Trip Report: Glacier - Wateron - Yellowstone - Grand Teton National Parks (July 2009)
The Cast:
Main Characters -
Brian - this was his year to pick our vacation, so he is obviously very excited. Loves to hike, would hike all day every day if we let him! Is hoping we don't get attacked by a bear.
Jaime - loves vacation, and any sort of adventure. Did all the planning for the trip. Is hoping no one falls off a cliff.
Lily - 5 years old, loves vacation, loves adventure, loves being with her family, loves everything. Is just hoping we don't get lost.
Supporting Actors -
Little Red Car -
(2001 Toyota Echo) - probably the real hero of this story. 8 years old and still running strong! It powered us through all 2500 miles of our trip without a single complaint.
Facebook Followers - thanks for reading and all your encouragement - it made the trip a lot more fun! Even if texting updates from the phone was a bit tedious...
John & Julia Nelson - thanks for taking care of Woozle! Don't know what we would do without you!
Petsmart PetsHotel - takes care of Nala, that spoiled little dog! Seriously, its good to know she is in capable hands.
REI - outdoor clothing and equipment store that made WAY too much money off of us in preparation for this trip.
Google maps - planned all our routes and kept us from getting lost... but man you guys are crazy - you must drive 90mph to make those time estimations!
Some Awards....
Most Memorable Moment - The charging moose. (chap 6-7)
Most Unique Experience - Staying at the Granite Park Chalet. (chap 10-11)
Best Overall Experience - The Highline Trail back from the Chalet. (chap 12)
Best Accomplishment - Brian hiking the Death Canyon Trail. (chap 18-19)
Best Purchase - Huckleberry Taffy (why didn't I bring more of that home???)
Worst experience - Dragging an unhappy kid through the pouring rain in Two Medicine. (chap 6,8)
Biggest Mistake - Missing the boat at Grinell Lake.(chap 3)
Okay... enough of the Fluff, here's the Story!!!
Chapter 1. Getting there is half the Fun, right???
We somehow missed the 5am alarm clock, but thanks to our early rising sun, we woke up soon after that anyway. We were hoping to be on the road by 6:00, but it was closer to 6:30 when we got out the door. We had agreed on Chick-fil-a for breakfast, and decided to wait until the one in Castle Rock since it wouldn't take us out of the way. We filled up the tank, got some food to go, and were back on the road. Unfortunately we were headed into downtown Denver during AM rush hour, and found some delays. During this time Lily became very frustrated with one of her new car toys, it turned into a major temper tantrum and we lost some time on the road dealing with it.
The next few hours we did not male good time, it seemed we had to stop about every hour for something. In Casper, Wy we took a quick break for lunch at Arby's. The afternoon would drag on much like the morning, the pleasant but unchanging scenery threatening to lull us to sleep. It was cool to see several large windfarms - don't really understand how people can complain about how they look - I think they are quite fascinating to watch. What a sensible way to harness energy!
We noticed that we were running significantly behind the timetable that Google maps had predicted... Guess we aren't the best road trippers. I was starting to doubt that there was any chance of making our dinner reservation in Yellowstone on the way home if this was how the trip was going to go. In Bozeman we stopped for dinner at a Chinese buffet- we didn't want more fast food, but also didn't want to take too long. Every time we eat at a Chinese buffet I feel like we should offer to pay the adult price for Lily, they definitely don't make much profit off her! She picks the most exotic foods on the buffet. After dinner we made the last stretch to Helena, saw some bats flying in front of us a few times! Check-in at our hotel (Holiday Inn Express) was very quick, and we were soon asleep.
We woke a little before our 7am alarm, and took advantage of our last indoor plumbing for a few days, showering and getting ready before heading downstairs for breakfast. I also took advantage of what would probably be my last Internet connection for a while to check in on Facebook from my iPod. We had discovered a few supplies we were missing, so we made a quick stop by Albertson's on the way out of town. On the interstate, we somehow missed our exit and ended up going through Great Falls. It wasn't too far out of the way though.
As we got closer, the scenery became more breathtaking, we also came upon several flocks of seagulls. We realized that the milage signs were giving distances to the southern edge of the park, so to get the St. Mary entrance we had to go a bit farther. Again, running far behind what Google had suggested. Eventually it came into view. The St. Mary Lodge was just outside the park- we stopped there for lunch at the Curly Bear Cafe.
We spent a little bit of time at the visitor center here, got Lily a Junior Ranger booklet, she was hoping to be able to complete all the activities in it to earn her badge. We also talked to the ranger about the Highline Trail, she didn't seem to think we would have any trouble taking Lily on it. Then we watched the Glacier movie in the auditorium, it was really cool to see a lot of the things we were going to do in it! After that it was time to go check in at the cabins! I was a little disappointed to see that the cell phone lost it's signal once we left St. Mary. At least we would be able to use it when we went through there though.
Chapter 2. Let the Adventures Begin!We checked in at the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn with no trouble, and drove to find our cabin. There was a restaraunt and general store in the main registration building, which would come in handy many times during the week. The cabin was listed as a 2-room, but was more like 3. It had 2 bedrooms plus a small living room with a sink and table. It was pretty rustic with bare floors and walls, but still cozy. We set about getting settled and unpacked, and set off on foot to find the bathhouse. It was over past the next circle of cabins, not too bad but hopefully we wouldn't have to make too many trips there after dark! Lily was having such a good time just hanging out in the cabin while we unpacked, and said she wanted to move in and live there forever...
After a bit we set out for our first adventure - the Apikuni Falls trail. It wasn't far from our cabins, and we were soon off for our first hike. It was a short trail but pretty steep, and there were quite a few bugs. But it was very pretty, very lush with lots of wildflowers. It was supposed to be just over 1 mile to the falls, after about 1/2 mile we passed an older couple who swore there was nothing up there - they had just turned back, being sure they had gone over a mile already. I guess we should have told them they were only about half way there, but they didn't look like they were up to much more climbing so we just smiled and nodded, and continued on our way.
The falls were pretty, couldn't get right up next to the water but there was a good view at the end of the trail. We had been practicing our "best bear deterrent" which was using our voices, and developed a habit of continually talking or singing as we walked. Hopefully this would warn off any nearby bears so that our last resort, the Bear Spray (that we spent $90 on) would not have to be used.
We made good time on the hike, despite it being steep. If I had underestimated driving time, it looked as though I may have overestimated hiking time, which would help to make up for Google's crazy predictions. We headed back toward the cabin, and walked up to the main building for dinner at the Italian Garden's restaraunt. All of the lodges around there had a main sit-down restaraunt, and I had planned to eat at a different one each night. But we ended up liking our own Italian one so much, and it was so convinient, that we just ate there every night instead. Good food, reasonable price, short waits, and walking distance from the cabin, couldn't beat it! On this first night, our waiter wasn't the best though, and forgot to bring us our bread sticks. We would get them on each of the following 3 nights though, they were so yummy!
After dinner we stopped by the Ranger set-up in the parking lot, called "Watchable Wildlife". They set up telescopes and scan the mountainsides for wildlife. we saw some mountain goat, which we would see several other times as well, it turns out this place is full of them! We headed on back to the cabin for our first night, which turned bit chilly, making it difficult to get up and going the next morning. Later in the week we would realize that we actually had a small heater in the living room, but we spent the first two nights huddled tight under our blankets!
Chapter 3. The Missed Boat Story.
So if you read any of my facebook updates, you already know that we missed a boat today, here is how it happened. We finally drug our cold selves out of bed and got dressed, ready to head out for the day. We had a boat tour and guided hike planned for the morning, and were going to split up in the afternoon - Brian to Iceberg Lake (a 10 mile hike), and Lily and I were hoping to make the guided nature walk at the cabins, and possible the Many Glacier Historic Hotel tour. She needed to do at least one Ranger led activity as part of her Junior Ranger program, and either of those would work.
