Travelogue

Before visiting the very majestic Mount Rushmore, we checked into our very non-majestic campground, Miners RV Park, a campground so bad that it approached humorous. A very cranky octogenarian directed us to our home for the night---a tiny campsite overlooking a dilapidated Laundromat. The sites were so small and so close together that our dump hose was literally 1 foot away from our neighbor's picnic table, which they happened to be sitting at when we pulled in. Although we actually did need to dump, Herb--thinking it would be poor form during their lunch--decided to wait until a more opportune time.

Mount RushmoreWhen you travel like this, you have to learn to roll with the punches and take the good with the bad and realize that sometimes the bad can produce some pretty good laughs. It's hard to judge a campground just from the Woodall's Guide. I had chosen this campground for 2 very good reasons: it was the closest to Mt. Rushmore and it claimed to have view of it from its hot tub, both of which were true. Besides, the nice thing about a motor home is that if the ambience isn't right, you can just pull down your shades and pretend that you're somewhere else.

We ate lunch as quickly as we could, never leaving the RV, and headed up to Mt. Rushmore, and I mean up. This had to be the steepest road we have ever driven on, even counting the Rockies. Now I know why the woman I spoke to when making the reservations responded the way she did when I asked her if it were possible to bike from the campground to the Monument. She must have thought I was a lunatic. Despite the 14% grade, our faithful little Lazy Daze plowed right up the hill past several RVs pulled over to the side of the road with their hoods up.

We started our visit at the Visitor Center and Museum, where we learned quite a bit about how Gutzon Burglum created this man-made wonder---from his selection of the mountain to carve it on in 1924 through its completion by his son after his death in 1941.

Once outside the museum, we strolled along the Avenue of Flags towards the 60-foot-high faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln set against the South Dakota Black Hills. I had seen Mt. Rushmore in pictures many times, but only in person can you realize its true grandeur and massiveness.

We took a short nature trail to the Borglum's Sculptor's Studio where we saw some of the original tools and the actual plaster model that Borglum used as a basis for carving the mountain. A guide explained to us how Borglum used a pointing system and multiplied every dimension of the model by 12 to arrive at the dimensions of the actual carving. Sounds simple, doesn't it?

For a close-up view of the actual sculpture, we walked the new ½ mile Presidential Trail which took us up to the talus slope at the base of the Monument. It really is very impressive. Because of its southeasterly orientation, the afternoon lighting wasn't that great, so we decided to save our picture taking for the morning.

I would have to say that my highlight at Mt. Rushmore was the evening lighting ceremony at the amphitheater, which is held every night at 8:00 pm. It started off with a short ranger talk and a film about the 4 presidents and then moved into the dramatic and patriotic part---the flooding of sculpture with lights as we sang the National Anthem. It really was spectacular.

Back at the campground, we went in the hot tub to see if we really had a view of the lit monument and guess what, we actually did. The campground had redeemed itself.

Before heading towards the Badlands the next morning, we drove back up the steep hill to the Monument to photograph it in the morning light. It's amazing what a difference lighting can make.

Travelogue

I had made our reservations for the Candlelight Cave Tour at Wind Cave on the National Park Service website three months prior to our trip. I admit that in our early RV days, I was not much of a free spirit. In my fear of missing out on something we wanted to do or somewhere we wanted to stay, I made reservations like crazy. While this does have the benefit of ensuring that we get to do what we had planned, the downside is that we had to stick very closely to our itinerary because we were required to be in certain places at certain times. It's a definite tradeoff that we're still trying to work out.

Boy's on Candlelight Cave TourWe went to the Visitor Center at the required time to meet with the ranger and the 6 other people that were to join us on our tour. One of the reasons I picked this tour was that it was restricted to 10 people, which made it nice and intimate. The ranger then gave each of us a bucket with a candle in it and lectured us on the various do's and don't of candle lantern etiquette, so that we wouldn't get hot wax on us. Ready for our tour to begin, the ranger took us on an elevator down to an undeveloped and unlit part of the cave system, so that we could experience the cave the way the early visitors did in the late 1800s---another reason I chose this tour.

We spent the next 2 hours exploring the very unique Wind Cave, which because of its relative dryness, doesn't have the usual stalactites and stalagmites that you find in most other caves in the U.S. Instead, it has these very delicate looking formations called boxwork that look like honeycombs.

