National Park #10, canceled August 3, 2019
Glacier was the third park in our summer 2019 road trip, and the last in the Rockies. We left Yellowstone after showers and laundry, arriving to Fish Creek Campground shortly after 7:00. We managed to get both of our tents to fit in a fairly small space and enjoyed a gorgeous pink sunset over Lake McDonald, which was a few yards down a hill from our site.
We managed to get out of camp on time in the morning at 6:30 so we could get to Logan Pass before the parking lot filled up. It was cold and really windy, but we eventually set off on the Hidden Lake Overlook trail. It’s 1.5 miles one way and mostly uphill, but not being in a hurry made it very manageable, even for the kids. Wildflowers were everywhere, and the sun played a game of hide-and-seek with the clouds, which made for some cool light patterns. The wildlife was elusive (except for a couple of marmots and a lot of chirping ground squirrels), until we were nearly back and someone spotted some bighorn sheep and mountain goats on a hillside. We pulled out the binoculars and all got to see them.
Back down the hill, we had lunch at Jammer Joe’s Grill & Pizzeria near the Lake McDonald Lodge, then we went to Apgar Village for ice cream at Eddie’s Ice Cream Shoppe and to get the girls’ Junior Ranger badges at the Nature Center. Back at camp, Jeremy took the girls swimming in the lake while my friend and I went to Canyon Foods Supermarket in Hungry Horse to pick up some meat and veggies for dinner. We found a cherry stand along the way and got some Flatheads and Rainiers. Dinner was delicious, as was the cherry chocolate lava cake we made for dessert. The girls had fun playing around (and in) the lake while dessert was cooking—until Mikayla fell in! They both ended up needing to change their pajamas (yes, they were playing in the lake wearing their pajamas), and in the process they cleaned the whole tent up unbidden—and worked together!
The next day was a POTA kind of day that totally worked out in our favor and ended with a flourish. We started out after taking down camp with a walk down Trail of the Cedars. We originally planned to do it the day before, but decided to go back to camp early when the parking at the trailhead was full. Even though it was only 8:30 in the morning, we snagged the last two spots.
Then it was back up Going-to-the-Sun Road and down the other side to St. Mary. After a quick stop in the visitor center, we checked in to our campsite a little bit early, got everything set up, and had lunch. A friendly squirrel kept trying his luck to get some chips, to no avail, and Jeremy and Mikayla tried some wild huckleberries in our site.
Our plan was to spend the afternoon in Many Glacier. However, when we got there, they were full to capacity and not letting any new cars in. The ranger expected it would reopen in about an hour, and rather than wait around, we decided to change the plan we had made yesterday and drive an hour north to Waterton Lakes International Peace Park in Canada. We spent the afternoon exploring Waterton Township, visiting Cameron Falls, Prince of Wales Hotel (built in 1927), the Marina, and Cameron Bay. The girls earned Xplorer dog tags, the Canadian equivalent of Junior Ranger badges, then we had tacos at The Taco Bar before heading back to the United States.
Now for the icing on the cake. This whole trip, my friend really wanted to see a moose. We knew the Tetons, Yellowstone, and Glacier were our only chances, and we were constantly on the lookout. So after getting gas in Babb (which was also a cool story, because we really needed gas but the station was closed and our cards weren’t working until my friend tried hers), we drove back to Many Glacier. After a loop by the hotel, we went down the road to see what was at the end. Very soon we saw a black bear on the hill. At the end of the road there was a trail that went by a number of lakes. Since it was already almost 9:00 (but still somewhat light out), we said we would only go to the first one about a half-mile away (Fishercap Lake). As we approached the lake, people going the other way said there were two moose in the lake. When we got there, we saw three! We watched them for quite a while, just standing in the lake eating, as the moon rose above them. It was an absolutely perfect ending to a great day.
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