Random scatological matter from Lael’s life
There aren’t enough adjectives to describe the park. A wonderful, wonder-filled place. We’ve seen a tiny corner of it so far.
Here are pictures of two of the dozen or more mule deer that crossed our driveway this morning and of Avalanche Falls. The start of our hike today.
. . . 
Since we couldn’t find parking yesterday, we got around earlier today in the hopes of beating the crowds. However we didn’t get out the door as soon as expected because a small herd (12) of mule deer were having breakfast in the yard around the house. Lael and Avery took lots of pictures while I simply marveled.
The drive up to our planned hiking spot was delightful. Very little traffic. And as usual it was refreshing to listen to Avery describe the scenery. She does not use a simple “pretty” or “awesome”. She uses words like: astounding, breathtaking, spectacular, and exhilarating. And she is correct.
We were the first ones at the parking lot today! So our excitement was high. The first part of the trail was peaceful and breathtaking. Tall, large cedars with interesting undergrowth. The next part of the trail was by a river. It was loud and amazing to watch. Those two sections of the trail were engrossing for Avery. Then the work began. Trees, trees and more trees. Up, up and more up. Huffing and puffing (with a complaining or two). I wanted so badly to be able to hike this relatively simple trail. But my knees gave out. A little over the mile mark, they began to swell and lock up. I think Avery was happy that I was the one to throw in the towel. We did not make it to the end of the trail, but we did meet many people on our way back. Lael thought the forest service should hire fat folks to hike back on trails early in the morning as inspiration to other hikers. Many folks took a gander at us and you could see the calculation going on in their eyes. We did not contradict their idea that, “if they can do it, so can we.”
Today is animal day. I looked at deers and ground squirrels. I also liked the big, fat robins. We didn’t see any mosquitos. I like the book I am reading [The Storyteller’s Daughter by Cameron Dokey] I love this trip!
On a slightly different note then the rest of my family, the cabin here is quite lovely. We have beautiful views of the mountain and are within easy distances to the grocery and the entrance to the park. It has been fabulous weather, high of 71 today. There has been some rain, but nothing unmanageable.
I want to take a moment and praise the wonder of Deet. I know Mom finds the stuff to be dangerous, but it sure keeps the mosquitoes at bay. On the previously mentioned by others lovely hike we went on, there were so many buggers that as you looked at someone else the person’s body outline shimmered. I also swallowed several. They avoided landing on my face thanks to OFF! towelettes, but as I told a story to keep Avery going, the mosquitoes got sucked in as I walked through clouds of them. Blech.
Glacier is an amazingly beautiful park. We saw bear grass (a tall, white wildflower that Avery and I loved), lakes, waterfalls, rapids, and some type of poop (scat is the more PC term) that Lael took pictures of so that we can identify it later.
Tonight I made the family do more research so that we will all be ready to tackle the park tomorrow. We triple checked trail length information so that we do not have the same disaster as we had today. I’m looking forward to tomorrow; for, “Tomorrow is another day!”
I should have purchased a rain coat before we left. I didn’t. We went to look for one today. No fat people live in Montana.
The good thing about today is that we learned that a parking space at a popular trail-head can only be found early in the morning. We found that out by going after lunch and not finding any parking.
The park is beautiful. The variety of landscapes on the West side is amazing. Logan’s Pass, the top of Going to the Sun Road, is closed. Going to the Sun is the only way across the continental divide within the park. Lots of folks seemed to be going up as far as they could go and turning back. The parking areas and the service areas are crowded because people would be going hither and yon and are stuck.
The hike we had today was not fun. Especially because of the mosquitoes. I hated today at Glacier National Park, because we couldn’t find parking and was bitten by mosquitoes. But I liked the lookouts a lot.
I liked the 3D map they had at the visitors center. I think I’ll like the hiking tomorrow. The huckleberry mountain nature trail was full of mosquitoes.
(ed. note: The brochure that we had describing this trail described it as 0.6 miles with a rise 100 feet. We rose more than that, and went farther than that. We turned back. We checked other sources when we got back and found that the trail was 6.0 Miles with a rise of 3000 feet up above the tree-line and a trip to peak of Huckleberry mountain.)
Lael –
Our internet connection at the hotel is terrible. So I’m not posting pictures and I’m not posting individual entries. I may not even be posting tonight.
The Little Big-Horn monument was somber. I had no idea of the scale of the battle, or rather series of battles that ended with Custer’s defeat. (Or did it end much later with the eventual annihilation of the native peoples’ lives and lifestyles?)
The drive today was bits of hastily-grabbed beauty caught out of the corners of my eyes while I drove pell-mell across some fascinating lands.