Our ranger was extremely enthusiastic and absolutely enamored with caves. He told us that he had first come to Wind Cave when he was about Tommy's age and had decided then that when he grew up he would be a ranger here. What a great thing to know what you want to do in life so early and actually have it realized. I wish I knew what I want to be when I grow up.

Travelogue

For some reason, Tommy had been asking how many more days until Devil's Tower ever since we left Michigan almost 2 weeks ago. I guess the thought of seeing the place where aliens landed in Close Encounters of the Third Kind was kind of intriguing to him.

Early AM Lolo with Devils TowerIt really is a strange place, located in the middle of nowhere. We were probably more than 10 miles away from the park when we got our first glimpse of the Tower, rising dramatically up from an otherwise totally flat prairie. That's what makes it so unusual--it seems to come out of nowhere. Geologists think that the Tower is actually the core of a volcano that has eroded away.

We had chosen to stay in the KOA outside the park because we could make reservations there, so we took a quick dip to cool off in the pool and headed right over to see Devils Tower close up. There's not a whole lot to do here, so you can easily see everything in just a day. We hiked the 1.3 mile Tower Trail which goes around the entire base, getting different perspectives and photographs along the way. We had to climb up the talus slope that surrounds the base in order to get closer to the Tower. Since, the lighting wasn't that good, we decided that we would do more photography early the next morning.

As a former fanatical rock climber, Herb looked at the Tower in a very different way than we did, scanning the rock face for the hand and footholds that would determine a route to the top. That is the way he would have liked to experience Devils Tower--hopefully, some day he will. For now, climbing Devils Tower is still allowed, but the Native Americans are trying to stop what they consider to be a violation of something sacred to them.

Herb and I rose early the next morning to photograph the Tower at sunrise. The kids looked too peaceful to disturb, so we grabbed their cameras as well and ran down to the field in the campground where there was a clear view of the Tower. The lighting was terrific, so good, in fact, that before leaving the area, we drove back into the park to the Tower Trail to retake some pictures from yesterday. The good lighting was going fast, so Herb, laden with all types of photographic equipment hanging around his neck, jogged around the base by himself taking more pictures of the Tower in the morning light.

We said goodbye to the Tower and headed on to South Dakota.

Travelogue

This was actually our second time to the Grand Tetons. The first time was back in 1992, when we just drove through the park on our way to Yellowstone, enjoying the tremendous views of the Jackson Hole Valley and mountain peaks along the Teton Park Road, but hardly doing the park the justice it deserved. This time, our plan was much better--to experience the park from our inflatable raft while floating down the Snake River through the Jackson Hole Valley.

Herb and the boys rafting the Snake RiverRafting trips are always a logistical nightmare because you have to leave your vehicle in one place and then float downstream about 10 miles only to have to figure out how the heck to get back to your RV at the end of the day. However, rafting this river was something we wanted to do so badly that we figured we'd raft first and worry about the logistics later.

We put the raft in at the Moran Junction raft launch right off US 191 south of the Jackson Lake Dam. The water along this stretch of the Snake River was pretty gentle (Class I and Class II rapids), but quick moving and very braided, which meant that there were many islands where you had to quickly make a choice as to which side to go on. The wrong choice could bring you to a dead end in the river with no easy way to get back to the right choice. We thought that we would just follow other rafts that had guides, but surprisingly, and quite pleasantly, there was no one else out on the river, so we, or more correctly Herb, had to read the way the water was flowing to try to pick the main channel. He did great. The scenery along the way was absolutely incredible, with views of the Jackson Hole Valley and the snow-capped Teton Range to the west of us.

Tom with tiny fishThe river was moving so fast that our 10-mile trip was going to be over in no time at all. We were having too good of a time for it to end so soon, so we kept pulling up onto beaches to explore and fish. "Nature Tom" had his Animal Tracking field guide along so the kids spent some time wandering up and down the river trying to identify the numerous tracks along the shore. At one point along the river's edge, we came across some wet sand that acted like quicksand, sucking our sandaled feet below the surface. It was quite a struggle to get them out. In fact, Andrew's sandal was pulled right off his foot and we had to quickly reach down with our hands to pull it out before it disappeared completely. I don't think we were going to actually get sucked down too far, but it still was rather disconcerting.

