Day 17

It was a very chilly night for all of us and we all slept deep down in our sleeping bags. Little did I know until we got in them that our tent was set up on a slope. A slope that would mean Laney would end up in the side of the tent, I would end up smooshed next to her, and Ryan would be practically on top of me. By the looks of our tent when we woke up we could have all slept in a full sized bed.

Brayden kept asking if we were going to get up so we could eat which just made me want to stay in bed longer. I left the kids whe they started climbing head-first into their sleeping bags to see what it was like. Pretty smelly I would imagine!

After breakfast I declared we would be washing hair and feet at the bathroom. No showers since we've been on the parkway - about 12 days - has taken it's toll on my mood and nose! Fortunately this bathroom had a tall faucet so all our heads fit under just fine.  Our feet required a little more balance and coordination but we made it work. Once I was finished I walked out and made a mad emoji face when I saw the kids running around in the dirt again. Oh well, at least they had relatively clean feet for a few minutes!

We spent the day playing card games, reading, playing chess, and eating. It was so nice to be able to dry out and bask in the sunshine. Brayden and I went to the top of the meadow to throw the frisbee at one point then were eventually joined by everyone so we decided to play ultimate frisbee.















Teams ended up being Laney, Emily, and Brayden against me, Ryan, and Evey. We had to split up the most competitive and experienced ultimate frisbee players! Us girls scored right away answered quickly by the other team. Within a few minutes we were tied at 2-2, then 3-3 shortly thereafter. The other team took the lead 4-3 and we answered them to tie it 4-4. Emily and I agreed to play to 5 so this was the moment where the Clarke kids could explode or play gracefully. Thankfully Emily caught the winning goal and they chose grace this day.

We decided to get back into the shade for a little while and Laney ducked back into the hammock to read. Brayden decided to be in my lap and the other two picked up the water guns and decided to fire all around until deciding on eachother's mouths for targets. They were soaked by the end!

We were expecting a few hours of rain today so once I felt the temperature start to drop we packed up all our stuff and ducked into the tent. Evey joined us and entertained the kids with a game on her Kindle while I wrote. Laney started out in the hammock until the crazy thunder started and she raced over to climb back inside with us. She was very brave until then!

When there was a break in the rain we all ran to the bathroom and I pulled out cereal for dinner as it looked like we only had about 30 minutes until the next blob of rain. We ate pretty quickly then walked around the campground a little while until the drops started again.

Evey and Emily ducked into their tent for the night and we did the same. The kids taught me how to play Farkle and I almost beat Ryan. Unfortunately she was rolling three pair the whole game. We ended the night playing 3Up 3Down again - a definite favorite. Tempers started flaring after all that time in the tent so I decided it was time for bed.

Day 28

At some time before dawn, Dave left the tent for the bathroom. After he came back there were other campers packing up it seemed so I couldn't go back to sleep. There may have been someone snoring next to me too. I hopped in the car to keep warm and took some time to write about our days. Once I saw color peeking through the trees I scrambled down to the lake to take some photos.

I came back to write for awhile longer and once I was done I returned to the lake for awhile to enjoy the view. The rocks reminded me of our time in the upper Peninsula of Michigan a few years earlier. If only there wasn't already so much smoke!

I made some oatmeal and cinnamon toast for all the girls for breakfast and Dave an egg sandwich then I left to pickup Grammie and Brayden. There was a limit to the length of the vehicles allowed on the Going-To-The-Sun road so she planned a tour so she would be able to see it this day. Her RV was better left at the campsite with shade for Lola.

Once Brayden and I got back, the kids played for awhile as they hadn't all three been together without us moving from one site to another or activity for awhile. Ryan found my sunrise watching spot down by the lake. I'm not sure what they were playing but it was serious business!

We prepared all our hiking gear and headed to Rocky Point trail. The trail was easily accessible from our campsite. I recognized the spot we would be hiking as the one I photographed that morning. I'd debated with myself about hiking there this morning for more sunset photos but decided it wouldn't be safe.

Once we reached the point we climbed all around the rocks and skipped them too. Several times I heard Brayden say to his sisters, "I love this place" which made all the fighting and teenager attitude worth it. The water was so clear we could watch the rocks sink after we threw them in.

I wished I'd brought a picnic so we could enjoy it for longer. While the kids climbed around the point, I took some time to soak my feet in the ice cold water and enjoy the view. There were minnows all around me trying to figure out what I was. I told Dave we had a hike date for sunrise there in the morning. He wasn't thrilled but he's usually pretty good about going along with my crazy plans.

