Tonelli's Travels

We sadly left Glacier National Park about a week ago, but we will be back! There is so much to explore in that magical place, so many mountains to still climb. The eastern and southern parts of the national park were closed because this is Blackfeet Nation’s land. To protect their people, they chose to prohibit public access. We respect and support their choice and look forward to continued success. When is it safe, we will return to explore more of this sacred place. For now, we are on our way to Yellowstone.

Our travels over the last week have been a day to day adventure. Without any reservations or real plans, we have been making nightly decisions as to what to do the next day. This is challenging for me, the constant planner and schedule-oriented individual I am, but I am embracing the discomfort! I am learning to be flexible and to relax during unpredictability. This “vacation” is also an intense journey in self-growth. Haha

Our first day away from Glacier we were only a few miles down the road in Kalispell. We ran errands – gas, grocery shopping, air in the tires, and eventually wound up at another cidery and then brewery. Cider for me – beer for my parents. Rough Cut Cidery had a variety of fruit flavored ciders, my favorite being the Passionfruit Peeler. Bias Brewery apparently had a good Coconut Stout – you’d have to ask my mom for details. She is the connoisseur. I enjoyed a yummy rice and veggie filled bowl and watched the Celtics. They won – yay!

On our journey south to Yellowstone, we also stopped at Flathead Lake to kayak. Now, here is a good story of how social media only tells one part of the story. If you look at our pictures, you’d guess we had a fabulous time kayaking on the blue green waters of this lake, surrounded by rock faced mountains. Sounds nice, right? I was nice to get out on the water, and I do love to kayak, but no sooner had we left the shore then I learned my kayak enjoyed turning to the right much more than to the left. Stubborn, I decided to work through it instead of letting my dad exchange it for a different one. (I’m working on asking for and accepting help – haha). We made it across the lake to the beach at the state park and stretched our legs. The rainbow colored rocks were beautiful and I felt accomplished rowing the defective boat across. Then, the real fun started. The wind had picked up significantly, which mean sizable waves on this expansive lake. Now paddling back became more of a workout than a relaxing excursion. You couldn’t stop to rest for more than a few minutes without being pushed back the way you came. So we trudged forward, one stroke after another, to get back to the dock. When we arrived, I couldn’t get out of the kayak fast enough! So, just remember, Instagram and Facebook don’t alway tell the whole truth. 😉

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

That night we ended up at a Harvest Host spot – The Silver Knot – which made up for the frustrating kayak experience. Typically a wedding venue, the owner is trying out hosting campers while the wedding business is on hold. Set on a ranch with an epic mountain backdrop, this was the perfect place to relax. We enjoyed a calm evening talking to the host – a retired Coast Guard helicopter mechanic,and to a fellow camper – Alan who entertained us with his guitar. His dog Bo was great company and the owner’s dog Archie kept us laughing. The sunset was firey and the sunrise was beautifully angry as a thunderstorm rolled in. I hopped down from the pop-up very quickly after my dad’s warning! It was a special spot that I would certainly return to.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Since then, we’ve stayed at a few National Forest campgrounds, down dirt roads and away from cell phone reception. It’s been good to disconnect. We did have an unfortunate confrontation with a fellow camper at one site, but it happens sometimes when everyone is sharing space and facilities.

One day we hiked from the campground up the creek to a quiet lunch spot and another day we hiked to Hidden Lake from the Sawtooth Trail. The trail to the lake took us through a new growth forest full of pine and cotton wood saplings sprouting up after a 2003 forest fire. Even 17 years later, the damage from the fire that burned for 5 months and cost $3,700,000 in fire fighting efforts, is visible. The devastation is unreal and reinforces the importance of respecting nature. It also demonstrates how resilient Mother Earth is, fighting to rebound each time. Contemplating this all, we slowly ascended the mountains, traversing switchbacks until the view opened onto the lake. Current forest fires burning in California, Idaho, and Wyoming are creating a lot of smoke and haze here, obstructing views, but the lake was still a peaceful blue green and enjoyable spot for lunch. Except for a man fishing and his wife reading, we had the place to ourselves. We rested for a while and then hiked back down to the car. No wildlife this time, but plenty of wildflowers and interesting marks on trees. At first we thought they were from animals digging for bugs to eat, and some may have been, but most were uniform and along the side of the trail. My dad speculated they were the western form of trail markers. Pretty neat!

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

In between our hikes we spent time visiting small towns along the highway – Stevensville, Hamilton, and Darby – chatting with locals and supporting businesses. We checked out a local book store (where of course I bought two new picture books), a mercantile, a hardware store, and a few gift shops. I spotted a cafe with gluten free ice cream from Sweat Peaks and had to indulge! Salty caramel and cupcake ice cream were the perfect cool treat to beat the dry heat.

• 

• 

• 

• 

Lately we’ve driven down a lot of bumpy, dusty dirt roads to find adventures and escape the crowds. We’ve taken things slow and enjoyed the wide open spaces. There is a reason they call Montana “Big Sky” country. The land of the Salish and Kootenai (Flathead) tribes has been very special.