Glacier NP (part 2) - Two Medicine

THE FAMILY:  After leaving west Glacier on July 15, we went around the south end of Glacier NP and contemplated staying in the Lewis and Clarke National Forest, so that Kenai could do some trail hikes with us.  We figured she doesn't really care where she walks, and she's been enjoying the wooded campgrounds, so we entered Two Medicine in the southeast corner of Glacier.  It's a smaller valley with some fantastic features and accessible hikes.  Plus there are far fewer people there!

Some highlights of our time there included evening talks by Ranger Pat Hagen, including one about the amazing mountain goat and the native Blackfeet (Pakuni) people, as well as a boat trip across Two Medicine Lake in an 85-year-old boat and a nature hike up to Upper Two Medicine Lake with Ranger Pat.  The lake is at the base of a cirque right against the edge of the Continental Divide.

Other highlights included a hike to and scramble up Rockwell Falls with an Indiana Jones-style suspension bridge on the way, kayaking on the lake (Gabe's first paddle in Patti's Pyranha river kayak), eating huckleberry ice-cream at the historic general store (site of FDR's first fireside chat from a national park), and Grant's hike up to a scenic overlook of the whole valley as well as the high planes to the east.

The valley was indeed good medicine.  The valley was named after two rival Pakuni bands who set up medicine lodges on either side of the main lake.  Kenai was especially fond of the lake water, which she gulped up every day.  Patti thinks Two Medicine is a "soul-centering" place, peaceful with awe-inspiring beauty.  Gabe thinks it's an incredible place to hang out, play in the water (with other kids), and get a feel for nature.  He had a great time riding his bike around his campground.  After scrambling up to the top of Rockwell Falls, he turned to us with a big smile on his face and exclaimed, "This is better than video games!"  Wow.

On the way out of the valley on July 20 we stopped off at Running Eagle Falls, a unique, wide falls coming out of a rock face, named after a famous Pakuni female warrior.  (Many place names were for important native people.)  Gabe scrambled up the side and got a good look at it.  Then we bid our farewell to this magical place and made our way up to St. Mary further up the east side of the park.  We made a reservation at an RV park because we heard the area was filling up fast.  The tent trailer continues to be a sweet little home.

A calm morning at Two Medicine

A falls near Upper Two Medicine Lake

Great suspension bridge to Rockwell Falls

Gabe contemplating Running Eagle Falls

Gabe kayaking to Pray Lake

Grant resting on his way to the scenic overlook

Grant and Gabe kayaking Two Medicine Lake

Most excellent ranger Pat Hagan

The amazing scenic overlook of
Two Medicine Valley

Portland to Glacier NP (part 1)

THE FAMILY: After our stop in Portland, we visited Multnomah Falls in the Columbia River Gorge, with Grant and Gabe hiking to the top (600+ feet).  Kenai is too old for climbing, so Patti stayed back with her.  She's been doing well overall, however.  The next day we had a brief family stop in Spokane.   We were anxious to get to the "green."  Sage advice from Patti's brother, Toby, led us to St. Regis, MT, our last civilized stop.  The next day, July 8, we finally entered Glacier National Park.  

Such words as "majestic" and 'grandeur" do not begin to describe the towering glacially carved mountains we explored in the west side of the park.  Logan Pass and Avalanche Lake have been a couple of favorite sites so far.

Logan Pass is on the Continental Divide and is full of rugged beauty and wildlife.  A fellow camper recommended that we take the free shuttle up there, which was really worthwhile.  The road is windy and narrow, so we could all enjoy the stunning views on the way up, as well as the many large waterfalls right by the road.

The pass itself was a big surprise, at only 6646 feet elevation with plenty of snow, steep peaks, wildflowers and wildlife. We've been up twice (the second time because Grant left his credit card at the visitor's center), and plan to go up again once we're on the east side of the part to do some of the hikes in the area once the snow has receded a little more

Lucky for us, Montana also had very late winter snows, so Spring is arriving just as we are.  Lots of wildflowers and mild temperatures to enjoy.  (Wildflower shots below courtesy of Patti, who discovered the macro lens on our digital camera.)  Apgar Lookout, our longest hike so far at 7.2 miles roundtrip, had a stunning display of flowers and a fantastic panorama of the west side.

Bears have been commonplace, but we haven't run into any grizzlies (yet).  We've seen bighorn sheep, mountain goats, black bears, white tail deer, marmots, ground squirrels and some very aggressive, saber-toothed chipmunks (like Scrat in Ice Age, according to Gabe).

Life in the tent trailer is starting to form around a routine, and we're getting better at striking and setting up camp.  Tomorrow we head to Two Medicine on the east side for a few days, then up to St. Mary and Many Glacer further north for a while, ending up in Waterton Park on the Canadian side.  Who knows how long we'll be at each place.  We're making this all up as we go!

Glacial lillies chasing the snow away

Indian paintbrush everywhere!

Wildflowers abound

A stunning display

Blue, blue, my love is blue ...

On the way up to Apgar Lookout

A bighorn sheep at Logan Pass

Still plenty of snow at the pass,
only 6400 ft. up

Lake MacDonald from Apgar Lookout

Avalanche Lake with 5 waterfalls!

Avalanche Gorge(ous)

The stunning Garden Wall on the west side

The Oregon coast, Portland and beyond ...

GRANT:  Well, the vacation didn't exactly start as we expected.  We took a week to finish preparing and doing a late but thorough Spring cleaning of the house.  We put together a great packing system for the van without looking too much like the Beverly Hillbillies.

As soon as we got underway on Friday, June 25, we noticed that between the low tow package and the weight in the back, the trailer hitch only had a few inches of clearance off the ground!  We drove to the coast and hung out with our friends Liz and Dorian in Brookings while we waited on the delivery of adjustable airbags for the suspension coils.  We camped on their lovely property by the Winchuck River for almost a week -- hiking, beach combing, tide pooling, river wading, cycling, fishing, playing music and having some great meals.  We also had a chance to visit my friend and guitar builder, Les Stansell, and his wife Mary in Pistol River.

The airbags arrived and did a great job of lifting up the back end of the van.  We left the coast on Saturday, July 3 to visit or friends Greg and Mariko in Corvallis.  Gabe had a great time hanging out with their son Aaron, who has become quite the robotics expert.  After that we made a quick trip up to Portland to visit my college friend Tricia and her family for July 4.  We had a traditional American meal (Tricia's British husband Steve wore his "God Save the Queen" t-shirt), then we blew things up.  Gabe and Anna, who are very close in age, had a lot of fun together.

Because of our late start, I regret to say we'll have to miss out on visiting our friends in the Seattle area.  We're going to head straight for Spokane, visit some of Patti's family, then go directly to the area around Glacier National Park.  We're debating whether to take the faster interstate route or meander through the more northerly byways.  Gabe's pretty itchy to get camping, and I don't blame him!