PNW Trip Day 11 {Glacier Cont.}

Alex was up at 4am and walked across the dark campground to the shower house, praying all along the way not to encounter a bear! He and Andre' pulled the RVs out at 4:45am and drove up to Many Glacier.  Getting a campsite in the Many Glacier campground is an adventure in itself!  They were excited to see they were #3 and #4 in the "first come, first serve" line for a campsite. Through all of this, the rest of us were sleeping. 😴

Bria was pumped to see a "Peppa Pig" van!

We learned they are only allowing hard-top campers right now due to a recent "incident" with a bear in the campground. We've been reminded over and over while in Glacier that we are in Bear Country.  Once we were settled, we took an easy 1 mile nature trail around Swiftcurrent Lake to the lodge. The lodge and scenery were beautiful!

Along the trail, there were tons of beautiful, white beargrass, a plant native to Montana.

The reflections off the clear water were amazing!

It took two boat rides to get to our trailhead!  On the first boat, the captain was very knowledgeable about Glacier because she grew up in the park as both of her parents were rangers. She told us the history of the lodge, including that two people live at the lodge in the winter to care for it. There is no way in on the roads during the winter. I think that would be a very peaceful but lonely job.

Ready for the second boat ride to cross Lake Josephine

Just as we were climbing off the boat, a bear ran through the brush on the shore of the lake.
Glad we have our bear spray!

 The kids did a lot of noise-making and clapping to keep the bears away. 😊

Bria brought her puppies along, Blueberry Muffin and Rapunzel.

Her poor lip looks awful but she hasn't complained about it.

We took a little side trail to see Hidden Falls.

Then we reached our destination, Grinnell Lake. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen! The water was crystal clear and a vibrant aqua blue with pretty multi-colored rocks in all shapes and sizes below. The massive mountains, waterfalls, and glacier behind it were the perfect backdrop. Add in the sunshine and puffy clouds and it was like a little slice of heaven! The sun was warm, but the water was icy cold.

We had snacks and did a lot of rock skipping.

(Tip- click on the box in the bottom, right corner after pushing play to see the video in full screen)

Beilyn is always collecting rocks, but today she took it to a new level. 😆

She had at least 5lbs worth in her pockets!

Bria: Mom, is that bison poop? 

My new favorite family picture!

He's such a good daddy.

This girly had gotten a rock in her sandal that made her foot hurt. Alex was trying to distract her and she said, "No talking, just walking." 😂 Then, she saw this worker and just had to stop and say Hello. "What your name?" He couldn't understand her, but she just kept asking. 😁

View from our campsite 😍

After dinner, we took a walk around the campground. So glad it worked out for us to spend a few days together!

As Liam (the little dude in the sunglasses above) would say, "Today was EPIC!"

One of our favorite things about traveling is seeing all of God's amazing creation. Today, we learned about two things in nature that seem "bad" and yet God always has a purpose.  We learned that there are some pine trees that have cones with a resin that requires very high heat for the cones to open and release the seeds. So when there is a forest fire, these trees actually grow and fill in where the fire was! The ranger also explained how rock avalanches prevent trees from growing in some areas, which allows more sun and brush to grow, including lots of berry bushes to feed the bears. Who knew?!