August 2, 2011 Glacier National Park & Whitefish, Montana

We slept in this morning – 8 am!  Wow!  Then we packed up camp for the last time on this trip.  Goodbye, cold water dish washing!  Goodbye, hard ground!  Goodbye, mosquitos!  Goodbye, BO!  Goodbye, sleeping bag that will not stuff into the stuff sack!  See you next summer.

This morning we hiked around McDonald Lake on the west side of Glacier, then drove north toward Polebridge to check out the sights.

Karl:  Are we in Canada yet?

Me:  Nope.  You want to go?

Karl:  Yeah!  I’ve never been in another country!

We tried a hike near the Polebridge ranger station, but didn’t get very far.  The regrowth from the 1988 fire isn’t quite tall enough to provide much shade.  It was hot.  Disappointed, we changed plans and drove the 6 miles to Bowman Lake on a, gravel pothole-laden road.  At 12 mph, it took us 2 games of “I’m going on a picnic…” to get there.  In the end, we were highly rewarded for the effort.  Once again the glacial water did not deter the kids from getting in up to their armpits.  They played and skipped rocks on the shoreline while Gerry and I did a crossword puzzle.

Wild Daisies on the Rocky Point Trail

Glacier, That Way

Bowman Lake

 Mid-afternoon, we loaded up again and drove to Whitefish.  A good friend from college (Katie Callahan and her husband Mark Mance) lives there and invited us over to spend the night and have dinner.  Upon arrival, we immediately tossed on our swim suits and went out in the boat.  Their nieces were also there and consequently the kids took turns on Big Mabel – a tube-like floating monstrosity that is pulled behind the boat. 

Mark:  Stephanie, please watch out for Billy while riding.

Stephanie:  Sure, no problem.

Billy:  [huge grin, thumbs up sign]

Billy:  [huge grin, thumbs up sign]

Mark:  I‘ve never pulled a 4 year-old this fast.

Pesky 40 year-old wrinkles

Karl was the least thrilled about Big Mabel and lasted about 1 minute.  Who can blame him, really?  The water temperature was 68 degrees and the kid has no body fat.  Plus, he’s the only person I know who could go out on a raft and come back with a rescued dragonfly cupped gently in his hand.  Afterward, Katie and Mark showed us their wake surfing skills.  It was awesome!  Gerry and both nieces gave it a try too.  It is too bad the camera stayed in the car.

Tired, cold and hungry, we showered then ate a fantastic dinner on the deck and generally drank too much wine.  Happily, I can’t say too much has changed in the past 25 years.   It is wonderful to have friends with whom you can simply pick things up right where you left them the last time. 

Whitefish seems like a great town and I can see why Katie and Mark are here.  They have a lovely home in a truly lovely location.  I look forward to our return visit!