Since our boat was leaving from the Many Glacier Hotel, we decided to have breakfast there, in the Ptarmigan Dining Room. It had some really nice views of the lake, but was a bit pricey for breakfast ($65 for the 3 of us) The hotel is one of the older ones in Glacier and I spent some time reading the historic information they had on the walls. We were still a bit early for the boat, but went ahead and got our tickets, then hung out by the lake until it was time to board. I was glad I had made reservations, they were already booked solid when the ticket window opened, and were immediately starting a stand-by waiting list.
The first boat we took was short, and on the other side of Swiftcurrent lake we had to make a short hike to Josephine Lake to catch the next one. I thought the boat captian would lead us, but he took off ahead and Brian ended up being in the lead of the whole group - the trail split several times and I was worried we were leading everyone the wrong way, but finally the boat dock came into view. On the other side of Josephine Lake, we gathered with the boat captain who was going to lead the guided hike to Grinnell Lake. It was about 3 miles roundtrip. Along the way he pointed out the different colored rocks that we would see everywhere all week (pink, grey, green, yellow) and explained the geological significance of each. He also showed us how to recognize the most famous plant in the park - the Huckleberry! We would later buy some huckleberry taffy - no other candy will ever satisfy me again.
Near the end of the trail there was a long hanging bridge over the creek, that only 1 person could go across at a time. We took turns, and it really swung a lot even if you walked slow. As we got to the lake, Lily started getting a bit grumpy. We tried some snacks, but she still wasn't in the best mood when we headed back towards the boat dock. The next boat was leaving in about an hour, we knew we had to get going if we were to make it.
Just across the bridge there was a short trail up to another waterfall that Brian really wanted to do. The group we were with was starting to break up and trickle back on their own anyway. It was steep, and with Lily not at her best I decided to wait with her at the bottom while Brian went up. We sat down next to the bridge and she worked on some of her Junior Ranger book. After about 15 minutes, I realized that Brian should have gotten back already and started to worry that we weren't going to make the boat. There were still a few people hanging around the bridge who had been with our group, but within a few minutes they were gone, and it was just us.
Lily started getting very worried about Brian, and I thought about going up the trail to look for him. But the area was now deserted, and being a known bear area I was afraid to take off into the wilderness alone with her, especially since we had not brought the bear spray today. Afterall, we were going to be in a group most of the time. More time passed, still no Brian, and I became pretty certain that we would miss the boat.
I wondered if he had somehow missed us and headed back to the boat, or had gotten into some sort of trouble on the waterfall trail. I figured that no matter which way I went to look for him it would end up being the wrong one, so we just stayed put. Finally, after almost an hour, he came running down the trail from the direction of the boat. He had indeed missed seeing us at the bridge, and thought that we were waiting for him at the boat. Not finding us there, he panicked wondering what could have happened and headed back to where he had left us. There was now no way we would make the boat, it was leaving in just a few minutes and we were over a mile away. We would either have to wait for the next one, which wasn't for 2 hours, or make the hike back around the lake. The hike was a little over 2 miles, and we figured that would be faster than waiting for the boat.
I was a bit frustrated at this point - frustrated at Brian for not having looked for us more at the bridge, frustrated that we might now miss Lily's nature walk, and REALLY frustrated that we hadn't brought the bear spray. We had overheard someone earlier say that they saw a bear that morning on this same trail. And here we were alone on it, with no defense.
Fortunately it was a pretty easy trail and we made good time, and didn't encounter any bears. We made sure to make lots of noise as we went. We were about an hour late getting back to the hotel, but had just enough time to scarf down some sandwhiches before heading off to our seperate afternoon adventures.
Chapter 4. Seperate Adventures.Lily and I met the Ranger on the steps of the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn. There were 4 other adults going on the walk, I had hoped there would be more kids. Oh well. We started off on a trail that leads to Swiftcurrent Pass, we wouldn't be taking it very far though. The ranger stopped often to tell us about several of the flowers, and pointed out signs of wildlife that had been there recently. Including a tree cut down by a beaver, and another tree that had fresh Bear Claw marks on it!
We made our way down to FisherCap lake, where there was another ranger-led group already there. He said they had seen a moose a few minutes ago, but he had gone back into the bushes across the lake. We were about to move on, thiking we had missed the chance, when one of the other hikers pointed out a different moose coming into the water on the far side of the lake.
I got out the binnoculars so Lily could get a better look, she was quite fascinated. A few minutes later, and the first moose came back out as well, on the side of the lake much closer to us. After a few minutes he started coming across the lake toward us slowly, shaking his head and grunting loudly. We took that as a sign that he was not happy with our presence, and the Ranger moved us on. It wouldn't be the closest encounter with a moose we would have on this trip though...
She next led us to a waterfall, and pointed out a very tiny hummingbird nest far up in a tree. Apparently it is the smallest species of bird in North America - the whole nest with the bird in it didn't look any bigger than my fist! After that we were practically in the parking lot of the cabins, and we got her to sign off on Lily's Junior Ranger Book. Once back at the cabin, I decided against trying to make it to the hotel tour. Lily needed some down time, and we had already done two guided adventures that day. So we relaxed a bit, made a quick drive to St. Mary for gas and to check in (since the cell phone worked there) and then were back in the cabin working on her Junior Ranger book when Brian got back.
He had hiked to Iceberg Lake - the trailhead departed from the parking lot of the cabins, and it was known to be one of the most popular "Don't miss" hikes in the park. Being that we already had one long hike planned to the chalet, I thought it best not to wear Lily out on this one though, so Brian went alone. He said (at the time) that it was the best hike he had ever done! Very scenic trail to a beautiful blue-green lake that had icebergs floating in it. He even waded out into the water a bit and had someone take his picture - said it was really cold, no surprise! We told him about seeing the moose, and he showed us some of the pictures he had taken. (We brought the old camera too so that for days like this we could both have one)
We had dinner again at Italian Gardens, but with a better waiter this time. Food was just as yummy! Afterwards, Lily made a stop by the store and bought her first souvenir, a small stuffed chipmunk named Chippy. Later as we were heading to the bathhouse to get ready for bed, we rounded a corner and in the encroaching darkness made out a large brown figure in the grass next to the trail - heart just about skipped a beat but it was only a dear! There have been known to be bears coming through the campground, so walking around after the sun sets can be a little nerve-wracking. No other adventures for the night though, we were soon tucked into bed for good, though cool, night's sleep.
Chapter 5. Going to the Sun
We had to get up very early today - there was a Discovery Cabin with lots of good stuff for kids in the park - but it was all the way on the other side in Apgar, and was only open for 1 hour every day - early in the morning! So we scrambled out of bed, grabbed some poptarts out of the food box in the trunk, and were on our way. The main road that leads through the scenic part of the park is called Going-to-the-Sun Road, and the park literature recommeded 3 hours to get across it. I was hoping that so early in the morning, with no traffic, we would do better than that because I only allowed about 2.5 hours. We made a few stops to get pictures on the way, but knew we would do more stopping and exploring on the way back, later in the day.
A few of those morning views were just too good to pass up though. The road was almost empty, it was really neat to feel like we had the whole place to ourselves, a feeling we would not get again on the road for sure. At one overlook, I wanted a picture of me and Lily sitting on the ledge with the mountains behind us. There wasn't really an immediate dropoff on the other side, but Lily was so worried about me that she held on as tight as she could to "keep me from falling off". It was really sweet, and is one of my favorite pictures of us from the trip.
