This is Alpha, the first-born, when he was 2YO.
This is Beta, the second-born, when he was about 2YO.
This is Gamma, the third-born, when he was about 18MO.
Vacation Recap 2018, Part 6
Sep
12
2018
Continued from last week
Day 9
We awoke rather cold, and early. I took a couple of the kids back to the lounge car so we could sit with the huge windows and see the scenery. The problem with the large windows is that there is not as much between you and the weather, so that car was even colder.
The conductor came through the car and made sure we knew our stop was coming up soon, so we gathered our things and made sure everyone was packed up and ready to go. Whitefish was a slightly longer stop, as they had to unload not only our checked bags but others’ as well. But the conductor treats every stop the same – be ready to go or they’ll leave with you (or if you’ve stepped out for fresh air, they’ll leave without you).
Here our first foray onto Montanan soil. Whitefish, MT, in particular.
And here is what they use for baggage carts over in Montana.
Then we split up.
I had to get to our rental minivan, which was about 15 miles away. There are, of course, options to be had for that such as a cab or shuttle bus, but they charge by the person. So the best plan we agreed would be for me to take a cab by myself to the rental place and then drive back to get the rest of the family.
They would not be sitting around waiting for me, as this was about 8:00 AM and we did not eat breakfast on the train. They all walked about 3 or 4 blocks to a restaurant and ate. I took I think 3 bags with me, so they had 9 bags for the 5 of them to lug to the restaurant. The restaurant had an odd arrangement of staircase and such, so they ended up leaving the luggage by the entryway to the restaurant while they ate. The residents of Whitefish were kind enough to leave our pile of luggage intact.
I used a traditional cab company, since I could just call and get one without having to install anything on my phone, and he was kind enough to wait in the parking lot while I made sure the rental company could accommodate me. Then I had an uneventful drive back to the restaurant, where the family was done and hopped into the van and handed me a breakfast burrito. I drove a couple of blocks down the road, then I ate the burrito while half the family went grocery shopping – our cabin for this area had a full kitchen.
But we couldn’t check into the cabin right away, so we drove on to Logan Pass. I didn’t realize how long it takes to drive to Logan Pass. Distance-wise, it doesn’t look so bad. But for someone like me who hasn’t been there, one doesn’t realize how slowly people drive – expect to average about 20 mph. And with good reason – the roads are narrow and curvy and with steep dropoffs. A lack of caution there can easily and quickly be a big problem.
But the views are nice. I did not get to enjoy them, as I did not want to focus on anything other than the road. So Some Wife took these photos for me to enjoy later.
That’s the road going across the middle of the photo. On the left, you can see a red SUV for scale. And if you look at where the road intersects the stream/waterfall, you can see that there is a bridge there. Good scenery, but also no real guardrails.
We finally got to the top and were greeted by a full parking lot.
It was full, but on my second time around the lot I happened upon a car that was leaving, so I snagged that spot. I had dropped the family off at the visitor center entrance, so I walked up to meet them and then we went on a hike up the path. Or rather, where we thought the path was under all that snow.
There was snow on the ground, but the air temperature was close to 60, so it was understandable to see people in shorts. Including myself. What wasn’t understandable was the people who wanted to hike up the mountain in flip-flops. Unless maybe they like frostbitten toes?
And then there was this guy, one of the temporary residents of Logan Pass:
There was also this guy, one of the permanent residents of Logan Pass:
I will add here that the road to Logan Pass was closed for snow removal until about 5 days before we arrived. Be sure to check into that when you’re planning your trip there, as that was almost July.
Then we drove back to the cabins and checked in.
Here is the view out the back of the cabin:
We had dinner (made in the cabin’s very own kitchen) and then walked around the Apgar Village area. There are a few stores and a bunch of other cabins and a lodge. The lodge is right on the water – you can get balconies or patios that open over/onto Lake McDonald. Or rather, the rocks that make up that part of the Lake McDonald shore. Then everyone got ready for bed. There are no televisions in GNP, so our usual routine of HGTV and baseball could not be continued. But everyone went to sleep without too much withdrawal.
Then it was evening, and morning the next day.
Day 10
This was a planned lazy day. Nothing on the docket except for a one-hour tour of Lake McDonald via boat. No, the boat was named the DeSmet.
The younger two boys woke up earlier, so I took them out to the lake so as to let the older two kids sleep in. We ended up on the dock, as they liked playing in the water and throwing rocks. We probably spent 3 or 4 hours over the two days just throwing rocks into water. Here’s a view of the dock.
There was only one planned activity, but we also had an unplanned activity. Beta had a rash and blisters on his leg, just above one ankle. They had appeared earlier in the trip and we thought they would get better, but it didn’t. Since we had some free time this day, we decided to use that free time at the clinic. Glacier National Park has a fine clinic, very friendly and they took our insurance. The clinic is tucked away down some small roads, but the signage is good – just keep following the signs.
They wrote us a prescription for a topical cream, but there is no pharmacy in GNP. We had to drive about 15 minutes to a nearby town. The pharmacy happened to be in a grocery store, so we grabbed a few groceries while we were there.
This was one of the times where it was good to have a fourth-grader with the get-into-parks-free pass. Because they don’t stamp your hand when you leave the national parks – you must pay every time to re-enter. But since we had the 4th-grade pass, this little trip to the pharmacy cost us $35 less than it could have.
Now on to the boat tour. It’s a one-hour excursion around the lake. Not the whole lake, just south for a half hour then back north to the dock. There is a ranger who was talking about things the whole time – local wildlife, the areas that had recent forest fires, the rocks in the area, the glaciers that are melting. If the glaciers do melt away in the near future (15 years or so) as predicted by some, will the park be renamed to just National Park?
Here’s a view of the boat before we got on it:
And then here’s the view from the boat.
The boat ride was a nice diversion for the day. I wouldn’t say it was great, but it was different. I think the boys liked the shore the best. Not that they didn’t like the boat, but they wanted to keep throwing rocks. We didn’t have to pull them away from the boat or dock, but we did have to pull them away from the shore.
They do have a nice grounds at the Lake McDonald Lodge, where the boat dock was. Just about a hundred feet from the dock was where a stream ran into the lake. Here is the view from the lake shore:
That was the other part of the lake that the boys liked, besides throwing rocks – walking through the stream, or over it on the large rocks.
We finished this part of the day by going into Lake McDonald Lodge. It is a rustic-looking affair, with a large stone fireplace and huge wooden beams. And someone playing a piano in the corner. We found the gift shop and made a few purchases, then went back to the cabin.
After another homemade dinner, we wandered over to a nearby store and bought ice cream. I had the huckleberry, because that’s popular in that area of the country. I would not get it again. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t anything special either.
Back at the cabin, it was time for everyone to get ready for bed. And packed. The next day was to be a travel day, so packing up everything the night before would make the next morning easier and hassle-free. Or least less hassle.
Then it was evening, and morning the next day.
To Be Continued…
Let the mountains bring peace to the people, And the hills, in righteousness.
Psalm 72:3
This little article thingy was written by Some Guy sometime around 6:09 am and has been carefully placed in the Travel category.
