Turns out, I had no reason to fear. Montana was magnificent. Yes, there were mountains, but also aqua-blue lakes and lush forests and yes, glaciers. We had such a great time and the kids were actually sad on the last day because they didn't want it to end.
Day One was driving. Lots of driving. We took the scenic route through the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone so we stopped to take a few pictures in those parks on the way. We were hoping to stop and see Old Faithful too, but when we were about 10 minutes away the heavens opened and a torrential downpour changed our minds. Guess that will have to be our next vacation! We made it as far as Bozeman before we called it a day.
The drive went pretty fast with views like these!
Family pic in the Grand Tetons.
Pictures can be deceiving. They fought and bickered most of the day and only smiled because I bribed them.
Danny and I jumped out of the car to take a cold, rainy picture by some Yellowstone hot springs. Made it back just before the deluge and that was it for Yellowstone.
Day Two we arrived at the East side of Glacier National Park and checked into our hotel, the Glacier Park Lodge. We took it easy, played down by the creek near the hotel, and went out for a yummy dinner.
So happy to stretch our legs after all that driving!
The creek was right next to a golf course, so they were on the hunt for lost golf balls.
Dinner and a snuggle.
Day Three was our first day in the park. We started by hiking the Beaver Pond Loop (we did see the beaver dam but it didn't look like it was active), stopping on the way to play for a bit on the rocky shore of St. Mary Lake. Then, in the afternoon, we took one of Glacier's famous red bus tours from the East entrance of Going-to-the-Sun Road. Our guide was awesome and we got to hear some of the history of the park while enjoying the views and stopping for photo ops.
Beautiful. And the scenery was lovely too.
We spent at least half an hour just hanging out by the water.
Glacier, we love you!
Where are those beavers?
Tracking down a frog.
Found 'im.
Ready to ride the red bus!
Standing up to enjoy the views.
Everybody out!
Behind us, in the middle of St. Mary Lake, is Goose Island--famous for the story of two doomed lovers from warring tribes who turned into geese (who mate for life) in order to be together.
Family selfie from the red bus roof.
See the glacier on the mountain behind them?
Pictures really don't do it justice.
We took a break at Logan Pass and hiked up the Hidden Lake trail as far as we could before we had to get back on the bus.
Big butt(e)s!
View from part-way up the trail at Logan Pass.
Back in the red bus.
Another photo op stop.
Every view was different...
...and every view was breathtaking.
Man in the mountains.
Day Four was the Fourth of July! We had a boat tour scheduled in Many Glacier, so we drove up the East side of the park and parked at the Many Glacier Hotel, which is one of the only hotels inside the park itself. It was right on the edge of Swiftcurrent lake with views in every direction.
Our boat tour took us across Swiftcurrent, where we disembarked, walked through the woods to the shores of Lake Josephine, and boarded another boat. That boat took us to the other side of Josephine, where there were a bunch of trails you could hike. We took the trail to another lake, called Lake Grinnell, where we hung out and enjoyed the views for awhile, before boat-hopping back to the Many Glacier hotel to enjoy a glass of wine (and a little nap) on the deck.
And we're off!
View from the top (of the boat).
Seriously, the pictures don't do it justice.
Hiking to Grinnell Lake.
Crossing the wobbly one-man bridge.
We made it!
Contemplating the majesty of it all. Or thinking about lunch.
Back at the Many Glacier Hotel for happy hour with a view.
Mommy's tired.
On the drive back home we stopped at another mini-lake that was apparently a caterpillar hang-out spot. Jill and Danny joined the party.
They can hang as well as any caterpillar.
Our only bear-sighting of the trip, and it wasn't even a grizzly. We did, however, see deer, moose, eagles, bighorn sheep, and...of course...caterpillars.
Jill has decided she likes salad!
Chris wanted this picture to show how teeny-tiny the sink was in our Glacier Park Lodge hotel room.
Day Five was a transition day. We checked out of our hotel on the East side of the park, and drove around to the cute little town of Whitefish on the West side. There, we checked into the Grouse Mountain Lodge and let the kids relax in the pool and hot tub. We also enjoyed our best meal of the trip at an Italian restaurant that had desserts so tasty we wanted to eat every last bite.
Danny actually drank the caramel dipping sauce like it was water.
Day Six was our white water rafting trip! We booked a full-day rafting excursion on the Flathead river, and while the water wasn't quite as white and the rapids weren't quite as wild as we'd hoped (due to a warm spring that melted most of the snow before we got there), the kids still had fun and it was a nice change of pace.
All geared up.
Boat selfie.
Lunch break.
My everything.
Woohoo!!!
Life with brothers.
R&R after a busy day.
Day Seven was our last day in Glacier. We started by hiking Trail of the Cedars and the Avalanche Lake trail, which Chris announced was his favorite hike of his whole life. He later qualified that to say it was his favorite hike "with the kids." Either way, it was beautiful to walk through the shaded woods, alongside a rushing river and waterfalls, all the way to Avalanche Lake, where we saw moose swimming in the water.
After the hike, we took another boat tour, this time on Lake McDonald. Then it was time for our last dinner in Whitefish, followed by some ice cream at Sweet Peaks (Jill tried the huckleberry!).
Boardwalk through the cedars.
You shall not pass!
We saw waterfalls all along the trail.
My dears with a deer.
Avalanche Lake!
Cooling off their feet in the clear, glassy water.
We will miss this place.
On the drive to our boat tour, we stopped at a scenic overlook for another waterfall pic. You can never have too many, right?
Family selfie on top of the boat on Lake McDonald.
While we were sad to leave the park for the last time, we all agreed we were ready to sleep in our own beds. The bags under Danny's eyes say it all.
But first, ice cream.
Day Eight was our drive home. We were anxious to get back so we powered through and--thanks to tablets and 80mph speed-limits in Montana and Wyoming--we made it back safely to Golden before 10pm.
Thanks for the memories, Montana!
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