We made it to Apgar with a few mintues to spare, and walked down by the lake while we waited. Lily found some icy bubbles on the ground, which she picked up and thought was really funny. The Ranger arrived to open the Discovery Cabin and we went in to explore. There were lots of skulls and antlers that we had fun identifying... and trying on. As well as some various animal furs (one of which, a black bear, I wrapped around me for a picture) The ranger talked to Lily about some of the animals, and we again asked about the Highline Trail. This ranger didn't seem as confident as the last, but didn't act like we were totally crazy either. I guessed we were going to go for it... I had lost many hours of sleep in the previous weeks worrying about whether we should attempt it... but I knew we would regret it if we didn't.
After leaving the cabin, we drove to the nearby trailhead for the Rocky Point Trail, a short 3 mile trail that went to Lake McDonald. It was totally deserted, and once again we were sure to make lots of noise. And we had the bear spray this time, just in case. The trail wound through a forest that was burned back in 2003, it was cool to see the new undergrowth begining to start the new forest, while the burned and dead tree trunks looked down on it. We got to the lake, and Lily spent some time here playing with, and climbing on the rocks. We hiked back to the car, meeting one group who asked us if they were going the right way, to which Brian's response was "I guess it depends on where you're going", LOL! Then one other person who had her dog, tsk tsk. No dogs are allowed on National Park trails, she did look a little guilty as she walked by so I suspect that she knew that.
We were still close to Apgar, and though it was a little early for lunch I knew we wouldn't have another opportunity to eat for some time if we passed it up, so we headed back into the village to Eddies. Apgar is the closest thing you will find to civilization within the park - a lot of the shops and restaraunts were there before the land became National Park, and were grandfathered in, allowed to stay. They weren't ready to serve lunch yet, only breakfast. Which was fine with Lily and I, but Brian wanted a sandwhich. So we went ahead and ordered, and as soon as the clocked rolled over 11am, he put in his sandwhich order. I tried the Huckleberry syrup with my pancakes, which was good but they gave me way too much and I felt bad for wasting so much.
We drove on, back the way we had come on Going-to-the-Sun Road, planning to make several stops along the way for overlooks and short hikes. No major hikes today, as I wanted us to pace ourselves and not get too worn out early in the trip. We stopped first at the Trail of the Cedars, a boardwalk trail through a mountainous rainforest. It was really peaceful back there. There was a giant tree that had fallen over a long time ago, and most of its roots had been pulled up to where you could see them as it fell, I thought it was neat, but Lily was a little grossed out, not sure why. There was also an area by a stream that Lily played at for a long time.
Farther down the road we stopped at another overlook. Down just below the road was a very large, and mostly flat snowfield that Lily just had to go out on. Lots of other people were, so we figured it was okay. Brian went down with her, and they crawled, walked, slipped, and slided on the snow for a while! Then Brian wanted to go up a small, and I suspect unofficial trail, that went beside the waterfall on the other side of the road. We made very sure that we knew exactly where to meet this time so there were no more mix-ups like yesterday. We also got our first family picture here, a guy pulled in behind us and offered to take it for us.
We stopped again at the Jackson Glacier overlook, one of the larger glaciers in the park. It is predicted that by the year 2020 there will be no more glaciers at all in Glacier National Park. So sad, glad we got to see them while they are still here. Two different Red Jammer Bus Tours arrived while we were there, and we listened in on the tours guide's talk. We had planned to do a few more stops and short hikes, but Lily was getting sleepy, and I felt like we all needed a break. So we decided to call it a day and head back to the cabin instead. Sometimes even the best made plans have to be tossed aside in favor of a happy, well-rested family :)
Lily took a short nap back at the cabin, then worked some on her Junior Ranger book. We had another dinner at Italian Gardens, saw some more mountain goat in the scopes, and then it was off to our evening entertainment - a concert by Jack Gladstone at the Many Glacier Lodge. Jack is 1/2 Blackfeet Native American, and told us a bit of his life story and shared many songs. Some I knew, some I didn't, but it was a really fun evening. Lily only managed to stay awake for the first part, but thouroughly enjoyed the songs she heard before succumbing to sleepiness in my lap. Then it was back to the cabin, where we had discovered the heater, for a much warmer night's sleep.
Chapter 6. Two Medicine is too wet!
We got going as early as we could today, which wasn't as early as we probably should have. We were headed down to the part of the park called Two Medicine, for another boat ride and 4 miles hike to Upper Two Medicine Lake (not guided this time). We had noticed the forcast called for a 40% chance of rain and thunderstorms, but were hoping (in vein in turned out) that we would get lucky. Lily was a little grumpy, partly from being tired, partly from not getting a good breakfast (more poptarts in the car) and I worried that our plans for the day might be too ambitious given her mood.
We were driving as quickly as we safely could, Two Medicine was almost two hours away. As we drove, nearing the entrance to Two Medicine, I noticed a car going the other way that was stopped in the middle of the road. Around here, cars stopped in the middle of the road can mean one of two things - really dumb drivers, or a wildlife spotting. Usually it is the latter. We were still going pretty fast, but I spotted something black on the side of road, not more than a few feet from the pavement - BLACK BEARS! A mom and two cubs - this was the first time we had seen bears, and though we were running late, we turned around to get a better look. They were gone by the time we got back though, bummer.
We made it to the boat dock in time, but they had no record of my reservations! Fortunately they still had room for us (unlike the boat at Many Glacier which was full) and let us on. The boat captain mentioned that there might be some showers later in the afternoon, but assured us that the morning should be dry, just cool and overcast. However, almost as soon as the boat left us on the other side - a major storm rolled in! Luckily we were still at the boat dock getting ready when it hit, so we waited out the worst of the storm in the shelter there. Hard rain, thunder, hail, didn't look like such a pleasant morning suddenly. Eventually it died down to just a light rain, so we set out, bundled up in our ponchos.
We hiked a little ways to the turnout to the waterfall, and went over to explore. Several other people from the boat were there, but had made better time than us up the trail so within a few minutes we were mostly alone. Lily wanted to walk out on some of the big rocks by the side, and at one point slipped in, soaking the bottom half of one leg. I was worried then about her getting grumpy at being wet, turned out that by the end of the hike that fall wasn't really going to matter as far as being wet...she did get a little grumpy as we were leaving the waterfall, heading back to the main trail.
Her and Brian were stopped on the side of the trail, talking through it, I had mostly tuned them out. The sound of the water rushing was peaceful, there were birds chirping, most of the rain had stopped and there was a slight breeze swaying the plants. It seemed nice.
Then suddenly something seemed very, very WRONG. A very loud and distinct whooshing sound coming from the high brush of grasses next to the trail! My heart almost stopped for a moment - something was coming toward us, and whatever it was must be very large, and moving very fast!
Chapter 7. The MOOSE Story.So again, if you followed my Facebook page during the trip, you read that we had a little run in with a Moose. When the sound in the brush got my attention, I whirled around to see the very definite eyes and ears of a large female Moose charging right toward us! She hadn't noticed us yet, she was making so much noise plowing through the bushes that she didn't even hear Brian and Lily talking. I must have yelled something to alert them to the situation, they hadn't noticed as quickly as I did.
I was looking right into her eyes when she caught sight of us, and saw there the exact same emotion that I felt - utter terror! She immediately slammed on the brakes, rearing up as she did and letting out a startled grunt. She made a quick turn and darted a few feet away, onto the trail ahead of us, then stopped. And turned to stare right at us. By this time, we had followed our wildlife encounter plan to the letter. We had backed off the trail, Lily was in my arms, and Brian was reaching for the Bear Spray. (not sure if it works on a moose, but might have been worth a try)
The next few uneasy seconds seem to last forever - her staring at us, us staring at her, each wondering what the other's intentions were. Finally she must have decided we weren't worth a conflict, and ran off in the other direction. We were still shaking from the encounter for several minutes. Later we would read a disturbing statistic - that more people have been killed in the park by Moose than by Bears. Fortunately for us, it was a female that we encountered. Had it been a more aggressive male moose that we startled, it could have been a very bad situation indeed.
We hiked on toward the lake, trying to shake it off, but being much more diligent about our surroundings. After a while it started to rain harder, and then there was more thunder, and lightening. For most of this time we were in the cover of the forest, but a few times we were in a more exposed area and I was a little nervous about the nearby lightening. There was no point in stopping now though, we were more than halfway to the lake, might as well finish it since we were going to get wet anyway.
I'm not sure Lily agreed - she was not a happy camper by this time. She didn't like being wet, and she was scared of the lightening. But somehow we kept going. At one point the bug spray I had put on my head started dripping down into my eyes, and it burned! I was glad for my hat, but finally we were so wet that I stopped really trying to look around as we walked, just kept my head down and hoped we weren't on top of any dangerous wildlife. Given that we had already spotted black bears that morning, and almost had a moose land on us, this probably was not smart. But we were lucky, and nothing jumped out of the bushes at us.
Chapter 8. A Soggy Ending to the Day.After a little more than an hour in the rain, we reached the lake. we had planned a picnic lunch there, but it didn't seem like the best weather for it. The rain was still coming down hard, and it was getting cold. I thought our best plan would be to head on back to the dock and try to catch the early boat instead of hanging out at the lake until the later one. So after a quick glance and picture at what would have been a really pretty lake, we turned back. The hillsides were covered in wildflowers, I wished the weather had been better so we could have appreciated the beautiful landscape.
At some point in the hike, as we were stopped for a water break, I spotted something rather large and brown climbing on the hillside up ahead of us. It was too far away to know for sure what it was, we started talking louder and I saw it disappear up the slope out of sight. Could very well have been a bear from what I could see, but I guess we'll never know. Probably better that way.
Lily was really dragging by the time we got back to the shelter by the dock, the boat was due in about 10 minutes. We sat down and had a snack, and Brian rung a ton of water out of her boots, which were supposed to be waterproof, but I don't think anything could have stood up to the drenching that we got. The boat came, and we climbed on, I was glad ot be out of the cold at least. On the ride back the captain spotted a black bear on the hillside, we could just barely make out a black shape moving over the grass, even with the binnoculars.
This place seemed to be teeming with wildlife! We would see more here than the rest of the trip combined. Probably because it is less traveled, farther away from the massive human invasion in the more populated areas of the park.
Fortunately we had planned ahead a bit for rain, Lily and I had a dry outfit in the trunk. We ran to the bathroooms and changed. It was still cool, but at least we weren't so wet now. Back at the cabin, we recovered from our soggy adventure with some sandwiches - a late lunch. On the way back there had been another roadside bear spotting, but far in the distance and hard to see much. That was just fine by me though. Better from a distance than up close.
After resting for a bit, we took Brian to the waterfall and lake that the ranger had brought us to earlier in the week. It was close to the cabin, though it took me a few minutes to wander back to the right trailhead. No moose at the lake this time, which was just fine by me. In fact I would be perfectly happy to not see another one the rest of the trip.
Then we had one last dinner at Italian Gardens, and did some souvenir and gift shopping at the store. They had a good collection of those small black bear figurines, with bears hiking, fishing, raiding tents, etc. I was having a hard time decided which one I wanted when I spotted it - a Mama Bear and Papa Bear walking with a cub between them, swinging by the arms. Awww, it was our family! So that was my souvenir for the trip.
I had initially planned to get up very early the next day to set out for the chalet, but seeing how tough a time Lily had on too little sleep, I decided that we would just sleep until we woke up, even if it meant getting a late start. We had all day to get there, and shouldn't have a problem seeing as how the sun didn't go down until after 9pm. So we settled in for one last cozy night in the cabin, and slept harder than I had all week. Would we make it down the Highline Trail safely tomorrow? I had been thinking about, and worrying about this moment for a long time.
Chapter 9. Time for "Plan B".The forcast for today had been iffy - chance of rain, fog, thunderstorms etc. but I was hoping that after raining the day before and for most of the night, that the clouds had gotten it out of their system. We were planning to hike the Highline Trail to the chalet (where we would spend the night) - 7.5 miles along a cliff face with dramatic views, but steep dropoffas and other hazards such as waterfalls and snowfields. As I previously mentioned, I had been nervous about this for weeks, and was anxious to have it behind us.
We slept in and got a good breakfast in the restaraunt, felt more rested than I had in days, which was bound to help on the day's adventure. We got packed up, checked out, and headed out toward the St. Mary entrance station. It had so far been cloudy, but looked reasonably dry and clear. However, as soon as we headed up Going-to-the-Sun Road, that changed. The clouds came down to meet us, and soon we could see nothing but fog and mist. The beautiful mountain landscape we had seen from the road a few days earlier was gone. There was a rather unhappy stream of traffic on the road, lots of day tourists wondering why they had wasted their time when there was clearly nothing to see here today.
And I started wondering what the point was of risking a trip down the Highline Trail when we wouldn't be able to see anything. It might even be more dangerous if visibility was this bad all along the trail.
We went on to Logan Pass, where the trailhead starts. It was very cold, and windy, totally immersed in the the fog. At this point we decided it was time to execute Plan B. We could hike the same route there and back, just in the opposite order. So hike the Loop trail there, then hope for better weather to come back on the Highline tomorrow. The Loop trail was further down the road, and very steep (which was why I had wanted to take it down, not up) but was a shorter trail, at only 4 miles long. The uphill might actually be good today - it would keep us warmer.
It was not nearly as precarious as the Highline, and wasn't known for having the same stellar views. So we wouldn't be missing much due to the fog, and wouldn't have to worry about whether we could see the edge of a 1000 ft drop-off. In hindsight, we should have left the car there and taken the shuttle, would have left the car in a much better position for the next day, but we didn't. We drove and parked at the Loop trail, which starts from a lower elevation, putting us below the clouds instead of inside them. That was a plus, at least.
Chapter 10. The Misty Mountains.
The trail started of fairly level - we passed a nice waterfall and someone took a family photo for us there. Soon after though, it began to climb rather steeply uphill, but it was nothing we couldn't handle. Just had to take lots of short water and breath catching breaks.
At one point on the trail, as we were talking loudly (like you are supposed to do) a lady "shushed" us, because someone up ahead was trying to get a picture of a mule deer in the distance. Whatever - it's not like those things aren't a dime a dozen around here anyway. We later found out that we had been hiking in what is known as "Bear Valley" because it is such a common place to find them. Photographer on the trail or not - we were going to make plenty of noise!
Higher up, we stopped to eat our picnic lunch. It was still very foggy and misty, but most of it was still above us. Not much chance of seeing sunlight today though.
It started to get colder as we finished our lunch, so we hurridly packed up and got moving again to stay warm. We passed a couple other hikers along the way - they were very impressed that Lily had made it up this far, and were always excited when we told them that we were on our way to the Chalet. Several had stayed there before and assured us we would love it. We also came upon a group of pack horses that were coming back from the Chalet, after having dropped off a fresh load of supplies!
Nearing the end of the trail, we found a stream that Lily had to spend a few minutes playing in. She had done really well on the hike, amazing what a difference getting enough sleep makes for her! As we got higher and higher, I suddenly heard the familiar jingle of my cell phone, alerting me to a new text message - it was working up here! It hadn't worked anywhere inside the park all week, but I guess we were up high enough now that it could get a signal. That was nice.
