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Our honeymoon began two days after our wedding - on July 19,
when we left for Glacier National Park in Montana. We had spent nine months
finalizing the plans for this trip. We booked our plane tickets on-line,
through Travelocity.com; we also reserved a rental car through the same
on-line travel agency. John found a cabin for us to stay in at Apgar Village,
inside the park, so he put down a deposit on it. Then, on April 15, he sent in
the paperwork for our backcountry permits so that we could backpack in the Two
Medicine area. With everything set to go, I couldn't wait to leave for our
trip.
Our flight left at 7:30 a.m. that morning from Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix,
connected in Salt Lake City, UT, then finally arrived in the newly renovated
FCA Airport in Kalispell, MT, at 1:00 p.m. Though our flight was rather
uneventful, John and I made the most of it by playing with our new toy -- our
GPS unit -- and by reading. It wasn't until we landed in Kalispell that the
fun began.
After waiting forever for our luggage, which consisted of two suitcases and
two duffel bags (which held our backpacks), John and I started for the airport
exit in hopes of catching a cab to the car rental place. We were stopped,
however, by a sign with John's name on it: the car rental company had sent a
representative to the airport to pick us up! For me, that was the first sign
that things would truly be going our way during the whole trip.
The Payless Car Rental representative drove us to their office, where we
filled out paperwork. That didn't take very long, and soon we were on our way
to Glacier National Park in our rented Chevy Corsica. It was about thirty-five
miles from the airport to the park entrance in West Glacier. Along the way,
John and I stopped to do a little shopping at a local grocery store in Hungry
Horse, to get a few "necessities" for the cabin: beer, wine, sodas, and, of
course, huckleberry jam, which John insisted that I try as it was the best
stuff in the world! We also purchased a Styrofoam ice chest so that we could
take our beverages with us on the road.
Finally, we arrived in Glacier National Park, with its thick, virgin forests,
its large aqua lakes, and its immense snow-capped mountains towering above
U-shaped valleys that were carved millions of years ago by glaciers. Coming
from Arizona, I found myself in awe of its beauty. As we drove through the
park, on the Going to the Sun Road, towards Logan Pass, I couldn't help but
stare in silence at the scenery around me. I had seen pictures of Glacier
National Park, but those pictures didn't do it justice.
Since we still had a couple of hours before we could check into the Apgar
Village Lodge, John suggested that we take the Going to the Sun Road all the
way up to Logan Pass, where we could stop and see the visitor's center -- and
maybe some wildlife, too! Along the way, we stopped at pullouts to take
pictures of the scenery. Our first stop was along Lake McDonald, which is ten
miles long and is fed by McDonald Creek, from the north. We also stopped to
see one of the many waterfalls in McDonald Creek -- a roaring, gushing
waterfall, so different than those we could see in Arizona.
At another pullout, at the point where the road began to climb, we stopped to
see the tunnel and Heaven's Peak. Then, we began our slow climb up the
mountainous Going to the Sun Road -- slow, because we kept stopping along the
way to see the waterfalls created by run-off from the late thaw. Water from
snowcaps on top of the Continental Divide was pouring down crevices on the
mountains, onto the highway and beyond, creating waterfalls of every size:
from big, gushing waterfalls and light showers (like the Weeping Wall), to
tiny trickles. As we neared the top of the pass, we began to pass by snow
drifts along the side of the road. John told me that the snowdrift at Logan
Pass had been seventy feet tall and that they weren't able to open the Going
to the Sun Road until June 16! This was due to the late snowfall and even
later thaw.
Since there was so much snow on the Continental Divide, that meant that we
might encounter problems doing our scheduled backpack. The latest reports from
the ranger station stated that there were snow hazards on the trails that we
were going to hike for our three-day backpack. These reports, however, were
dated 6/30/99, so while we were at the Visitor Center at Logan Pass, we
stopped by the backcountry desk to inquire about the trails we were supposed
to hike. The ranger confirmed that there were still snow hazards there, so we
decided that we would go to the Apgar Ranger Station first thing in the
morning to make alternate arrangements.
As we drove away from Logan Pass, we hit a traffic jam -- our first "animal
jam" of our vacation! (An animal jam is where drivers suddenly stop to take
pictures of animals on the roadside.) On the side of the road, near the
Highline Trailhead, was a family of mountain goats! The baby goat (or kid) was
so cute that I just wanted to pick him up and take him home with me...but I
think his mother would have had a problem with that!
After descending the Going to the Sun Road, John and I returned to Apgar
Village, at the southern tip of Lake McDonald, so that we could check into the
lodge. We had reservations for cabin number four, a one-bedroom cabin with two
double beds and a full kitchen. I immediately fell in love with the cabin. It
was cozy and homespun, with quilt-like bedspreads on the beds, gingham
curtains over the windows and pine furniture in the kitchen. I knew I was
going to enjoy staying there.
It was nearing dinnertime, so John and I got cleaned up and left to go find a
nice restaurant where we could celebrate our first night in Glacier National
Park. But where to go? The hotel clerk recommended Heaven's Peak, a new,
upscale restaurant in West Glacier, about three miles away. We decided to give
it a try, and we were not at all disappointed. Our dinner was delicious, and
our server was a very pleasant woman from the Czech Republic. Not only did she
know how to open a wine bottle, but she also gave us free dessert when she
learned that we were on our honeymoon. For that, we gave her a very generous
tip.
That night, as I crawled into bed, contently stuffed from dinner and buzzed
from the wine, my head swam in the excitement of all that I had seen that
first day, and I couldn't wait to see more! Return to
Heather & John's Big Adventure. |
