Glacier National Park

The drive to Glacier didn't take that long. It was less than 4 hours from Silver Mountain Resort and we passed by Flathead Lake in Montana which was one of the most gorgeous lakes I have ever seen. I wish we had planned more time to spend there. After meeting my parents at the hotel we drove up to the West Entrance to Glacier and went on a small hike just up the road along the river. The views were spectacular even from the entrance to the park. We walked mostly in the woods and followed the river for a while before turning around after finding that we were getting bit by mosquitos. It was a perfect little afternoon hike. The kids loved the bridge that crossed the river and loved throwing rocks in the river. We headed back to the hotel and had pizza for dinner.

The next day we got up early, packed the car, and drove back up to the West Entrance to Glacier National Park to take the Going to the Sun Road which is the road that traverses through the main part of Glacier. We stopped so many times just to take in the views and take pictures. I was even seen taking pictures out of our sunroof! The views were beyond anything I have ever seen before. It was a gorgeous day with lots of white puffy clouds and the biggest blue sky ever. I now understand why they call Montana the Big Sky State. We saw waterfalls, snow-capped moutain peaks, snow piles, wildlife, wildflowers, and a beautiful lake. The funnest part of this day was all of the little stops along the way. It gave us a chance to stretch our legs and to enjoy the beauty around us. I loved all of the little waterfalls and the water falling off the mountain onto the road. The kids enjoyed playing in the snow and yes, it was warm enough for shorts and shortsleeved shirts. I, on the other hand, wore long sleeves to protect my arms from the harsh sun. It seems that I am the most sensitive one in the family when it comes to sun. We stopped at the top to go on a hike but the snow was so heavy and we weren't quite prepared for the kids with good shoes and sunglasses to help with the bright reflection off of the snow. We ended up doing a small hike up the snow and back. It was hard to turn around knowing that this was the kind of hike that Mike and I love. Another time I guess. We stopped on the way back down the mountain range to do another small hike. The hike led us to a waterfall which we enjoyed all by ourselves for literally 5 minutes before the crowds came. Apparently there was a huge group of people from one of the buses that got dropped off to hike the trail to the waterfall. This was the only time I wished there hadn't been so many people. There is just something so wonderful about being in the woods with nature and having it be completely still and quiet. Oh well. We enjoyed the rest of our drive down and out of the park. We knew we had a long drive ahead to get to Bozeman. From Bozeman our drive to Yellowstone wouldn't be that long. We had an interesting drive to Bozeman with thunder and lightening and a really secluded road with absolutely nothing around. In the end we made it through the storm and even witnessed two full rainbows.