As we walked on, the mist grew thicker around us, it grew even colder, and the visibility lessened. Finally, over the top of a hill we had been hiking beside, we saw the roof of the chalet peeking out of the mist! It was a really neat feeling to realize that we were almost there, and that in the middle of this foggy, cold wilderness we had found a haven of warmth and rest. We had accomplished our goal, even if by a different means than we had intended!
Chapter 11. Getting Cozy at the Chalet.We checked in at the main building of the Granite Park Chalet, a wooden two story lodge, and were told we were in room 15, which was in a smaller building next door. Too bad, because I'm guessing the rooms in the main building would have been warmer. Oh well. The room was even more rustic than the cabin - rock walls and floor, high sloped roof, no running water or electricity. The bathrooms (composting pit style) were across the trail, actually closer than they had been at the cabins, though. We dropped off our stuff, but the room was so cold we decided to go back to the main room and sit by the fireplace. There would be no heater for us tonight!
By the fire, we got to know a couple from Ohio. They had a 9 year old daughter, but she apparently didn't like hiking so they had left her at home, and were quite impressed with Lily. They also thought it was really cute that we hung up her tiny hiking pants by the fire to dry. Lily worked some more on her Junior Ranger book (she was almost done) and I taught her to play solitaire. One of the guys working at the desk gave us a tour of the kitchen so we would be able to cook our dinner later that night.
The clouds had started to clear a little, with small patches of the nearby mountains ocasionally becoming visible for brief periods. The forcast for the next day was much better, so I wasn't worried anyway. Right then, it just felt good to be there!
We had signed up for the latest kitchen time, and continued to play and chat while others came out with their dinners to eat. We made ours when it was time - typical backpacking fare, MRE style. Pretty tasty, though. After dinner, there was free hot chocolate, and a talk by a visiting wildflower specialist. Lily quickly became restless though, was getting sleepy and wanted to go to bed. So I took her back to the room, and Brian stayed to listen. I was glad we left when we did - soon after it started pouring rain! As cold as our room was, we didn't need to be wet.
The room had 2 sets of bunk beds, Lily had talked me into sleeping on on the top so we could be head to head. I would later be regretting that decision when I had to make a midnight, in the dark and rain, potty run. Brian came back eventually (after the rain stopped) and we settled in for a cool but comfy night. It rained almost all night, at least all of it I was aware of. I was sure glad we weren't up here in a tent!
Chapter 12. The Highline Experience.When I awoke the next morning, I knew right away that the weather was looking better. I could see sunlight coming through the windows. Still some clouds, but a definite improvement over the day before. It also felt considerably warmer than it had been in the evening, though still chilly enough to want my fleece sweatshirt on! We went over to the main building and cooked our breakfast, more MREs. We went back to get packed up, got a few pictures of Heaven's Peak from the front of the chalet. You still couldn't see the whole thing for the low clouds and fog, but enough to get a good idea anyway.
Brian went down to the nearby water source to fill up some jugs of water to leave in the kitchen, to replace the water we had used since yesterday. Lily went with him. I finished getting our stuff ready, and took a few solitary minutes to absorb the peaceful surroundings. Some other people were starting to stir about as well, the chalet seemed to be coming to life. There were several deer that seemed to hang out there all the time, and they weren't too afriad of people. One time there was one in front of our door, and I practically had to shoo him away so I could go inside!
We checked out, and were on our way. This was it. The weather was looking acceptable enough, it was time to takle the Highline Trail! 7.6 miles of steep drop-offs and other hazards. Could we really do this? I tried to put out of my mind the visions I had been having of one of us toppling off the side. Or sliding down a snowfield. Or slipping across a waterfall. Surely we could do it.
Brian had talked to a family with a boy a few years older than Lily who had come across the trail the day before in the fog. They mentioned a few places where they had to cross waterfalls and snow fields, but thought we could make it. It started out pretty easy, through a meadow where we saw several marmots. They were really cute, Lily liked watching them. Brian took a short trail to an overlook farther up the mountain, but didn't go all the way because the trail disappeared into the fog, wouldn't have been a very good view.
Before long, we came to our first water hazard. The edge was on our right, as it would be the whole trip. At first, the drop off wasn't far or steep, that would change eventually. All along the trail, there are waterfalls that spill right over the trail. There is of course, no way to cross these withough getting your feet wet. The best you can hope for is that you don't slip and go tumbling down the rest of the hill with the water!
A bit later we crossed our first snowfield, one was very trecherous - it was very steep and slippery, and we had to step down several feet off the trail to be able to cross it. One slip, and it would have been a very long fall. We usually navigated these tougher areas "train style", with Brian in front, holing onto Lily's hands, and me in back, holding on to her pack. Chances are no one was going anywhere unless we all went! So far we were making it, one hazard at a time.
The trail continued like this for a while, more waterfalls, more snowfields, some more precarious than others. It was quite nerve-wracking at times, but the scenery was simply stunning! Glorious peaks were rising out of the clouds all around us, many with large glaciers visible. Some low clouds were still hanging in the valley, but the mountain peaks rose out above them making it seem very myterious and cool.
Definitely the most dramatic, and dangerous hike we had ever done! Across one large, but luckily flat snowfield, I lost my footing and slipped. My shoulder throbbed for a while from the fall, but it got better after a while.
Again, we were coming across many hikers that were very impressed to see Lily hiking this far on the trail. She was doing so well, not a single complaint so far. I noticed that I hadn't seen a single other kid on the trail yet...either we are a little bit crazy, or she is one tough cookie! We were making good time too. We were ever mindful of where the edge was, as there were times when it was a straight plummet down on the other side, into the deep valley below us. The trail is perched on the side of a cliff for most of the way, so the cliff wall was always on our left, the fall to certain death on our right. Several moments had me holding my breath and holding tightly to Lily's pack, but we had no major stumbles.
Closer to the end of the trail, we were warned that there was a mountain goat on the trail. Sure enough, we saw him coming right toward us! Not really sure what to do, we scooted over as far as we could against the cliff face and waited for him to pass. He slowly approached us. Almost looking like he was begging - has someone here been feeding the wildlife??? Tsk, tsk. He seemed to pause a bit by us, but didn't seem that phased. Brian was espcially nervous, never heard of a goat attack before but this seemed a bit awkward. He moved on though, and we continued on our way.
As we got closer to the Visitor Center, we started to see more families with kids, out for a short out and back walk, not all the way to the end of the trail. Not that there weren't still a few water and snow hazards to cross, the trail had no shortage of those. Every one of them made me nervous, but we did start to feel more confident the more we did. And the views just kept getting better - nothing else would ever compare to this experience! In some ways, I'm glad we hiked it this direction. the views looking the way we were going were better than the other way, and it seemed more exciting to end the hike on such a climax. Mountains everywhere, surrounding us, and the valley floor far below. Simply spectacular.
Finally the Visitor Center came into view. We hiked on up to it, and Lily pulled out her Junior Ranger book, which she had finished the night before. We went to see the Ranger inside, and she performed the swearing ceremony for Lily, then announced to the whole visitor center that there was a new ranger, and introduced Lily to everyone! It was a really special experience, especially after having just finished such an awesome hike. I bet not many 5 year olds have done the whole Loop and Highline Trails!
We went back outside to catch a shuttle to where our car was parked at the Loop. There was construction traffic, and because of where we had parked, we would have to go right back through it again in our car. But it had been such an amazing morning, nothing could dampen our mood. Lily was beaming at her new Junior Ranger badge, but soon fell asleep on the shuttle. Brian and I just looked at each other and smiled. We had done it. We had really, really, done it. And no one fell off the cliff. Surely an experience we would remember for a long time.