We had about 2 hours until Grammie was to return so I took some time to write more while the kids played in the woods behind our site. I'm not sure what all they were playing but I heard strange languages at one point as well as someone dramatically frustrated because they were lost. As much as we fill their time with hikes, ice cream, visitors centers, and programs, this is the time they enjoy and appreciate the most it seems. I appreciate they still play like this together at their age instead of staring at screens!

After lunch, we decided that Dave and Brayden would take showers while the girls and I went to pick up Grammie. As I got in the car though, I listened to a voicemail that she wouldn't be back for another 4 hours because the road back to the west side had been closed due to the fire. I sent her a text detailing our new plan and we headed to check on Lola then to the showers. There is not much better for us than a long, hot shower right now. The campgrounds and trails in Glacier are dusty with dark gray dirt that reminds us of Boy Scout camp. We all emerged with smiles ready to take on the world.

Brayden moved to the back with the camera to improve his mood and take some pictures. He's gotten really good over the last year!

Next we drove to Apgar to explore the village and hike a bit more. We had quite the ordeal trying to find the trail head for the route we wanted to take, but after a detour to look at t-shirts and an extra loop through the village we finally found the Oxbow trail. It was a nice easy trail through the woods along the Lake Macdonald Creek. The kids were grumpy for just about the entire time but finally perked up when we stopped for ice cream at the end. We had to destroy all evidence of that last stop as we were headed to pick up Grammie next. We had about 30 minutes so I hopped on the wifi to check email and update the blog until we found her. She'd called, texted, emailed, and sent smoke signals trying to let us know what was going on.

We drove back to our site and made a quick dinner of veggies burgers and caprese pasta salad. Thankfully Grammie had some lettuce and tomato we could use to make our dinner especially delicious! After everyone cleaned up and I did a little reorganizing for our traveling the next day we headed to the last ranger program of the season. Brayden and I were excited to see the topic was "The Legacy of the Civilian Conservation Corps"!  We have always been huge fans of the CCC since seeing their work on our very first trip and repeatedly every year after that. We'd seen many historic exhibits about their work in several parks and had learned even more about them when we were studying the Great Depression.

This program was definitely added to my top 5 list with a wonderful history lesson about the program as well as photos and personal accounts of young men that completed a host of projects and conservation at Glacier National Park. To think of the age of these men and the amazing things they accomplished just in this park was inspiring.

Many of the men learned to read and write while there. Many of the men were still friends. Many of the men had fought in WWII together. Many had received an education and continued on after their work was finished. But the one thing they all had in common was an appreciate for a program that dramatically changed their lives for the better and taught them how to be men.

She told us of a reunion that had taken place at Glacier in 1983 that brought many of the men back together. They brought journals and photos to add to the archive.  I wish we had access to that material as I'm sure we would learn so much!!

As we walked back to our site, Brayden mentioned this was definitely his favorite program we'd ever seen. I need to find him someone that actually participated in the program to befriend so he can hear their stories firsthand. I definitely need to find us both some books on the CCC.

At the beginning of the program, the ranger let us know the winds were shifting so the roads east would remain closed for the next day. The closure didn't affect our plans, but the wind shift definitely would affect our night as we'd gotten very accustomed to calm, quiet nights without any smoke. I tried to get to sleep quickly as I knew the wind would have me up during the night and we had a date in the morning!

Day 14

We had fallen asleep to in a warm cabin with the windows open. We couldn't seem to open enough windows to cool it down once it got dark. We woke up at 3am absolutely freezing! One of these days we'll figure out how to deal with this weather! Once I woke up for good I got some pancake batter started for breakfast. I took the opportunity to get some laundry done the night before so the chore this morning was the sorting while Dave handled breakfast.

We would be spending the night in our tents at the Ewings so I wanted to pack a single bag to take with us. Our tiny house seems to be getting tinier by the minute but we figured it out and were almost ready to go after breakfast. We had rafting plans this morning which was way more important than finishing!

First we had to all get fitted for wetsuits as there was no way any of us wanted to experience the 45 degree water without one! The kids giggled as Dave got his on saying he looked like Gru from Despicable Me!

Check out this ego!

Once our bus arrived we loaded our bags on and were under way to the boats. I was feeling a little dizzy and realized our bus driver was having a little fun with us in the roundabout. I'm sure the other cars in the area were amused seeing a white school bus circling the roundabout over and over until we finally shouted loud enough for him!

We were greeted by our guide Cassie and instructed to take our places on the boat. As we gently moved down the river she began to teach us all we need to know. Grammie and I were the only ones on the boat that had experienced rapids before so there were a lot of nerves needing settling. As she was going through the "this mostly likely won't happen but just in case" things, the kids' eyes kept getting bigger and bigger. Thankfully, she finished pretty quickly and we were under way.

