Day 31

Our mountain home was pretty dark in the morning until about 8am, but my internal alarm went off and I got up to start packing for our drive. We were also pretty excited to get moving to our hike this morning. After breakfast we were derailed quite a bit on a search for Brayden's glasses. They weren't in the car, in Grammie's RV, at the campsite, in the tent, they had just disappeared. We all retraced the steps of the previous day and decided to pack up and search the couple places we'd stopped. We had the responsibility talk again on the way and didn't find them anywhere.

After a quick stop at the post office for Canadian stamps, we were on the road to Alberta. Our first stop was another of my most anticipated hikes of the trip to Stanley Glacier. The smoke was all around us still, but I was hoping we would at least be able to see it once we got there. If we didn't my people were going to strangle me as it was about a 5-mile hike!

This hike was rated "moderate" by the park service and I could certainly see why within the first 2 kilometers of straight up switchbacks! Our altitude-challenged crew were needing quite a few breaks as we kept going up and up. We got a peek at the cascades of the Stanley River on the way up as we recovered.

About an hour later, we made it to the river crossing and I promised Laney we would stop there for a snack on the way back. Our next 30 minutes were on the trail through a meadow where we tried to spot some wildlife but with no luck.

The trail then became very rocky as we climbed the last kilometer to the glacier viewing spot. Dave was the first to spot the waterfall off the side of Stanley Mountain so we knew we were close. The smoke had settled in quite a bit since we first parked but we could still see the glacier nestled in the mountain. Ryan wanted to go touch it so I contemplated adding at least an additional 2 hours to the hike while Grammie and Dave waited for us.

The kids were already tired, out of snacks, and we still had the trek back so I decided against it. Dave took a picture with strategic placement of Ryan's finger and the glacier to prove that she "touched" it.

I decided to hike in a little further to show the perspective of the mountain and glacier. It was difficult to capture with the camera because of the smoke, but we are the little people waving on the trail about 1/4 from the bottom of the picture. This place made me feel so small!!

We enjoyed the view for a little while longer then decided to head back. We still had a drive to our next campground today. We were much quicker on the return making it to the river in record time even with Brayden stopping briefly to take pictures.

The kids immediately all took off their shoes and stepped into the freezing glacier water. The look on each of their faces was priceless as their feet immediately and painfully froze.

The kids thawed their feet while I captured a visitor lurking in the woods hoping we might be having a snack. When I turned around to capture them they didn't even roll their eyes!



















We zoomed through the switchbacks with ease and very quickly because we all needed to pee by now! Ryan paused to watch her stick in the river then we headed to the car for the remainder of our drive. We all emptied what was left in our backpacks so they could be put away. Ryan decided to make a little design with her remaining water. How could you not smile seeing this?

I was actually not smiling at this point. After this long hike I was so ready to change into flip flops but I couldn't find them. It seems I was so frustrated and consumed with taking to Brayden about losing his glasses that I lost my flip flops. Life has a way of always keeping me humble. 

Before much more time on the road, we were crossing the border into Alberta. We were surprised to be able to see two of the highway wildlife overpasses along the way!

We were following Grammie through Canada because my GPS didn't allow download of Canada maps. When we arrived in Banff we stopped to take a picture at the sign and she promptly lost us. We were in Banff National Park but also in the city of Banff, Alberta so we drove around a little bit until I spied the park information center. I ran in and grabbed a map of the area to see if we could find our campground.

It took me a few minutes to figure out where we were supposed to be going but I finally got us to the area of the lake where we would be staying. This pretty girl was blocking the road for awhile, but we enjoyed watching her!

As we pulled into Two Jack Lake Dave and I were both taken aback by the large "closed" sign at the check in station. I thought maybe the station was just closed so we drove into the campground a little bit to find other roads closed as well.

It all seemed wrong to us so we went back out and stopped at the maintenance area where we saw a few trucks. I was worried the campground had been unexpectedly closed and was resigned to asking if we could stay on Grammie's site.  A man greeted us to help and he cleared up everything for us. Apparently we stopped at "Two Jack Lake" and we were supposed to be stopping at "Two Jack Lakeside". Crisis averted.

