WRAPPING UP

After Dave flew back to Texas, Peggy and I balanced our time with soul talks, drives and work projects. One of our favorite places is the Izzak Walton Inn in Essex which started out as lodging for employees of the Great Northern Railroad and is now open to the public. They have engines, cabooses and hotel rooms available as well as a nice dining room. If you come for a visit, there's a really good chance that Dave and I will bring you here for lunch where you can still see an active train yard; our favorite railroad's, the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe!

Stopping at Goat Lick, no mountain goats but beautiful fall colors!

Peggy volunteered for some "dirty jobs" like cleaning out the wood stove, stacking wood and learning how to use the log splitter.

One day we decided to grab some snacks and enjoyed a drive through Glacier, our backyard!

Logan Pass was socked in with fog and clouds but it was still pretty cool!

More Fall colors and raining in the Two Medicine area.

The big project that Peggy and I worked on was surprising Dave by decorating the house for Christmas! I want him to be totally caught off guard when he walks through the door. Except for hanging porch lights and getting a live tree, everything is done! It took a lot longer since this is the first time and I didn't have a reference from previous years on where to put stuff. Here's a sneak peek:

Those three weeks flew by but it won't be long now!

ALL WORK AND NO PLAY...AVALANCHE LAKE AND ROCKWELL FALLS

We enjoyed two other hikes while we were on our latest trip up to the Hideaway. Avalanche Lake is an easier hike, six miles round trip and is a popular spot. The trail begins at "The Trail Of The Cedars" which is a wheelchair accessible, self-guided nature trail and then branches off once the boardwalk ends.

Dave photographing Avalanche Gorge and spider webs.

The hike is mostly through wooded areas, then opens up into this bowl. We realized that the best time to photograph Avalanche Lake is later in the afternoon otherwise it gets bleached out.

As we approached the lake from the trail, there was a black bear nearby. Someone in the group ahead had discharged some bear spray because the effects were still lingering in the air when I saw the bear; suddenly my throat was burning and dry and my nose started running. I've never had to discharge my bear spray but we plan to practice, using our expired canisters. Now I know why that stuff is so effective!!Dave and I hiked down a little ways, past the people who were hanging near the trail

Hiking back out, past Avalanche Gorge, one of my favorite shots!

A couple of days later, we hiked to Rockwell Falls which is in the Two Medicine area of Glacier National Park. Crossing the suspension bridge and photographing the vast amounts of wildflowers!.

The falls is a nice place to stop and soak in the quiet around you!

We left Rockwell Falls after an hour and made our way back. With only a mile left to hike, we ran across this gentleman...

How cool is that!?

ALL WORK AND NO PLAY...MANY GLACIER HOTEL AND ICEBERG LAKE HIKE

One of my favorite hikes inside Glacier National Park is the hike to Iceberg Lake which starts in the Many Glacier area. While the Mountainview Hideaway is only eleven miles from the West Entrance, it takes over 2.5 hours to drive the "Going To The Sun Road" to the East Entrance and up to the Trailhead in Many Glacier. We like to be out on the trails by 7 AM so that translates to the alarm clock going off way too EARLY for my taste! We made the decision to spend two nights at the Many Glacier Hotel, which has the most magnificent setting of all the National Park Lodges that we have stayed at! In 2015 the hotel will be celebrating its centennial and they completed all of their renovations within the last couple of years in preparation for it.

Moose in Swiftcurrent Lake looking towards the Many Glacier Hotel.

Amazing views, looking west from the Many Glacier Hotel!

Before getting an early start on the trail up to Iceberg Lake, almost a ten mile day hike, round trip, we spotted this Bull Moose feeding next to the hotel.

Grouse hen with her chick.

There are a lot of grizzly bears and black bears in the Many Glacier area and it's not unusual to see one fairly close to the trail; but seeing this young, brown-colored, black bear actually ON the trail, that was a first!!

The Iceberg Lake hike is a pretty popular one so we do tend to see other people but going really early in the morning, weeds out some of the people; they are hiking in as we are hiking out...

When we arrive at Iceberg Lake, which had the most ice we've ever seen in all of our hikes, we usually take a nice hour long break, soaking up the views, photographing, having a snack and enjoying the entertainment provided by other people!

Dave thought he could stand on the ice sheets as well but had to content himself with standing in the freezing cold lake!

After a long day of hiking, there's something about eating a big huckleberry ice cream cone and soaking in the tub. Then it's off to a nice dinner in the dining room and a little game of Yahtzee...

Watching the sun go down and saying goodbye to another day in paradise...

ALL WORK AND NO PLAY...HIDDEN LAKE AND LUNCH CREEK

On our most recent trip to the Mountainview Hideaway, we maintained a nice balance of work and play. Dave gets cabin fever if he doesn't have ample time to get out and do some hiking and photography whereas, I don't mind the work; Dave feels like he's wasting photography opportunities and I am content to go with the flow. One day we decided to drive into the Park and hike to Hidden Lake at Logan Pass. The trail down to Hidden Lake itself was closed due to bear activity so we just hiked to the overlook. One of the things I always enjoy about this hike are the mountain goats that hang out on this trail. The "Going To The Sun Road" usually opens by mid-June and closes mid-September but the winter of 2013-14 dumped a larger amount of snow fall than normal, so the road opened later and there was still a lot of snow on the trail. Logan Pass is a very popular stop and by 10 AM the parking lot is full. Needless to say, we get there early!

(Behind me is the formation called "The Garden Wall" and the Highline Trail is visible on the side of the mountain. This trail leads to Granite Park Chalet and Swiftcurrent Pass)

We left Logan Pass and gave up our coveted parking space to one of the vultures circling the lot and went down to Lunch Creek where, you guessed it, we ate lunch!

The cascades and the numerous wildflowers make this a beautiful stop and Dave never tires of photographing here.

I love it when he does the slower shutter speed to get this effect on the water!

Beargrass is one of our favorite wildflowers in Glacier National Park and we saw a lot of it growing up the sides of the mountain.

To be continued...