We practiced a few times following our lead guys and the kids got the hang of it pretty quickly. We went through our first few rapids easily and learned a lot about the Tetons and the Snake River along the way. We even spotted an osprey, two bald eagles, and a couple river otters swimming and playing. We weren't really up for bringing our cameras so you'll just have to imagine all that!

About halfway through the trip she asked if anyone wanted to jump in. Of course we encouraged Ryan and she encouraged Laney so they walked to the front of the boat. It appeared they might be losing their nerve so I jumped up and passed my sunglasses off as I jumped in!

I can most asuredly say that is the absolutely coldest water I have ever experienced in my life. It literally took my breath away so quickly I couldn't even speak. Ryan jumped in and immediately said to me between gasps, "I want to get back out NOW!". Laney jumped in and screamed as she came up. After about 30 seconds we all felt a little better so we floated with our life jackets until our guide suggested we come back to the boat.

It was when we got out that the cold set in from the wind so she had us paddle for awhile to warm up. We went through a couple more rapids then was the "Big Kahuna" where we would be photographed. This was to be the biggest rapid of our day and it definitely did not disappoint!

After making it through, Cassie asked for any more volunteers to jump in. Dave hopped up to the front of the boat in hopes he could talk Brayden into going in. We had the conversation just that morning about how he regretted not swinging on the rope swing when we'd gone kayaking last year. I was hoping he would change his mind but today was not the day. I laughed when Dave jumped in as he gasped for breath just like we had. He was back in the boat in a few seconds and he and I switched to the front of the boat to lead the rest of the trip.

It was a blast to be at the front feeling the bulk of the water as we went through each rapid. There were times we were so far out of the water I was paddling only air! And there were two times I was bounced so hard I thought I might fly out of the boat! Once we were finished we made the trek back to the buses and were able to stand in the sun after we peeled off our wet suits.

The ride back to the campground was just as eventful when after telling us a second bear malling story, we had to paddle our way out of the roundabout. We did much better than our first attempt in the morning!

While we were waiting for our bus that morning the kids noticed a sign hinting to kids to find some painted rocks in the courtyard so as soon as their feet hit the ground they were all looking. Within about 30 seconds they all found a rock and traded it for candy and ice cream at the office. Four of the Clarkes also received their "SWIM TEAM" bracelets for braving the water. Of course Brayden was a tad bit jealous!

We finished packing up to move for the night in a few minutes and after a quick stop at the store were welcomed back with big smiles. We went to find the plaque shortly after we got there and were treated to a whole different view of the Woodbury Preserve.  The preserve is a gorgeous tribute to the man who treasured his time here with his family and protects and provides an area for elk and moose in the area in addition to many other animals. Mrs Marilyn also told the kids the stories of the beavers that had been causing flooding for years on the property and how they have been able to work with the beavers to create a beautiful wetland for all the native animals in the area.

Once we got back to the house I made Mrs Patty give me jobs in the kitchen so I could help out. I really enjoyed listening to all the stories and meeting even more people as we helped prepare everything for dinner. The kids absolutely loved playing bocce ball with Heather as everything was being put together!

After dinner we set up our tents and got all ready for the night. The kids were very excited about our soft carpet of grass we would be sleeping on for a change! By the time we were finished and back at the house, everyone had moved inside and were just about ready to call it a night. We settled down in our sleeping bags and were lulled to sleep by the creek right outside our tent doors.

***We're headed back into the woods for awhile but I will try to find some wifi to update when possible!***

Day 46

After our late night hike, we let the kids sleep in to make sure they would all be in relatively good moods during our long day.  I'd planned our stay in the Cades Cove area also because of the loop famous for viewing wildlife.  On Wednesday and Saturday mornings the loop is closed to auto traffic so when I made our reservations I was hoping we might be able to bike the loop.  After seeing it is 11 miles, we opted to be first in line once the loop opened at 10am.

While I got everything ready for the day Dave and the kids had a pretty lazy morning.  Ryan decided to be the assistant chef this morning making a delicious batch of french toast.  Once we'd eaten and cleaned up, we hopped in the car for near perfect timing of making the entrance exactly at 10am when the gates were opened.  

There were beautiful horses and the majority of the big mountain view on the driver's side of the car so I handed the camera to Brayden to see how he would do.  Let's just say this was the best picture of the bunch. 

Luckily the traffic was moving slow enough that I could hand the camera to Dave and he could stop for a few seconds to snap some shots.

And this was my view out my window.  We were surrounded by gorgeous mountains yet again!

We made it to the visitor's center by 11:00 to stamp the kids' passport books and buy the very last of our postcards. There were a bunch of historic buildings nearby so we took some time to explore them. The kids loved to see a mill at work grinding corn.  We've read several books where the author described building a mill or how a mill works and finally they could see one in action.

