The wildflowers were everywhere and this one, Rosy Indian Paintbrush, was SO pretty. Jackson and I always spot Indian Paintbrush in Island Park, but we are used to the reddish-orange variety. This kind was such a vibrant pink color!
Enjoying a wildflower her brother picked for her.
Stacking rocks during one of our breaks.
The amazing thing about this hike was the scenery was incredible the entire time. There was never a lull. At any given moment you could just look around and it was spectacular scenery in every direction. Waterfalls, snow, ponds, wildflowers, mountain ranges, animals-- all in one. It truly felt like we were visiting another country and it was sort of surreal.
I have heard Glacier referred to as the Switzerland of the United States and now I understand why. Sean and I joked that we felt like we should be yodeling or singing the Sound of Music.
View from Hidden Lake lookout
The boys discovered the squirrels were especially friendly at the top. Despite our warnings not to pet them, they did anyway and they thought it was the coolest thing ever. At one point Davis was upset because he said one bit him on the finger-- which caused me to envision Davis getting rabies from a squirrel, but thankfully with a little online searching we learned squirrels are one of the only small animals that do not transmit rabies or really many diseases. Phew!
My new hat I picked up after our hike. I love it! I'm not smiling because I took this picture to see what it looked like on since there were no mirrors-ha!
On our final day in Glacier, we followed the recommendation of Sean's sister Erin and took the ferries across Swiftcurrent Lake and Lake Josephine. It was clear on the opposite side of the park, but I am so glad we did it. You ride a cute little ferry across one lake, and then you do a short little hike to the next lake and get on another ferry. It was fun being out on the water and learning more about the park from the guide. Our guide told us there are only 25 glaciers left in the park (there used to be 150!) We saw mountain goats in the distance, and once again, the scenery was just amazing.
Playing peek-a-boo with her brothers
After the ferry rides, we got some ice cream and the boys went swimming on a little beach in front of the hotel where the first ferry is located. It was a beautiful night and we just tried to sit back and soak it all in.
There were a couple of nice families swimming in the same spot that we chatted with a little bit and one of the women offered to take a family photo for us. I am so glad she did because this photo turned out to be one of my favorite family pictures of all time. It is a good visual reminder to me of what a great trip we had together as a family.
As we were driving out of the park that final night we noticed smoke starting to fill the air. We had heard there were wildfires in Montana. We feel very fortunate we visited when we did. The wildfires never stopped (and here it is middle of September!) and had we delayed our trip even a couple of days, we wouldn't have been able to see the amazing views that had made such an impression on us due to the thick smoke that moved in. We also feel fortunate we visited Glacier this year because the park itself started to burn just recently. In fact fires have gotten within one mile of Lake McDonald Lodge (where these last two photos were taken) and as I write this, I just read that a new evacuation warning for inside the park has been issued and nearly 15,000 acres of the park have been burned so far. I am so grateful we were able to experience Glacier the way that we did and really take in its beauty before all of this. I hope the fires are extinguished soon. Glacier is definitely somewhere we fell in love with and hope to return someday.
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