Glacier National Park

We went from Hope, Idaho to Shannon's home in Bonners Ferry.  It was great to see where she is living now, in a big log cabin in the mountains of Idaho.  It was great for all of us to spend time with her and to see to Bruce.  The girls are just fabulous - they are the same, just older and even taller than they were two years ago.

We made our way to Glacier National Park where we camped on Tuesday and Wednesday.  The kids went swimming in Lake McDonald and we all went for a hike to Avalanche Lake.  We had intended to do another hike at Logan Pass, but that did not happen.  Glacier is a beautiful park.  This may be my favorite park for the overall experience of beauty, weather and wildlife.  The shuttle service and road construction on Going-to-the-Sun road made traveling a little difficult, but the hike we did was beautiful.

I have come to realize that the National Parks are designed for people to drive through.  This is not our preferred way to experience the beauty of nature, but it does allow one to see a lot of spectacular sights without much effort.  The drive through Glacier is spectacular, and we enjoyed our hike to the lake even more than the drive.

I recently read John Steinbeck's book, Travels with Charley - In Search of America.  Two of my friends, Colleen and Jamie, each gave me a copy of the book to read in honor of this trip.  Steinbeck writes that he does not like the National Parks because he is uncomfortable with such grand and extreme examples of nature.  I was expecting him to say that they were too commercialized or crowded.  That's the problem with them these days.  Still, I am drawn to the extreme images of nature that Steinbeck rejected.  It's amazing to see the diversity of terrain from one park to another, and we've all enjoyed learning about the unique aspects of each park.  

It's also nice to see wildlife in a protected area.  The wild animals in the national parks are a different breed.  With so many humans, and none of them hunting, these elk, deer, mountain goats and big horn sheep in the national parks are not at all afraid of us.  It's a bit disconcerting to see a huge elk just a few feet away, or a deer standing in a trail with no intention of moving out of our way.

We spent a night in a US Forest Service cabin in the mountains north of Bozeman, MT.  That was a great break from the national parks.  We were alone in the woods but for the herd of cattle grazing in a nearby field.  The children were calling us "Ma" and "Pa" because we were living like Laura and Mary Ingalls and their family.  The cabin had no water or electricity, but had a wood stove for heat and a wood cookstove and an outhouse.  I was hoping to see a bear, but that didn't happen.

We're now in South Dakota - at Custer State Park.  We're in another cabin.  This one has electricity, so I was able to charge my computer.  The only internet access is at a nearby lodge.  So, right now I am sitting in the parking lot of that lodge trying to upload photos and update this blog.  I've given up on more photos, but I'll add them later.

Everything is going well.  We're on the home stretch.  We expect to be in Chicago on Monday.  I'll post more later about our S. Dakota visit.

See you all very soon.  This trip has gone by so fast!!