Last night we enjoyed a long summer day at the Sleepy Hollow Midsummer Celebration of Light.
Corey head about the event from a coworker (who we randomly met up with at the celebration). Basically, it's a free family/community party celebrating summer. This type of celebration a long-standing tradition in northern European countries where their long days of warm summer weather are limited ... as ours are here in North Dakota.
We had a picnic dinner, enjoyed the entertainment (sining, dancing, etc), decorated fairy wings, rode in a horse-drawn carriage, and Kya learned how to roll down a grassy hill. Fun.
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Friday, June 22, 2012
Kya's stuffy nose
Kya doesn't get sick very often, which is a blessing for many reasons but mainly because she HATES to be congested.
See for yourself.
I hear "nose drippin' again," no less than about two thousand times a day.
I just love this little booger machine.
See for yourself.
I hear "nose drippin' again," no less than about two thousand times a day.
I just love this little booger machine.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Glacier Park 2012 - blog 5
Hopefully this blog post will conclude my marathon posts of Glacier Park. Myohmy did we take a lot of photos.
Kya was happy to learn our new home for the night was just 10 miles north at Lake McDonald.
We stayed in a cabin at the Lake McDonald Lodge, on the northeast side of the lake. The lodge is beautiful, rustic, and historic ... and is definitely worth a visit.
We couldn't check in for a few hours so we opted to keep ourselves busy with another hike.
This adventure took us to Avalanche for the Avalanche Lake hike.
We followed Avalanche Creek/Falls most of the way to the lake.
The trail took us through some of the oldest trees in the park - the trees are over 500 years old, without a major fire. Also, notice Corey showing off his new hand-carved hiking stick.
Avalanche Lake.
I love this photo.
I love this photo too.
On our return hike, a bear was spotted on the hillside across from us. I got a quick glance of it's back so I know it is somewhere in this photo (although not clearly visible).
This was by far the most popular (busy) hike we found in the park, but for good reason - the view of the lake at the end is breathtaking.
From our cabin, we walked down a short path and had this great beach to relax on. We took this scenic opportunity as a good time to lighten our cooler.
Next to the lodge is a small grocery/gift/camp store and Corey's mom was excited to see this statue still here "after all these years..."
Yes, Corey sat with the same statue many years ago on a family trip to Glacier Park.
By the way, does anyone else think my daughter is the spitting image of her daddy?
Exploring the grounds with Grandma. (thanks to Grandma for the photos)
Corey's mom generously volunteered to babysit Kya while corey and I had dinner at the restaurant in the lodge. The meal was amazing and I cannot recommend this restaurant enough. Corey said his ribs were the best ribs he's ever had and my pasta was delicious. If you're in the park, plan a meal here.
After dinner, Corey and I sat by the lake and watched the sun set and counted the ripples on the lake.
A great way to end a memorable vacation in Glacier National Park.
. . .
The trip home was made in two days. The first day we drove to Bozeman, MT and had dinner with good friends who live there. The next day was long but we made it without any major tantrums. All in all we drove over 2000 miles.
We're already dreaming of another Montana trip in 2013.
Friday, June 15
Friday we checked out of our Apgar cabin. Here is Kya's sad face about leaving our 'home' in Apgar:
Kya was happy to learn our new home for the night was just 10 miles north at Lake McDonald.
We stayed in a cabin at the Lake McDonald Lodge, on the northeast side of the lake. The lodge is beautiful, rustic, and historic ... and is definitely worth a visit.
We couldn't check in for a few hours so we opted to keep ourselves busy with another hike.
This adventure took us to Avalanche for the Avalanche Lake hike.
We followed Avalanche Creek/Falls most of the way to the lake.
The trail took us through some of the oldest trees in the park - the trees are over 500 years old, without a major fire. Also, notice Corey showing off his new hand-carved hiking stick.
Avalanche Lake.
I love this photo.
I love this photo too.
On our return hike, a bear was spotted on the hillside across from us. I got a quick glance of it's back so I know it is somewhere in this photo (although not clearly visible).
This was by far the most popular (busy) hike we found in the park, but for good reason - the view of the lake at the end is breathtaking.
From our cabin, we walked down a short path and had this great beach to relax on. We took this scenic opportunity as a good time to lighten our cooler.
Next to the lodge is a small grocery/gift/camp store and Corey's mom was excited to see this statue still here "after all these years..."
Yes, Corey sat with the same statue many years ago on a family trip to Glacier Park.
