Glacier Day 1

Glacier National Park is the farthest West and North we will travel.  It also marks the turning point in our trip when after this we will head East towards home.  Fitting that this spot on our journey is actually called the “crown of the continent” because of the Continental Divide coming through it and at one point there are three points to it, the only place where that occurs…water flows East to the Mississippi and the Gulf, water flows to the West to the Pacific and thirdly, water flows North to Canada and the Hudson Bay.  This national park for me was certainly the crown park of the trip.  Spectacular!  But wait, I’m getting ahead of myself!

This four days in Glacier we are sharing with my cousin, Lydia, and her boys, Cam and Coop.  Over the last five years we have developed an annual tradition of seeing each other every summer.  This year we are being especially adventurous!  And after dreaming this up last year during our time together, it’s so exciting to finally be here together.

On our first day in Glacier we actually drove East to the Two Medicine Lake entrance.  But only after Lydia and Doug got some coffees in West Glacier Village.  Koen totally scored a free huckleberry shake because the barista messed someone’s order up.  How fun!  Huckleberries are the rage here for the tourists and the bear cubs, so there are huckleberry everythings…honey, jam, compote, syrup, salt water taffy and pretty much anything else you can imagine.

Glacier is a little tricky because of vehicle registrations you have to make months in advance in order to access different quadrants of the park.  Our vehicle registration was to start the next day, so we explored an area that didn’t require one.  Even still the entrance was initially turning people away because parking lots were full, but we found a place along the river to picnic and explore until the entrance re-opened.  The timing worked out perfectly and we got in!  But first, a picture at the entrance for a few cousins (we just call them cousins even though they are the sons of my cousin…I mean what is that called anyways?).

We did the Running Eagle Falls trail first.  It’s a super easy walk/hike to an incredible waterfall that comes out from under a sheath of rock.  The volume of water crashing through the opening was amazing.  Lots of people were swimming in the deep hole beneath the falls. Some of the kids gave it a try.  But mostly we took pictures and just took it all in.

 

Next we headed on to a hike right off the lakeside that takes you around to another beautiful spot on the lake…the Paradise Point Trail.  Absolutely fitting…wait for it…first we had to get there and Doug is such a champ always willing to throw Jansen on his shoulders.  These two are quite the hiking pals!

Look at this view!!!

And how clear the water is.  Again, it has me missing New Hampshire.  I think I’ve felt most at home in this national park, the mountains and green forests feel a lot more like New Hampshire than anything else we’ve experienced.  

Penn Rye LOVES this adventure.  He never complains.  He is just as happy to hike as to ride, to stay put as to go.  Such an easy guy to have along.  And not only that, amidst every adventure he embraces it.  I mean, look at him.

It’s fun having Lydia along as a personal photographer…ha!  We got more family and couple photos at this national park than anywhere else!

The hike was warm, but at Paradise Point the wind was whipping!  These boys just couldn’t resist the water (I mean, we all dipped our toes in, but just wait).

They went all in!  These lakes are frigid!  They are all from snow melt…still in July!

Proud dudes after the fact.  My guys are looking so grown up and manly these days!  

We eventually pulled ourselves away from paradise and hiked back to the trailhead.  I mean, these kids do need dinner, right?  It was so pleasant though, if we didn’t have so many boys to feed, we could’ve hung out there for hours!  Lydia got this cute picture of Penn Rye experiencing a pay phone in the parking lot.  Practically a glacial relic itself!

The drive back was going to be about an hour and a half and Lydia and Doug are so sweet (ha, ha, no pun intended) and though it would be nice to get the boys ice cream in East Glacier on the way out.  I was pretty ready to beat it home, but hey, we’re on vacation, right?  Anyways, while we were at the village horses that had escaped from a local trail riding corral walked past on the street escorted by a park ranger vehicle.  We got a real kick out of it!  There was more than what’s on the video even.  Made for great entertainment!

All in all, we were so pleased with what we accomplished on Day 1.  And the views are just incredible to take in, a great first day!