Day 5 - Day 2 in Glacier

While today's hikes were not as exciting as yesterday's, it was still a great day in Glacier. Our day started with some oversleeping. 3 of the 4 of us woke up at 8. Ethan, happily playing the iPad he cracked the code on said he knew better than to wake us up. Yesterday, we were up and out of the house at 7:30, so Will was a bit panicked. But I, for one, was feeling great that we all got a much needed good night's sleep. Will packed up some lunches, et cetera while I made eggs and sausage to fuel our hikes. We were on the road by 9 something, I believe. 

Glacier National Park has one major road that drives across the park from one side to the other. It's called the Going to the Sun Road. That is what we took yesterday to the Logan Pass area where we did our hikes. But because you are driving through mountains, it takes a while to cover the mileage. A 30 mile drive takes at least an hour, etc. We decided today that we would stay closer to the entrance. Our original plan was to do a popular hike called Avalanche Lake, but with our late start, we chose some different hikes, as we knew the trailhead would be filled up. We ended up at a hike called John's Lake. It hikes alongside a rushing creek, and there were many places to go to the water and explore. The highlight was a waterfall and large set of rapids leading down to the creek. The rushing blue-green water with the backdrop of the mountains was just beautiful. This is a trial shared by horses, so Eleanor was thrilled when we had to wait on the side as several horses passed. The actual namesake of the hike, John's Lake, wasn't too exciting. It was small and still, and surrounded by small trees so you couldn't easily look out at it. But the hike itself was pretty, winding through dense forests. Still no bear sightings, but since this hike wasn't as populated, Will had the bear spray at the ready. 

It was already past lunch time when we finished this hike, so we got in the car and went back to Lake McDonald (I was spelling it wrong before). We had lunch, changed into our suits, and had another lovely swim. At one point, I was floating on my back, soaking in the sun and the scenery. I will return to this place in my head come winter when I am stuck indoors in cold Illinois. The weather is hot here now, in the 90s, and the sun is intense. The swim felt so great, as did lying out on the rocky beach afterwards. Eleanor and Ethan are definitely water bugs and spent a lot of time swimming and then stacking rocks. We have seen so many cairns around, so they enjoy making their own. 

When we had our fill of swimming, we got dressed again and got in the car. We wanted to see the Apgar Visitor Center, close to the entrance, but we turned early and ended up at the campground area. It was a happy accident for me and the kids, though, because there was an ice cream stand. Ethan and I both got huckleberry frozen yogurt, while Eleanor opted for chocolate ice cream. As we drive toward Glacier, there are tons of stores and stands advertising huckleberry things: pie, jams, syrup, and just the berries themselves. I became familiar with them in Mt. Rainier. There were some bushes right off the trail people would eat from. They are delicious! 

By the time we finished going into some stores and eating our ice cream, it was after 4, so we decided to head for home rather than find another hike. Even short ones can take an hour or more. At "home," I took the kids swimming for a bit while Will made tacos. We hope now to be up and out earlier tomorrow since we are all going to bed a bit earlier tonight. We plan to try Avalanche Lake tomorrow for sure!

On a side note, I am loving that I was able to download audio books onto my phone to listen to in the car. We are just about done with The Wizard of Oz. We are only familiar with the movie so hearing the original book is very interesting. There is a lot more to the story than the movie. Eleanor likes it so much she asks constantly if we can turn it back on, even if we just have a short drive. And she will ask us to pause it to ask questions. I need to find another book to listen to now since we are just about done!