Day 7 - Last Day in Glacier

For our anniversary, Ethan arose early (6:30) to wake us up in order to get on the road. He's so thoughtful. We all slept well, though, so we were up and at 'em for one final day in the park. After looking up some hikes, Will agreed that we would drive further into the park to get to them. Basically, the major road that runs from the west side to the east side of the park is called the Going to the Sun Road. There are some other roads along the edges, but you can access most of the trails from this one road. The road starts at a lower elevation, with Lake McDonald being on one end and then slowly climbs up to Logan Pass, which is along the Continental Divide. This is the highest point you can drive in the park. From there, the road slowly winds down the mountain, ending up at St. Mary's Lake and, eventually, the exit at St. Mary's. The sections in the beginning and end are not bad. It's the middle that is more difficult, where you are driving on the edge of a cliff essentially. It's great for me because I have my camera out the window, clicking away. But Will is concentrating on not killing us or the insane bikers riding through. 

Our destination today was to a hike that took us to four different waterfalls. It starts at the St. Mary's Trailhead, about 10 miles east of Logan Pass. We noticed right away that the landscape was different here, and it was clear a fire had gone through. We learned that there was a big fire in 2006, resulting in large sections of burned trees. This hike was so interesting because you had a forest of nearly bare, charred trees juxtaposed against a meadow of pink, purple, and yellow flowers. And in the background was St. Mary's Lake, which is this vibrant turquoise color. It was really so pretty. I was saying to Will how different it would have been if the trees were all full. We wouldn't have been able to see the lake, for one, and the meadow flowers might not have been as prominent.

The hike went along the meadow for a bit, and we called out frequently to stave off any bears. Not far in, you come across St. Mary's Falls, a very pretty waterfall. Then after a little more climbing, there were two other, unnamed waterfalls, both very nice. I just love to see the rushing water, coming down the rocks. It's amazing to think that this is really how the mountains were formed in the first place, with enough water coming over the earth. The final destination of the hike was Virginia Falls, which one blog we read opines as the "most spectacular fall in all of Glacier." Having visited several, we tend to agree. Virginia Falls was the largest, and most impressive, waterfall we saw on this trip. You are able to go up to a section at the bottom of the first major part and the wind blows the spray right into your face. It was more pleasant down a ways, where you can enjoy the bottom of the falls and climb a sit on some of the rocks settled there. We had a picnic here. It's a toss up now if this spot or our spot at Hidden Lake Lookout on our first day is my favorite. They were both great!

As is usually the case, the way back went a bit quicker with more decline than incline. Before heading to the car, though, there was a detour to take another hike to yet one more waterfall: Baring Falls. This hike was recommended by a friend Sheri, who worked in Glacier for a summer. I wanted to check it out. At this point, Eleanor was pooped and not too interested in another hike without a rest. So I did what any good parent does and bribed her with Red Vines (our hiking snack of choice) and some piggy back rides. I am so glad we did this hike! It came down a ridge right to the shore of St. Mary's Lake, which is just so pretty. The color is incredible, created by the sun's reflection of the rocks in the glacier that feeds into it (or something like that...), and the view of mountains behind it made it such a pretty spot. Unfortunately, my camera's battery died right before this hike, so I only had my phone to take pictures. From the lake, it was a short hike up to Baring Falls, which was cool and worthwhile. From there, we found that we were able to hike back up to the road in a much shorter distance, so we did that instead of turning back the way we came. Will had parked a bit down from the St. Mary's Trailhead, so we waited at the top while he got the car, which wasn't far at all. Worked out perfectly. 

From there, we continued on the Going to the Sun Road, stopping at the St. Mary's Visitor's center, right inside the east side of the park. Here, we read about the Native Americans associated with Glacier and also visited one last souvenir shop. Ethan got a Glacier National Park Patch to add to his collection, as well as a pin, and Eleanor chose a small grizzly bear stuffed animal she named Anothony Grizzo. I got a shirt I had thought about buying at every other shop we saw that has an outline of the state of Montana and says Glacier. Will left empty-handed. We stopped at the sign for Glacier on the way out to get one last picture and said goodbye. 

We decided it would be easier to drive from the east entrance back to Whitefish along the highway bordering the park, rather than going through the park. It would take us just over 2 hours. The first part of the ride proved to be just as winding as if we were in the middle of Glacier, though, so we were a bit nervous we made a mistake. The highway opened up, though, so it ended up being a good choice. And, we got to stop at the original Glacier Lodge. We took a quick detour here where Will bought a cool hat and the kids and I walked around. The inside is made from giant trees, and it looks neat. I wouldn't want to stay here for any length of time, but it's fun to visit. Our ride was pretty uneventful after that. We let the kids watch a movie because the ride was pretty long, so Will and I could listen to music and get a break from audiobooks. (Though admittedly, the one we're currently listening to is pretty good. I'm kind of excited to find out what happens on our drive tomorrow!)

Once back in Whitefish, we went out to dinner (!!!) for our anniversary. I think Will knew we could all use a break. He had researched a place to go called Buffalo Cafe but, despite what the website said, it ended up being closed. So we walked a bit in downtown Whitefish and found another place that was pretty good. The menu was a bit upscale while it looked very casual. I had worried about going in my hat and hiking boots but we found we fit right in. I got bangers and mash with a Ceasar salad with fried capers, Eleanor got shells and cheese, Ethan got a pub burger, and Will got a turkey Cobb. Oh, and I also got a delightful martini with vodka, elderflower liquor, and blackberries. It was called The Glacier.

From dinner, we drove "home" and I decided I would take the kids to the indoor pool for a bit. It had been a long day, but we had been sitting for quite a while. We went for just a bit, swam around, then hit the hot tub one last time before showering and coming home. The kids protested having to go to bed without reading (it was late), but their protesting sounded a bit like this, "Hey, why can't we...snore." Bedtime has been a cinch this whole time. If only we had mountains at home! 

All in all, this leg of the trip has been great. The kids have been absolute champs in the car. Before today, they never once needed a DVD player. And we didn't even need it today, but Will and I thought it would give us a chance to chat while they were entertained. They are content with an audiobook, and the complaining has been very minimal. We could have stayed a bit closer, and now we know, but the drives are so pretty that they don't seem bad at all. We had great weather all week (hotter than we expected), and we feel like we had enough time. We learned after Rainier that 2 days just isn't enough, so I'm glad we had 4 days to explore. We are looking forward to our next leg in Canada. We will have 5 full days in Banff to explore! Tomorrow night we will stay in Invermere, BC, about 3.5 hours from here. Then we will have about a 2 hour drive the next day to our condo in Dead Man's Flats, outside of Banff. Here, we will have more space, with the kids sharing a room and Will and I having our own room. But we will miss Glacier! 

**One more side note: at least once a day, we have had comments and conversations with people based on them seeing either mine or Will's Cub's hat. It's been funny. Sometimes it's a lighthearted, "Ah...Cubs fans," or other times, we meet other Chicago natives. We met a guy our first day who grew up in Glen Ellyn and lives on the north shore now. We even went to the same high school, though 15 years apart. I'm not sure that we would have had these comments had the Cubs not won the World Series last year, so it has been kind of funny. We've even had people drive by and just yell out, Go Cubbies!

Day 6 - Day 3 in Glacier

Today ended up being a relatively short day in Glacier, but a great one nonetheless. Our destination was Avalanche Lake, a popular hike in the park, for good reason. We got there in time to grab one of the last parking spots, which was lucky. Avalanche lake is an out and back hike that is 4.5 miles round trip. It gains 730 feet, so a decent amount is uphill. Shortly after starting, you can hear the rushing water of a creek coming down off the mountain. For probably a good half mile, you can see different parts of the rapidly moving water, and it is just so neat. The water is this aqua blue color and it's moving so fast. It reminded me a bit of a gorge in Rainier NP.  So off to the left is the rushing water, and to the right was the side of a mountainside at about a 45 degree angle. Admittedly, I was the most scared of bears at this point because the water was so loud, and I was afraid we would come across a bear that couldn't hear us coming. We are typically lucky to have Eleanor with us because she's constantly talking, but between the sound of the water and the incline making her work hard, she wasn't very loud. Terribly, we call her Bear bait on our hikes. :) (More on bears later...)

Once you're away from the water, you move at a steady incline through dense forest. There are a lot of large boulders along the trial, which the kids enjoyed climbing. I believe these are from previous avalanches, which is where the lake at the end got its name. It took us about an hour to get down to the lake, the last part of the hike being downhill. We read that this spot is one of the most photographed in Glacier, and it was clear to see why. We didn't have as blue of skies today as the last couple of days, but even with some cloud cover, the lake with the backdrop off the mountains was awesome. You can see 3 different waterfalls coming down off the mountain, which feed the lake eventually. As Ethan said when his legs got tired on the hike, "It will be worth it. It's always worth it." It was. 

