Lake McDonald, Avalanche Lake

Since we had such a late night last night we let the kids sleep in this morning. They didn’t end up waking up until 10 or 10:30! We had a warm breakfast, made lunch, and spent most of the day at Lake McDonald swimming, throwing rocks, and jumping off the dock. I could sit and stare at the view of Lake McDonald all day and never get bored. I love it there. It may be one of my favorite spots ever.

We had to get ice cream after playing which was delicious as always and then we headed up to Avalanche Creek to take the whole gang up to Avalanche Lake. The kids did a great job! The older cousins helped out the little cousins a lot and everyone had fun. We took a lot of pictures at the top and I’m sure the other people there laughed at us a lot but we just didn’t care what they thought. The backdrop for the photos was so impressive. I love it there as well!

We headed back to our rental for a not as late as last night dinner and got the kids to bed. Can’t wait for another fun day tomorrow!!

We tried to re-create this picture from three years ago. We might have to do it again every time we hike this. I'm sure they'll get sick of it!

Big Kid Hikes, Glacier at Dusk

We arrived in Glacier just in time for lunch today. We decided to make our first stop at Many Glacier. Brad and I haven’t been there before and one of the top rated hikes is there. Several of us wanted to hike to Grinnell Lake, but it’s an 11 mile strenuous hike so the adults that didn’t want to hike stayed back and played in the lake at the lodge with the kids. I was so grateful Chad and Kimber we’re willing to watch my kids so that Brad and I could hike it together with Lesa, Jeff, Bryson, Luke and Kara. It was a gorgeous hike! It was definitely difficult, but so worth it. The views were impressive, we got to walk through a waterfall, and the lake at the top was incredible. When we got to the top we were excited to dip our feet in the lake but couldn’t stand holding them in there for too long. It was freezing! Obviously with all the pieces of Glacier floating in the lake it would be. We did see a few people jump right in though and get out even faster! Lol. Our knees were hurting by the end and Brad’s hips were sore from having Luke on his back. Bryson did carry Luke a few times to help Brad out which Brad was grateful for! On our way back down we saw a bull moose at a safe distance. It was incredible. It was an amazing hike. I’m so glad we were able to do it.

The kids had a blast swimming in the lake with Chad and Kimber. We’re staying at a home in Columbia Falls so it was a long drive from Many Glacier to the house. We drove through the park at about 9 pm and it was fun to see the park at that time of day. Plus we saw so much wildlife! We saw, 2 big horn sheep, Fox, 2 grizzly bears, and several mountain goats. Driving through the park so late is a great time to see so much wildlife! 

There were some delays on the going to the sun road so we didn’t make it home until 11:30 to finally have dinner. It was definitely a fun filled day!