Yellowstone Part 3 - Glacier National Park

D9: After driving 6hrs we arrived at Glacier National Park!!

At Logan's Pass, we waited patiently/agressively, for parking. Then hiked part of the Highline Trail.

Josh hates turning around in the middle but we went 5m, enough to see the epic views.

There were several steep ledges but thankfully we made it safely across.

And OOOH the wildflowers!

There were even a few mini waterfalls along the way.

From the same parking lot, we hiked to Hidden Lake Overlook 2.7m

This park was truely Josh's happy place. His favorite type of scenery.

But the BEST part of this trail was the mountain goats!!

Addy tried hard not to pet them.

We also saw a mom and baby squirrel. Addy made me take the pic.

And a momma marmot? with babies.

The glorious walk back down with my shadow in the way.

Rams! This trail had the most animals.

Dinner back at the hotel.

I loved the place we stayed called Great Bear Lodge in St Mary Village on the east side of the park. We were on the top floor.

Oh no! A single room. How will Addy sleep?

D10: On the balcony, all night with the sound of the creek below! So impressed by this girl.

After grabbing breakfast at the hotel, we drove 15min to hike St Mary and Virginia Falls 2.9m

The forest was burned in the 2018 wildfires so I thought the trail would be ugly.

Man, was I wrong! See Jackson in the distance?

St Mary Falls. The color of the rocks and water in this park were magical.

Jackson resting on a log. He's so easy going and such a pleasure!

The magnificant Virginia Falls.

Family pic in the mist.

Classic epic Benny pose at an area below the falls. I have several of these but can't post them all.

The beautiful flower covered trail on the way back. So unique.

Next stop, Trail of Cedars to Avalanche Lake trailhead 5.9m. Parking was tough since it was midday.

This hike was a fairly standard hike through a forest except for this section called Avalanche Gorge.

The mossy forest floor was very pretty with the sun shining.

We made it to the lake but the haze was pretty thick. Benny in his epic pose again.

My pictures don't do it justice, the waterfalls and turquoise color.

Hilarious! You think they might be related? I LOVE these guys.

The hike back down the trail.

Checking into our West Glacier cabin at the Great Northern Resort.

The boys playing horseshoes.

The boys had their own room, as did Josh and I. Addy slept on the fold out couch in the living room.

D11: We drove 2.5h to Many Glacier, the most awesome area of the park. It was my favorite part of the entire trip for so many reasons. Healthy kids, gorgeous scenery, no crowds, yummy food, great weather, amazing place to stay, convienent location and the best hike ever!

We stopped at the 100 year old Many Glacier hotel for lunch. The place was almost deserted, making it so peaceful.

The, Iceberg Lake trail we had planned to hike was closed, due to bear activity, so hiked Bullhead Lake 7m instead.

Josh was jealous of this guys swimming hole at Red Rock Falls.

These two are so similar.

Exploring Red Rock Falls area, the color of the rocks were just wow.

Hiking through shrubs and flowers. The bugs were bad on this trail so Addy was not happy.

The beautiful Bullhead Lake. And guess what?!

There was actually a bull moose in the lake!

We were close enough to hear him grunt.

This was our 1st time ever seeing a bull moose. Amazing! Blessed!

Huckleberry picking and eating. These berries were so expensive in the grocery store. $69 for a large bag!

So inviting...

Only the guys were brave enough to swim in the chilly water.

Homemade pizza at Nell's Swiftcurrent Restaurant. Perfect food after a long hike.

This was our cabin for the night. I tried to book this place for months and one finally opened up 4 days prior to our arrival. Unbelievable.

The boys slept on the fold out couch and Benny was on the floor on the couch cushions.

All of our stuff for just one night. Serious organization required.

A bed for Josh and I with Addy on the floor beside us on an airmattress. No TV, wifi, or AC made this place so peaceful.

In the evening we walked to the general store for soft serve huckleberry ice cream!!

As much as you could fit in a cup for only $2.50!

The amazing view. People saw bears on the hillsides with binoculars.

D12: Hike to Grinnell Glacier 8m with boat ride. It took some serious effort to get boat tickets, many months in advance, had to call because all times were full, and there was one unlisted time left. I rearranged our trip to make it work.

After breakfast at our same table in the Many Glaier hotel. We got on the 10am boat tour across the lake.

The boat tour was entertaining and educational. We had to get off the 1st boat and walk a bit to get on a 2nd.

I think this was the only "hard" rated trail we did on our trip. See Jackson's red shirt!? I'm always far behind.

The most beautiful Grinnell Lake. The hike to it was also closed due to bear activity. And we're talking grizzly bear, not cute small black bears.

I'm pretty sure this must be what water looks like in heaven.

Colorful rock walls and waterfalls flowing from the cliffs. Is this real!?

These fluffy flowers were so cool. They felt like a small animal.

The jaw dropping site after what I heard some people refer to as the stairway to heaven. The last mile was the hardest part of the hike. Notice the size of the people for scale.

Benny took this pic of me. Just wanted to make sure I had proof I was there.

There were several waterfalls flowing into the lake. The water was freezing but still crazy guys were diving in and standing on the icebergs.

Our lunch location.

Benny loves snow so he had to make sure to throw a few snowballs.

A majestic ram blocking the trail on the way back.

I hadn't noticed the 2nd lake on our way up. It's one we took the boat across.

My favorite flower with the falls and snow in the background.

This waterfall went right over the trail. I got pretty wet on the way up. So refreshing.

Check out the blue rock!

We hurried back down to the boat dock to get in line for the, not guarenteed, 3:45 return trip. Only a family of 4 was in front of us.

Wow, what a view!! We waited for less than 30min. Only 4 people after us got on the boat. Phew!!

We saw 2 bears far away on the hillside from the boat. Back at the historic Many Glacier hotel. What a day! But before leaving the area we headed back to Swiftcurrent for pizza and soft serve again.

D13: Kayaking Lake McDonald

We really enjoyed the Apgar Village area of Glacier NP. We arrived at 9:30 and easily found parking. Then rolled our kayaks to the water.

It was a foggy day or maybe just haze from the fires.

But we didn't care. Look how happy these people were, I even got a natural Addy smile in this pic!

The rainbow colored rocks in the lake.

We beached our kayaks to play in the water. Lots of rocks skipping.

We finally got to use our floaties!!

She still won't smile for selfies.

So peaceful and a nice rest from hiking. Afterwards we had lunch in the village at a nice outdoor restaurant.

Last hike along McDonald Creek and Falls.

I love that my children are friends.

The boys really wanted to swim but the water was freezing.

Sadly this was our last day in the park. Thankful to have seen such beauty.

D14: Back to Jackson, WY we go! We drove almost 9h and it was our only rainy day.

We stayed our last night at the Antler Inn Motel. I was so happy to do our 3 loads of laundry in just over an hour.

Everyone loved this place. We had 2 floors. On the 2nd floor there were beds for boys.

And one bed on the 1st floor for the ladies. And this was our only place with 2 bathrooms.

D15: Going home!

Must take the classic Jackson Hole pic under the antler arch. Yes, they are real.

We had our last meal at the very fancy Palate at the National Museum of Wildlife Art. I really wish we had gone through the museum as well but instead we had a lazy morning.

Back at the Jackson airport. The place looks like a cabin and is not busy at all. Only 10 flights were on the board.

You walk right out to your plane which is a 1st for us.

Only a 3.5h flight back home. Look! It's Carowinds.