainbow trout. He kept one to show us and when we all woke up around 9:30, it had been part eaten by a turtle.

We were staying on a little spring fed lake in the Thompson Chain of Lakes. We were on Levon and it was connected to Crystal Lake (also spring fed) by a little channel. It truly was amazing how clear the lake is! Even with it being this clear, I lost a good flip flop in it. I was helping C untangle his line and I walked too far out. I sunk almost knee deep into muck. I went out and scoured the muck probably about 10 times in two days along with everyone else trying to find it. It was very sad.

The kids had so much fun playing Apples to Apples and Uno. I think they liked it almost as much as going in the water.

Almost!

L loved the kayak! She spent 3 hours on it one morning. She liked being on it by herself, but if someone else would get on she would hop right on with them. When I rode around, she would come ride in my lap and wouldn't let me paddle because she "could do it perfect."

Two doors down the owner of the cabin was leaving for the week and said we could barrow his canoe and kayak as long as we wanted. He was so friendly and trusting! He even drove us all around the different lakes and showed us which ones had the best fishing. It was a good thing I didn't try to fish where Craig and Joey did though. I heard the mosquitos were way worse over there. I can not even tell you how many bites I got from Utah all the way to the lake! Luckily we were in a spot where they weren't bad except for one day when the clouds came out.

We got some awesome fireworks in Wyoming! They were illegal in Jackson county and we had a great show to watch in Jackson Hole, so we waited for the cabin. Since it got dark so late we had to wait till 10 to set them off. But it was a perfect spot, right on the water.

It was really cool to be in a place that brought us back to when we were kids and the rules weren't so strict. People rode around without helmets, in the back of trucks and fireworks were aloud. I totally get rules and laws are for our own good. I see how they have saved many lives. But, there is also something to be said about personal responsibility. I want my kids to learn how to make decisions on their own... But in CA where it is so crowded and there are people everywhere, I see how it is hard to allow people to make stupid decisions. I do wish we could ride around in the back of a pick up in the desert like I used to as a kid though. In Montana there are still so few people that when someone makes a mistake, it doesn't affect as many people around them. It was just interesting to see the difference.

God truly made an amazing landscape here in Montana and it was wonderful to see so much of it still in the wild.

Moving on...

The mountains are calling and I must go. - John Muir

Even though this quote isn't one of John Muir's great description of nature, I thought it was very fitting. Funny, we were in Yellowstone, but the mountains of Montana were calling. As soon as we got to the far west side of Yellowstone, past Madison campground, we started to relax. Less people and gorgeous mountains. We continued up to Big Sky with nowhere booked for the night. We found this little campground on the side of the road along a river.

The campsites were huge! Plus, there was a river running right by where those trees are. It was so peaceful and refreshing. It truly felt like an untouched part of land. I felt like we truly got away. (It only took 2,000 miles.)

We realized once we left the city limits of Big Sky, we had no cell service so we had to go back into town (this is only 10 miles away) to find the lodge our friends were at. On the way, we saw people stopped on the side of the road, so of course we stopped to see what kind of animal they were looking at.

Can you see it? It is a little blond bear hanging over that tree limb. Oh my gosh! He was so adorable. He was there for hours!

After meeting up with our friends, we went on a hike to a waterfall. It was right in the city. They have little trails like we do at home. But instead of the trails going between houses, it goes through the forest and around streams. I wouldn't mind living by these trails!

Now, this is what it's all about.

Deep in conversation.

The local school put together a pamphlet that you can pick up with interest points along the way. You can read about interesting things along the way. The school also maintains the trail.

After the hike we were able to do some fishing before dinner. We didn't catch anything, but the kids loved it.

This last picture was taken about 10 pm as the moon was rising over the mountains to the east. The sun was behind the mountains in the west, but there was still plenty of light in the sky between the sun not being set all the way and the moon so bright.

The mountains called and we are at home in them. Next stop, a cottage on Lake Lavon. A small spring fed lake in Northwest Montana.