Chapter 13. Oh, Canada!We drove back along Going-to-the-Sun Road, had to wait through the contruction again but at least we got to see the views one more time. We stopped in Rising Sun (which is almost to St. Mary) for lunch at the Two Dog Flats Grille. We were tired, but feeling pretty good after such an amazing morning. After lunch, we drove out of the park for the last time and headed north towards Canada.
It was very empty - often going 30 minutes without seeing another sign of human life anywhere. After a couple of hours we arrived at the Chief Mountain Canada Port of Entry. There was only one car in front of us to go through customs. The Border Agent asked all the usual questions, looked at our passports (but didn't stamp them, oh well). The only minor issue was when he asked about our Bear Spray. Brian tried to describe it to him, finally he just asked to see it so Brian dug it out of the trunk. Of course it was fine, and we were on our way! A few miles later we entered Waterton National Park. Our US National Parks Pass wasn't going to work here, so we had to pay the entry fee.
It was strange to suddenly be in a different country. In some ways, it felt just the same. We could see the same mountains. The trees were the same. The weather was the same. But it was decidedly different in some ways too... the road signs looked funny - different shapes, colors, symbols, etc. And the speed limits were all in km/hr. Later we would have to use Canadian dollars, which looks so much like play money that I almost expected the cashier to laugh at me when I handed it to her! And their accents are just different enough to notice.
It wasn't long before we spotted the Prince of Wales hotel, perched on the bluff overlooking the lake. It is an old, Scottish themed hotel, the most famous in Waterton. Before stopping to check in, we drove on into town to the marina to pick up tickets for our boat ride the next morning. Then went back to check in. I had requested a 5th floor room, but we were given one on the 6th floor (which is the top) - even better! The elevator there seems mostly for decoration, it requires an operator and is rarely used. And doesn't go all the way to the 6th floor anyway. So we toughed it out on the stairs.
When we opened the door to our room (#608) we were greeted by another short hallway, with four doors. Two were bedrooms (labeled 608 and 610), one bathroom and one closet. We were confused. Was only the one bedroom ours, and we were sharing a bathroom? Brian went back downstairs to clarify, and found that both bedrooms were ours. Which was good, because they were each small and only had one double bed. Would have been a tight squeeze otherwise! So Lily would have her own room again, she immediately picked the one with the gold bedspread and declared it as the "Princess Room".
Lily took a bath, and then we went into town to find dinner. Waterton Townsite is an actual town inside of the park. I don't think we have anything like that in any of our national parks. We wandered a little, the place isn't that big, and ended up at Zum's Eatery. It was one of the few places I had read about in the guide book. We were getting pretty tired, and after a quick stroll by the lake after dinner we headed back to the room and crashed for the night. Brian did call his parents from the cell phone to check in, then quickly realized we were paying over a dollar a minute for the roaming! oops...
It was very odd to think of all that had happened - we had awoke that morning in a rustic chalet in the mountains, miles from any civilization. With a long and risky hike to get back. And now, here we were, later that same day at one of the most famous hotels in Canada, a foreign country! Not much was going to compare to today, for sure!
Chapter 14. To Glacier, and back again.
The next morning Brian got up extra early to go hike the Bear's Hump Trail, which was close to the hotel. I had initially planned for us to hike it together when we got into town the day before, but the switch with doing the Highline Trail the day before put us into town later than I had expected. After he left, I used the phone to check on some Facebook text messages and update our status, and worked on my trip notes a little. Finally, I got Lily up, and we showered just before Brian came back.
We had tickets for the 10am scenic boat tour, and had breakfast at the hotel before heading down. It was a buffet, and cheaper to only get the cold portion which is what I did. We got to the marina a little early, and Lily played by the water some more, throwing rocks in. Once on the boat, we initially sat upstairs in the open-air part, thinking the view would be better. But once we got going, it was pretty cold up there in the wind so Lily and I moved downstairs to the enclosed part. There was a large tour group on the boat- apparently a Canadaian based tour agency that specializes in Old Person travel! I imagine the time will come when we are part of such groups...
The narrator on the boat told us about the area as we went, he had a very pleasant Canadian accent, their speech always sounds so smooth, almost like they are singing a lullaby as they talk! We soon arrived at Goat Haunt, which is across the US border in Glacier NP. The guide had pointed out the cut line between the countries while on the boat.
Since we were crossing international borders, there was a US and Canadian border agent on board. We were just planning to stay at the visitor center, which didn't require a passport. But many were taking off on a longer hike (and catching a later boat) and they had to go through customs. Brian was a little jeolous that we weren't, but we had more hiking planned still, and I though we needed a morning off from strenuous activity.
So we hung out at the International Peace Park Pavilion for the 30 minutes we had - there were some kids activities that Lily had fun with, and other artifacts on display. On the boat back, we spent some time standing on the very front - it wasn't nearly as cold now, and we got some really nice views. Our hotel looked very regal in the distance, sitting on the hill.
Back in Waterton, we walked back over to Zum's for lunch (we tried to go to the pizza place, but they were closed). We had walked to the Marina, so we had to walk back to the hotel. Saw an eagle walking up the hillside - it sure is pretty over there! Lily pretty quickly fell fast asleep in her bed, despite her protests that she didn't need a nap. I think Brian and I even slept for a little bit. We were all definitely feeling the fatigue of vacation!
Chapter 15. Let's work our ARMS this time...After we all woke up, we set out for the afternoon's adventure. We were heading to Cameron Lakeshore (about 3o minutes away), and hoping to rent a canoe and do a short hike around the lake. The drive was scenic, and we were soon at the lake. We decided to rent a canoe first, before any storms had a chance to roll in. The guy at the boats warned us to stay close to shore -the lake is pretty wide in the middle and being a glacier fed lake, the water is COLD! Dry land nearby would be a good thing, even if the area was a grizzly bear haven. I'll take the bears over certain hypothermia - at least we had the Bear Spray! That is, assuming we didn't tip the canoe and send our entire packs to the bottom of the lake, a threat I was quite nervous about the whole time. I was wishing I had at least left the phone and iPod in the car...
We made a circle around the large lake, staying as close to the shore as we reasonably could. The lake ends where the cliffs suddenly slope upward into a large mountain, and the very tip of the lake is techinically in the US. No border agents or customs in the middle of the lake though. The lake didn't look very deep where we were paddling - the water was very clear and I could almost always see the bottom.
It was really beautiful as we got closer to the south shore. There were even some small waterfalls. We scanned the slopes near the shore for bears, they are known to den in that area. Didn't see any though. Oh well. We finally made it back to the other end, arms were aching by now but we had done well. We had been working our legs pretty hard all week, now it was the arms turn to pull their weight. Not tipping the boat over was a very good thing though.
After turning in the boat, we set off on the short hike to the other end of the lake. Of course we had gotten a better view of the avalanche slopes from the boat, but it was nice to take a walk anyway. At the end of the trail, a guy who was actually off the trail doing some photography seemed to chastise us a bit for being loud... which of course was intentional. He may be hoping for a closer than recommended enounter with a grizzly for the sake of a picture, but I had my 5 year old daughter with me... and scaring off the bears was just fine!
On the way back Lily started talking about how she really wants to take rock climbing lessons. She has talked about climbing Mt. Everest since she was 2, so I shouldn't have been surprised. Brian assures me there are more dangerous sports, though I'm having trouble thinking of many at this moment. But, if she's got her heart set on it I suspect she will do it with or without our blessing, and I'd rather give her the proper training and equipment than have her go scrambling off on her own.
We made our way back to the car, and back into town. We wanted something different for dinner, and found ourselves at Trappers Restaraunt. I noticed that it had the same name as the restarunt of the hotel we would be staying at in Grand Teton, though there was no relation. Our watier was from Utah, we chatted a bit with him.