Some friendly little family fishing soon turned into a fierce competition to see who could catch the most trout. Tommy was winning with two, when I decided to put down my book and give it a try. In three casts, I caught 3 trout--1 rainbow, 1 brown, and 1 cutthroat. The third one came off my line right before I pulled it on shore, triggering a heated debate from Tommy as to what the criteria was for considering a fish caught. To this day, we still haven't resolved this issue.

Lolo hauling in a big oneAs the afternoon wore on, thunderclouds started building over the valley, so we got back in the raft and let the swift current of the river carry us to our takeout at the Snake River Overlook. We still had to figure out how to get the RV. Herb decided to walk up to the highway and hitchhike back to Moran Junction. He wasn't having much luck at all on the highway--after a day on the river he was looking a bit grungy. Finally, he got the idea of going to the Overlook parking lot where he could approach people and convince them that he was not a threat. A family accepted his offer of $10 to drive him the 10 miles back to Moran Junction, which is where they were going anyway. Herb even gave them a tour of the RV.

While all this was going on, the kids and I were deflating and cleaning the raft, hoping the thunderstorm would miss us, which it fortunately did. It seemed like Herb was gone an awfully long time so were very relieved when we saw the RV pull down the hill to pick us up.

We packed the raft back into the bag that lived on top of the cab at the foot of the kids' bed. Our little "boat in a bag" had done it again. For the third time this trip (first Pictured Rocks, then St. Mary's Lake in Glacier, and now the Snake River), it had given us the kind of day that no amount of money could buy.

Somewhat tired, but very satisfied, we left the Grand Tetons to find a place to stay for the night.

Travelogue

This was not our first visit to Yellowstone. We had been here back in 1992 when the kids were just 3 and 1 years old--now that I look back on it, we had to be crazy. Although Andrew claims to remember it well, we thought it was well worth another visit for them to see it again.

Old Faithful, aka Old FixoThis time we were traveling with our friends from home, the Kalchbrenners, who had flown out to Idaho and rented an RV to join us on the Glacier/Yellowstone portion of our trip. Our plan was to stay 3 nights at the Bridge Bay Campground near Yellowstone Lake and to try to see as much of the park highlights as we reasonably could in that all too short timeframe.

We entered the park from the north through the impressive Theodore Roosevelt Arch and began our exploration of Yellowstone at the beautiful white limestone terraces of Mammoth Hot Springs. Although it was quite hot, we hiked the 1.5-mile Lower Terrace Trail, which climbs 300 feet up to the Upper Terrace, where there is an outstanding view of the terraces and springs below. Herb and I were surprised to notice how changed the terraces were from our last visit--many more of them were gray rather than brilliant white. These terraces are always changing based on the activity of the hot springs beneath them. When a hot spring is active, it deposits limestone onto the terraces creating the brilliant white surface that everyone comes to see. However, if a spring becomes dormant, the terrace begins to darken. Fortunately, springs can become active again, so perhaps the next time we visit, things will be completely different again.

After leaving Mammoth Springs, we headed east, taking the Upper Loop road in a clockwise direction, stopping at various overlooks along the way. Our next major stop was the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. I usually don't associate canyons with Yellowstone, but this one is spectacular enough to warrant Yellowstone being a national park even without its geysers.

Kids by Old Faithful LodgeWe got our first view of the canyon from the aptly named Inspiration Point at the end of a side road along the North Rim Drive. It was spectacular. The walls of the canyon were narrow and plunged more than 1,000 feet down to the Yellowstone River Gorge where there were waterfalls taller than Niagara. And the walls of the canyon were actually yellow, which we learned is how Yellowstone got its name. We took a steep staircase down to a platform where we stood about 10 yards from the top of the Lower Falls where we could watch the water plunge over the edge. It was breathtaking.

