Sleeping in is wonderful! We awoke to the sound of rain on the roof. No hiking today! And that meant we got to sleep in. We decided today would be a relaxing day after that hard hike yesterday. So we took our time getting up and jumped on the shuttle to check out Lake McDonald Lodge. There is nothing there! I thought maybe cuz there is a lodge at that stop, there would be a scenic view, but nothing different. We could take a scenic boat ride, but we opted out of that just in case it started to rain again (and cuz it was too expensive!). And, we forgot the camera. Oh well! We looked around the shops and then headed back to Apgar Village.
The big thing in Montana is Huckleberry. It’s like a blueberry but different so today became the day to check it out! I tried the iced tea and David had a milkshake. It is delicious!! A must try item. The rest of the afternoon was very relaxing. We decided to try out the restaurant, Eddie’s, in Apgar Village as a treat for ourselves since we haven’t eaten out in a week. David got garlic mashed potatoes and steak. I got this fruit nut salad with huckleberry vinaigrette dressing. It was so good but way too much of it. But I had to eat all of it of course! :P And for dessert, we shared a huckleberry cobbler ala mode. MMM…yummy! Don’t worry…It will all get worked off tomorrow on our 8 mile hike.
To get a head start on working it off, we took a stroll around Lake McDonald from our campsite and ended up back in town. We looked in the gift shops there (so many cool things!). There is way more options as far as t-shirts and souvenirs at Apgar Village than at Lake McDonald Lodge. But, we forgot our wallets back at the RV. We will have to go back. :)
Well, that is the end to the relaxing day. Played cards to wind down a bit and now, I’ve gotta get a lot of sleep since we are waking up at 6 am for the hike! Night.
July 31, 2008
Last day of the month. Where did it go? The summer is speeding by so fast. And my birthday is in a little over a week. Wonder what I’ll do this year?
Today we had our long hike. It’s 8 miles to the Granite Park Chalet. We packed last night and got up at 6 am today. We were able to take the first shuttle up to the Loop stop. It was so cold up there! I’m glad I wore my thermal shirt. The trail was basically all uphill. Again, the scenery was beautiful.
click picture for gallery
The first part of the hike was in a burnt forest. The fire burned there a few years ago, so the under growth was recovering nicely. Soon, we came to a sign that said “Bear Country”. Fun.
Hopefully we won’t encounter any bears! (And luckily, we didn’t.) The trail became thicker with foliage and big river rocks. And as we neared the Chalet it turned into bright green forest. It smelled so good up there! Just like the pine air freshener in your car, but better! We didn’t encounter any hikers during our first 3 hours so it was nice and peaceful with just the two of us.
At one point we came to a sign. It read that Granite Park Campground was to the left. Also, it appeared that someone had tried to scratch onto the sign that Granite Park Chalet was to the right, but was faded or was attempted to be removed. We weren’t sure if the campground and the Chalet was the same thing, so we headed left. Not too far down the path we saw the Chalet up on the hill and knew to turn around and follow the other path. When we made it back to the sign, a lady surprised us with a “Hello!”. This was Cindy, a Special Ed school teacher who was also confused by the sign. The three of us decided to head the other way (right) and soon came upon the Chalet.
I must say it was pretty nice. The pit toilets were pristine. That’s a big deal to me. The Chalet was up on a hill and consisted of three buildings: two were rooms with bunk beds and the third was the clubhouse with a dining room downstairs (and a snack bar) and rooms upstairs. It was very windy up there tho. We found a picnic bench out of the wind to have lunch at. Cindy joined us and we had a good chat. Soon, she left to finish the trail to Logan Pass (11.7 miles in total from the Loop). We headed back down to the Loop shuttle. The views from the Chalet were amazing. See David’s pics if interested. We really lucked out with the shuttle service and were able to ride the first one that came along. Normally they are all full from Logan pass. We rode the shuttle to Avalanche and decided to check out the Trail of the Cedars. As if 8 miles isn’t enough already! Okay, so this trail was a loop and less than a mile in length. We had a nice rest on the shuttle so why not?