We had our picnic lunch down by the water, sitting on some rocks and trying to keep our food away from pesky ground squirrels. We heard later that they are the biggest problem animal in the park because people think they're cute and feed them and they are very bold now. Will had to rescue his pack from one when it tried to climb on it. I was able to get a pretty great picture of Eleanor eating her sandwich with a ground squirrel (looks like a chipmunk) looking on. We NEVER feed any wild animals willingly, though, and even the kids know from our trips how bad it is for them. I was sure to remind them loudly, though, in case other tourists near were thinking of feeding them. 

The way back was definitely faster, as it was a lot more decline than incline. At one point, someone we passed said that people a ways down the trail said that a bear had just passed across the trail in front of them. They made a lot of noise, though, and it passed and went back into the woods. This made me a bit nervous, but the trail was pretty crowded at this point and I always feel safer then. That, and Will had the bear spray at the ready. I did switch camera lenses, in case we saw one from afar. We didn't. Poor Ethan is desperate to see a bear and has 0 fear of it. We keep reminding him that although they don't really want to hurt us, they can feel threatened (especially a mama with Cubs) and charge unpredictably. I also think he's all talk and the minute he sees a bear he'll be soiling himself. Not sure if we'll ever find out. I wouldn't mind seeing one, as long as it's from a safe distance. 

Anyway, the hike back was smooth and bear-less, and we drove to a visitor's center near the entrance to the park. While there, we got to hear a presentation by a ranger about none other than the bears in the park. We learned about how to identify a grizzly versus a black bear (their fur can actually look very similar so better to look at shape of their body and face), as well as what to do if you encounter one. She said that 98% of the time, if you are making your presence known, a bear will not come near you. But, she warned about exactly what we've been telling Ethan, that you need to give them space and do your best not to inadvertently sneak up on one. She also did a demonstration of bear spray. It's basically pepper spray. It sprays 30 feet, and you are to aim it at the bear's feet so the spray floats up to his or her face. A can of bear spray has 7 seconds of spray so you should spray in just 2 second intervals. She said most times, one spray is enough but if it keeps coming at you to spray again. She also said the only time to use it is if it's charging you. If you encounter a bear, you are to speak softly while backing away. Again, I hope never to be that close to have to remember that in my state of panic. The best thing I learned today, though, was that there have only been 10 bear related fatalities since the NP opened 100 years ago. I was actually surprised the number was so low, and I feel like odds are we will not be killed by a bear on this trip. We didn't ask how many near-deaths there were. Ignorance is bliss sometimes! 

From the Apgar Visitor's Center, we were going to travel up a road near there and find another small hike, but it was drizzling a bit. We didn't want to get caught on a trail in rain, so we decided to head for home and to the beach. As guests at Ptarmagan Village, we have access to a private beach on Whiltefish Lake. We found it, but it was a bit annoying because you had to use a code to open a gate to be able to park and then walk down a hill. There was a floating pier in the water and a couple of picnic tables. Will and the kids changed, but I remembered we were out of bread so I drove back into town to get some. (I also got a piece of chocolate cake for Will for our anniversary...shhhhh. Chocolate cake has been our anniversary thing ever since he got it in our Beijing hotel for our first anniversary." By the time I was done, they were ready to be picked up. 

Back at our place, the kids ate dinner while watching the Angry Birds movie on Netflix. Will and I took turns going for a short run. I ran with my music on full blast from my phone. We are already halfway up a mountain, and the run was mostly uphill, so it was not easy. But we both have had such tight muscles. We do so much walking but we're not stretching after hikes so you get a bit stiff. It felt good to run and then stretch. After, I ate a quick dinner and took the kids to the pool. After seeing the indoor pool facility on my run, I decided to go there. It is a much newer facility than the outdoor pool, plus it as a hot tub. We walked to it while Will put a load of laundry in. The indoor pool was nice, and the kids and I had fun swimming. Eleanor's favorite is to treat me like her own personal dolphin and ride me all around the pool. After 30 minutes or so, I went outside to the very large hot tub. (Dad - you would love it!) The kids joined me after a bit for a few minutes and then it was back home to shower and go to sleep. 

