2017 AH Gorrie Vacation

Armed with cheddar bunnies, stick o cheese and trail max. My family and I headed across county bound and determined to get Glacier National Park. We packed the kiddos up, filled the tank and set off to what would be our greatest adventure yet.

First stop Minneapolis MN. What a cosmopolitan city it is! Admits the waterfalls and lush green landscape, there emerges this rather modern city. We hit the mall of America, which really is just a big mall with a roller coaster. We bought a few gifts and headed for the Menihana falls. We snapped a few shots, took a rest and then headed back to the hotel for of course round one of swimming. The pools on this trip are important. We ate at a fabulous restaurant located in the hotel. I had a lovely ginger martini and my first of many trout dinners. After dinner we took a walk and headed back to the hotel to rest up. Day one was a success.

We came upon Fargo and yes the people sound just like the move. We stopped at the visitor center to see if they had explosive glasses (we had relaxed that we left them at home) and after the nice ladies bin visitor center said " oh jeeze no, and you don’t want to look at the sun without those" we snapped a picture next to the infamous Fargo wood chipper and headed into town to our hotel. We ho the pool for a while and then headed downtown for a great dinner at the local brewery. The city had an eclectic mix of people, it seems as though there isn't a lot in the eastern part of North Dakota, and so everyone congregates in Fargo.

Another short drive and we arrived on Medora. What an adorable quaint little town. We quickly switched hotels (thanks to expedia) and decided to stay in the town. We hit Teddy Roosevelt national park, which was a mix of the badlands meets Custer state park. Its hilly grasslands met with butte crested skylines. It was simply stunning. We hiked a few trails and the kids really got to feel the wind! We walked back to the hotel and hit the pool while Dad went back to our old hotel and got our bags. (Thanks dad) After swimming we had a great dinner at the Medora Saloon. We did some local shopping and took in some last views of the park.

Slight changes in plans lead us to Bozeman Montana for a night. And boy are we glad we did! With a recommendation form one of my sister’s friends who lives in the area we hit the Map Brewing Company for a beer and some food. But first of course, we swam in the pool. The Restaurant was filled with families old and new. There was live music playing in the background and the view was of lakes and mountains. We met some travels from Washington there and discussed national parks and there adventure. We were encouraged to go and see Mount Rainier in Washington. * noted for years to come*

The next morning we headed north of Bozeman bound for Saint Mary, MT. We drove through the blackhead Indian reservation it was very open even though we were amount the foothills of the Rockies. As we moved north closing in on St Mary we could see the majestic Rockies in the background, we knew we were close. Moving through the reservation the road began to twist and turn and we headed for higher elevation. We took the last curve and came upon the St Mary Hotel, what a sight! The mountains in the back drop and a lovely hotel which seems to be out in the middle of nowhere. We had arrived.

We got out of the car only to have the smell of smoke in the air. We had been reading about the forest fires that had taken over in the park, thankfully they were burning in the deep back country and shouldn't affect our stay. We checked into our hotel, I was amused by the wood decor, and everywhere your tuned there was a picture of a bear. After all we had landed in bear country! We walked down to a small stream and waded in the water. No pool here so the kids would have to make do with running and playing outside, I think we could handle that especially with this scenery! We walked to the visor center and got a map our junior ranger books and asked a few questions about what and where to go. We headed to the hotel for dinner, and a drink. We hit the pillow early as we were going to need to get an early start in the park.

Day one we began our journey on the going to the sun road. I have never seen just an awesome sight, never. We stopped one flew over passes and took some views and pictures. The sun was shining and the air was cool, it was heaven. We went stopped by ST Mary falls and hiked the 2 miles down, it was breathtaking. The kids hunted for animals and Penny chatted us up the whole way. We got to the falls and wow what a treat, it was so worth it! The crystal clear water prong down from the mountain cascaded into the falls. Little did we know this was first of many amazing experiences yet to come?

After our hike we had a little picnic lunch and headed back on the going to the sun road. We were headed for Logan’s pass, the crown jewelry of the park. They weren't kidding, after waiting at it for a parking spot, we got out and headed into the Visitor center, there were marmots and woodlands chipmunks everywhere! We headed up to hike to hidden lake. Wow what spectral views we had as we hiked up, the kids still had some good energy so we headed up hoping to get to the top. The wild flowers were in full bloom, a sea of purpose took over the landscape, with the Rockies on the background I felt like I was a National Geographic movie.

After Logan's pass we headed back on the going to the sun road, we stopped to play in some snow and feel the weeping wall. Which we learned wasn't weeping much anymore because most of the snow pack had melted for the year if we came back in May the rangers said it would have been gushing. As we made our way down we stopped by the river as we noticed some kids were swimming. We walked down the path and gaze our eyes upon flowing rapids and multi colored rocks. I had never seen anything so pure. The water was so clear. You can see right down to the bottom, Michael and I put our feet in and screamed YIKES! It was so cold. Glacier water! It tasted so good though, we filled up our water bottles and plunked our feet back into the water. The kids jumped around on the rocks and ended up getting soaked, it was an amazing afternoon.

As the day came to a close we headed to Whitefish where our cabin awaited us. The north forty resorts was a quaint little resort off the road but in the woods. Our cabin had a small kitchen and living room, it was perfect. While the kids rested tony and I sat on the porch with a beer and enjoyed the evening. We then headed into Whitefish for dinner, what an adorable mountain town. We pursued the shops and headed into a local restaurant, yes I had the trough again....

