The drive to Whitefish from Fernie was under 2 hours and went by quickly with the beautiful vistas as well as a little help from The Wizard of Oz audiobook. We went over the border very easily-this was the first time Will or I ever drove across the border of a country. Neat. We declared our broccoli and carrots and were invited into Big Sky country.
Ethan got a little car sick toward the end of our ride, though I think it was more hunger than anything else because the road was smooth and not at all winding yet...at least not until we got very close. We took a break to check out a beach before getting to town and then found our condo for the next five days.
Our place is up a mountain a couple of miles and called Ptarmigan Village. It is a modest place with a living room, kitchen, and loft for Will and I. Ethan is going to sleep on the pull out couch and the owner had a camp cot we padded up for Eleanor. Should work out just fine. The loft is a bit stuffy, but I just figured out how to open the window up here, which will provide a much needed cross breeze. The loft has a crawl space area the kids immediately claimed as their "bat cave." When we were in Maine, the loft had a similar area, which for sure Ethan remembers and Eleanor claims to as well.
After settling in a bit here and looking over some maps, we decided to head up the mountain to the alpine ski area they have with some fun activities. First, Eleanor, Ethan, and I did the alpine slide while Will gladly sat out and acted as photographer. It looks like a luge track that you put these sleds onto. You push forward on a lever to accelerate and back to slow down or stop. Eleanor wasn't tall enough to go on her own so I got to go with her. It was fun and didn't go nearly as fast as expected. I could tell Ethan was a bit nervous on his own, but he made it down happily. Once we got down, we had to take a short ski lift ride back up to where Will was. Now, I'm not afraid of heights, but once we were on the lift, I had a fair amount of anxiety. The lift worker hadn't put the bar over us and I felt very exposed and frightened with the kids. I kept telling them to sit back and not lean forward at all. I didn't even realize there was a bar until another mom riding the other way saw me looking panicked, I think, and said, "You can pull the bar behind you down." That made me feel a bit better but every once and a while the lift would stop and then rock, and it just was a freaky feeling.
Our next activity, of course, was a ride up another lift to the very top of the mountain! By then, I felt it was pretty safe, so we ventured on. What I forgot, though, is that as much as I am not really afraid of heights, Will definitely is. We had barely left the ground when Will realized how much he HATED the ski lift. More than a few choice words were muttered under his break, much to Ethan's amusement. He was truly freaked out, and in the pictures I took, you can see how hard he is gripping the bar. Poor Will! It was a much longer ride this time, too, and we were much higher than the kids and I had been before. Thankfully, my fear subsided, and at least the kids and I really enjoyed it. We even turned around to look down at the crazy awesome views of Lake Whitefish behind us. All along the mountain, there were wildflowers in bloom, including a white puffy Dr. Seuss-like flower we learned was called Bear Grass. And the smell of all these flowers and the fresh mountain air = incredible! Will survived the ride but was seriously considering hiking down (it would have taken him over an hour) instead of riding back to the bottom. He decided instead, though, that he would ride in the closed gondola instead. So after taking some pictures and exploring the store at the top, Will took his gondola while the kids and I opted for the open air ski lift. I felt less anxious going down surprisingly, and it was just such a pretty ride. We took a lot of mental (and actual snapshots) once again. We also talked about how we are glad we take these trips.
Once Will had kissed the ground, we got in the car and went back down the mountain to the public beach for Lake Whitefish. We changed into suits al fresco and everyone but me swam a bit. I knew our next stop was the grocery store and didn't want to worry about being dry. I was happy on the sand, taking pictures. The sun was super intense, even at 5:30. We were into the 80s today. We stayed about an hour and then hit the Safeway (felt like home since it looks just like Mariano's) for a big grocery shop. We got our food for meals this week and a couple of frozen pizzas for tonight. We are on a bit of a late schedule here and didn't eat until 8:30 or so. Now, at 10, I believe the kids are asleep. And, based on how my eyelids are drooping, I will be soon, too! Tomorrow we will have our first day exploring Glacier National Park. We could see the mountains from where we are, and we can't wait!
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