Very satisfied with our first day of sightseeing at Yellowstone, we headed over to the Bridge Bay Campground where we would be spending the next 3 nights. I must admit that we were quite disappointed when we got there. We all had visions of relaxing by the campsite after a long satisfying day of sightseeing, cool drink in hand, while gazing out at the waters of Yellowstone Lake (as the guide book had lead me to believe). Instead, we were in a dustbowl without even the hint of a lake view. The site was so dry and dusty that we could hardly cook and eat outside without getting filthy, and the kids were starting to resemble Charlie Brown's friend Pig Pen. I felt terrible. Here everyone was relying on me to plan a great trip and I felt I had let them down. Of course, nobody really felt that way and they quickly assured me that it was fine. With so much to see, we really weren't going to be spending that much time at the campground anyway. Besides, the kids actually loved it. They were just at the age where they were enjoying the extra freedom of being allowed to roam around on their own, and this campground was so huge that there were plenty of places for them to explore. Before dinner, the four of them took their scooters and Kenmore 2-way radios to communicate with us and set off for an adventure.

Norris Geyser BasinThe kids' enthusiasm was contagious, and soon we all were content with our surroundings. The kids being older and more independent was a good thing. As much as we love being with them, the RV is pretty close quarters, so it's good once in awhile to get a little breathing space from them.

Just as we were really starting to relax, Andrew called us on the radio to inform us that "Alexis thinks she's hurt." - not she "is" hurt, but rather she "thinks" she's hurt. Poor Alexis. It isn't easy being the only girl with 3 boys, especially when you're also the youngest. They always assume she's faking or just being a baby. Upon further questioning, Andrew told us that she fell off her scooter going down a hill and hurt her arm. Hans quickly jumped on my bike and rode over to where they were. We weren't alarmed until we saw the look on Hans' face when he brought her back. Michelle almost fainted when Hans lifted Alexis' sleeve to expose an unnaturally bent forearm. Hans and Michelle rushed her over to the park's medical facility where they gave her some pain killers, put her arm in a temporary sling, and told them that they would have to bring her to Cody, Wyoming, the next day to have it set correctly. It was a rough night for Alexis, and I don't think the boys slept too well either--they felt bad that they hadn't realized how hurt she really was.

The next morning Hans and Michelle took off with Alexis very early for Cody, leaving Jonathan to spend the day with us. We were all a bit down from what had occurred, but we figured we might as well make the best of it and take the kids to see some sights. We decided to wait until the next day when we were all together again to see Old Faithful, so we headed out in the other direction back to the Canyon and then on to Norris Geyser Basin.

Our drive took us through the idyllic Hayden Valley where the Yellowstone River winds through broad meadows and marshlands creating a natural wildlife sanctuary where you're almost guaranteed to see wildlife, especially in the early morning and towards dusk. Just as we hoped, we were greeted by several large bison blocking the road. Having seen the little cartoons in the park literature of people being gored by these large beasts, we wisely took our photos from inside the car.

Lower Yellowstone FallsAs we approached Canyon Village, we decided to take the South Rim Drive to view the canyon from the other rim than the previous day and to photograph it in the morning light. We stopped first at the Uncle Tom's Trail. Trail is a strange name for it; it is actually a 328-step metal staircase that takes you down to the river's edge. Along the way, you not only see and hear the thunderous Lower Falls, but you get to feel it as you are covered with its spray of mist. It's truly unforgettable. Before continuing on to Norris Geyser Basin, we made a brief stop at Artist Point at the end of the South Rim Drive, where a short trail brought us to what some consider to be the best view of the canyon.

Right near Norris Junction, we were treated to some additional wildlife viewing--two large elk sitting on a hill right beside the road, unfazed by the tourists, including us, taking their pictures. They must get pretty used to it.

At Norris Basin, the kids got their first look at the strange thermal activity of Yellowstone and happily walked both boardwalk trails through the basin, observing the geysers, hot springs, fumaroles (steam vents), and pools along the way.

On the way back to the campground, we stopped at the Mud Volcano to see a different type of thermal activity. The whole place was evil-looking and smelled like rotten eggs. The geysers and springs had names like Black Dragon's Caldron, Dragon's Mouth, and Sour Lake. We took the short walk past turbulent pools of hot, muddy water, caves with bursts of steam coming out of them, and acid pools that churned and hissed. This was very different from what we'd seen at Norris Basin, and the kids found it quite fascinating.