Will is pretty tired from the long days and mountain driving. I offered to drive, but that gives him even more anxiety. Ethan and I are both itching to get back up into the higher elevation hikes. I'd really like to do these waterfall hikes, but they are even past Logan Pass, so we will see. 

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! 

Day 4 - Day one in Glacier

Well, it's 8:45, and I can barely keep my eyes open, so it was a pretty eventful day in Glacier National Park. Glacier is incredible! The kids and I counted this morning, and we have been to 8 National Parks so far. I'm pretty sure Glacier will be our favorite. What a beautiful place!

Fearing long waits for the best hikes, we left the house at 7:30 this morning. We had snacks and lunch packed and hit the road for a decent drive to the park. From where we are at on the mountain, it took just under an hour to get to the gates of Glacier. We could have stayed closer, but I chose Whitefish because it has more to do than the other towns and I found the best place for the money here. As is always the case, though, once you get into the NP gates, you still have some driving to do. 

We chose to go pretty far in today, about 30 miles, to Logan Pass. Will had read about it as one of the most popular hikes. It was quite a ways up, so Will had to navigate on a lot of winding roads. What's hardest for him is not being able to look at the scenery as we go. That, and trying not to kill us all by driving off a cliff.  We didn't stop at all along the way, though we saw many enticing places, because we knew the parking lot at Logan fills up. It took at least another 50 minutes to drive there, but it was worth it! Logan pass has a hike up to Hidden Lake Lookout. From there, you can also hike down to the lake. Each hike is about 1.5 miles. When we started out, we learned via signage that the hike down to the lake was closed due to major bear activity! Good to know, at least, that they warn you. 

The hike started off with wooden platforms with stairs but quickly turned to walking over feet of snow. It was so much fun! The sun is intense at the higher elevation, and with a high in the 90s, it felt plenty warm. So here we all were, clad in shorts and t-shirts, walking through the snow. One highlight was when we rounded a bend only to run smack dab into a family of mountain goats. Will and Eleanor were a bit behind and came right upon them. They were probably only a couple feet away, so Will got some great pics. They told us later that the baby jumped up onto the ice and did some kind of flip. Eleanor loved it! 

We slipped and slid up some more snow before getting back onto solid ground at the lookout. The view down to the lake was spectacular. It was a long, narrow lake with hues of blue and green against the mountain backdrop, it was just breathtaking. We chose to have our picnic lunch up here, alongside many others and some more mountain goats. 

As you can imagine, our hike down was a bit more difficult, but also a lot of fun. We essentially slid down on the snow in some parts. I heard a woman say that she took her niece to the same place last June, and there was barely any snow. Apparently, they had a pretty significant snowfall this year. Really, this was my most fun hiking experience. There was something so great about being out in the sun, feeling plenty warm, while looking down at your feet in the snow. So cool. Get it? 

After the Hidden Lake hike, we took a little fruit and water break before deciding to hike part of the Highline trail. This was a long hike, and more dangerous, but we had read that many people went in a ways and then turned around. It started off easy enough but then turned into a section with a cliff going up on your right and straight down on your left. At this point, Will decided to call it for him and Eleanor, and Ethan and I decided to go in a bit more. It was quite steep, but there was a rubber rope of sorts attached to the cliff side to hold onto. I gave Ethan strict orders not to let go of the rope, and we hiked a bit more. You could easily hike it without holding on, but one major misstep could be disastrous, so I felt better holding on. A bit into the trail, though, the rope disappeared because the right side was no longer a high cliff. To your left, though, was still a 80 degree drop, though, so we decided we would turn around, too. 

Next, we decided to go back to the car (Will had had to park a ways down the road due to a full parking lot) and hit some of the sites we missed on the way. Our first stop was a big waterfall we had seen people climbing on. This was the perfect place to take off our shoes and soak our sore feet. It wasn't a steep waterfall where we were, so you could walk around on the rocks and even go close to the cliff wall and take a little mountain water shower, which we all did. 

Our next stop, I believe, was at Lake MacDonald, which is not far from the entrance. I am hazy here because I know I dozed a bit in the car at this point. My sleep has been restless while away, so I am very tired. The combo of the music, the open windows, and my exhaustion put me in a bit of a trance on this part of the ride. Regardless, we got to Lake MacDonald. I was not a proponent of taking our suits with us, as it was already close to 4 pm. With an hour to get home, I had really hoped that we could try to have dinner set before 7 pm, as these are such long days. But then when I saw the lake, I thought, okay, we better go in!

