GOING TO GLACIER

Today we woke up in Bonners Ferry  Idaho!! It looks just like it sounds!  Beautiful.

Wooded with all kinds of pine, birch, and the bluest spruse trees I  have ever seen.  The trees are so dense I wonder how any deer can walk around let alone any bears! The terrain is hilly with many mountain tips in the background 

Don made reservations for a motel called the Log Inn. It’s made of logs stained white and very rustic.  All the furniture is made of logs and the décor is floral with lace.  Very sweet.

Its set off the road amongst trees with a gorgeous pond in front.  The pond is blue green with fish and lily pads it set off a trail so you have a very nice walk to it.  Off to the side is a garden of raised beds fill with lots of yummy veggies I am sure Atley would love to see their drip system!

In the morning I was able to walk into the wood and do my stretches and watch the sun come up very uplifting!

Don researched all the motels and planned the whole trip before we came complete with reservations and restaurants and sites to see.  What a guy!  So far all the motels have exceeded my expectations for comfort and style.  He knows I like rustic and found all the best ones.

Had coffee and a light continental breakfast at the outdoor sitting area of the Log Inn.  Front page of the Bonner County Daily Bee is a good rag.  There is a Good Samaritan section, a freemasons gathering, and a 911 tribute.  Sure would not find that on the front page of the CC Times or the Trib.

Friday 9/16/2011

Woke up in our rustic motel Vista located just outside of West Glacier, It is 44 degrees here and Don is still wearing shorts!  The motel was very basic not his, no TV, nothing.  It was the first time in a long time we were really “unplugged”.  So don sat outside smoked a stogie and drank a beer.  I stayed in and looked at my stuff wondering what to do. Then I realized IM unplugged that’s why I am feeling strange so I went outside with don and watched the sunset.  What a good feeling!

Breakfast is served in a room that sits on the side of a hill with full windows, a perfect place to watch the sun rise over the mountains, drink coffee and enjoy each other.

We had looked online for prices for passes into the national parks and found if we bought online it would only be 60.00 dollars.  Well we were so busy we forgot to buy them.  So we drive up to the park expecting to pay a bunch of money but…. They asked Don if he was over 62 yrs and if so they have a senior pass for TEN BUCKS that will get us into all the national parks!  Oh my goodness no where on the web site did it say this, so being a geezer finally paid off!  So the pass is now officially called the GEEZER PASS.  :*)

Glacier is a spectacular, indescribable place.  Coming from CA it did not think we would be staying in a park filled with glaciers… maybe  I  should take some warm clothes… oh brother.  I did take some warm clothes but if I had really thought about it I would have taken more long sleeves.  Also the lake is so pretty, clean and clear I thought maybe I could go for a swim……well after don mentioned that the lake is filled with water from the glaciers I decided even I could not swim in water that cold!

We drove down the Going to the Sun Road, and were incredible!  Listening to Ken Navarro, driving very slowly so we could take in all the splendor of the park while holding Dons hand was total bliss.  The road twists and turns and goes up over the mountains and ends up on at St. Mary’s.  The great thing is the speed limit was slow so I did not get sick with all the switchbacks and was able to see so much.  Also there are turnouts all along the way for picture taking what fun that was.  We met people from all over the world, Sweden, Australia, Canada and also California. 

The road starts out driving past the lake, which is huge and has so many waterfalls. The water cascades bright blue and bitter cold down red, grey and brown shale stones it’s such a site to see.  The mountains look like shale with jagged peaks some covered with snow and others with patches of snow.  But the most amazing are the mountains with glaciers; it’s hard to believe I am standing in front of a glacier that has been there for hundreds of years. 

We stopped at almost all the vistas and viewing spots along the way up to the top of the mountains.  We reached the top in the early afternoon and it was so cold and windy up there above the tree line.  We had reached the visitors center that was up several flights of stairs stationed high enough so that there we had a great view of the area.  Out back of the visitor center was a trail that led up hills to a lake it was unbelievably pretty.  In the background were the mountains and hills and before me was prairie filled with flowers, purple daises, white yarrow, yellow …..  I was amazed at the beauty before me; it was a little slice of heaven.  We continued down the other side of the mountain top and saw, more waterfalls, glaciers but unfortunalty no goats.  I was really hoping to see some goats.

We ended up in St. Mary’s; Don had eaten at a restaurant way back in 1974 and loved it.  Well it’s still there so we went in for lunch.  Turns out it’s a family run place that has been in the family for years. The original owners are gone but the kids and grandkids are running it now.

The menu is very contemporary; I was very surprised to see vegetarian dishes.  I thought for sure it would be a steak and potatoes type of place but was very happy to see a homemade vegetarian black bean burger on the menu.  It was awesome!  Best one I ever had, it was not salty or spicy just beans and veges and very fresh.  It came with caramelized onions and bbq sauce on fresh baked bread yum!  Don had a burger with shrooms, bacon and sauce, very manly, he loved it.

After lunch we drove back to West Glacier and went nite nite.