On the morning of Tuesday, our 3rd day of vacation, we woke up, ate the cheap hotel's small continental breakfast, packed our car, and left the town of Whitefish. We drove about 30 minutes before we reached the west entrance of Glacier National Park.
I had tried to prepare as much as possible before going to Glacier, since none of us had ever been there. I checked out books from the library about glaciers, animals that live in that region, and a book specifically about Glacier National Park. I read the books to the kids at Family Home Evening the 2 weeks prior to our vacation, and we discussed what glaciers were, what kinds of animals we'd see in the park, and what the scenery and temperatures would be like. I looked at the national park website and got information about trails and rentals and fees, etc. We looked at maps of the park, and discussed things we wanted to see that we would have time for, since we would only be at Glacier for a day and a half. But for as much as I prepared, I was still blown away by the grandeur and beauty that is present there.
After arriving at the park, we stopped briefly at the Visitors Center for a park map, and continued on our way. We drove past Lake McDonald, and stopped to walk the trail to view the McDonald Falls.
We drove onto the most famous stretch of the Going-to-the-Sun Road, where the road narrows and climbs upward along the edge of the mountainside. On one side of the 2-lane road is a ledge made of stones. On the other side is the edge of the mountain itself.
The views were truly spectacular, and we couldn't stop marveling over the majestic mountains, and gorgeous waterfalls, and amazing road. We drove about 20mph, but we still had to pull over and stop several times to enjoy the views more fully.
Okay, I guess I should clarify that Josh and I wanted to pull over to enjoy the views, but the boys liked to stop because they were playing the license plate game, and it gave them an opportunity to find more of the 50 states' licenses to check off their list. They would get out of the van with their clipboards in hand, and look at each car/truck/motorcycle that was parked or passing by. What a funny site. I couldn't believe they would rather check out vehicles than the view, but it kept them entertained!
I love how the Going-to-the-Sun Road was engineered so that you get the full effect of being in the mountaintops, not just because we could look down at the views below, but because we also got to see so many waterfalls next to the road, and we drove through tunnels, and we passed some cool rock formations and snow piles, too.
There was one large patch of snow by the road that looked like it was an architectural structure with 3 rounded doors. We stopped, and the older boys climbed up to it, and experienced the melting snow dripping on them!
We stopped for lunch at the top of Logan Pass. We ate tuna/pickle sandwiches in the car, and got out to see the Visitor's Center. We used the bathroom, and went back to the car because the Visitor's Center was PACKED full of people! It was terrible weather outside: the sky was overcast (which is why the distant scenery photos all look hazy), it was really cold and super windy! Josh and I wanted to hike the Hidden Lake trail, which was 1.5 miles, beginning at the Logan Pass Visitor's Center. After being outdoors in the cold wind, Kanyon didn't want to go out there again. He said he wanted to stay in the car, so Ammon opted to stay in the car with him. Jonah and Micah decided to go with us; we bundled up, and headed out in the cold wind to go hiking, while Ammon and Kanyon stayed in the warm car reading & playing their DS's.
The beginning of the hike was wooden boardwalks, but after several hundred yards, it turned into a snow field that we had to hike across. It was very slippery, and uphill, and the wind was fierce. I really struggled, and lagged behind the other 3.
It was so wonderful to walk on the mountaintops, and experience all the mountain scenery up close. There was melting snow forming creeks, fields of flowers, spots of grass next to chunks of snow, and we were lucky to see several animals, too. We saw several mountain goats, a few bighorn sheep, and one marmot along the hike.
It took us about 1 hour and 15 minutes to get to the Hidden Lake lookout. And it was worth every step!
The way back down was faster, it only took us about 45 minutes. Again, I lagged behind the other 3. I stopped a few times on the way back to take a few photos of sections of the hike I had just completed!
We continued our drive past St. Mary Lake, and to the east end of the park. The western side of Logan Pass is much colder and has more glaciers and snow-covered mountains. The eastern side of the pass is much warmer, and there are lots more plant life and green grass growing.
We left through the East Entrance of the park, and drove south about 40 miles, to re-enter at the Two Medicine Entrance. We stopped again and all of us walked along the Running Eagle Falls nature trail to see the Trick Falls. It was an easy walk, and the weather was warmer, and the waterfall was so cool!
Then we drove over to Two Medicine Lake, and had a boat tour of the lake on the boat "Sinopah". It lasted about 45 minutes, and took us across to the other side of the lake and back. We were the only ones on the boat on the first half of the tour, then he picked up several hikers on the other side to bring them back across. The tour guide talked about all the surrounding mountains and the history of Glacier Park. It was interesting, and a different angle to see the park from the water looking up!
After the boat ride, we all hiked one more trail to view a hidden waterfall that was not far from the lake. It was a .6 mile walk to the waterfall, and was fairly level but got really steep right before the waterfall. There was no good photography angle to see the long and pretty waterfall just right, but I enjoyed walking along with Josh, so I took a few pictures of him instead.
After that last hike, we drove about 60 miles to our cabin rental for the night. It was on the southern-most tip of the park, but located outside the park boundaries. It was the cheapest hotel I could find within close proximity to the park. The cabin had two beds, and a microwave and fridge, but the bathrooms were located in a separate building that was communal with the other 5 cabin rentals. It wasn't the most comfortable arrangement, but it had everything we needed.
I heated up Sloppy Joes for dinner, then the boys played outside until the mosquitoes got bad, then they came in & played cards instead. Josh read for a while, and I worked on cleaning out and reorganizing the car and all our baggage.
When it got dark, we all slept in the beds, except Ammon who slept in his sleeping bag on the floor. It was a very long night. We were right by the highway, and not far from the railroad tracks. The beds weren't very comfortable, and the noises & lights outside kept waking Kanyon up, which in turn woke Josh and I up all night, too. We were so glad it was the last night of our vacation!