It had been another great day of sightseeing at Yellowstone, and it had kept us distracted from thinking about Alexis. We were very happy, however, when we got the call from them saying that everything went fine and that they were on their way back and would meet us as planned at the Lake Yellowstone Hotel for dinner. Dinner that night was great. Alexis was in good spirits and Jonathan excitedly told Hans and Michelle about all the sights we had seen that day. The food was good and it was nice not to be cooking back at our dirty campsite. The Hotel was quite elegant, and we spent some time after dinner enjoying the beautiful lobby and the excellent views of the Lake.

Midway Geyser BasinThe next day was our last day at Yellowstone, so we wanted to make it good. To beat the traffic, of which there is far too much of in Yellowstone, we set off early to see Old Faithful, or "Old Fixo" as Andrew used to pronounce it on his first visit. When we got to the Old Faithful area, we immediately went to the Visitor Center to find out the approximate time of the next eruption, which usually occurs every 79 minutes or so. Seeing that we had some time to kill, we strolled along the boardwalk trail through the Upper Geyser Basin checking out a number of notable geysers, such as Castle Geyser (largest cone), Grand Geyser (tallest predictable geyser), and Beehive Geyser (shaped as its name would imply). Unfortunately, none of them went off during our walk, but there was plenty of bubbling, hissing, and spurting going on all around us to keep us entertained and dozens of colorful boiling springs to look at, such as the very beautiful Morning Glory Pool.

Seeing that we had only 10 more minutes before Old Faithful's scheduled eruption, we hurried back to the wooden benches in front of the Old Faithful Inn to get prime seats for the show. We took our place on the benches, which were set far enough back from the geyser to prevent any of the hot spray from hitting us. Gradually, all the benches filled with people anxiously looking at their watches, cameras and camcorders poised. When the scheduled time came and went, the kids started worrying that something was wrong--perhaps this was the time that Old Faithful wasn't going to blow. After about 20 minutes of anticipation, some surges of water began coming over the rim of the crater. This was the sign that "Old Fixo" was about to begin its show. Then water starting shooting higher and higher into the sky until it reached a height of about 150 feet. After about three minutes, and much frantic photography, it was over, and all that was left was a few gasps of steam coming from the crater. It was a great show.

Hayden ValleyI absolutely love National Park lodges, so we decided to stop for lunch at the not-to-be-missed, historic Old Faithful Inn. Like many of the other premier National Park lodges, this one was built around the turn of the century, with the intention of it being a place worthy of hosting presidents and visiting kings and queens. It certainly was. It's a massive log structure, very rustic in design, with a seven-story gable roof in its center. The best part, as far as I'm concerned is the lobby, with its seven-story-high ceiling and giant stone fireplace in the corner, surrounded by two levels of balconies looking down into it. Even without its views of Old Faithful from the porches, it is a worthy destination in itself. I could have spent the whole day here, but it was our last day and there was too much more to see and do.

There are several other geyser basins to explore on the road north towards Madison. We first stopped at Black Sand Basin, named for the black obsidian sand around its edges. Besides many other interesting features, we saw the Emerald Pool, a beautiful green hot spring pool so deep that it appeared to be bottomless. Then we went on to Midway Geyser Basin where we strolled along the boardwalk past spurting geysers to one of my favorites, the Grand Prismatic Spring, which is the largest and probably the most beautiful of all the hot springs in the park. Unlike the Emerald Pool, the water in the Grand Prismatic Spring is a deep azure blue and the colors of the pool's edge range from orange and green to golden brown from the algae that is able to grow in its harsh environment. Even the steam rising from it appears to be colored. I think I like these hot spring pools even more than the geysers. We ended our day of geyser viewing at the Fountain Paint Pots where we saw a different kind of thermal activity, bubbling mud pots that got their name because of their colors--pinks, oranges, and light blues from the various minerals in the water.

Herb's first dry fly troutHaving felt that we really did get to see most of the highlights of the park, we decided to spend our remaining afternoon doing some fly-fishing at the lake--time for the dads to have some quality father son (and daughter) time. Michelle and I got out our beach chairs and sat back to watch this relaxing activity--kids flailing their fly rods madly, creating giant bird's nest in the lines for the dads to entangle. We, anyway, found it quite relaxing as well as entertaining. Finally, nerves frazzled, the dads convinced the kids to do something else so they could get a little fishing time in for themselves. Herb was soon rewarded with one of his fishing highlights--a beautiful cutthroat trout caught on a dry fly. He talked about that stupid fish all night.