We were setting up within a few minutes at our assigned site nestled in the trees of the campground just off the lake. I was already excited to see the sunset or sunrise if the smoke cleared. Next we headed over to Grammie's spot to cook dinner but she'd already started tuna burgers. It was perfect timing as it was ready shortly after we arrived and we were all stuffed about 10 minutes later. Ryan and Brayden claimed they had a separate area for storing dessert so Grammie obliged with the rest of the peach and blueberry cobbler. Now we were really stuffed!

We headed back to the campsite and visited the lake for a few minutes before Dave and I immediately went to bed and Brayden and Laney went to read in their tent. I believe I woke up a little while later and told them to go to bed or I may have dreamed that!

Day 29

According to the ranger the night before there was a shift in winds expected. This seemed like a big understatement when in the middle of the night it sounded like tropical storm level winds. I counted at least 10 campers that packed up and left. We stuck it out though and by about 3am I started smelling the smoke. It seems it was following us.

We were supposed to be leaving in the morning so once the sky started to lighten slightly I went down to the lake to see if it would be worth hiking back to Rocky Point. The view was completely blocked by smoke so I climbed back into the tent to write instead. I was trying to catch up writing a couple days before we went into Canada where I knew we wouldn't have any kind of service.

Dave seemed thankful I wasn't dragging him out of his warm sleeping bag as he mumbled and rolled over for more sleep.

Once everyone was fed and we were all packed up we headed to do the chores of the day - laundry and grocery shopping. Our laundry bag was so big this time I couldn't even begin to carry it! Dave and I each had one set of clothes left, but everyone else was going to have to walk around naked if we didn't make this laundry stop. I'm sure we were quite a site - all 6 of us walking in with 2 bags of laundry.

Grocery shopping wasn't much better with us wandering aimlessly around a small store trying to throw together menus. After groceries were crammed in the car and cooler we were back on the road out of the United States.

The drive was pretty uneventful as we listened to "Witches" by Roald Dahl. The voices of the witches had us laughing and trying to figure out what they were even saying. Before long we were at the border and I was instructing Dave what to say. After our entry a few years ago and being detained for having pepper spray (thanks, Ash!), our wording had to be careful. We were in a long line of cars trying to enter when we noticed these huge rocks on the Montana side of the border? We couldn't figure out the symbolism.

I'm not sure who Bob Clarke (with an e!) is, but Brayden spotted him so we had to take a picture.

Shortly before we were to reach the gate Dave and Brayden were reduced to tearful giggles joking like 13-year olds. I threated Dave that he needed to get it together or they weren't going to let us in. That's when he decided to call me a "hoser". And that is when I made him swear not to use that word the entire time we are in Canada. So he continued by using "eh?" at the end of every sentence. Life with 4 children on the road can be very challenging. They did eventually let us in.

There were moments along our drive where we just knew we'd left the smoke in Montana. Some of the mountains were so clear and beautiful. But about 30 minutes before our next spot we hit it again. As we checked in we found out there were more fires in Banff and British Columbia causing all the smoke. We pledged just make the best of it while we were here. We did get to cross another animal off our list - a bighorn sheep!

After we both set up, Grammie offered to make some baked potatoes since she had electrical hookups at her site along with a special dessert. While the kids played at the playground we checked out things to do in the area and prepared everything for dinner.

Once we were all stuffed we drove back to our site and headed to the showers. We weren't quite desperate yet, but they definitely made us all feel much better. The loop we were staying in had a neat pavillion that appeared to be a camp kitchen at one time. Now I felt like I was at Girl Scout Camp! It had lights and nice tables, so we played cards for about an hour before calling it a night.

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 27

We'd heard in our few days here that the smoke was pretty clear on the west side of the park so we were anxious to take the Going-To-The-Sun road across the mountains. As I was trading Brayden for Ryan, Dave spoke with someone who was at Many Glacier just north of us and it was clear. This was the spot I really wanted to go so we went to the Visitor's Center to see what kind of hikes there were to the Grinnell Glacier. Unfortunately for us it was already 10am and the hike was 7 miles so we weren't really prepared to go, but we headed up there anyway to see the views.

It was a bit hazy along Lake Sherberne but the water was that spectacular turquoise that beckoned us to the shore. it was quite windy and the water was frigid so the girls weren't even interested in dipping their toes in. We even found a huge heart rock that we couldn't fit to take home so we took a picture to remember it.

