It's amazing how much beauty is found on Earth and so much of it is within driving distance! The first three nights we were at Glacier, we camped. Our campground was super close to Lake McDonald on the west side of the park. --Might I add that the park is massive. We did most of our hiking on the west side and spent one day on the east side. It took 2 hours just to drive to the other side of the park!-- Camping went pretty well. We were in Northern Montana, so it was still light out at 10pm. This proved difficult for Sadie to fall asleep in the tent. We all ended up going to sleep at the same time... which made Brady and I a little sad because we like to eat our s'mores in peace whilst camping. ;) When we arrived at the campsite, the park ranger told us that they had just seen a black bear nearby and reminded us to keep our food in the car 24/7. I'm kind of a wuss, so if I think about bears too much, I get worried. That made for really fun moments in the tent in the middle of the night when I was awake feeding Graham and I'd hear a twig snap or any kind of rustle. I almost woke Brady up a few times so he could protect us! Haha. I know. I'm embarrassing. We enjoyed the camping portion of our trip, but I was also glad to not camp the entire time. Sadie loved the dirt and was covered in it 24/7. That girl is all about "makin' soup" and "buildin' towers."
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| Our handy dandy hammock |
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| Our second and third night camping we made sure Sadie went to bed at a decent time- we were amazed by the sunlight hours! |
Our first hike was Avalanche Lake. It's about 4.5 miles round-trip, but we hiked to the other side of the lake so it was closer to 6 for us. I really loved this hike and especially appreciated the river that ran along the trail part-way. The water in GNP is unreal. It's this beautiful turquoise color and oh so clear. It's amazing. Its the kind of water you see in tropical places, and it was one of my favorite things about the park.
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| Sadie snoozing with the best view |
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| I had to document that I did carry Sadie for a bit. I lasted maybe a mile and wussed out. |
The next day, we decided to hike the Hidden Lake trail. The first mile was covered in snow, and it was uphill, so walking through it was a little tough. Coming back down was even sketchier. Especially with babies. This hike was beautiful, but I wish we had gone a little later in the season so the snow wouldn't be an issue. I think next time we go, it'll be in late July or August. We saw baby mountain goats and they were the cutest things on the planet! We got to the viewpoint and the trail leading down to the lake was closed off because of a mama bear and her cub. We weren't about to get tangled up in that duo.
Let me add that to get to this hike and lots of other hikes, you have to take the Going to the Sun Road. It's a fitting title because you gain a ton of elevation and it's very majestic... BUT, it's the scariest road of my life. The road was completed in 1933 and took over 20 years to plan and construct. Most of the road is lined with 2 foot cement barriers that separate you and the road from thousand feet drop-offs. I wouldn't consider myself someone who is afraid of heights... but I guess I am now! I was driving and wouldn't dare to even look at the views. Brady kept saying, "Julie, look! It's amazing!" but I couldn't take my eyes off the road. My hands were clenched to the steering wheel and my heart was beating fast the entire time. I told Brady that I would look once we were parked. I wouldn't let him drive on the way down either because Brady is a very observational person and gets caught looking over his shoulder at things he sees, so I knew I'd be even more stressed out with him driving.
On Sunday, we went into town for church. We were definitely not showered and looking pretty grimy but God doesn't care, right? :) We had to do laundry too, so Sunday was kind of a catch-up day. When we got back to the park, we went on a little hike that I don't even remember the name of. Oh, quick side note: we ate ice cream from the little ice cream shack about 5 times while at GNP. There's something so incredibly delicious about ice cream after hiking. It's all I wanted. And thank goodness Brady was down too! We would hide it from Sadie sometimes because we didn't want to share. ;) Sunday was the day we moved from camping and living a very primitive life to staying at the Village Inn at Apgar Village for way too much a night. It's all about balance, right? Our room was on the first floor so there was 15 yards of a rocky beach that separated us from Lake McDonald. It wad DREAMY. We loved it so much.