By the way, does anyone else think my daughter is the spitting image of her daddy?
Exploring the grounds with Grandma. (thanks to Grandma for the photos)
Corey's mom generously volunteered to babysit Kya while corey and I had dinner at the restaurant in the lodge. The meal was amazing and I cannot recommend this restaurant enough. Corey said his ribs were the best ribs he's ever had and my pasta was delicious. If you're in the park, plan a meal here.
After dinner, Corey and I sat by the lake and watched the sun set and counted the ripples on the lake.
A great way to end a memorable vacation in Glacier National Park.
. . .
The trip home was made in two days. The first day we drove to Bozeman, MT and had dinner with good friends who live there. The next day was long but we made it without any major tantrums. All in all we drove over 2000 miles.
We're already dreaming of another Montana trip in 2013.
Glacier Park 2012 - blog 4
Wednesday, June 13
Wednesday was rainy so we headed for town. We has a fun morning at my Grandma Katy's house in Kalispell (about 30 minutes from Glacier Park). It was so fun and very special to visit her and Kya really enjoyed the morning running and playing in "Gaama KayTee's" yard.
We love Grandma Katy! We'll see her again next week in North Dakota - yay!
We had lunch with grandma at one of her favorite lunch spots, then we headed to Whitefish for some afternoon shopping and sightseeing.
My parents have a lot just outside of Whitefish so we drove by it to check on things. Other than a few new neighbors, it was rather uneventful.
We also toured by my Great Grandparent's old house in Whitefish. It is a beautiful house and I have so many fun memories here - playing in the yard and doing jigsaw puzzles with Grandma Lowitz.
In Whitefish we spent a few hours downtown and had a beer break at the Great Northern Brewing Company.
If you ever find yourself at the brewery, I highly recommend you spend some time in the loft. It's the ideal man cave, complete with shuffleboard.
A fun afternoon wouldn't be complete without ice cream. The Red Caboose frozen yogurt shop was perfect.
At dinnertime, we found ourselves on the way back to the cabin with no ideal dinner places in sight. We stopped at a souvenir shop/grill but they were done cooking for the day. The woman there suggested we eat at the Packer's Roost, just up the road. She added that the workers and customers are rough and tumble, but the food is good. En route, Kya threw a mighty tantrum. We asked her what she wanted to eat and she said "noodles." I prayed that the Packer's Roost would have noodles on the menu.
Someone was looking out for Kya that night because although noodles were nowhere on the menu, the nightly special was: SPAGHETTI!
We had a very delicious meal with lots of free entertainment: every drunkard stopped over to chat up Kya. Thankfully, the locals were on their best behavior. I'm still confused at the Montana rules for kids in a bar, but nobody seemed to mind and we got a great meal, so I'm not too worried.
. . .
The road took us right to Two Medicine Lake and to the trailheads of many hiking trails. We planned to take an easy hike to Appistoki Falls and then hike another easy path later in the day. We asked the ranger where the trailhead was located and she pointed us in a direction we were heading. Well somehow we ended up on the wrong trail but didn't realize it for quite a while.
The hike was beautiful and took us to Aster Falls.
Beautiful scenery, but how long (and high!) is the trail to the overlook?
Finally we made it to the top. And snow! Ironically, the overlook had nothing to do with the falls. But it did produce some wonderful views.
Kya had fun getting out of the pack and playing in the snow.
I present the official Hager Family Glacier Park Hiking Team.
Huckleberry licorice with a view
The view of Rising Wolf Mountain and Two Medicine Lake
Hiking back down.
Break time at Two Medicine Lake
On our way home, we stopped at Running Eagle Falls Nature Trail.
The falls have a special story tied to a Native American woman.
The nature trail was short, level, and wide and just right for Kya's first real 'hike'
Back at the cabin, Kya and Corey cooled off with a foot dunk in McDonald Creek.
. . .
We headed into Hungry Horse for dinner with Grandma Katy at The Backroom. The Backroom is a special (and yummy) place we've gone for many years. The last time we ate at The Backroom (almost three years ago), I was pregnant with Kya and we announced to my grandma that she was going to be a Great Grandma. Sorry grandma, there were definitely no big announcements this visit.
Wednesday was rainy so we headed for town. We has a fun morning at my Grandma Katy's house in Kalispell (about 30 minutes from Glacier Park). It was so fun and very special to visit her and Kya really enjoyed the morning running and playing in "Gaama KayTee's" yard.
We love Grandma Katy! We'll see her again next week in North Dakota - yay!