I had mentioned after canoing that I though I had earned a piece of chocolate cake, so Lily and I split an amazing concoction called Cholocalte Monton Saskatoon Surprise. Then it was back to the hotel, time for one last climb up those stairs. I stopped by the gift shop (called Princess Gifts) to pick up a birthday present for Lily, then it was off to sleep.
Chapter 16. The Mad Flight to Yellowstone.
We got up as early as we could bear the next morning. We packed up our stuff, scarfed down a quick breakfast in the hotel restaraunt (cold buffet again, trying to be cheap!) We were on the road by 7:05, 5 minutes late. We had dinner reservations at 5:30 at the Old Faitful Inn in Yellowstone, and after seeing how far off the Google map time estimations were on the way here, I was worried we wouldn't make it.
We sailed through US customs with only the minimal questioning, and had pretty smooth sailing. The only thing that slowed us down was the dang winding, hilly road that ran along beside the two parks. The speed limit it 70mph, but I don't know anyone who could actually drive that and stay on the road! We were still making decent time though. We made a quick stop in St. Mary to use the restrooms (the women's was closed for cleaning, so Lily and I slipped into the mens!) We waved at Glacier as we passed the entrance station, Brian says he may choose it again for his next vacation pick.
We continued to fall behind Google's prediction, but only by a little. By the time we stopped in Helena for lunch we were only about 30 minutes behind, I had allowed for almost 2 hours. We took the food to go, which we almost never do, but we were on the clock today, and we might just make it afterall!
At 3:30 we entered the west gate of Yellowstone. After a week in Waterton and Glacier, it felt weird to be coming into such a populated place. The entrance station was huge - with several entry bays lined up across the road. I think Yellowstone is like the Disney World of national parks! We made our way toward Old Faithful, which is almost an hour from the entrance. We did make a brief stop at the Fountain Paint Pots, a boardwalk area around several geothermal features that we hadn't gotten a chance to do last time. Lily thought some of them looked like burping swamp monsters. I had forgotten the smell... wow, its potent!
It had been 3 years since we had been in Yellowstone, and at that time there had been some very recent fires. It was fascinating to see how much of the forest was coming back. Of course most of the burned, baren tree trunks were still standing, but far underneath them a whole sea of new plant life was blooming. It's quite the Circle of Life...3 years ago, Yellowstone had been our very first family vacation with Lily, so it has a very sentimental place in my heart. It was quite nostalgic to be back here!
Chapter 17. Old Faithful is not quite so Faithful...
We arrived in the Old Faithful area around 4:45, and were hoping we would get lucky and see the geyser erupt before dinner. The parking lot was total chaos - HUGE, and packed. Like Disney World for sure (now don't get me wrong, WDW is my favorite place on earth... but still)
We finally found a spot and headed out to the geyser. We didn't see any of the time prediction signs, but there was a huge crowd gathered around it so we figured an eruption must be close. We watched for a while, it teased us a few times, but eventually we had to start walking toward the Inn for our dinner ressie. As we got over there, we found out that it was supposed to erupt at 5:15, it was now 5:30! And still nothing. Oh well, we would try again after dinner.
The Old Faithful Inn is really something inside... we didn't stay there last time but we did visit it a few times. I guess that's why I've never had any desire to stay at the Wilderness Lodge in WDW, having seen the real thing before.
We checked in for dinner, and were seated right away. The dining room was huge, a combination of a formal, yet cozy atmosphere. Lily and I deicded to get the buffet, and Brian ordered a steak. After a few minutes, I went out of the restaraunt to find the restrooms. Apparently Old Faithful had finally erupted, and now the lobby was packed with people! I was glad we had gotten to experience it when it was almost empty before. I was also glad we had reservations, everyone was trying to get in for dinner, and those without ressies were being turned away or given 90 minute waits!
Dinner was very yummy, probably the best we had on the trip. Afterwards, we went back out towards Old Faithful. Still 25 minutes until the next predicted eruption, and the last one had been very late. We walked over to Castle Geyser and watched it for a while, then as we were walking back - Old Faitful erupted! 5 minutes early, but we had a really nice view of it even though we were farther away. We wandered a little more looking at some of the other features, then it was time to head on down to Grand Teton, where we would stay at the Signal Mountain Lodge. Lily had been given a Yellowstone Bingo game at dinner, and even in just our few hours there was able to check off most of the things on it, she used to the trip to GT to get even more.
The drive took longer than expected, almost 2 hours. There was a lot of construction and bumpy roads, not the most pleasant drive. Saw a heard of elk by the road though. We checked in and were quickly in our room. Orr suite, I should say! The place was huge - a living room, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom. Way more space than we needed, but when I booked the room last summer it was all they had left. Probably because it was the most expensive one there. And we were right on the lake with an amazing view of the Tetons!
As we were getting ready for bed, Brian starting questioning my plans for the next day, not seeming too happy with them. He looked at some trail maps, but we didn't decide anything for sure. We were both and little grumpy and probably too tired to think straight anyway... it could wait till morning.
Chapter 18. A New Plan for the Day.We woke up the next morning, heads a little clearer. Brian really wanted to hike up one of the Tetons, so I suggested that he do the Death Canyon trail he had seen on the map, while Lily and I visited the new Discovery Center and spent some time in Jackson Hole (a ski area, that does several summer activities as well). We all agreed on that plan, and had breakfast together in the hotel restaraunt before heading to the south end of the park.
We drove Brian to the trailhead - the last mile of road was very rocky and rough, I was afraid I would get stuck so we let Brian out there. The old cell phone was working for the first time during the trip (picking up a signal from Jackson, no doubt) so he took it with him. At least we would be able to communicate throughout the day. We tentatively planned to meet him there at 3:00. I had intended to get the Parks Pass from him, but forgot. I wouldn't end up needing it anyway. After he was on his way, Lily and I drove back to the Discovery Center.
We spent some time there looking at the exhibits, and watched the movie about the park. As usual, Lily wanted to sit in the front row. After about an hour, we drove on to Jackson Hole, about 20 minutes away, and just outside the park. We immidiately got tickets for the ariel tram to the top of Rendevous Mountain. We did this 3 years ago, but Lily claimed not to remember it.
The ride up was smooth - I don't really have a fear of heights, but I am terrified of not having something solid beneath my feet. This is why I do not do hanging roller coasters, and I hate bridges or stairs that are made of that metal mesh stuff you can see through. And don't even think about getting me on that new glass brige at Grand Canyon! But the tram wasn't too bad, as long as I reminded myself there was a floor under me. Never ming what was under that floor!
We ate a quick lunch at the snack bar on top of the mountain, and Lily bought a small Brachiopod fossil. We spent a few minutes taking in the view, but being up there with her by myself was making me nervous - it is not impossible to fall and go tumbling down the mountain! So we headed back for the tram before too long. On the way, Brian called and said he wanted more time so he could get all the way to the top of the mountain, we agreed on 4:00 instead of 3:00.
Back at the base area, we suddenly had more time in which to entertain ourselves, and Lily decided after watching for a few minutes that she wanted to do the bungee trampoline. At first she said she wasn't going to go very high, but that changed once she got on there! She was really flying - and having a blast! After that, we spent some time wandering through some shops, finally finding some tee-shirts we liked, and Lily bought some car toys for the trip home.
We still had a bit of time before we needed to leave, so Lily decided to do the rock wall. Afterall, she was still determined to take up the hobby. We had to wait for some older boys to finish first. She did pretty well - several times I thought she was going to give up and not make it any farther, but she would keep trying and eventually get a foothold higher up. She came within just a few feet of making it to the top of the wall! Then got to ride down on the rope, of course. She was on cloud 9 afterwards. Guess that didn't talk her out of it. Darn it.