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| The view from our window. |
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| I love vacations because it means we get Brady to ourselves 24/7. The kids clearly love it too :) |
Our last major hike was Iceberg Lake. By far, it was my favorite hike of the trip. We had amazing views the whole way. But to start, I have to tell the bear story. We were all packed up with our gear and kids in carriers. We left the safety of our car to find the trail head. I remember noticing the sign for the trail head in the distance and simultaneously hearing some noise to my left. I looked over my shoulder and saw two grizzly bears 10 yards away from us. I whispered to Brady in a panicked voice, "Brady, bears! What do we do?" He told me to be calm and to keep walking. We did just that but I was terrified beyond belief. I could feel my legs and hands shaking as we continued to walk with tears starting to well in my eyes. It's one thing to be afraid for your own life, but when you have your entire family with you with a toddler and a tiny baby... I kinda lost it. I wanted to quit before we even started the 10 mile round trip hike, but thankfully we saw other hikers ahead of us, so we felt more comfortable. Mainly because they were older and we could outrun them if a bear started chasing us ;) haha, just kidding! These hikers could sense my worry, so we decided to hike together for awhile. They were the sweetest couple from Minnesota- John and... I'm blanking on his wife's name, We mainly talked to John. We got to know him pretty well actually! Maybe we'll run into them again some day. They have a picture of us on their phone so hopefully they'll remember us too. I was really grateful for them and for the conversations to get my mind off of bears.
We parted ways eventually and continued on the trail. We were super obnoxious the entire time- clapping loudly, singing songs- to ward off bears. I'll take looking silly over startling a bear. When we got to the lake, we were freezing! The wind started to pick up and being right next to the glacier water didn't help. The water was frigid. We saw a couple crazies jump in and we just shook our heads in disbelief.
10 miles may seem kinda crazy to hike with two kids, but it really wasn't bad. The elevation gain was minimal and the trail was well maintained. We were definitely ready to be done hiking toward the end, but it wasn't as bad as it sounds. It was kind of a funny contrast to the end of most hikes we go on. Usually I'm really excited for the last quarter mile because I know that our car is close and I know rest is ahead... but in this case, we were extra worried because we were going back into the territory that we had seen the bears. At one point, we saw a group of people stopped in the middle of the trail ahead of us and we were sure there was a bear. But as we approached, they were all taking pictures of a deer. I was relieved. The deer was actually really beautiful. It had this chestnut colored fur that was unlike any deer I've ever seen. It was pretty cute.
Oh, and Brady's biggest regret? Not taking a selfie with the bear.
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| We survived!! |
Our last day in Glacier was a lazy one- but it was much needed. It was the perfect day to relax and soak in the sun. We rented a kayak and floated around the lake for awhile. Sadie wasn't as into as we would hope, but oh well. Graham definitely didn't enjoy the kayak ride. I kept getting him wet from the drips of the paddle. Sorry buddy! We took some family pictures too- you kinda have to with that backdrop! Oh, we did some major people watching on our little back porch. There was a family from South Carolina with three boys, two of which were older teenagers- definitely football players. I don't think we ever actually talked to them but they were in our "backyard" for a couple nights so we got to know them haha. So creepy. We learned a fun game from them though. It's called basketball. You throw a pebble into the water and then your friends try to throw their pebbles into the ripples from the original thrown pebble. We caught on pretty fast and had fun with it later on hahaha. I'm laughing at myself. I blame Brady for listening in on stranger's conversations and for staring for too long. He's taught me his weird ways. Also, the two older boys were on paddle boards and the mom was suggesting different options for dinner that night. One of the boys said, "nah, mom. We can't go there, I'm lookin' to gain!" (in his southern accent) Brady and I say that a lot now. For fun. And it's pretty fun. ;)
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| He was trying to make it look like he was standing on top of the water. Sorry I'm not a good photographer, Brades. |
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| We saw an instagram post from GNP where this guy with long hair did this shot- ducking your head under water and flipping your head back. Brady needs longer hair for this to be cooler ;) |
After every national park we go to, we always say how excited we are to come back. We love experiencing these amazing places with our kids. Sometimes, we wish they weren't there so we could do longer, more difficult hikes but spending time with them outdoors is really the best and they love it so much. Glacier is a front runner for my favorite national park, and we will definitely come back! Maybe in ten years when Sadie and Graham can hike on their own for long distances :)
Wow! Looks like you guys had a great time!!
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