Glacier National Park
Day 18: Tuesday, July 16, 2019
More than 2 weeks
down, a little less than 4 weeks to go!! It feels like we’ve been on the road
forever…and I miss my doggies…but we are having a great time!
We left Port Angeles, WA and geared up for a “longer” drive to Spokane, where we stopped for the night on the way to Glacier. It was an uneventful trip, kids watched movies, I finished my book, North by Scott and Jenny Jurek. The book was really good and made me want to try an ultra, which I’ve never really wanted to do. It had me pondering what I might want to do when we land back stateside for good in 2 years--an ultra or 70.3 half ironman could be in my future!
Day 19: Wednesday, July 17, 2019
I went out for an
early run at 5:30 and it was great—not hilly at all, perfect temps in the low
60’s, not too remote of an area. I did an out-and-back for 5.25 miles and got
back before the kids were awake. After a quick shower, I went down the road for
fresh donuts—I’d been craving them and these ones hit the spot. Kinsey, Sean,
and I all enjoyed then, but strangely Barrett did not!
After only about
an hour of driving we crossed over into Montana, our 6th state on
the trip! Shortly after that, we stopped for gas and some famous huckleberry
shakes that were advertised on several road signs. We explored the St. Regis
Gift Shop and I was in heaven—it had really cute stuff! They also had some fish
tanks so the kids enjoyed that!
We spent the next
few hours driving through the Montana countryside and at least an hour of it
was along Flathead Lake—it was huge and beautiful!
When we were just
10 miles away from the RV park, we saw a sign for A&W so we had to make a pit stop
for lunch—it’s a family favorite (my Cortland people understand this!!). We
enjoyed our burgers, fries, and root beer, bought a koozie for our collection
and got back on the road.
We arrived at the
North American RV Park around 2:30 pm and set up took a
little longer this time. The spot was not level and there was a tree blocking
the awning, so Sean had to do a bit of maneuvering to make it work. Not to
mention it started raining (pouring!) while he was setting up, so that didn’t
help. I did a few loads of laundry and the kids eagerly awaited their “cousins”
arrival between the arcade, the playground, and the pavilion.
The Vanderbilts arrived around 6 pm and we had a wonderful hug-fest. It has been 4 years since we’d seen them and we’d never met Judd, so we were all really excited to see each other. After we helped get them settled, we cooked out, the kids played, and we all caught up (as much as you can with 4 energetic kids to tend to!). At 9:30 pm we were sitting at the playground and I couldn’t believe it was still not dark. We finally called it a night around 10 pm and got all the kiddos to bed.
Day 20: Thursday, July 18, 2019
Everyone was
really excited to start the day together and the Vanderbilt boys came over to
our RV to wake Barrett and Kinsey up around 8 am. The kids immediately got to
playing while Justin cooked a breakfast of pancakes, bacon, and fresh eggs.
We got a later
start to Glacier National
Park than usual, but went into the West
Glacier gate, stopped at the Apgar visitor center for kids junior ranger books
and got right to work. It was Jackson and Judd’s first junior ranger experience
so they bought vests for the occasion! We visited with a ranger who showed the
kids some animal hides and met the oldest park ranger in Glacier—94 years old,
WOW!!
Next we headed
out on Going-to-The-Sun Road and made a few stops along the way. We first stopped
at Lake McDonald beach, which was beautiful though windy. The kids had fun
skipping rocks and we took some photos before moving on.
Our next stop was
for a cascading waterfall that had a little boardwalk overlook area.
Then we took the
windy drive up the mountain and caught some amazing views through the gray
skies and rain.
We arrived at
Logan Pass at the top of the mountain and it was much colder and windy up
there! We got into he visitor’s center and the kids were ready to earn their
badges. They spoke with the ranger and got sworn in! We walked along the little
path to view the sights, but were not prepared for a longer hike up the trail. This
entire trip, but especially here in Glacier (and even since last summer in
Alaska), I have wanted to see a Bighorn Sheep (or a Dall Sheep or a mountain
goat) so everyone, including the kids had been looking out for one for me. We
saw this Bighorn display and of course I had to take a picture!
Next we stopped at the Jackson Glacier overlook and took a quick hike down the trail to see if we could get a better view. It was fun for Jackson to see a glacier with his name! It was pretty windy and raining on and off throughout the day, but we made the best of our stops and were happy that we’d chose to drive through the park on this day rather than embark on a longer hike.
We stopped for our
picnic lunch at the Rising Sun area and ate in the back of the truck. While we
were searching for the rest rooms, there was a baby grizzly bear spotted behind
the building so we all ran back to see. I was able to take a few pictures, but
he was moving through the tall grass and got away before we got a really good look—and
we were also cautious that his mama might be nearby and not happy!! We shopped
for beer, good local stuff, then the kids took some silly pictures in the photo
booth.
We were coming to
the end of the main road through the park and decided that we’d skirt around
the outside of the park to get back to our campground (90+ miles!) rather than go
back the way we came, which would likely take longer with all the traffic. As
we were exiting the park, we had another bear spotting! The black bear was in
the meadow just a few hundred yards from the road and the cars were all stopped
to look and take pictures.
We got back to
the campground and the kids played in the arcade and at the playground while
the parents started cocktail hour and prepped an appetizer of cowboy caviar. Tanya
is an amazing cook and had made chili ahead of time so we had that along with fire-roasted
hot dogs for the kiddos. Once it got a little darker, we had s’mores. Everyone
was happy and well fed!
The kids had a
blast playing together and we busted out the sparklers for some added fun. We
got everyone to bed at a somewhat decent hour so we could be up and out early
for a good hike the next morning.
Day 21: Friday, July 19, 2019
We were ready to go by 7:30 and got into the park before 8 am, which was the goal. We drove straight to the parking area for the Trail of the Cedars and Avalanche Lake trail and found great spots right next to picnic tables and a short walk away from a river access. We got ourselves ready and started to head down the boardwalk path when we ran into one of the rangers we spoke with the day before. He told us he would be leading an interpretive hike out to Avalanche Lake and we all agreed that it sounded like a good plan for us. It was a 5 mile round trip and we made it partway out with a ranger guided group—he had some very interesting information to share, but we had some antsy kids who wanted to keep moving along the trail.
The first part of the hike was on boardwalk and then it changed to dirt trail and ran along the river with some waterfalls. It was a busy trail, but pretty and peaceful. The best part was arriving at Lake Avalanche which was such a gloriously beautiful surprise, with green blue waters surrounded by green trees and mountains with waterfalls streaming down. Absolutely gorgeous and totally worth it!
A deer made his
way into the beach and I think he was surprised to see so many people and got
scared looking for the way back into the woods.
We hiked back
much quicker and I was so impressed that all four kids managed the full hike
(with some shoulder-riding by Judd and a little complaining by all!). We ended with a picnic right by our cars
and then walked down to the river to enjoy the sights and skip rocks.
We promised the
kids ice cream (I think the moms wanted it more, actually!) so we stopped at
West Glacier Village and enjoyed some treats.
We browsed the
shops for souvenirs and some more local beer, then headed back to the
campground for the rest of the day. The weather was a little crazy that
afternoon and couldn’t make up its mind between rain, clouds, cool wind, or sun
(I think this is just how Montana weather is!), so we were in and out of the
playground and the indoor activities. Uncle Justin supervised the kids in the
arcade for a while and the dads got into a heated “hunting” competition. We
also had a family shuffleboard tournament and Barrett and I swept the other teams—my
good old shuffleboard skills came back to me after all these years!
Tanya made a
delicious campfire brie and there was a request for Mexican food so Sean grilled
steak and I made guacamole for carne asada. It was all delicious and there was
not a leftover in sight. We did jiffy pop again and this time I suggested they
try it over the campfire. Sean said it was not a good idea and it was not going
to work, but I insisted…guess what? He was right, it was a disaster! He then
cooked the second one over the griddle and it was perfect. Of course, the kids
wanted s’mores again and so that came next. We were certainly well fed on this
trip!