We changed al fresco again (I am getting pretty good at putting my suit on under a towel) and got into the water. The beach is all rocks, which was a bit difficult since we didn't have water shoes. I did cut my foot on one rock. But when you got in a few feet, you could go forward into the water. With goggles on, I saw that the rocks had a steep drop off about 5 feet in. It was pretty neat. The water was not very cold and felt amazing. We spent some times swimming around before drying off and going back to the car. 

On the way home, I stopped off at Safeway for a couple things we forgot yesterday. Once home, the kids wanted to go to the pool since we had said they could earlier when we thought it wouldn't be too late. Since dinner would take at least 30 minutes, I sent Will with them and made some burgers and fries. We ate, I showered, and half of us are asleep. The other half are half asleep.

So far, this trip is going really well. The kids bicker a bit at times, but there has not been a lot of major complaining. Eleanor hasn't had a problem on the hiking and is enjoying herself. And while the driving seems long, it really goes by fairly quickly because there's so much to look at. I'm so happy we took this trip and look forward to exploring Glacier the next few days. Will is reading up right now on what we should do tomorrow. 

Day 3 - First Border Cross and onto Whitefish

This morning, we enjoyed the Lizard Creek Lodge a bit more by taking advantage of the pool again as well as the workout room (for Will). I decided to run a ways up the mountain, staying on the paved road the whole time. It was a great run with awesome views, and I didn't feel the altitude too much. Obviously, it was all uphill the first half, so the way down was pretty easy. After our respective activities, we showered, packed up, and hit the road. 

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!

Day 2 (7/11) - Calgary and drive to Fernie

Our flight to Calgary was easy and smooth. At one point, the flight attendants announced that they had to pick up our garbage early and that everyone needed to sit with seatbelts because it was going to get very turbulent. Will and I were a bit nervous because the kids were seated by themselves across from us. We waited and waited, but it never got bad. There were a few very minor bumps right before landing. Oh, Canada.

Immigration was easy as can be, and it wasn't long before we had our rental car. We have a dark grey Malibu that still smells new. With leather seats and a sunroof, it's one of the nicest rentals we have had. It has a navigation system, which is super handy, too. The only drawback is that it is so new that it doesn't have a CD player. We brought several books on cd for the car rides. Thankfully, I was able to download a couple of youth audiobooks onto my phone last night, so we can listen through the Bluetooth system. I also have several kids' podcasts downloaded on my phone. On our drive yesterday, we listened to a timely science podcast about why people get car sick. 

The drive to Fernie, our stop for the night, was a bit longer than anticipated. The kids were not thrilled to learn they were going to have to sit down again and for triple our flight time. But shortly after leaving the Calgary airport, the landscape is beautiful. Huge, rolling hills and ranch after ranch on either side. It reminded me a lot of our drive through Vermont on our way to Maine. As we moved along, we got closer to the mountains, and we all peeled our eyes for bears, mountain Rams, and elk. We didn't spot any. 

When we were about 20 minutes away from our lodge, Will saw a sign for the World's Largest Truck, so, obviously, we had to stop. It did not disappoint. It is a truck that was used to carve up the mountain, essentially. Admittedly, I didn't read all the placards, so Will can fill you in at some point if you're so interested. We took the obligatory pictures and were back on our way. 

Our lodging for the night was at Lizard Creek Lodge, a ski resort. For less money than our Seattle Days Inn, we have a one bedroom condo with a living room (with fireplace), kitchen, and huge loft for the kids. They each got their own bed and have a bathroom up there. Not bad at all! Both kids are disappointed that we are only here for the night! The place does have a restaurant, but with $30 entrees, we opted to cook. Will volunteered to shop while I took the kids to the pool. Oh, and there is also an Ice Bar here, a bar made out of ice. We peeked in but obviously couldn't take our kids in there. I think they do vodka tastings there. It didn't appear to be open, so may be more of a high season thing. 

It was only in the 60s here yesterday, but the pool is nicely heated, and it is our favorite hotel pool to date. It looks right out at the mountains and ski lifts - so picturesque! Several times, I made the kids stop and take mental pictures. I took some actual pics, too, which I will try to include here. We swam, soaked a bit in the hot tub and then headed back to our room for showers and dinner a la dad, which was spaghetti and some broccoli. Felt good to have a real meal after a lot of quick bites at the airport or on the road. 