The next morning we headed back into the park to hit the avalanche trail, trail of the cedars and Lake McDonald.  We entered the Apgar area and there in the trees were two baby black bears! What a treat it was! Then a few more ran across the road, how cool it was to see them! As we began our hike to avalanche, I must admit I was a bit afraid of potential bears. Especially considering we had just seen some... and didn’t see their mom anywhere....

The trail had number of spots to rest along with places where the tress opened up and gave you breathtaking views. There hike kept calling you in much like the park does. As we rounded the seems do to be the never ending corner it opened up into a beautiful lake. The lake was framed by the Rockies and amount the high mouth Ian Terri an you could see where the avalanche had cleared the trees on the moat in side. We had reached Avalanche Lake and it was spectacular.

We made our way back to the Apgar village and took a left turn to the trail of the cedars. This hike was much easier than the first one. It curved along the forest floor where you see a number of deciduous trees that called Glacier their home. We compelled the hike and stopped to refuel in the village. We then headed down to Lake McDonald. I’m not how to describe this serene lake nested in the mountains, it was a crystal blue color and you could see right down to the bottom. We must get on this water!

We headed dot to dock and rented a canoe. What a great time spent with the kiddos. We toodled around the lake (not too far) and took in the views. IN back drop you could see the mountains, and the billowing smoke admits them. The kids got in the water and swam around along with their dad, they were brave. It was so cold. So cold. But so beautiful. We hung on the beach for the rest of the day and watched the waves roll in. Lake McDonald you are the most beautiful lake I have ever seen, right down to the bottom.

We ended the day at the ranger station where kids got their junior ranger badge. What fun it was to see them ask and answer questions about the park. We headed back to the cabin and had another wonderful meal in whitefish. At the end of the evening the kids UN winded in the cabin and tony and I sat out again and based out the day’s events, nothing better than that.

The next morning we embarked on one of the most beautiful drives I have ever been on. We hot route 83 south through Kalispell to Yellowstone national park. It was a simply lovely drive with mountains, forests, winding roads, open fields, lakes, stream and rivers. The fire danger was rely down the side of the state, there were roads closed, and we were asked not to pull over four much of the trip. The smell of smoke in the air and in many places you could see it clouding the road ahead. We came upon Garnier (a town we are familiar with) and the mother entrance of yellow stone. The town was in full swing as many were making their way to the Tetons to see the 2017 eclipse. We did some shopping swam in the pool and then headed out to town to eat. It was a wonderful day.

The next morning we headed out to Yellowstone, we hit the mammoth hot springs that had really changed since we were there last. We hiked the whole trail and I tried to snap some shots of the kids that were reminiscing of two years ago. We headed down to Canyon village where we were excited to hike the falls (something we couldn't do last time) what a treat that was! It was a long way down and an even longer way up but well worth the hike. The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone is a majestic spectacular site, spanning many miles through the park.

The edge of falls where the Yellowstone River plunges into itself is something off marvel to say the least.

We left the falls and headed for a small place to picnic. We found a great spot right by the river where the kids could throw rocks (a favorite pastime) and tony an I could sit and relax with them. We skipped a few rocks, there a few and listened to the water. There were a couple of fly fisherman close by and you could see them dancing with their lines in the water. It was almost like for a brief moment in time we were the only people thee in the that place.

We headed down to Hayden valley as the ranger has said the heads of buffalo were down there. He was correct, buffalo as far as the eye could see. It was wonderful. We got out of the car and sat and observed for a brief moment. We couldn't leave the park without heading to Yellowstone Lake and ice cream. We stopped at the place we were just two years before our kids two years older and two years bigger. How they have changed but the moment felt the same. We left Yellowstone exiting through the east entrance a place we hadn't seen before, man was it wonderful! Cody WY was our next stop for the evening.

We left Cody in the early morning hopping to beat the traffic to Casper WY to see the eclipse in totality. While the open road wasn't so lonely we didn’t hit any traffic getting there it was actually very cool to see people in. Place where you typically saw on one. This event had brought them together with their cameras sun umbrellas, glasses and telescopes. We strive din Casper and found a spot in. We snacked while we waited. As it began we chatted with each other and periodically looked up in the sky with our glasses. We took videos and tried to capture the views although the camera didn’t really cooperate. People sitting nears us started playing Pink Floyd’s dark side of the moon, and as the moon cast a shadow of the sun in totality the crowds cheered in awe. It was such a spectacle! I have never seen anything like that and was so happy the kids were a part of it as well. The ride to Fort Collins after eclipse isn’t worth blogging about, let’s just say a 2 hour drive turned into 9 and the rest of Colorado was heading back to their home state. Ug.

Our trip closed in Fort Collins wit hour dear friends Kate and Dave. We got to meet their new daughter Natalie who was sunshine and smiles the whole time we visited. Brooklyn has grown in a beautiful young lady and is ebbing kindergarten this year! We met Aunt Kat for lunch the kids were thrilled to see her and spend time. I enjoyed seeing catching up with our friends, they openness and kindness they have always offered us is so genuine.  We are grateful to have them in our lives. They have made us love Fort Collins not for where it is but for who lives in it.

We end our trip with our drive down 80 stopping in Omaha at Best western with the frog slide, which has no become this nostalgic place of our children. We are looking forward to getting home as it always brings us such comfort. However in the back of my head the national parks of the world are calling us back, whispering ideas of where we will adventure next year.