There was a lot of love for the Vandy dogs throughout the trip. I think my kids miss their own doggies and wanted to share the love with the 4 sweet pups, Harley, Fancy, Whiskey, and Jasper. Barrett was especially fond of Fancy and took every opportunity he had to pet her and Kinsey was a super helpful dog walker with the two little pups.
By around 11 pm,
kids were actually asking to go to bed, so we called it a night and got
ourselves settled in and rested up for another day of adventures to come.
Day 22: Saturday, July 20, 2019
We had a
leisurely morning sleeping in and then having a yummy pancake breakfast
courtesy of Uncle Justin. The lady at the campground office recommended that we
check out Polebridge Mercantile on the west side of the park as they have the
best huckleberry bear claws in these parts of Montana (where huckleberry is king!!).
We made it our event of the day to head out there and see what other fun we
could find along the way.
The drive was
pretty and about 12 miles of it was on a dirt road so we knew we were getting a
little off the beaten path, and it was so worth it! The mercantile was a cute
little shop with so many delicious smelling pastries and breads to choose from…so
much more than the bearclaws! We enjoyed fresh baked cookies, jalapeno
artichoke bread, pesto goat cheese bread, a turkey/brie/huckleberry jam sandwich…YUM!!!
There was a stand with fresh fruit outside so Kinsey tried the huckleberries
and cherries. We took our goodies outside and the kids played while we enjoyed
the country views.
We were close to one
of the other entrances to Glacier NP and thought we’d try to get into the park
and go to one of the lake access areas to fish with the kids. We got to the
gate and the ranger told us that the lake areas were all at capacity and we wouldn’t
be able to go there. He did give us a suggestion of a little area right nearby
where we cold get down to the river and fish. It was actually perfect because
it was easy to get to and right there. We experienced the same temperamental
Montana weather we’d been seeing the last few days, but Justin and Sean got set
up with the fishing poles and tried to help the kids fish. We were not successful,
but did see a water snake which was both exciting and scary for our crew!
We headed back toward
our campground and looked for a place to stop off for our picnic lunch. We headed
up at a lakeside fishing spot that didn’t have any picnic tables so we ate in
the truck bed again. After lunch, we walked down to the lake to check out the
views and watch the boats on the water.
We went back to
the campground for the afternoon and banned the kids from the arcade so the
moms took over the activities. I read a new book, Goldibear
and the Three Campers, and crafty Tanya set up a rock and stick painting area for the
kiddos. They spent quite a while painting lots of creative creations. Barrett
surprised us with his flags of North America and Kinsey made some beautiful
designs as well.
We had a later
dinner of granny’s BBQ (a delicious Vandy recipe that I will be repeating) and
salad, then had a family game night together. First, Avocado Smash, then Skip-Bo,
both great games to play with early elementary kids that like some healthy
competition. These are two of our family favorites!
All the kiddos
were tired and the parents were thinking ahead to the long drives both families
would have the next day, so we had an early night and promised we would have
some playtime and goodbyes over a quick breakfast in the morning. I had one very
sad boy that he was not going to see his cousins on the next part of the trip,
so I think that is the mark of a great time together! Honestly, I think we all
felt that way and we are already talking about when/where we can plan our next
visit together. It is just so awesome to reunite with good friends who share so
much history and love among us and it is a blessing to have our kids feel that
awesome connection to their “cousins” as well. We love the Vanderbilts dearly
and cherish the memories our families made together on the “Grenderbilt Vacay
2019”!
Tomorrow the adventure continues!
Glacier National Park Highlights
BDG-COUSINS!!! (everything I did with the cousins)
KPG-Fishing with the cousins
EAG-seeing the beauty of Avalanche Lake after coming around the bend
at the end of the hike
SGG-the waterfalls at Avalanche Lake
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