Both kids went to sleep quickly since it was after 10, and I got to work taking some things out of the suitcase to make room for WIll's clothes, which were packed in a roller cooler we bring as a carry-on. I packed several toiletries in tupperware so we can have it on our trip. I moved those to smaller bags, and our leftovers went into the Tupperware. We have done enough of these trips that I've learned some tricks along the way. Will even remembered to bring our good carrot peeler. As he always says, "You never want to be stuck someplace without your good carrot peeler." Ok, he doesn't actually say that, but he might some day. 

While I worked on the suitcase, Will went to get something from the car and to just "check things out." He came back about 30 minutes later with a tale of seeing an adolescent brown bear just off this little path, behind someone's garage. He said he thought it was a cat at first (big cat!), but then realized it was a bear. By the time he took out his phone to get a pic, he heard another noise. Worried it could be another bear, he got out of there quickly. Everything we read says that the bears are not interested in us. As long as you are talking and making your presence known, they will stay out of your way. We will also be sure not to leave a trail of nuts and berries for them and also carry some bear spray, whatever that is. And we will only hike well-populated trails. I'm typing this with Mr. Ethan by my side, as we both couldn't sleep much past 6. When I told him his dad's bear story, he was ready to go walk on the same path. I said, no way, Jose.

Today, we will do a little exploring around here and then hit the road for Whitefish, MT, where we will be for the next five nights. 

Day 1 (7/10) - Travel Day

We had a fairly uneventful trip to Seattle. We did leave Eleanor's booster seat in our Uber, but, thankfully, I was able to get a hold of our kind driver, Loretta, who circled back around for us. The rain had stopped by the time our flight was to take off, but due to bad storms to the west, we waited on the runway for about 40 minutes while our flight was rerouted. It is a longer flight than what we're used to, but kids did fine. 

When we landed, we called our hotel for the shuttle and then moved on to our Days Inn, our airport hotel in need of a face lift. Once settled, we walked 3 blocks to a nearby Link station, which is the train that runs into the city. It took about 25 minutes for us to reach the station closest to the Pike's Place Market. 

Seattle itself reminded me a lot of San Francisco. Not only is it very hilly, but there is a decent amount of homeless all around. (One of the more interesting homeless men had a hammock suspended between a building and lamp post and was perched above the sidewalk.) From the train station, we had a short walk to the Market, which we simply explored. We went to see the area where the guys throw fish, which was funny. When someone orders one of the whole fish on display, they yell it out and then toss it to another guy behind the counter to be filleted and packaged. You can pack up fish, crab, etc. and take it right on the place with you. It's good for 48 hours. We have enough to carry on a plane, though, so we passed. Eleanor was not a fan of the smell (not bad because all so fresh) or a fish that they would make move from a string under the ice. If a little kid approached it, someone would make the fish move, resulting in either hilarity or terror from the child. Entertaining to watch for sure.

For dinner, Will and I both had a blackened  salmon fish sandwich from the Market Grill, which was delicious. The kids, despite eating it at home, weren't interested in salmon and shared a chicken basket. Ethan did try my fish, though, and approved. 

Next to the market, we came upon an alleyway covered in used gum. I didn't know this was a thing, but apparently it's called the Gum Wall. We chose not to add to it, but we did have the kids pose for pictures, of course. Some people had even written their name in stretched out gum. Pretty gross. After the market, we stopped off at an ice cream place for terribly expensive but also very tasty handmade ice cream. Then, we went down to the waterfront to explore some shops and sites before heading back to the train station and back to our hotel. 

It was still light out at 9pm when we went to bed, but since it was 11 to us, 3 out of the 4 of us were asleep quickly. You can guess who chose to stay up. Ok fine - it was Eleanor. We were all up early with the time change, which was a-ok because we needed to get to the airport around 8 for our international flight. The airport has a neat common area with a huge section of Windows where you can watch planes land and take off. We grabbed another little breakfast (hotel continental breakfast left much to be desired) and relaxed for a while before going to our gate. 

I'm typing this while on our Delta flight to Calgary. We will be in the air for just over an hour, so it should go very quickly compared to yesterday. We will pick up our rental car at the airport and then hit the road for Fernie, BC, where we are staying in a beautiful ski lodge for the night before driving south into Whitefish, MT.