That night was our last night with the Kalchbrenners, who were going to drive back to return their RV in Idaho the next day. Despite Alexis' accident, which never marred their enthusiasm or spirit, we had such a wonderful time together, full of laughs and adventures. We were sorry to see them go..

Travelogue

It was a long day of driving so we were happy to just rest our weary butts in the campground hot tub. The kids were appalled that it was an adults-only hot tub and kept glaring at us over the fence.

We made it an early night because we had an exciting day ahead of us -- Yellowstone.

Travelogue

Stopping at the Bison Range seemed like a good idea on paper. However, after we got there, none of us really wanted to add the extra 2-hour scenic loop through the range onto an already 8-hour long driving day. Also, Herb, always the pragmatist, reminded us that we were going to see enough buffalo for a lifetime when we got to Yellowstone, so there was no need to seek them out here.

Wanting to do something to justify our stopping here, we drove the short 1.5 mile West Loop behind the Visitor Center, but there were no buffalo to be found. Back in the Visitor Center, the kids did manage to purchase a hat pin with the famous albino buffalo on it.

I know that we did not do this stop justice, and I'm sure that the Red Sleep Mountain Scenic Drive through the range would have been great, but it was just too much driving for one day. Perhaps we'll do it the next time we're passing through Montana.

Travelogue

Kids in Flathead LakeWe had a long day of driving planned--about 8 hours--so we needed to find something fun along the way. Flathead Lake along our route through Montana was just what we needed. The lake was beautiful, set along the base of the very scenic Mission Mountain Range.

After a nice picnic lunch in the state park along the western shore of the lake, the kids ran down the boat ramp and jumped into the lake. The water was surprisingly warm considering it was in the Rocky Mountains. The kids had a great time. I'm kind of glad that we only read later about the "swimmer's itch" parasite that is found in the lake or the kids never would have gone in. Fortunately, none of them encountered it..

Travelogue

We were very pleasantly surprised to find out that the map program's 17-hour estimate of the time it would take us to get to Glacier from Theodore Roosevelt was way over. Rather than the 40 mph speed it used, we were able to cruise along the 700 miles across Montana at 65 mph, getting us there in under 12 hours--still a very long day. The drive through Montana was much different than I expected, flat, dry, and somewhat boring. Where were the mountains? The blue sky? I hadn't realized that most of Montana was plains and that it stayed that way until you hit Glacier all the way in the western part of the state. Most of the ride was on Route 2, a two-lane highway with no divider, with only a handful of small towns scattered along the way. This was cattle ranch country and every 20 minutes or so we would pass the entrance to another ranch, with names like Big Timber, Three Forks, Round Up, etc. Sometimes we would drive for almost an hour without seeing another car. Then, and this is Herb's favorite part, we would pass a pickup truck and the driver never failed to wave and give us a big smile. Herb was skeptical at first as to why they were waving--was something wrong with the RV? Were they trying to tell us something? After a few more waving ranchers, we realized that they were just being friendly, happy to see another human being on this lonely stretch of road.

Kid's on Island in St Mary's LakeFinally, after many, many hours of driving, we were thrilled to see the tall, jagged, snow-covered mountain peaks in the distance which meant that we were finally getting close to Glacier. We were going to make it a day ahead of schedule--a bonus day--and fortunately, the St. Mary's KOA where we had reservations for the next couple of days had room for us that night. Tommy was appalled when he saw the campground. There were RVs all around, kids riding bikes, and not a buffalo in sight--not anything like the peace and solitude of our campsite at Theodore Roosevelt. I told Tom about the hot tub and the volleyball court, but that didn't do. Not even the mention of a gift shop could cheer him up--this was serious. How was I supposed to know that he was going to morph into "Nature Tom" this trip. We had chosen to stay here rather than inside the park because besides the hot tub and activities that we thought the kids would enjoy, we could also rent a Suburban to take on the RV-restricted Going to the Sun Road through the park. Tom got over it soon enough, but Herb and I were actually quite happy that he had been able to appreciate what the natural beauty of T.R. had to offer.

We woke up early the next morning determined to make the best of our bonus day. We just needed to get back to the campground by dinner to meet up with our friends from New Jersey, the Kalchbrenners, who had traveled with us the previous year, and had decided to come back for more. They rented an RV from Cruise America in Idaho and were making the long drive to Glacier that day. The plan was for them to spend the Glacier/Yellowstone portion of our trip with us.

Herb with Avon at St Mary's LakeWe decided to spend the morning exploring the Many Glacier section of the park. Along the Many Glacier Road we just had to pull over when we got our first glimpse of the aquamarine waters of one of the park's many glacial lakes, Lake Shelburne, set at the base of a jagged, snow-covered mountain. After some photos, we continued on to the Many Glacier Hotel at the end of the road. I don't think I've ever met a National Park hotel I didn't like. This one was in the style of a Swiss Chalet and was perched at the edge of the glacial Swift Current Lake, surrounded, as we've come to expect here, by awesome glacier-covered mountain peaks. I wasted no time making dinner reservations for us and the Kalchbrenners the following evening.

I had read that grizzlies were pretty common in this area, so I refused to hike until we had purchased some bear bells in the gift shop. The theory behind these bear bells, which look an awful lot like sleigh bells, is that the bears really don't want to eat you, so if they hear you coming, they'll run away. I'm not sure if I like the idea of the bear knowing where I am when I don't know where he is, but we figured they knew what they were talking about. We hiked the very scenic 2.5-mile loop trail around Swift Current Lake, me wildly jingling the bells the entire way. Great hike, and no bears. Maybe the bells do work.

We found out that we could drive our RV on the Going to the Sun Road as far as St. Mary's Lake, so we headed back down to the St. Mary's entrance to the park and drove along the shores of St. Mary's Lake, yet another aquamarine, glacial lake, complete with surrounding snow-capped mountains. Taking pictures of it was not going to be enough this time; we just had to get the boat out on it.

We immediately drove down to the Rising Sun boat launch and assembled our 12-foot inflatable Avon raft and 6 hp motor. As we putted out into the lake, there was a fair number of people watching us--I'm not sure if they thought we were crazy or whether they were envious. It was extremely windy and the lake water was ice cold (probably about 48 degrees), so we knew we had to be careful because you could get hypothermic real quick in this water.

Cold swim in St Mary's LakeWe headed across the lake to what looked like a small beach. The kids had brought their spinning rods along, so they spent some time wandering up and down the bushes along the shore casting, sometimes hitting the water, more often getting caught in the bushes. In one of the casts that actually made it to the water, Andrew pulled in his first rainbow trout--not exactly a lunker, but a Montana rainbow trout nonetheless.

Unable to avoid the temptation, we decided to go for what turned out to be a very quick dip. You had to do it fast--there was no gradual entry into this water. We all ran in quickly dunking ourselves. The water was so frigid that our bodies tingled all over. At least it felt warm when we got out.

When we got back in the boat, the kids convinced us to drop them off at a rock island in the middle of the lake so that we could take their pictures. This is probably one of my favorite photos of all time--the kids standing arms raised and legs spread, silhouetted against the snow-covered jagged peaks behind them, the only people in sight for miles.

What a great day! Another great boating experience. That was two already this trip--first Pictured Rocks and now this. The boat was certainly earning its keep and providing us with some major trip highlights.

Back at the campground that night, we did some serious hot tubbing and waited for the Kalchbrenners to arrive. The drive from Idaho took quite a bit longer than anticipated, so they didn't get into the campground until after 9:00, quite tired and hungry. Fortunately, this KOA served pizzas and burgers until 10:00 every night, so they were able to grab a bite to eat. Despite their long, tiring travel day, the Kalchbrenners were excited about being in this terrific place and ready for a week of adventure.

Lobby view inside Prince of Wales HotelThe next morning, we picked up our rental suburban at the campground office, which I had reserved weeks in advance, and headed back into the park to drive the scenic 50-mile Going to the Sun Road. St. Mary's Lake appeared different to us this time--not just another incredible sight, but something more familiar that we had been fortunate enough to personally experience in our little boat the day before. The road continued on through meadows before it began to climb. We stopped at the Jackson Glacier Overlook to see one of the few glaciers visible from the road. Unfortunately, in the last 50 years, it has shrunk to ¼ its size. It's sad to think that someday, maybe even in our lifetime, many of these glaciers will be gone, remembered only by the beautiful mountains, valleys, and basins that they helped to carve. We continued on to Logan Pass, atop the Continental Divide. From here we took a great 3-mile roundtrip hike to the Hidden Lake Overlook.

The hike started out on a boardwalk through a glacier-carved basin of rock terraces. Although not actually a glacier, the entire area was still covered in snow, much to the kids' delight. Snow in July was something new and not to be passed up. After about a half hour, they reluctantly finished their snowball fight so that we could continue our hike to the overlook. When we got to the end, we were greeted by several very friendly Dahl sheep who willingly posed for their pictures. Jonathan blew an entire roll of film on them. We ate a picnic lunch, perched at the edge of the hanging valley that overlooked Hidden Lake.

After Logan Pass, the road started to descend past a knife-edged wall of rock called the Garden Wall and then doubled back on itself in the tightest hairpin turn I have ever experienced. The map referred to this turn as The Loop--Jonathan named it the "Haiwy Turn." We descended into the McDonald Valley and stopped at the northern end of McDonald Lake, the largest lake in the park, before turning around to go back.

That night we had a great dinner at the Many Glacier Hotel. After dinner, we stepped out onto the porch to enjoy the scenery of the lake and mountains. The brief storm that we had heard while eating dinner had added a rainbow to the already incredible view.

The next day we drove up the Chief Mountain International Highway to Waterton Lakes, the Canadian counterpart to Glacier. We stopped at the Visitor Center and from there hiked the Bear Hump Trail to a great panoramic view of the area. It was so windy on top that we had to crouch down to stop from being blown over. In the distance we could see the majestic, alpine-style Prince of Wales Hotel sitting on a bluff overlooking Upper Waterton Lake. It's one of the most photographed hotels in the world, and I can certainly see why.

Kids in Wind on Bluff by Prince of Wales HotelIt was Tommy's 9th birthday, so we decided to celebrate with a lunch at the Prince of Wales Hotel. Fearing that we wouldn't be able to get a table, we hurried down to get there by noon, only to find a completely empty dining room. Unknown to us, Canada did not practice daylight savings time, so it was actually only 11:00 their time, way ahead of the lunch crowd. We were seated at the best table in the house, next to the giant picture windows overlooking the lake. Actually, we were seated at two tables. Rather than sitting on one long table where it's hard to converse, we find that splitting up into an adult table and a kids table works out great. The view was so incredible that I hardly even remember what I ate. What I do remember most is Tommy's expression when the waitress brought out four giant sundaes for the kid table, and the entire dining room, which had by now completely filled, sang Happy Birthday to him.

After lunch we walked out on the lawn outside the dining room to the edge of the bluff overlooking the lake. The winds coming off the lake were so incredibly strong that we had to stoop down into them to walk. If they had been blowing in the other direction, we would have flown right off the edge for sure. It was exhilarating. We captured the moment in one of my favorite photos of all time--the four kids, arms and legs spread, leaning backwards into the wind, looking like they would tip off the edge if the wind stopped. I don't think the wind ever stops here. In fact, the locals say that they only consider it windy when there are whitecaps in the toilets at the Prince of Wales Hotel.

Ladies and Kids in Red CanyonBack in the RV, we drove the 10-mile Red Canyon Parkway to the end where there was a stream flowing over the red rock that the canyon is named for. Michelle and I lounged on the red rock ledges that had been nicely warmed by the sun, while the kids swam in the chilly waters of the stream. In the meantime, Herb and Hans went for a hike into the canyon. They had been gone for awhile, when I overhead some hikers say that there was a grizzly spotted along the trail. I started to panic. Hadn't they been gone an awfully long time? Michelle and I started to worry that something had happened to them. I think they were quite surprised by the warmer than usual greeting they got upon their return. They were totally unaware that a grizzly had been spotted.

We spent our last night at Glacier relaxing around the campground--more hot tubbing and a pickup volleyball game that kept growing as more families wandered by and joined in the fun. Our visit to Waterton-Glacier had more than lived up to our expectations.