Montana, July 2016, Day 8

This morning we decided that we are either going stage a sit-in or try to peacefully secure a room for tonight in this beautiful place. As our current lodging reservation stands, we are due to stay in a room at the Swift Current Motor Inn with no bathroom.  That's right, and it's not even camping. 

Another night in Lake McDonald Lodge would be preferred for obvious reasons. This brings me to the next lesson that the National Parks have taught me. There is much variation as far as lodging is concerned.  As I mentioned earlier, I was scrambling to get whatever rooms were available 10 months ago and I only researched area, not quality.  My bad. There is quite a range! At breakfast we were told that there were no vacancies. Drat! But, after breakfast the housing Gods found us favorable! We lucked out and there had been a cancellation! And, oh darn, it was a deluxe room with enough room for all of the Bullingtons in the main lodge! And, we quickly discovered that a deluxe room in Glacier National Park endows you with Q-tips AND drinking glasses made o’ glass (not the Styrofoam). We are living large up in here!

After breakfast, we took a “Jammer” to the Eastern side on the Going to the Sun Road up to Logan Pass. The “Jammers” are fully restored, open-air tour buses from the 1930’s.  The Ford Motor Company donated complete restoration of the entire fleet a few years ago, and these babies are in fine shape! This particular byway clings to the side of a mountain for 52 miles and affords extraordinary views of breathtaking landscapes with a side of unease.

The Going To The Sun Road was built during a time when men didn’t wear skinny jeans and thought it was an excellent idea to cling to the side of mountain with a stick of dynamite in their back pocket for the sake of progress.  A few died trying, but they built an amazing road for all the Americans.  And it was hard work! 

 

The Hoary Marmot says, "Don't you judge me".

Thomakazi likes to take expensive naps. We buy him a ticket, he falls asleep. That is how he do. 

After our tour, we migrated down the sidewalk from our cabin to our new room in the main lodge. 

A little Motel room Ninja Warrior

  And, then it was time for a hike! Mr. Bullington had selected a delightful 6-mile jaunt that began with a punishing vertical climb to the heavens. It was labeled "strenuous" in our little hiking book. grumble. grumble.  It wound through a forest covered with moss and old growth pines. It was pretty shady and it was really beautiful. My senses were delighted to hear the wind through the trees, the birds, the two least children fighting for an hour over a random piece of rope that they discovered on the trail, the whining, the middle child challenging herself to “cartwheel” all six miles and experiencing the repercussions of such a goal, and the ever-present are “we there yets?”

Bridge? What Bridge?

We headed back down to the lakeshore after our hike and the kids played around while we had cocktails and chatted up a cute couple from Denver.  We both had kids the same age, they told us about the hike they’d taken that day.  The cute mom said it was a five-mile hike that featured a beautiful lake filled with icebergs. Sounds great! I thought. Then she clarified that it was five miles TO the beautiful lake and there was no shuttle back to the trailhead. So, you still have to haul yourselves back from the lake.  That’s 10 miles.  I tried to change the subject, but Mr. Bullington had already set his mind to it. Dang it. 

At dinner, the piano player in the dining room, convinced the girls to join some of the staff while they sang “It’s a small world” we bribed them with ice cream and they will work for ice cream. It was cute. 
 Everyone got settled in the room and I headed to the lobby to try and capture some of this elusive WiFi that I’ve heard about. What I’ve heard: You can only get it in the lobby, It may or may not work, it’s really slow, It only works when no one else is trying to use it….  This should go well. During the day the lobby is filled with travelers staring robotically into their device of choice muttering to themselves and cursing.  Which is why I am still sitting the lobby at midnight trying to post to Mileophile.  No such luck. I’ll just continue to type in Word and post when I get back to civilization. At least I’ve got a great view!

Chin up, my pets.