“Travel makes one modest, you see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.”
~Gustave Flaubert
For those of you that didn’t know, my hubby is a theatrical rigger and travels quite a bit for work. The second year we dated, he was gone for 11 months of the year. Some people say, “man, I wish my husband would go away for that long. haha.”…but thats not the case for me. My husband is my best friend and my all time favorite adventure buddy. We make the long distance work, but at times its challenging. We always make the most of our time together and plan trips when we can. Luckily, this 11 month escapade brought us to Montana. This area was probably the most exciting of his travels because usually he is in these small towns with nothing to do. So we took full advantage of the beauty that Montana has to offer and visited Glacier National Park.
I was incredibly excited to meet up with my husband in Montana, but was very apprehensive about the trails that we were about to take on. A girl was attacked by a grizzly bear on one of the trails we chose to hike that coming weekend. Grizzly bears, mountain lions, wolves. Damn Montana, you scary!! Not to mention a man was attacked TWICE by the same grizzly bear in Bozeman, Montana the next week. He survived and managed to video the whole thing and post it on Facebook. I’m sure plenty of you have seen it but needless to say, I was nervous. I finally arrived in Montana for Labor Day weekend and we began our adventure of a lifetime!
This park is HUGE! Glacier National Park is over 1 million acres of cascading waterfalls, jagged peaks, flower filled meadows, vibrant valleys, and enough wildlife viewing to fill your camera! This park offers over 700 miles of hiking trails, 762 lakes, 563 streams, and 26 glaciers. It has over 70 different mammals, 250 different species of birds and 24 different species of fish. It is a nature lovers paradise! We had two days to take on as much as we could, so we started with the Going to the Sun Road. This is comparable to Trail Ridge Road in Colorado, but on steroids! And on steroids, I mean it shits on Rocky Mountain National Park. Its 50 miles, connecting the east side of the park to the west. Its considered one of the most scenic drives in North America. The landscapes are out of this world! Everywhere you look you see bright green hills, waterfalls pouring out of the sides of the road, and purple wildflowers exploding across the mountain. This is a must do for any visitor!!
Our first hike was the Trail of Cedars. I imagine this is where Sasquatch lives. Huge mossy cedar trees engulfed the trail, with an eerie hue from the cloudy day. The rainy weather almost made the trail appear more beautiful, wetting the greens for a more Squatchy kind of feel. We finished our first day at Lake McDonald. This is a park favorite and the biggest lake in Glacier. Lake McDonald has panoramic views of the mountains reflecting off its bright blue waters. People love visiting this lake because the whole bed is filled with bright colorful rocks. Its a very picture worthy spot! The second day we hiked to Avalanche Lake. It follows Avalanche Creek Gorge and brings you to steep cliffs with raging waterfalls below. The rocks were orange, red, and purple covered in bright green moss. The waters were so turquoise but you could see right through it. Its by far the most beautiful waterfall area I have ever seen! The trail ended at a gorgeous lake, the sand displaying rainbow colors into the waters.
Our two day adventure was magical. We can’t wait to explore this historic gem in the future! For the record, a young grizzly crossed our trail on Avalanche Lake. We were warned by a hiker but never saw him. Be prepared and make sure you can run faster than the person you are with, haha! Happy exploring my friends!!
ELEVATE YOUR HAPPINESS!!!
Additional pictures from our trip:
