July 1st reunited me with mountains! After leaving our helpful Harvest Hosts in central Montana, we continued the trek west across wide open spaces. It started to feel like we’d never seen anything other than flat farmland and rolling cattle grazing land. But then, after a few hours of driving, we turned a bend and I spotted mountains! They were far away and hazy, but they were there. I couldn’t help but smile.
The closer we crept, the bigger they became. Soon I could spot snow patches up high and even start to make out trees. The excitement helped alleviate some of the fatigue. I got really excited when we started climbing and dipping and bending around curves. Oh mountain roads, how I’ve missed you! Around every corner there was a new surprise, a spectacular view.
We soon turned off the highway and into Glacier National Park. I whipped out my park pass and was ready to go. Let’s do this!
We stopped at St. Mary’s Visitor Center to gather information and make our plans for hiking. Unfortunately, we found out some of our hopes would not com to fruition because the Many Glacier area has a ticketed system currently due to construction. So it’s unlikely we will get to explore over there, which was hard to hear. There are many other spectacular things to see, but I had hoped for a specific hike. These things do happen though.
Once I navigated the disappointed, we made a plan to go down to St. Mary’s Lake to soak up just a bit of the splendor of the park. We ate a late lunch at the picnic area and were joined by two prairie dogs squeaking out their warning calls to their friends and family. Their chirps shake their whole bodies and are just delightful to watch. But stay away – they are known to carry diseases! Fortunately, they don’t like humans much and usually duck right into their holes as soon as you step towards one. Smart animals.
After, we sat on the pebble beach, admiring the massive lake and giant mountains on its far shore. The pebbles made for good rock hunting with gems of stark white, brick red, plum purple, and dove gray. A beautiful floor. And I couldn’t resist a dip, taking off my shoes and wading in up to my knees. Brrrrr, it was cold, but so refreshing!
My parents and I then went our separate ways for the evening, them to their campground outside the park and me to my spot inside. I set up camp, made dinner, and was surprised to find out that my fridge started working again! It had conked out sometime the previous night and totally defrosted. Yikes! We were able to save most things and got a cooler with ice. Glad my fridge is working again, but I don’t trust it. Haha
The end of a full day, I made dinner, relaxed, and headed to bed. I needed my rest for hiking the next day!
Tonelli's Travels 