Glacier National Park

Sooo back to Montana... the middle of the week we headed up to Glacier National Park. Here is a map so you can get an idea of where we stayed and went and where the park is. 

Okay so the star up there at the top is Kalispell and Glacier. We stayed in Kalispell for two nights. The first day we took our time driving there and had lunch and checked out the city. The next day we got up early to head up to the park which was only about 45 minutes away. We had to be there before 8 because we had to catch our ride... a 1936 red tour bus. These tours have been said to be the most relaxing and enjoyable way to experience Glacier National Park. They have canvas tops that they roll back at the very beginning so that you can have amazing views and really experience the park. They are cherished, elegant icons. Each touring sedan carries 17 passengers and runs on propane... so they're green too! I also thought these buses were a great way to tour the park because there was a professional driver who a) could drive the steep and curvy road better than us and b) would let all of us focus on enjoying the scenery rather than driving and c) would tell us all about the park and what we were seeing as we were seeing it as well as important things like bear safety tips! <-- which was important to me! I was terrified of bears!

This just lets you get an idea of how steep the roads we traveled on were
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One of the things our tour guide and drive, Clair (spelled with out the e btw), told us about bears is that they best defense against them is our own human voices. He said if you are out hiking to make loud human noises, especially if you are about to go around a bend in a path. The rest of the trip when we were walking around out in the wilderness I was sure to loudly sing "Human Voices". We didn't see a single bear! And just so you know... the next day a hiker was mauled by a bear... obviously he wasn't making human noises. Oh, he also had bear spray... didn't do him much good did it?

Our ride started in the morning and lasted eight hours. When they rolled the canvas top back it was early in the morning and it was soooo cold! It was under 40º! Brrrr! We bundled up fast. The bus also had big blankets that a whole row of passengers shared. 

My daddy and mommy!

Miguel stole my hat!

It was really neat seeing the park in the morning. It was so peaceful. I got some really good pictures. The water was still calm and the air was crisp. I even got to see a deer and her fawn grazing. It was precious. I wish I had had a different camera lens with me else I would have gotten a good picture of them. Sorry if you don't like nature pictures because this post is full of them!

So pretty isn't it?!?!

We learned so many interesting things about the park. One of the cool things we kept seeing was the debris from avalanches that had just happened this 'winter'... so they could have happened in say April. Ha!

Avalanche debris

It was really amazing getting to see the scenery from these open top buses. The beauty of the park was just really breathtaking. It is so apparent to me that there just has to be a God when you see the grandeur of these mountains. The road we took was called Going-to-the-Sun Road. At some points it really did feel that way!

Look how cold we were! That's right it was around 40º where we were and in the high 90's back home in Atlanta and Savannah! Crazy.

Most of the snow was gone when we toured... obviously they wouldn't be able to drive up the mountains with lots of snow. Interestingly, this year was the latest park opening since the park road opened in 1932. It opened July 13th. They also told us they expect the first snow fall to be around August 25th. Can you imagine?

This mountain peek is called The Bishop's Hat. =)

One of my favorite parts of the day was when we saw these mountain goats! Look at the little guy! Miguel named one of them Samuel. He got pretty close to us and just gave us a look as if he were saying, "What? What do you want? Mmmm." =) If he had had a thumb he probably would have waved it at us and snapped it while saying this.

I also loved all the many, many waterfalls. Clair, our driver, said that every day when we drove he would see new things, every day the scenery changed... new waterfalls would pop up and old ones would disappear. 

After a few hours we reached a place called Logan's Pass. Logan's Pass is 6646 feet high on the Continental Divide and is the highest point on the breathtaking Going-to-the-Sun Road.

This curve shape is caused by a glacier and is called a glaciated valley. It is so crazy that a glacier was there once and carved that out. There are lots of big snow valleys but to be considered a glacier it must be moving. 

I have to post a picture of what the glaciers used to look like when the park opened in the 1930's and what they look like now. They obviously have been declining. There is some argument among scientists today, however, about whether or not they are coming back or are continuing to decline. 

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Later in the afternoon it warmed up and we were piling on the sunscreen. The temperature differences in one day were just amazing!

Hey, Daddy!

This waterfall pictured below is called The Forgotten waterfall because no one ever looks at it because to the left is one of the biggest glaciers you see on the Going-to-the-Sun Road.

