A week camping in Glacier & Waterton Lakes National Parks
We picked up Kacey from Spokane in the rain on Sunday afternoon and continued down the road. He as greeted with SO MANY WORDS that I’m pretty sure it didn’t take long for him to second guess his decision of getting in the car with us. We hit up one of my favorite fast food chains (Del Taco) as we made our way through the tiny top of Idaho and pushed on as far as we could. We ended up staying in the Walmart parking lot in Kalispell, Montana with 34 other campers (literally). Nothing but the best for our company!
It was a long drive day but it seemed shorter than others with our stop for church and adding another human to talk to. Thanks to that long drive we were at our place on the east side of Glacier National Park in no time on Monday morning after a few shopping stops and some Chick-Fil-A (praise ye the Lord Hallelujah).
We went ahead and drove into the park after we got things settled at the camper on Monday. Our first stop was Two Medicine Lake and the surrounding area. The winds were cold and it was a little misty but it was a nice flat hike out to the lakeshore for a pretty view. By the time we got back that night and ate supper Kacey had learned three things: while in the road we hike a lot, stay out way too late (because the sun never seems to go down in this part of the country) and plan most things around food.
Our camping reservations were made for Y Lazy R campground months ago. It was full hookup and cheap and it didn’t take us long to learn why it was, indeed, cheap. There was a grassy area and a great view from the front of the camper. However, the view from the back of the camper featured some run-down homes and the two storage sheds that held the bathrooms and laundry. Speaking of bathrooms, let’s just say they were a little scary and you had to pay for a cold shower. I may or may not have come back to the camper with soap still between my toes because the shower didn’t exactly go as planned the first night. But anyway...
Tuesday we got up and set out early towards Many Glacier. There was a boat tour we wanted to catch and the seats fill up quickly but we were determined not to miss it. We had to circle the hotel area there (which is insanely beautiful itself) and were worried we would miss our opportunity to catch a boat but we were fortunate for that to not be the case. We had a little picnic and hopped the first of our boats. That boat took us to a short hike to a second boat and that boat dropped us off for our actual hikes. The boat rides were unique and gave us an opportunity to see the mountains from a different viewpoint but the hikes were what we were after. One hike took us to a spot that was Heaven for all of us. The lake had a beautiful shore area and from there you took in the views of incredible mountains, a huge waterfall and a creek all at one glance. Evan setup his camera, the boys threw rocks with Kacey and Kyrie and I laid down on the beach to which she said “this is our life now mom, let’s stay here because it’s beautiful and perfect.” She echoed my thoughts exactly. It was hard to pull ourselves away from that picture perfect spot but there was a waterfall not far away in need of being photographed. Past the waterfall we raced back to the doc to catch our first boat back towards the mainland only to find out that there wasn’t enough room and we could wait two hours (not happening with three kids and nowhere for them to be entertained during that time) or we could hike the two (ended up being three or so) mile trail back. So, we hit the trails again. There was no gnashing of teeth but there were tears because everyone thought the hikes were over when it felt like they were just beginning again. It wasn’t a necessarily hard trail but compacted with what we had already done and the disappointment of not getting a seat on a boat in which we had paid, it wasn’t the most fun thing in the World. The fact that Kacey didn’t call a cab to head back to Alabama after that experience is a miracle. On a side note: if you need to motivate Kyrie for extra miles just promise her that she can have her very own coffee when it’s over and she’ll dominate the task. I ordered her a decaf coffee at the shop downstairs at the hotel and she was delighted. However, it might have been the nastiest coffee I’ve ever tried. Insult to injury. Luckily that coffee was quickly followed by pizza at Rising Sun Pizza in the St. Mary’s area and made up for it. It certainly wasn’t fast food but it hit the spot just like Evan had promised it would.
After our bellies were full and post-hike attitudes had improved, we spent a little time enjoying sunset at Logan Pass looking for wildlife (one of Evans favorite pastimes). I was driving at one point and I pulled over into a ditch area so Evan could get out and spot whatever was roaming on the hill. When he came to get back into the car the deep slope of my parking job sent the passenger door swinging right into Evans eyebrow and sent him flying backwards. Before I could register what had happened to him, Kacey was out of the car and by his side and all the kids were crying because they were scared. He’s ok and no stitches were required (well they might have been but mister manly wasn’t taking that route and we were too far from civilization to find a doctor anyway) so he’s got a nasty cut and got the pleasure of wearing a Star Wars bandaid to his photo shoot the next day. Luckily though, the wildlife was feeling sorry for him and about a mile down the road we saw a black bear just feet from our car that he was able to capture in a blood free zone.
Once we were done with bandages and bears we made our way back to the camper where we all slept like rocks.
Wednesday morning we all took it easy before Evan headed to a promo shoot for a photographer. It’s been cool to see people come out and meet us on the road just because they want Evan to be the one to capture their project. Once the project was done we got the kids in bed so the adults could have game night. We played several games over the week and Kacey became the champ in most areas so I won’t be writing anymore about that because we are still a little bitter. Next...
