Our Montana Road Trip: Part 2
Well, well, well...look who's back. I'm glad you've returned for more! Before I go any further, I have to remind you that I posted my "Part 1" GoPro footage on my Youtube channel, so you should definitely check it out before continuing here! Feel free to go back and watch it on my previous post, or you can just click here.
"Glacier Lake" at the Mission Mountains Wilderness
On Part 1 of this story, I left you lingering at the point where Steven and I had made it through a night of sheer terror when a bear came through our camp in the middle of the night. Lucky for us, that was the last night staying at that campground since the following day consisted of visiting Glacier National Park before settling into our next camping location. The only negative thing about this entire trip is the fact that there were some significant fires happening while we were there, which dramatically affected our visibility. One thing ya'll need to know, is that this park is one of the main things that drew us to Montana in the first place. If you've never looked up pictures of Glacier...please do so now, it is breathtaking. The day had finally arrived for us to visit the park, and we got news that almost the entire west side was on fire. Luckily, we were still able to enter from the east side (Saint Mary's) and drive half of the main scenic road to Logan's Pass, but then we would have to turn around and exit the same way we came in, since they were still trying to get the fires under control. When I say the visibility was bad...I mean we weren't able to see mountains until we were nearly at the base of them. That being said - Steven and I agreed that this was the most beautiful place we had ever been. I can't talk it up enough, everything was absolutely stunning, even through the smoke. Saint Mary's River flowed through the entire east side, while each mountain was so different from the next, making for incredible views. Even though I was fighting a headache from all of the smoke, driving through that small section of the park was well worth it. On our way out of Glacier, we decided to stop by Two Medicine Lake, because our new friend Fred (see Montana Part 1 blog) mentioned that it was one of his favorite places in Montana. It did not disappoint. We made it just in time to watch the sun set behind giant mountains while we sat along the lake's perfectly smooth water. We couldn't stay long since we still had a three hour drive to our next campsite, but it is definitely high on our list of places to camp in the future.
A few hours later, we finally arrived at our last campsite of our trip - Holland Lake. Unlike our first camping spot, this portion of our journey put us on a hill overlooking a huge lake, surrounded by beautiful mountains that had a waterfall cutting right through the middle. I really can't make these places up, each one was gorgeous in it's own special way. This was a completely different experience compared to the first half of our trip, not only because of the location, but because we were actually staying with some of Steven's family friends. The Boggs family took us in and spoiled us the last few days of our trip. We stayed in their camper, so we didn't have to worry about any more bear encounters, and they cooked amazing meals for us the entire time we were with them. Not only were they incredibly generous with sharing their food and space, but they also brought all of their fun toys for us to enjoy. The first day with them was spent kayaking and rafting on the lake, just enjoying the beautiful water and perfect weather. The raft was actually big enough for the dogs to tag along with us, which made Penny incredibly paranoid (not a fan of water), and Meeko eager to jump in the lake every 10 minutes (massive fan of water).
On our second day with the Boggs, they took us on an amazing hike where we were able to see three incredible mountain lakes within a 13 mile (roundtrip) trail. We packed our lunches, loaded up their dogs along with ours, and set out on the perfect day to explore the Mission Mountains Wilderness. The first lake we came to was Glacier lake. When I tell you the water was like glass...none of my pictures or videos do it justice. After taking in the views and letting the dogs swim, we set off for the next lake. A few miles later, we make it to our lunch spot. Crescent Lake was well...beautiful...and crescent shaped. There was a little rock section that reached out into the water, so we decided to rest and eat in this sweet spot. The last location on our trek was Heart Lake, which was possibly the most beautiful out of the three that we visited that day. Since this one was the second highest lake on the hike (we didn't have time to reach the highest) the water looked completely untouched and perfectly crystal clear. Oh, and did I mention that the trails were full of huckleberry bushes? Granted, most of the berries had been eaten, but every now and then you would get a nice ripe one, so having fresh snacks the entire hike was a huge plus for me! On the way back we let the dogs run loose on the trails, and I tried to soak in this perfect day as much as I could - not wanting it to end.
We decided to take it easy for our last full day in Montana, so the Boggs decided to take us to a great spot where we could raft down the Blackfoot River. Fun fact: this is the same river that the movie "A River Runs Through It" was filmed, so I should probably go watch it now. We split up between two kayaks, an inter-tube, and a small raft. For the first half of the river, I was in the raft with both of our dogs - trying to get GoPro footage, while also making sure that Meeko wasn't trying to jump ship. The water was perfect, and the mountains surrounding us at every turn were truly beautiful. Even while wrestling two dogs and steering a raft, it was the perfect way to relax. We stopped on the banks for a quick snack about half way through, and when we finished Steven ended up jumping in the raft with me before we were off again. By the end of our journey, both dogs were asleep in the boat and the evening air was starting to cool off. Once we got back to camp, we had our last dinner with the Boggs family and finally had to start packing up for our long journey home. This is always the worst for me. No matter how tired - or dirty - I am, I hate when a good trip comes to an end.
Since Steven and I both had to work on Tuesday (it was Saturday night by this point) we decided that it would be best to leave as soon as we finished packing up. Learning from our mistakes on the journey to Montana, we decided that we could drive through the night once, but we would book a hotel and get some real sleep on Sunday night. Steven drove for the first few hours to get us started, and I rested up before starting the night shift. Around midnight we stopped to get gas and decided that it was the perfect opportunity to trade off. One thing that I learned during this trip, is that the blueberry RedBull energy drinks work wonders for me. I popped my headphones in, chugged half of the can, and was right-as-rain from midnight until 6 AM. I felt like Wonder Woman - I was unstoppable. Once morning hit, I finally passed out and eventually woke up to the sound of rain. Unlike some people, I love the rain. However, on this day it rained...and rained..and rained..and just when you thought it was done - it rained some more. Not only was the rain annoying while driving all day, but the wind was absolutely insane. Wranglers aren't the most aerodynamic, so with every gust of wind, I was convinced that we were going to tip over, or be blown into oncoming traffic. We finally made it through the rough weather and got a cheap hotel that wouldn't charge us a pet fee (shout out to you La Quinta). The dogs were excited to be in a new place, and I could barely contain my own enthusiasm - considering that we had gone ten days without a real shower. We had bathed in creeks, lakes, rivers, and put the body wipes to good use, but now...it was time. I'm pretty sure I was in the bathroom for nearly an hour, just seeing if I could use up all of the hot water. Steven and I have a great marriage, but after we both cleaned up we took advantage of using both queen beds in our hotel room that night. Feeling well rested, and extra clean, we started the final nine hour trek home. We reached our house around 11 PM, thankful to be out of the car, but also sad that the trip had come to an end. One thing that we talked about over and over again during those ten days, is that we were both completely mesmerized with everything Montana had to offer. This may be the first blog entry about this beautiful state, but I can guarantee that it won't be the last.