After we passed the lake area pictured above we were on the Eastern part of the park. The landscape and vegetation changed. Instead of steep hillsides covered with tall winter looking trees there was more bright green and shallower slopes.

Pretty wildflowers

We went to this lodge for lunch and the views were a.m.a.z.i.n.g!

Our view at lunch

Panoramic view of our lunch scenery

Glacier was definitely one of my favorite parts of our trip. I just want to take a moment to thank my parents for such an amazing trip! It will truly be one of those memories I will never forget. My daddy and mom are so generous! Thank you for loving us so much and for allowing us to share these experiences with you! Love y'all!

From Dirty Bird to Golf Clap

This past weekend Miguel and I went to Atlanta. Friday night we went to the pre-season Falcons game with Miguel's brother and some of his friends. They played the Dolphins and sadly, we lost. We sat on the Dolphin's side and it was fun reading some of the player's names. Our favorite was this one player named Incognito. One of Juan's friends kept yelling "Hey, Incognito, we can't even see you!". Ha... like he had never heard that before. 

Miguel, Juan and Juan's girlfriend, Jessie.

Incognito

Saturday we took my Gramma out to lunch for her 88th birthday. My mom baked a key lime birthday cake. It was the first time my gramma had EVER had a homemade birthday cake! Isn't that crazy?! The cake was really really yummy and I know my Gramma loved it.

After lunch Miguel went to go play golf and my mom and I went to go see The Help. I thought the movie was good. The casting was perfect. However, my mother and I both agreed that the book was much better. It's always hard to get a great book condensed into a movie. Emma Stone did a great job though. 

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Saturday night we hung out with Miguel's family and had a good time eating and smoking cigars together. Some of my favorite time is just hanging out with family like that.

Sunday Miguel and I got up early and headed to the PGA. We got there early and set up our chairs at the 6th green. We had a great view and were in the shade for the majority of the time. The 6th hole was great because if you turned around you could see the players tee off from the 7th. We watched 40 something players come through. Once Phil Mickelson finished on the 6th we followed him for a few holes but he had such a huge following it was hard to see well. So then went and found our friends and sat with them for a bit. After 8 and a half hours we checked out and watched the end at home and then headed back to Savannah. Wish I had gotten more pictures but we weren't allowed cameras and you weren't supposed to use your phone.

 

The 6th hole and our view.

In the distance there in the right is the beginning of Phil's following. We had to tuck the camera away though because he had cops following him and they were taking people's cameras away. 

We had a really great weekend. Thanks to our parents for making it so special and thanks especially to mom and dad for the PGA tickets! 

Girly Thank You Basket

A friend was so very kind and watched our dogs and house for us while we were in Montana for over a week. If you have met our dog, Jack, or have been reading this blog you will know that he is a handful. He still has all his puppiness and all the jumping, chewing, and bounciness that comes with that. We are so very thankful to our kind friend who house sat for us. We of course paid her but after a few texts mid-week about Jack going over to the sitter and lifting his leg and uh... "marking" her if you will, we felt we needed to show our appreciation a little more! 

I think this gift basket is a good gift and it is so simple to make. I would definitely encourage you to make one as a thank you gift or for any occasion. I purchased this gift basket set (pictured above) from World Market for only $4! It came with the basket, straw bedding, a gift tag, cellophane wrapping, and twine to tie it all up. Pretty nice for such a small price tag. A bag of straw cost $3 at World Market... so I'd say that the basket set pays off well. 

I filled the basket with various things by just walking around World Market. I ended up going with sort of a pink theme which was determined by the first thing I picked up... Pomegranate Martini mix and matching glass rim sprinkles. After watching our dogs for a week you need a drink! So that was definitely a go! Next I picked up some "Get Gorgeous" organic tea, some bath salts and soap, and finally some purse tissues with a saying that is also appropriate after watching our dogs, "Keep Calm, Carry On". Each item was under $6 each. I also picked up a small martini glass for $2... I just forgot to put it in the photograph... oops! :)

I placed the straw in the basket, followed by all the pink items, wrapped it up and tied on the gift tag (which was signed by all of us). Such a simple to make gift. I hope our house sitter enjoys it and can get some use out of the items! I know I'm tempted to keep some of them for myself... good thing the basket is wrapped up in cellophane! =)