2015 Glacier NP Family Trip
< Home2015 Glacier NP Family Trip
Mom and Dad invited the whole family out to share a homestead house outside Glacier National Park in celebration of their 50th wedding anniversary earlier in the year. There was a major fire in the area that closed Going to the Sun Rd through the park for most of the trip, and left a smoky haze everywhere. We spent a lot of time outside the park or visiting other areas.
Sat Aug 1 - Arrival
Kellie and I arrived first and checked into the cabin. Dan, Jill and the girls joined us for dinner and sunset watching. Mom and Dad had to deal with a canceled flight, so they arrived after midnight.
Sun Aug 2 - Picnic at Lion Lake
With everyone arrived safely, we all packed a lunch and some gear and went to a day park on Lion Lake, near Hungry Horse dam. After lunch and some paddle-boarding, Dan's family went to find some swimming, while Mom, Dad, Kellie and I visited the dam and drove down to look for goats at the Goat Lick.
Mon Aug 3 - Red Bus Tour
We scheduled a Red Bus Tour up GTTS road to Logan pass and back again. The views were a bit smoky, but the tour was still fun. Afterwards we had our picnic lunch on Lake McDonald and we took a hike along McDonald creek above the lake.
Tue Aug 4 - Rocky Point Hike
Mom, Dad, and I took a morning hike on Lake McDonald out to Rocky Point while Alexa visited a doctor for a cold she was fighting. For the afternoon we split up and wandered around for some shopping. After dinner, Mom and I played baseball with Haley and watched another sunset.
Wed Aug 5 - Bowman Lake
We all drove up North Fork Road to Bowman lake. We started with another picnic and a little hike. Kellie and I stayed at the lake and watched birds while the rest of the family took a hike along the lake. When Mom and Dad returned, the four of us headed back to the house while Dan, Jill and the girls stayed to play with their paddle-boards.
Thu Aug 6 - Two Medicine Area
The weather was not great on Thursday. Cold and rainy with lots of clouds and some fog. We drove over to Two Medicine but only stayed to make the short hike to Running Eagle Falls. We all had lunch in East Glacier before splitting up. Mom, Dad, Kellie, and I took a scenic drive up to the St Mary visitor center, Dan, Jill and the girls headed back toward the house with a stop to hike for huckleberries.
Fri Aug 7 - Avalanche Gorge and GTTS Road
We arrived at the park to great news: the St Mary fires were under control enough to allow traffic on GTTS road. We all went out to hike Trail of the Cedars for the morning, but ended up splitting into two groups. Dan, Jill, and the girls hiked all the way out to Avalanche lake, while Mom, Dad, and I stayed in the Cedars and only went a little ways up the Avalanche gorge trail. After our hike we returned to Kellie for our picnic and then decided to drive the parts of GTTS road that were closed to us before.