After going through the old stone Many Glacier entrance we parked near the Many Glacier Hotel to take in the views. The hotel itself was beautiful, built in a Swiss chalet style architecture complete with staff in leiderhosen. It sat on the small Swiftcurrent Lake which was fed with the Grinnell Glacier as a backdrop. We had to get a partial family picture to remember the view. The haze was already settling into this area so we imagined just how amazing this view would be without it. And we made a note to return here next year on our trip somehow.

As we left the same way we came the view had dramatically changed due to the smoke so we were glad we'd seen it when we did. We headed back through the east entrance for our trip across the mountains to the west side. The day before I'd downloaded an audio tour of the road so we queued it up to see if we could learn a little bit along the way. We drove through Two Dog Flats, Rising Sun, Sunrise Gorge, and several more spots before we reached Logan Pass.

About 300 yards before we reached the parking area at the top I noticed people walking from their cars parked on the side of the road to the pass. This was a sure sign there would be parking issues up ahead so Dave dropped us off at the curb and joined the other 20 people casing the parking lot for a spot. We went up to the visitors center to stamp passport books and take a look at the exhibits.

I looked out the window every few minutes to see if I could spot our roof cargo carrier moving around and after about 5 minutes I couldn't spot it anymore. I figured Dave had finally decided to go back down the road a little ways to park when he walked in saying he'd gotten a spot. We'd just talked to the kids about the meaning of karma how good things happen to you when you do good things. This meant we could stay for the program and do a very cool hike to Hidden Lake.

The hike was about 3 miles and looked relatively easy along a paved and gravel path up the mountain behind the center. We enjoyed the view along the way of what we learned later were snow fields on the mountain instead of small glaciers. This hike may have been the most breathtaking we'd done so far. Even with the smoke it was just beautiful. We could only imagine how much better it would be without it!

Here is a perspective picture Dave took to show just how ginormous this place is. See those spots about 2/3 up the rocks in the front? Those are two people trying to make it up to the snow field!

We counted six small waterfalls on the way then made it to the lake where we were treated with a gorgeous view of the lake. The trail extended to the bottom by the lake, but we decided to head back to catch the program. Ryan did try out the water here along the way! Brrr!!

At the end we watched a little Columbian Ground Squirrel who'd obviously had a lot of luck begging for food here. He was definitely very cute! After Ryan bought a fox she'd had her eye on, we dropped in on a program just finishing so we had the ranger to ourselves. We were all excited to learn more about the weasels and wolverines that live in the alpine up there. We learned a little more about glaciers and headed back to the parking lot to continue.

As we were leaving we told a cruising car to meet us at the end of our row to take our parking spot. Unfortunately he was blocked by big SUV who refused to leave even after he politely asked. We discussed sitting there until the SUV lost patience and moved but just decided to leave instead. We didn't see the car again on our way out so we were all hoping he got an even better spot. This was the perfect time for a conversation about bad karma!

We made it through the rest of the drive learning quite a bit about the surveying and construction of the Going to the Sun road way back in the 1920s and 1930s. We pulled into the Apgar Visitor's Center just before Grammie and Brayden. They had all finished their junior ranger books on the first day but were waiting until today when they were all together.

Grammie had leftover gumbo thawing for us so once we got all set up we headed to her site. Dave tried his best to tune her satellite for the FSU vs Alabama game, but it seems there might just have been too many trees. He'd asked several people in the park if they knew of any places we could go to catch the game but we were in the woods far away from any kind of sports bar. We settled for text updates from Peepaw and devoured our dinner.

Once we were all cleaned up we played cards for a little while then played a game the girls had made up. It is a cross between charades and improv with teams of 2 people. They'd actually taken the time to write up rule books with paper and duct tape! Look for "Two Brains - the ultimate thinking game", coming soon to a store near you!

We ended the night with the program at the amphitheater about "Being WILD". It was a great progam about the evolution of thought about what it means to be wild and where wilderness really is. Laney even had a part in the presentation reading a quote from Lord Byron. At the end we asked the ranger for hiking suggestions as Dave found out the trail we had planned to hike would be closed due to the fire. This fire is really starting to annoy me.


We crashed after our little trek home and fell asleep to the sounds of the lake. It was almost like home with the tiny, gentle waves rolling to the shore singing me to sleep.