Thursday all three kids proudly racked up another ranger badge before we took on our most challenging hike of the week to Hidden Lake. It was steep but beautiful. There were mountain goats and bighorn sheep galore along the way as well. The kids were pretty sore and tired from our precious hikes so it wasn’t as compliant free as we would have liked but everyone survived. Once we got to the hidden lake it really was beautiful. I took my pool float thinking I would swim. But dude, it was so cold. I changed. Got in. Paddled around for a total of 5 minutes and got right back out. The sun had been out but clouds covered it as soon as I got in and the wind was insane. Needless to say, the big hike back up wasn’t too bad because it forced my lower half to warm up. Speaking of the hike back up, that was the point in which we got up close and personal with a mountain goat. He decided to leave the forest and walk the trail with us getting between Kacey (who was wearing Phoenix) and Gray and Evan, Kyrie and myself. It was a mix of excitement to be so close and sheer panic looking at his sharp horns and knowing we had nowhere to go if he decided he didn’t like us. Kacey and the boys made their way on a rock while Evan forced me and Kyrie up a hill. Neither spot would have actually given us much protection if he opted to charge but he decided we weren’t worth it and kept on moving. By the time the trail was over we were all spent and the kids where cranky with a capital C. Supper was eaten and the day was done.
Friday morning it was time to hit the road towards Canada. Evan and I have been into Canada several times but never with three kids, an additional adult and a camper so we were prepared for a lengthy stop at the boarder. We had an easy entrance, however, and were in Waterton Lakes in no time. We parked with a sweet view at Crooked Creek Campground just a minute from the park and town. It was a little rainy so we only went into Waterton to grab the kids their Xplorer books (the Canadian Park’s version of the Junior Ranger program) and make a quick tour of what we wanted to do the next day.
Saturday was spent doing all the things Waterton had to offer. We started at the Prince of Wales Hotel. The views from there are incredible and the structure itself is stunning. I found the perfect coffee drinking spot in the lobby. It was fun to pretend I was off of mom duty for a few minutes and sip my coffee slowly (but then everyone needing assistance in the bathroom quickly snapped me out of that).
Waterton is unique in that the town is actually in the middle of the National Park. If I ever decide to move to Canada, that is where you will find me. We walked the town, checked out a few shops and then headed towards our main goal for the day: Wieners. Yes, you read that correctly. Last year Evan ate at Wieners of Waterton and I’ve been hearing about the best hotdog of his life ever since. We walked up, placed our orders for sausage dogs and all the toppings (well, minus Kacey because he’s more of a plane dog kind of guy) and devoured them. They really were great. I can usually take or leave a hotdog but the sausage dog and toppings were amazing. Three cheers for the wieners! And yes, it’s really hard not to make dirty jokes while eating there.
With a little energy from our food we hit the trails towards another waterfall. What started off as a chilly hike ended up being straight up sweaty as we went up. Kyrie was requiring much motivation and only wanting it from Kacey...who was also carrying Phoenix. God bless him. Once we made it to the fall though we were able to cool off and enjoy the water for awhile. Evan got some awesome shots and the kids were able to play. It was a nice little break before the (much easier and cooler) hike down. The only thing we could think to do after the hike was naturally to find more food…dessert time. BeaverTails is a Canadian dessert we had heard about so we naturally had to find out what they were about. Turns out is a flat pastry (kind of like a funnel cake) with hot toppings. I chose a chocolate spread with pretzels. The sweet and salty combo HIT THE SPOT. Everyone else got yummy toppings too but I’m confident mine was the best so I have no recollection of what they actually consumed. And since we hadn’t eaten in 30 seconds, we headed back to the camper for supper and s’mores (after the kids proudly earned their Xplorer dog tags for their hard work of course). By the time supper was over the kids were DONE so we sent them to bed and opted for a fire just for the adults. Unfortunately the wood was a bit too wet and never really got roaring. It flared up enough for smores but then quickly died back down again…mocking us all the while. The guys headed inside defeated and ready to set up a board game and as soon as they left, the fire caught a little more traction and I was satisfied to sit alone for a few minutes. The laundry we put on at the same time also wouldn’t dry and then we lost again to Kacey in the land of board games so there was a lot of shoulder shrugging and fussing going on during those few hours.
Sunday morning we hit the road towards the Calgary airport so Kacey could be delivered back to the south. We hit up A&W on the way and tried our best to embarrass him by yelling all sorts of things at him while he walked into the airport. I can only imagine his relief as he got out of our nuthouse of a car. We were all sad to see him go but so fortunate to have such a great friend to explore with us for a week.
Beyond the airport we made the weekly Walmart stop. We can usually be in and out in 30 minutes. Turns out when you’re in another country shopping with 3 kids, different brands/food types/units of measure/pricing you end up with a an hour and 1/2 trip. Turns out of your youngest kicks off his shoe at an unknown location within the store and you don’t notice it until you’re back at the car and you have to retrace your steps, it takes 2 hours. We all survived and ended up with mostly recognizable food and all of our shoes. After a few more hours on the road we arrived on Banff National Park at the Lake Louse Campground. Ready to kick off week 6.