This trail (Trail of the Cedars) is what all the tourists (and old people) hike on. It’s all paved (and wheelchair accessible). It was in a pretty forest tho. Half way through the loop we saw a sign for Avalanche Lake that read 2 miles. David talked me into going. And it was well worth it. A crystal clear river followed the dirt trail for part of the way up. The woods here were very rugged and not very green but offered a lot of shade. It took us less than an hour to reach the lake. Again, gorgeous crystal clear water with waterfalls falling off the mountains in the background. We had a snack and rested our poor tired feet on a bench next to the lake. A chipmunk (tiny guy!) tried to steal my bag of pretzels. Once our feet agreed to function again, we headed back to the trailhead, finished the loop and headed back to the RV.
Every part of me hurts. We are taking the weekend to recuperate. We have reservations at a place that has full hookups and internet access. David can work on his pics and I can play on the web (and give my MySpace pet attention! Poor thing.). Goodnight. :)
August 1, 2008
Yes, I am sore today! Very sore. Every time I get up, my legs ache and yell at me to stop moving. :) Tomorrow will be better. We slept in today. It was nice. Made some pancakes, tried out the new Huckleberry syrup we bought (yummy!), walked into town, shopped a bit, packed up camp, and drove to West Glacier to our full hookups spot with Wi-Fi. It’s so nice to have electricity. Don’t have to worry about leaving a light on! Anyway, so we went back to San-Suz-Ed cuz they have internet and laundry. Gotta do laundry tomorrow. David’s been working on his photos for a lot of today, so he might get caught up this weekend and I’ll throw a link your guys’ way. I’ve been relaxing and surfing the net. I’ve told myself that I’ll clean the RV tomorrow. Do a little today and a lot tomorrow. So, not much happening today. Maybe we’ll do a small hike tomorrow (just to stretch our lets).
Oh, I watched “The Bear” tonight. It was made in the 80’s, but I never saw it when it came out. It is a wonderful nature movie with a good message. If you haven’t seen it, go rent it. :)
K, goodnight all! :)
August 2, 2008
Today was another very relaxing day. David worked on pictures. I did laundry. And, boy, did we need to do laundry! But, it is all washed and clean now. Makes me happy. :)
Nothing exciting for today. I’m just enjoying my internet access and being able to look things up online. We sat by the community campfire tonight and made some smores and roasted marshmallows. These casual camp get togethers are great for finding out useful information about places around the area. We talked to another couple tonight who told us about Banff and gave us a few options of places to stay on the eastern side of the park in St. Mary and Two Medicine. We’ll be leaving this campground on Monday and moving to the East Glacier area to check out that side of Glacier NP. So, ya, that’s all for today. I’m off to read up on East Glacier! Chao.
August 3, 2008
So, I’m sitting here typing this and I’m freezing. Why am I freezing? Because I’m munching on ice and it’s like 60 degrees in here. Ya, I’m crazy, I know. But, I love chewing on ice until my nails are blue. If I was in So-cal, it would be appropriate to eat ice cuz it’s like 100 degrees in the desert right now. But, since I’m not, I’m freezing! :) That’s okay, I’m gonna jump into my nice warm bed after I finish this entry for tonight and get all warm and toasty. That’s just me ranting a bit. It is nice to be away from the heat, but it was cold in London and I was overjoyed to be coming back to 100 degree temperatures so I could actually feel warm and sweat a bit. But, David wanted to go somewhere cold for the summer and I’m back to my freezing routine. :P But, I’m not bitter. Really, I’m not. This vacation has been very relaxing, the hiking is fun, and the scenery is amazing. So, really I can only complain about the cold if I stop eating ice at night. :)
Speaking of relaxing, today was another relaxing one. Slept in a bit, read a bit, cleaned a bit, walked to Lake Five (just a lake), surfed the net a lot, researched some areas we want to check out and made smores at the campfire tonight. David had a long chat with a Canadian tonight. We found out a lot about Canada and took away a bunch of useful info too. Tonight is our last night at this RV park. We’re heading east tomorrow to St. Mary’s to see the lodge and maybe drive into the east side of the park for a bit. Then, there’s this restaurant we want to check out in a town called Babb. Next, we want to check out Waterton NP in Canada. We may stay the night there tomorrow night. I’m just not sure yet how tomorrow is gonna pan out yet. We want to head up to Banff in Canada. That’s our goal now. It just might take a day or so to get up there.
K, I’m finished with my ice, so I’m gonna jump in bed now and warm up! I’m not sure when I’m gonna have internet again, so this might be my last entry for a bit. Hope you are all well and enjoying your summer! Good night!
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment