Glacier National Park

When I left off before, we had just arrived at the West Entrance to Glacier National Park.  I mentioned that we had been following along the prettiest little stream through the mountains...what I didn't realize until looking at a park map was that stream was the southern boundary for GNP!  Haha!  That's funny...we had been looking at the park for some time without even realizing it :)...

Finally, we're in!...

First stop was the Apgar Visitor Center.  Because of the time of year and the majority of the park roads being closed, we were the only ones there besides the Ranger.  We took a quick twirl around the displays inside, grabbed a handful of Junior Ranger books, and headed off to see whatever parts of the park we could...

We followed the Going-to-the-Sun Road to Lake McDonald...

The clouds were low and heavy so we couldn't see much.  What we saw was pretty, though :).  I would love to see it in the summer sometime, I'm sure there were some beautiful sights hiding behind those thick clouds...

We pulled off at a little parking area and followed the path to the edge of the creek...

That water!  We didn't get to see any glaciers this time, but the color of that water reminds me that they're nearby...

It started to rain/snow/sleet on us, so we took one last look (sooooo pretty)...

...and called it a day.  We went as far as we could, which I'll admit wasn't very far!, and had to turn around at the road closed for the season sign.  I'm glad for the bits we got to see and experience, but it wasn't nearly enough.  We will definitely be back for a longer visit in warmer weather.

I don't know how to start this...it's been so long!  I guess "hi!" would be nice.  I'm probably just talking to myself at this point, but that's ok...hi self ;).  I started this blog a few years ago with the main purpose of just recording our travels and all the turns our lives have taken for our kids to one day look back on.  I keep it public because I know from personal experience how helpful it can be to read real experiences from real folks when you are trying to make plans to go somewhere/do something.  At the least I hope that anyone reading this finds some (good, clean) entertainment or enjoyment. 

Having said all that...where have I been?  Where have we been? 

I have been attempting to sort out my thoughts/feelings about the most recent life turns we've experienced.  Trust me, there have been some big ones.  Not all bad, but pretty huge in my opinion.  Our location, occupation, expectation(s)...have all changed.  Life is fluid and ours has been swept up in a raging current this last while.  I do not have it all figured out and honestly don't expect to, but I have made peace with it.  And really, isn't that the more important thing? 

To answer where we have physically been...that's going to take some time (and lots of pictures, cause ya'll know I love me some pictures!).  This last year has taken us from the Canadian border to the Mexican border...from the sandy shores of the Atlantic Ocean, to the cliffs along the Pacific Ocean, to the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico...we've climbed mountains and sailed across the sea...spent time in the desert southwest and enjoyed some Cajun hospitality down the bayou.  We traveled more that 50,000 miles by land and several thousand more by sea...two new states and three new countries... 

While my voice on here has been silent, my life has been quite the opposite.  I have so much to try and get down on here while the details are still sharp in my mind.  We are in a quiet place right now (in our new RV, ahem, yes...we are living fulltime in an RV again...one of those big turns), so I should have some time to catch up. 

Next post I will pick back up where I left off all those months ago...

ch-ch-changes

Hey, ya'll...

I only have a minute or two, but I wanted to pop in and let ya'll know that I will be away from this space for a bit.  Life has taken one of those unexpected turns and this one is shaping up to be a real doozy.  Changes are afoot, big ones.  I'm not trying to be elusive, I just don't know where up is right now (or down, left, right...you get the idea...) or what to say about any of it. 

We are all healthy and we are together, those are the most important things.  The rest will sort itself out eventually and when it does, I will be back...

Go West...

After weeks of being gone for work, my man came home with a chunk of days off.  Needing a change of scenery, he told us to pack our bags and be ready to ride early the next morning.  Time for a road trip (yippee!), we were heading west...

We left North Dakota behind before the sun had even shown it's face.  By the time the sky was regaining it's color, we were well into Montana...

With no definite destination in mind, we just drove.  Following the Hi-Line as it snuggled up close to the Canadian border...

This old church caught our eye and we spun back around to get a closer look...

Enchanting, isn't it...

Into the afternoon, the terrain started to change.  We were finally leaving the plains behind and entering the mountains.  So pretty :)...

The road followed along the most beautiful stream...

...and led us straight to Glacier National Park! 

Mmhm, sure did :).  Only a tiny bit of the park was open due to the season, but that's ok.  It was Glacier National Park!  And we were there! Hahaha...yes, I was pretty tickled to be there ;).  More to come ya'll, check back later...

Before the snow...

Winter comes early in the far north...  Knowing this, we made an effort to get out and enjoy every last ounce of warmth we could before the freeze set in.  Bet ya'll can guess one place we went...

The lake :)!  Of course, hahaha...we love the lake :)...

see the lights in the distance?  flares...

Fishing, sunset watching, building with sticks and rocks...it's all fun at the lake...

That flare again, I just can't get over how enormous it is...

Another day, another fish...

These kiddos are getting pretty good at catching those things :)!

Bountiful Baskets...

The kids LOVE to go early and volunteer with me...

This site is really (really!) early in the morning.  Before daylight early.  Our reward, besides the awesome fresh veggies/fruits, is this:

A gorgeous sunrise that reminds us to stop everything and just breathe it in...<3.

Loads of fresh foods means fun new recipes up in here.  Two keepers...the first is a Honeydew Smoothie.  Sounds weird, but it's very good.  Honeydew melon, vanilla yogurt, a little fresh apple juice, a bit of raw honey, and some ice...

The second is a pesto that is super simple and super delicious.  Fennel fronds (the feathery part that usually gets thrown away), sunflower seeds, parmesan cheese, fresh garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper if you need it.  Great on pizza...

We just had to sneak down to the North Unit of TRNP one last time before the interior roads closed for the season...

It was c-c-c-old the day we were there, the wind was whipping.  We ate a fast picnic lunch then went for a scramble on the rocks.  Our favorite part of the park :)...

checking out a little cave...

the cannonball concretions are so cool :)

When we were driving back into the farther part of the park, we spotted a Bighorn sheep!  First and only one we have ever seen in there (or anywhere in Nodak)...

He saw us, too, and headed down into the shade to "hide".  We still see you :)...

Brown, brown, brown...

The wind was shoving him forward.  If only we had wings, we could have taken off ;)...

One lone buffie...

We had planned to hike down to the river and back up, but it was just too windy (sand blowing) and cold.  Instead, we just monkeyed around at the top for a while...

Back to the car and back to Williston...

My girl with her new (to us) treasure...

Williston has a couple of really good thrift shops.  I try not to go in unless I have something to donate, because we ALWAYS find at least one treasure.  For any of you folks that like to read...all books at the Wise Penny are free.  Yep, free!  The kids love going in there to look at the books and always come out with something good :).

Life lately...

Ya'll know that I am behind on this blog.  I'm trying to get caught up, but it's hard when we rarely seem to stay still long enough.  We came up to Williston and rented this apartment to be with my husband...traveling is fun, but family time is even more fun.  Right?  Right.  Well...since we've been up here, he has been getting sent away for work.  Like all the time.  BIG *sigh*...  For the last several months he has been working (and living) in Colorado.  We, the kids and I, are in North Dakota.  We would just pay out our apartment lease and be free to go with him, but this is Williston we are talking about.  Highest rent in the country and all that fun stuff.  So yeah, no lease paying out will be happening this time.  Another lesson learned, I suppose...

It's not a simple situation with a simple answer...but I don't suppose most things in life fall into that category, do they?  

Anyway, what this has meant is lots of travel between North Dakota and Colorado for our family.  Lots and lots.  He comes up when he gets time off and can, and we go down when he can't.  We actually just got back to North Dakota late Wednesday evening.  So anyway, that's part of why I am so far behind on here.  Now you know...bear with me or bail, the choice is always yours (I do hope you stick around...and say "hi" sometime!  I love hearing from ya'll :)...).

Ok, regular post with pictures coming soon :)...