Glacier National Park & a Hall of Fame Weekend

Eagle Falls

It took 5 years, but at last Anna and Theresa made it to Glacier National Park.  This trip was planned back in 2020 but was postponed indefinitely due to the pandemic. What better way to take a break from college and work than the beautiful scenery of Glacier?

Anna and Theresa headed out bright and early on Mother's Day for their week-long adventure.  Since they were early in the season, it was definitely quieter.  The weather is always unpredictable and ranged from 70 degrees the first day to 40 degrees the last day.  There is no doubt the park lived up to expectations and was gorgeous.  You can check out the Glacier National Park Photos. Highlights from the trip included:

  • Lots of hiking & waterfalls thanks to the melting snow.  Monday was a hike to Avalanche Lake.  The rain mostly held off, with the exception of a brief hailstorm (in Glacier you hike unless there are thunderstorms).
  • A horseback riding trip at the adjacent National Forest.
  • A visit to the east side of the park, with even higher mountains and more waterfalls.  There was still evidence of a 2019 forest fire.  The climate was very different on the other side.  There was also a stop at Goat Lick, where we saw mountain goats.
  • A ride up the "Going the Sun" road on e-bikes.  The road does not open to cars until late June as it takes a while to clear the 90 feet of snow from the winter.  The road was open to bikers and hikers, although we did not get very far as it was closed for roadwork.  This is the point in the trip where we saw a black bear (much more exciting if you are on a bike rather than in a car).  Fortunately, we were with a group.  The bear did not move off the road until a National Park Service employee drove by and honked.
  • Huckleberry ice cream - actually we tried a few ice cream places and can provide reviews.

You can definitely see the impact of the staff reductions at the park service as several facilities were closed.  The opening of the main road will likely be delayed.  It will be a bumpy peak season, but the staff and volunteers' soldier on.  

After returning to Virginia very late on Friday night, Theresa and Joe headed out Saturday afternoon for Ohio.  The purpose of this trip was to attend the Paulding High School graduation, where Theresa and her friend Kim were inducted into the academic hall of fame.  It was a great opportunity to see lots of friends and neighbors as well as all of the changes at the school.  The graduating class of 99 was very different from Anna's graduation last year.  It was great to see grandma and grandpa along with a visit to a spectacular local green house to pick up the rest of the flowers for the yard.  We also got to see Grandpa's picture on one of the Veteran's banners around town.  Anna missed on this trip since she started summer classes on Monday, but Benny was happy that she stayed behind.

It has been a great travel month.  Now it is back to Virginia for Memorial Day weekend and the annual Viva Vienna festival.  Let the summer begin!

Theresa & Kim Molitor

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