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| Driving up the mountain to get cell service and check in with the g-parents and kiddos. |
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| St. Mary Hotel |
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| Trying to get us both in front of the lens - rearview mirror style. |
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| More views from the road. |
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| Hiking Logan Pass |
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| On our way to Hidden Lake, note cardigan can be totally appropriate hiking attire. |
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| Hiking the Highline Trail aka the day my feet hated me |
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| Cooling off our dogs in ice-cold glacial waters |
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| Early morning hike to Iceberg Lake |
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| JB making me laugh or me trying to alert bears to our presence. |
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| Soon after this photo we encountered a moose |
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| Iceberg Lake |
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| We wanted to YOLO it and jump in but let our inner fuddy-duddies take over and stayed dry |
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| View from our room at Many Glacier Hotel |
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| Morning at Many Glacier |
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| Big Sky Country - note bug on windshield...it completes the shot |
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| The Grand Hotel in Kalispell |
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| Kalispell Rodeo |
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| We were surrounded |
First and foremost, a big shout out to the grandparents for taking on the kiddos this last week so that Jerry can get a little R and R...well perhaps not rest and relaxation...more like strenuous hikes and wildlife encounters. I realize that this may sound like the opposite of a vacation for many, but for us, it was a perfect way to spend a pre-anniversary celebration. Day 1 was primarily spent in transport. It took three hours to get from Kalispell to our first destination in East Glacier. As we traveled across Going to the Sun Road I would yell to Jerry to "look at this", "look at that", all the time hoping he would keep the car on the road. The drop offs were treacherous. I have never seen natural beauty like I had at Glacier National Park. There was of course that summer my Mom took us on an epic road trip that covered the entire country west of the Mississippi, but I was sixteen, moody and likely opted to stay in the car listening to my Walkman versus get out and see the Grand Canyon. Sorry Mom. Day 2 was spent exploring Logan Pass and the trail to Hidden Lake. Our camera clicked wildly at the sight of some mountain goats. Day 3 we hit elevations nearing 7,000 feet. For me, it was like summiting the Himalayas. My feet were pretty pissed off at me by the end of the hike but the views and experience made it an incredible day. Day 4 is when I scared all the animals away. Just previous to our big hike the day before, I over heard a retired park ranger talk to another experienced hiker about the "Night of the Grizzly". From that moment forward, I sang, stomped, chanted and talked my way through all of our hikes (sorry Jer). August is supposedly the park's busiest time of year but Jerry and I would see another hiker about once an hour at some points in the trail. It was far to quiet for me. To make matters worse, there were signs constantly posted saying things like "no guarantee for your safety", "heavily trafficked bear country". And then to make matters
even worse, we were handed literature on what to do in case you encountered a bear. Mind you, there is a difference with how to respond to a black bear versus a grizzly. As if I would be able to take the time to assess the difference. Supposedly we were to fight back if black bear were to attack and play dead with a grizzly. No where did I read that you could run away screaming. But despite the threat of mauling, once again we had the best day. We hiked to Iceberg Lake and saw two moose (reportedly even more dangerous and unpredictable than bears). That night, we melted into lounge chairs, watched the sunset over the mountains and let a gin and tonic soothe sore muscles. Day 5 almost started with another hike but sadly our legs refused. Jerry was finally treated to a bear sighting just as we were about to pack up the car. It was if this bear was deposited right by the parking lot just for him. He was thrilled. We drove back to Kalispell, sore but totally fulfilled. That night we treated ourselves to an evening of local culture at the rodeo. We were able to ignore the very public, very disparaging comments about the White House as well as the plugs for church and family values via the rodeo announcer. Funny that when people mention "family values" it is actually the opposite of what I hope my family will value. Jerry and I were surrounded by cowboy hats and kept our commentary to ourselves. We stuck out enough as it was. Day 6, still sore, but able to rest our weary legs between two flights and a four hour layover (yeah, frequent flier miles!). We arrived home vowing that this will not be our last vacation that revolves around hiking and national parks. We certainly missed the girls but was so glad to have these experiences with just Jerry. That, and I don't think the girls could be any match for a bear.
