This road trip got off to a good note by only being 2 1/2 hours behind schedule! Not bad! 1 hour was me getting home late from work and the other 1 1/2 was
also me forgetting the camera and having to turn around in Coalville. We did make it to Pocatello before the AM and had a fun time visiting with Vanessa and her night-owl children. All day Saturday was dedicated to the drive to Columbia Falls (our first camp spot). It felt so good to not have a schedule or any real plans. Bevan and I had to keep reminding each other to relax, we're on vacation!
Sunday was cloudy, which I heard is normal for that West Glacier area. We hit up some church in the local 9 AM ward and then headed to the park! I had planned some "strolls" along Going to the Sun Road up to Avalanche Lake and Trail of the Ceders. Even when it started raining, we still had a good time and soaked up all the beauty that was around us. We continued up the famous cliff-hugging CCC-era road, thankful that it was Sunday and no construction stoppage. We stopped at designated spots of beauty, took some pics, and headed to Many Glacier for another night of camping.
Monday was an exceptional day for a hike! The Garden Wall was covered in wildflowers, the Highline trail was dry, and the views from the Swiftcurrent Pass were clear for 100 miles! I cherished the weird looks my rounding body got from other hikers... feeling just a little bit of pride that I can still
do stuff like this... for now.
Tuesday was another great day to see everything I've missed over the last 10 years. Many Glacier hasn't changed much: the slopping hallways, the deck overlooking the lake, and the 50 cars pulled over to see a speck-of-a-grizzly over 100 yards away. Some things never change. We went by Two-Medicine on our way to East Glacier, just because I never really saw it when I worked there. We drove back across Montana, towards Wyoming, out-running a thunderstorm the whole way to Mammoth.
Wednesday was our Yellowstone day, but we got sick of it by 2PM. We tried to see only those things we hadn't seen on previous trips, which didn't take long. Most of the day we spend sitting in construction traffic, waiting for parking spots to open up, and just dealing with ALL THE PEOPLE! By the time we made it to Old Faithful, we were
done with Yellowstone and we decided to head to the Tetons a day early.
Thursday: Ah, the cleansing Tetons! No geysers, no traffic and no people! We found Nora and her family the day earlier and bummed a camp site. We hung out and waited for the rest of the fam to show up for our annual Ackerson Reunion! It was fun to have so much family there.
Friday: More family activities which included a hike to Swan Lake, lunch, rafting, and swimming in String Lake. It was fun to see all the cousins playing with each other. It started raining that evening, after dinner, and didn't stop until midnight. That wasn't bad considering the good weather we'd had most of the time. That rainstorm made us really evaluate... our tent. It leaks. But I'll save that for another sentimental blog post.
Saturday: Time to pack up and head back to civilization. We stopped by one more time at Jackson Lake Lodge to soak up the serene views. It's amazing how fast a week can go by. I hope it won't be another 10 years before we make it to Montana again. A family friend, Eve, once took a picture of a distant me on a grassy slope on Apikuni flats with Mt. Wilbur and Grinnel Point in the background (all features of the Many Glacier area). I kept this picture in my scriptures for years. I guess it's what I always imagined heaven would look like. Not so much a misty, cloudy area, but rolling lush hills, glacier-covered peaks, turquoise lakes, and thousands of wildflowers. How many places in the world can make you feel that much peace.
Now the pictures!!!
These were some of my favorites. Most of them I'll post of
facebook. Enjoy!
I can’t believe my little car has turned 150G! There should be more important things in my life to blog about right now, but this grabbed my attention this week. I was actually able to catch the odometer clicking over (luckily I had the camera with me)! It made me reminisce over the past 3 ½ years or 57,000 miles. What changes my life has been through! Here are some highlights involving little green civic:
