Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Glacier National Park

This post is for Saturday, July 21.

It’s Sarah Ann.

Yesterday we drove nine hours to get to Glacier National Park. We are going to stay here for four nights. Our campground is really cute. We are sleeping in our pop, but all my relatives are sleeping in cabins. The relatives that I’m talking about are all my mom’s family – my grandma and grandpa, my aunt and uncle from New York City and their three kids, my aunt and uncle from Washington DC and their baby, and my aunt and uncle from Austin, Texas. My two step cousins and my dad were the only ones not there. I’m posting this late because there wasn’t any internet or cell phone service anywhere near where we stayed. My mom couldn’t use her phone within almost two hours of the park.

Glacier National Park is really, really beautiful. It’s in Montana and part of it is even in Canada. Some people who have traveled around the world say Glacier National Park is the most beautiful place they have seen. I think it might be the most beautiful place I’ve seen.

On Saturday, we started out by going to the Many Glacier area of Glacier National Park. The wind was REALLY strong. We were all freezing even though we had pants and sweaters and everything. The first thing we did was take a boat ride that left from the Many Glacier hotel across Swiftcurrent and Josephine Lakes. The stairs to the boat were really steep. They told us about the glaciers and what they were called. You know if a lake has glacier water because it turns the water turquoise. There used to be 150 glaciers in the park but now there are only 24. To be an active glacier, a glacier has to be at least 25 acres, be moving, and be a certain thickness – I can’t remember exactly how thick. There are only three active glacier in the park. She told us how there had been a fire once a long time ago at the Many Glacier hotel. It was a very interesting story.

At the end of the boat rides, we went on a hike. We learned a lot on the hike too. We hiked two miles roundtrip through the woods, across streams, and on boardwalks to Grinnell Lake. It was gorgeous.

When the boat rides were over, we went on another hike called Red Canyon Falls. It was almost four miles roundtrip. I wasn’t in the advanced party. My mom convinced me to stay and wait by the lake while some people went ahead to the falls. We saw a moose swimming in the lake. Luckily, it stayed on its side of the lake. We saw it eat underwater.

Then we went to eat dinner at the Many Glacier hotel. It was yummy. I had an awesome day.

Everyone in front of Many Glacier hotel

Here's me on the hike to Grinnell Lake

Grinnell Lake

Do you see the moose swimming? We saw it on our hike to Red Canyon Falls

And there's the falls - from across the lake

5 comments:

  1. The pictures are great. Makes me want to head up to Glacier NP.

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  2. Great post Sarah Ann! We loved being there with you all!

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  3. Oh, Sarah Ann, What a beautiful, wonderous day you had! You have given me the inspiration to travel to Glacier national Park! I am so glad that you all could experience this with some family members. I'm willing to bet that nobody was truly sad about having to take a break from the internet and phones because there was no service. I imagine you all loved being together. Thank you for sharing the beautiful photos, too!

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  4. Just think, when you get to be my age,there may not be any glaciers in Glacier National Park. You can tell your grandchildren that you actually saw one, while they will only be able to see them in pictures. They may even brag to their friends that their grandmother actually SAW a REAL glacier. Your adventures will give you a lifetime of special memories.

    Love, grandma

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  5. Sarah, Thanks for sharing the wonderful pictures. You are certainly creating lots of fantastic memories with these experiences.

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