Back At It

This is the reason I can't quit my job and become a full time travel blogger.

I would love to blame my lack of posts about this trip on a lack of functional wifi, but that would be a cop-out.  Yes, the wifi was weak at the KOA, but we left the KOA almost a week ago.  And weak wifi wasn't what was stopping me from writing the posts ahead of time and just posting them later.

The problem really is that I packed so much into each day of the vacation, that by the time we got back "home" each night, I was exhausted.  Taking a shower and going immediately to bed proved more appealing than writing every single night.  Maybe next vacation I will need to build in some writing time each day*.

For now, all I can do is get back on the horse and attempt to catch up.  So here we go, back at it...

After breakfast on Monday morning we made our way to Glacier Guides for our rafting trips.  Rain was in the forecast and it was chilly, but we crossed our fingers and hoped for the best.  And luckily for us, the day turned out great!  Emily and I headed out on a "sport raft" trip with guide Jared, while Mom enjoyed the "scenic float" with guide Paige.  Being late in the season, the water level was low so both rides were pretty tame, although Emily still managed to get soaked on almost every rapid.

What a pair of doofs.

Afterwards** we drove to the west entrance of Glacier Park, at Apgar Village.

In the other picture I am blocking the L in National instead of the P in Park, sigh...

Much of the west side of the park is closed due to the Howe Ridge Wildfire, which is burning on the north side of Lake McDonald.  Our plans for a hike along Avalanche Creek and dinner at the Lake McDonald Lodge will both have to wait until our next visit to Glacier.  However, we were pleasantly surprised to find out we could still drive to the shore of Lake McDonald, which we happily checked out.  The rain and cold front that had come through the night before had cleared out most of the smoke, and the views were better than we had hoped to expect.

View of Lake McDonald looking northeast. The fire was burning along the ridge, although we couldn't see or smell it.

Oh, and it was windy.

Next on our list of things to check out was the scenic lift at Whitefish Mountain Ski Resort.  We drove back into town and up "big mountain" to the ski resort, and bought tickets to ride the lift up to the scenic viewpoint.  The lift had both enclosed gondolas and open air ski chairs, and in one of the worst decisions I've made in quite some time, I rode the open air ski chair.  

Turns out, riding a ski lift without the accompanying ski coat, ski hat, ski scarf and ski gloves is very, verrrrrrrry cold.

View from the top of the mountain. Flathead Lake is visible in the distance.

On the way down I wised up and rode in the gondola.

Dinner tonight was at the Great Northern Brewing Company Draught House.

Central Avenue in Whitefish, with the Great Northern Bar & Grill on the left.

This is not the Great Northern Brewing Company Draught House.

In what must be a trick the locals play on tourists, the Great Northern Brewing Company Draught House is located at 2 Central Avenue, and the Great Northern Bar & Grill is located at 27 Central Avenue.

Once we discovered our error, we went to the Draught House, sipped Wild Huckleberry Wheat Lager, and argued with each other for the rest of the night.

Back at it again tomorrow...

*Or maybe next vacation, I will just be smarter and not plan to blog about it in the first place.

**Okay technically speaking, afterwards we drove to lunch at the Wandering Gringo food truck, recommended by Jared for a delicious burrito that was so large I could not finish it.