We also watched another blacksmith demonstration.  This apprentice was making a letter opener with a feather on the end. I'd be too nervous to make that with everyone watching me!

The kids were interested in a ranger program early in the afternoon so we decided to hang around for it.  The kids played in the refreshing cool water and Ryan built yet another bridge of rocks across the creek.

Shortly after we finished a quick lunch the ranger was ready to start the Animal Olympics program. The kids were excited to show just how much faster and stronger they are than animals.  Well, they didn't win a single event!  But they did have fun!

The kids recognized the rangers from our hike the night before.  You could tell he loves his job!

After the program was over we checked to see how far the trail head was to the water falls.  We'd prepared the kids for a long hike mentally most of the morning.  I'd jam packed their backpacks with snacks and water.  This was going to be their longest hike yet and we were ready!  They had easily walked this far at Disney World but hiking it was going to be quite a bit more difficult.

The ranger pointed us in the direction of easy spur trail to the trail head instead of the road so we headed back through this historic barn and toward the trail. We reached the beginning of the trail and were quested by a ranger to make sure we had enough water, time, bear knowledge, and strength to make it to the falls.  Yep, there had been bears sightings all around the area lately and they weren't really shying away from people.  I didn't tell the kids that though.  Or Dave.

There were tons of people on the trail which pleased my people-watching kids keeping their brains distracted from the climb.  Soon after we started on the trail we were reaching the top of a steep hill. One of the hikers returning from the falls told us this was the easy part.  Oh dear.  He said there were three hills then we'd be there.  We'd already just about made up one so I'm thinking how hard can it be?

I looked over the side and could barely see the stream down below.  We headed down the other side of the hill and made it all the way back down right next to the water.  Maybe this was going to be a struggle for those 6 little legs behind me.  And the other 2 big ones back there too.  Up one more hill and we'd be halfway I reminded everyone!  We played games, took a break, and talked a bunch.

At the top of the next hill the trail took a sharp turn through some rocks and back down the hill.  The more people we passed leaving, the more wet their clothes were so I just told everyone to concentrate on that.  We'd be swimming in just a few minutes!  And before too long we were!  

Brayden was adamant he would be jumping in and swimming around as soon as he got his shoes off.  He was asking who was going in with him becoming disappointed with each no answer.  Until he felt the water.  It was so very cold and so very refreshing at the same time! We all waded around up to our shorts and let our tired feet soak in the cold water.

The kids and I waded out to a couple of boulders in the middle of the river and enjoyed the sunshine for a little while now that we were cooled off.







Brayden even got up the courage to jump off a rock near the side of the waterfall down 30ft into the pool below.

Get up off the floor Grammie.  There is no way Brayden would ever have the courage to do something like that.  But for our resident daredevil girls, we did have the "Don't ever do something like that" conversation.  It kinda backfired though as we'd just told them about our experience of climbing up a waterfall in Costa Rica.  Yeah, but that was different.

After a quick snack, we all slipped our backpacks back on and hopped back on the trail.  My feet felt so much better after a break on the water.  Our hike back was pretty quiet as we all knew what we were expecting.  We chatted a bit and Ryan told us the play by play of what was next on the trail from what she remembered.  I was pretty surprised people were still headed down the trail as it was probably 6pm by now and not a whole bunch of daylight left for a 4 hour hike.

We made it to the trail head and had to take a picture!  The kids were happy to be here but ready to be back at the car that 1/2 mile away more.  We noticed all the things we'd spotted on the way in again and I took note of how much our moods had changed in the past few hours from when we were fresh and excited to tired, thirsty, and exhausted.  

Just as I turned around to talk to Ryan about something, she covered her mouth and her eyes were huge with excitement.  I turned around to see 2 beautiful deer not more than 10 feet in front of us crossing our path toward the field.  I knew if I moved too quick to grab the camera they'd be gone so we all just stood there watching them watch us as they walked by.  Definitely one of those "Don't ever forget this!" moments. 

I don't think I've ever been so happy to see a barn in my life as when we got back to our starting point.  It took us awhile to get back as the traffic had gotten much heavier, but we were all just happy to be off our feet for awhile.  At one point I was pegged in the head by a note from Ryan which made my whole day!

We were all very ready to end our last day with dinner, camp ball, a campfire, and s'mores with dad. Laney had her first rookie home run but it wasn't enough to beat Brayden and Ryan yet again.  

We'd made a point most of the day to whisper to the kids "last day" to made sure they soaked it all in and focused on where we were and what we were doing instead of silly arguments and such.  It was a great day.  It was a bittersweet day as we were ready to be home but it would also mean it was the end of an incredible trip, our longest and what seems like our fullest and most enjoyable yet.