We had lunch with grandma at one of her favorite lunch spots, then we headed to Whitefish for some afternoon shopping and sightseeing.
My parents have a lot just outside of Whitefish so we drove by it to check on things. Other than a few new neighbors, it was rather uneventful.
We also toured by my Great Grandparent's old house in Whitefish. It is a beautiful house and I have so many fun memories here - playing in the yard and doing jigsaw puzzles with Grandma Lowitz.
In Whitefish we spent a few hours downtown and had a beer break at the Great Northern Brewing Company.
If you ever find yourself at the brewery, I highly recommend you spend some time in the loft. It's the ideal man cave, complete with shuffleboard.
A fun afternoon wouldn't be complete without ice cream. The Red Caboose frozen yogurt shop was perfect.
At dinnertime, we found ourselves on the way back to the cabin with no ideal dinner places in sight. We stopped at a souvenir shop/grill but they were done cooking for the day. The woman there suggested we eat at the Packer's Roost, just up the road. She added that the workers and customers are rough and tumble, but the food is good. En route, Kya threw a mighty tantrum. We asked her what she wanted to eat and she said "noodles." I prayed that the Packer's Roost would have noodles on the menu.
Someone was looking out for Kya that night because although noodles were nowhere on the menu, the nightly special was: SPAGHETTI!
We had a very delicious meal with lots of free entertainment: every drunkard stopped over to chat up Kya. Thankfully, the locals were on their best behavior. I'm still confused at the Montana rules for kids in a bar, but nobody seemed to mind and we got a great meal, so I'm not too worried.
. . .
Thursday, June 14
On Thursday we were ready to hit the trails again. This time we drove to the east side of the park, to Two Medicine.
The road took us right to Two Medicine Lake and to the trailheads of many hiking trails. We planned to take an easy hike to Appistoki Falls and then hike another easy path later in the day. We asked the ranger where the trailhead was located and she pointed us in a direction we were heading. Well somehow we ended up on the wrong trail but didn't realize it for quite a while.
The hike was beautiful and took us to Aster Falls.
At Aster Falls, there was a sign pointing to the overlook. We thought: hey, why not?
So we hiked and hiked and went up and up. At one point, we thought and turning around.
Beautiful scenery, but how long (and high!) is the trail to the overlook?
Finally we made it to the top. And snow! Ironically, the overlook had nothing to do with the falls. But it did produce some wonderful views.
Kya had fun getting out of the pack and playing in the snow.
I present the official Hager Family Glacier Park Hiking Team.
Huckleberry licorice with a view
The view of Rising Wolf Mountain and Two Medicine Lake
Hiking back down.
Break time at Two Medicine Lake
On our way home, we stopped at Running Eagle Falls Nature Trail.
The falls have a special story tied to a Native American woman.
The nature trail was short, level, and wide and just right for Kya's first real 'hike'
Back at the cabin, Kya and Corey cooled off with a foot dunk in McDonald Creek.
. . .
We headed into Hungry Horse for dinner with Grandma Katy at The Backroom. The Backroom is a special (and yummy) place we've gone for many years. The last time we ate at The Backroom (almost three years ago), I was pregnant with Kya and we announced to my grandma that she was going to be a Great Grandma. Sorry grandma, there were definitely no big announcements this visit.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Glacier Park 2012 - blog 3
Tuesday, June 12
Seeing the transformation after a fire was fascinating. This photo shows the dense new growth under the burned trees.
Kya likes hikes.
Corey and his mom had a action-packed afternoon of white water rafting down the Flathead River.
Corey and his mom are both in the second row.
They wore full wetsuits with rain jackets! Burr, that water looks cold!
After our flopped adventure on Monday, we headed out for hiking bright and early on Tuesday. Much by mistake, we found a wonderful trail on a dead-end road near our cabin. The trailhead is on the Inside North Fork Road, shortly after Fish Creek. The Rocky Point Trail and the Rocky Point Nature Trail are two very interesting (and short) hikes through an area of the park that was burned in the Roberts Fire in 2003.
Seeing the transformation after a fire was fascinating. This photo shows the dense new growth under the burned trees.
Kya likes hikes.
Corey and his mom had a action-packed afternoon of white water rafting down the Flathead River.
Corey and his mom are both in the second row.
They wore full wetsuits with rain jackets! Burr, that water looks cold!
While they were rafting, Kya and I met up with my Grandma Katy for a great afternoon chat and an ice cream treat in West Glacier.