It was scorching hot, and we were starting to get a little worn out now, though, so headed on back towards the trailhead, even though we knew we would be a little bit early. I hoped Brian was doing okay in this heat. Fortunately there was no one at the entry station back into the park. Since I had forgotten the pass I was expecting to have to pay to get back in. That was some good luck.
We stopped at a few overlooks along the way, and Lily used the binnoculars to search for birds and flowers. We parked at the start of the Rocky Road, Lily played with her new toys, and I worked on my trip notes. It was getting to be time for Brian to be back, but no sign of him. Then I happened to take out my phone, and realized I had missed a call. It was from Brian, and he had left a message.
Chapter 19. Brian's Death Canyon Adventure.
His message was a bit alarming - he sounded very out of breath, mentioned not feeling well, and said he was running way behind schedule for getting back on time. Worried, I called back and fortunately he answered. Apparently he had gotten very sick on the trail after the message (heat exhaustion, no doubt) but was doing a little better now and thought he could make it back. He asked if I was at the trailhead or the road... I could tell by his voice he really didn't want to walk that mile down the rocky road so I assured him I would make it down the rocky road to the trailhead, and hopefully be there by the time he arrived.
So Lily and I took the little red car on an adventure. Up, down, all around, bam, boom, yikes! But we made it finally, car mostly unscathed. We have really put it through a lot on this trip, poor thing! We had only been at the trailhead a few minutes when Brian came stumbling off the trail. Of course we still had to drive back up the rocky road, bottomed out a few times but made it once again.
Brian was okay, but worn out so we headed back to the hotel. He had hiked 15 miles, up 4000 feet of elevation gain, and had almost made it to the summit. It got a bit icy at the very top, so he had turned back just before the end. But he was really up there - on the tops of the Tetons! It was only the brief uphill mile in the completely exposed hot sun (on the way back) that had done him in. But he had made it nonetheless. We were all in good spirits as we headed back. He took a bath, and relaxed a bit. We had planned to do a short hike together that evening, but none of us were particuluarly feeling up to it, so we opted for dinner instead.
We had heard that Leek's Pizza (in the park, just a little farther north) was really good, so we set off to find it. Had to stop once for directions since we didn't have a good map, but found it before too long. The pizza was good, but not as good as our own Boriello Brothers. We hung out a little in the room before bed - the end of a successful vacation! Tomorrow we head home... but what an adventure we have had!
Chapter 20. Homeward Bound.We got up as early as we could the next morning, packed, checked out and hit the road. Nothing exciting happened, which I suppose is a good thing. The road was long, and boring. And long, and boring. I was so glad when we at least made it back to I-25. It was cool to see several trucks carrying teh pieces of a new windmill to the windfarm. We had initially hoped to get back into town in time to pick up Nala from the PetsHotel, but we missed it by about 20 minutes. Oh well, she would have to wait until tomorrow. Lily was worn out, tired of the car I'm sure, and had a bit of a meltdown as we were coming through Castle Rock, so the last part of our trip was not so pleasant.
We went quickly home to switch cars, then over to John and Julia's house to pick up Woozle... We visited for a bit, then ended our trip the way most vacations seem to end - with a trip to our favorite restaraunt in the whole world - Fiesta Jalisco! We had been going through a bit of withdrawal. We didn't really bother to unload or unpack once home, but I did start the camera downloading at least. I had ended up buying another memory card partway through the trip because mine filled up, I had been terrified I was going to lose the first card before we got home!
So the adnventure was over... but of course there was still much post-adventure fun to be had- pictures to be uploaded, a trip report to write, slideshow to make, and scrapbook to put together. And now, I can officially start planning next year's vacation - back to the Most Magical Place on Earth!
Epilogue.So looking back, I would say the trip was definitely a success. Didn't get eaten by a bear. Didn't fall off a cliff. Didn't get too lost. And had some really cool adventures! I am so glad we planned out all of our reservations - so many times in the park I overheard people who had come with no reservations, and were desperatley searching for a place to stay - everything was booked! I was actually surprised last summer when I had a little bit of trouble getting what I wanted, and that was a year in advance!
As for our daily itinerary, we definitely didn't stick to it as well as we did last year at Disney World. For one, I think I often overestimated how much we could do in a day, wheras last year we often did a lot more than I had planned. Everything is so far apart in these national parks, and it is easy to overlook the travel time from Point A to Point B. Plus sometimes we just needed some downtime, even if not to nap, just to hang out for a bit. But it was good to have an idea, at least, then we could adjust as necessary.
What would I change? Wow, that's hard. Brian really wants to do some backapacking and camping next time, so I guess that's a possibility. Maybe stay at Rising Sun instead of Many Glacier, just because it is more centrally located. Though we did love our cabin. But really, there is only one thing that I REALLY want to do differently...
NEXT TIME WE'RE FLYING!!!!!
swimming. She is a busy kid for sure, but loves all of it. We still have our pets Nala and Woozle (a Lhaso Apso, and guinea pig).
Amtrak train! It was tons of fun. A Spring blizzard threatened to keep us home, but we made it out of town just in time. We stayed at the Essex Inn on Michigan Avenue, and went to all the big museums – Science and Industry, Field, Shedd Aquarium, and the Adler Planetarium. And of course we went to the top of the Sears Tower. Also couldn’t pass up the opportunity to eat at the Rainforest and Hard Rock Cafes! Lily loved it so much that she constantly asks to go back, and is already dreaming of going off to college there.
Our big summer vacation this year was in July – to Glacier National Park (in northern Montana). We spent 11 days touring and hiking some of the most amazing scenery in the country. Nothing else will ever quite compare to it. The highlight of the trip was hiking the famous Highline Trail, a 7 mile trail that hovers on the edge of a cliff face, crossing waterfalls and snowfields, and has the most dramatic views you will find anywhere. We used it as our return path from the Granite Park Chalet, a backcountry overnight chalet only accessible to hikers. Saw bears a few times from a distance during the trip, but thankfully never encountered any on a trail. We did have a bit of an encounter with a moose, but fortunately we emerged unscathed. Lily earned her Junior Ranger badge while we were there, an accomplishment she was very proud of. During our trip, we also ventured north into Canada to see Waterton Lakes National Park. We stayed at this historic Prince of Wales Hotel. Finally, on the way home, we stopped by Yellowstone / Grand Teton National Parks (where we had vacationed 3 years ago) Saw some familiar sights, and tried out some new ones as well. All total, Lily and Jaime hiked about 28 miles during the trip, Brian hiked something closer to 50. Lots of great family memories of course, which is what vacations are all about ☺
a blast at all of them and wants a repeat next year. Also during the summer we spent a day at the North Pole Amusement Park, and took a weekend trip to Denver for the 4th of July, where we watched fireworks, went to Lakeside Amusement Park, and Waterworld! Other short trips to Denver included a trip to the Botanical Gardens for their special Dinosaur display, and back to Union Station to see Disney’s “A Christmas Carol” promotional train. We also took a backpacking trip to the Lost Creek Wilderness one weekend.
Most of our weekends seem filled with fun of some sort. Many of them, of course are filled with Soccer games. (Lily’s team was undefeated for the second time this fall!) We also have season tickets now to the Colorado Springs Philharmonic, which performs once a month. We have seen two Disney on Ice shows this year, made several trips to the Zoo, and of course spent many Saturdays hiking around the beautiful area that we live in. We joined a gym this fall, and spend quite a bit of time there, especially on the weekends so that Lily can enjoy the large indoor pool. There is hardly ever a free moment, but rarely a dull one either.