Avery –
I liked the Rocky Mountains. They were so big and I hadn’t seen them for a long time. I also liked Little Big Horn. Some of the things that stuck in my head were: I thought it weird that the Indians and White men had different colored tomb stones [note from AJ: the white marble stones were erected soon after the battle for the fallen US soldiers; the red marble stones were erected recently]; it was weird that there were so many Army tombstones and so few Indians [note again: we only found 3 red markers; I think they are still in the process of recovery and marking]. I really like this vacation and can’t wait to get to the cabin tomorrow!
Amanda–
Today was about covering ground. We made it to Butte. On the way we made one long stop at Little Big Horn. It seemed odd to me that in the middle of the Crow Indian Reservation was a monument to the fallen US soldiers of the Battle at Little Big Horn. It was not until 2003 that a memorial was erected for the fallen Native Americans. I wonder how hard folks had to fight to get that bit of recognition completed? The Indian tomb stones that Avery mentioned are interesting. At the bottom of each is inscribed, “Died while fighting to preserve his people’s way of life.” The stones commemorating the battle are not in any specific organized fashion; they are spread out over a five mile area. One of the stones that Avery and I found interesting was dedicated to the horses. We were standing on a burial mound for the 30 horses Custer shot on Last Stand Hill to use as a barrier. Days after the battle another calvary company came and honored the fallen horses by not only burying them but also erecting a marker. One of the few surviving cavalry horses was looked after for 14 years. On the event of his death, his body was sent to Kansas University where his body was processed and his bones put on display. Weird.
For some reason I was expecting a small crowd at Little Big Horn. Ha. It was wonderful to see folks out experiencing our history. I heard several people muttering about how arrogant Custer was. I wonder is they see that we haven’t come too far. (Obviously I’m tired and being sucked into depressing land. I was moved to think at the memorial. But I’m not sure I’m thinking what they wanted me to think. It’s time for me to stop thinking. I think.)
Happy Father’s Day to my dad and brothers-in-law. To celebrate for Lael, we picked out an apple pie at the Safeway to bring back to our hotel and eat. Yummy anticipation. But after Avery ate a piece, Lael was looking at the texture of the pie with confusion. Then he went to look at the label. Though there was no indication anywhere on the container, the pie needed to be baked. Disappointment for my tummy! And I felt stupid.
Today me and my parents found 44 state tags, including Alaska and Hawaii. So we only have 6 more to go!
We also visited 3 national parks. My favorite was the Badlands. I liked it because it was very craggy, very sandy. Like something out of a cartoon book. I didn’t think anything like that could be real. But I have been proven mistaken.
I also liked the prairie dogs at Devil’s Tower.
I liked the president heads, even though it was a little weird not seeing them with bodies. I liked Crazy Horse even though you can’t get up really close to it, especially on a rainy day. At Crazy Horse I got a piece of rock after paying a donation.
It was really fun when we stopped in Wall. We got homemade ice cream and we got to go in a teepee and we got to see a moving T-Rex. It scared me at first.
I love this vacation!!!
Last night when we decided to stop for the night, I thought we were stopping too early. I had wanted to get further along the road. However, this was for the best. We would have missed the Badlands. Luckily for us today was a fee free day in many national parks, so we didn’t pay the entry fee to the Badlands. What an absolute delight (once I had found a bathroom, that is). The formation of earth is unbelievable and incredibly diverse. Between Lael and Avery, we have loads of pictures. I did put my foot down in regards to the number of times we stopped. We did have to move it on down the road.
I got quite a tickle out of the advertisement I saw regarding the largest prairie dog in the world. Yes, it was very reminiscent of western Kansas. However, we actually drove by this place. Not only did they advertise that you could see the prairie dogs fee with the price of admission, but their prairie dog is NOT the largest in the world. It is at least 8 feet shorter then the one in Oakley. Maybe this one is fatter?
(I also was tickled about all the money we saved when we saw two prairie dog towns that really were free!)
Giving in to the advertising pressure and curiosity, we stopped in the town of Wall to see if the drug store could possibly hold everything we had seen advertised. And, yep, it sure can! The “store” is a rambling conglomeration of multiple stores. Hail western tourist junk!
Mt. Rushmore has changed since I visited last. There is now a four level parking garage, which is great for tolling for state tags! We also visited a museum and looked over the amphitheater, which is where the viewing area used to be. Crazy Horse has become too commercial. Gripe, gripe.
Devil’s Tower was worth the extra twisty drive. The walk was delightful and the scenery was amazing. Too tired for more. Must sleep.
We had a beautiful, cool day. It sprinkled slightly between Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse but it didn’t slow us down and the day was full but not fatiguing.
The badlands were stunningly, amazingly beautiful. Mandy put her foot down early in the Scenic Overlooks department. All were too many.
We may have to make that badlands and the black hills a destination vacation someday.
We joked yesterday that the coal trains stretched all the way to Wyoming. We saw the mine and the loading plant just East of Gillette, Wyoming this evening.
Our route.