What’s better than having a lake house in big sky country? Having FRIENDS who have a lake house in big sky country! And, what’s better than owning a ski boat? Well, I bet you can guess.
Glacier National Park
After saying goodbye to Canada, we made our way back into the states via Montana with a quick stay in Glacier National Park. The girls and I had never been on the Going to the Sun Road so we took our time, stopping a lot and meandering around the lookouts. After being enveloped in the Canadian Rockies I wondered if Glacier would feel less grand. It didn’t. The views are stunning and it’s obvious why it’s considered a jewel of the US National Park system. But, even in its grandeur, the mountains of Glacier did feel more approachable than the Canadian Rockies had.
For our one night in the Park, we camped at Fish Creek and swam in Lake McDonald. Sadly, there was no time for a big hike or great exploration this time around. If you’ve been to Glacier, what would you recommend we do on our next trip to there?
Lake House Love
Heading deeper into Montana, we met up with two of my dearest friends and their Montana families at The Lake House (maybe they call it a cabin, but it has indoor plumbing and even wifi, so it seemed more house than cabin to me!).
We spent five days there in what can truly be described as the quintessential summer camp! Sleeping in, lazy hours wiled away playing on the dock interspersed with rides on or behind the boat with side trips to the rope swing. Adults would magically procure food and drinks that kept the kiddos sufficiently energized and sunscreen to beat the burn. We played board games and card games and even watched a movie using our portable projector.
The lake itself was just warm enough to be the perfect escape from the heat, but cool enough to limit the number of wake surfing runs you could reasonably tolerate. The girls tried all of the things: tubing, wake surfing, water skiing, huckleberry picking, lily pad races, lunch at dinner time and dinner at bedtime! They went to bed exhausted every night and put their swimsuits on first thing every morning.
Andrew went for a trail run one of the days (with his bear spray-a novelty running accessory for him) and managed some excellent afternoon naps. I was fighting illness for most of the time so I didn’t partake as much as I would have liked, but I couldn’t have picked a better place to convalesce! Our hosts could not have been more generous and we’re planning to exploit that generosity for years to come!
Continuing East
We left the lake house with three days and no set plans except to head east. We opted for a route that took us first to the Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park where Andrew and the girls took one of the cavern tours; this was Zoe’s first time up close and personal with all of the stalagmites and stalactites (you would be correct if you guessed that Andrew gave the girls another infamous impromptu geology lesson immediately following the tour!). At one point on the tour they turned out all of the lights and experienced ‘one of the darkest places on earth’. From there we enjoyed 16 hours of Bozeman, hitting one of our favorite bakeries, making a Target run, and discovering a delicious ice cream shop!
Makoshika State Park
To finish up our Montana traverse we visited Makoshika State Park. It’s Montana’s largest state park and the home to numerous dinosaur fossils! Interestingly, the name “Makoshika” is an alternate spelling of Lakota phrase meaning ‘land of bad spirits’ or badlands, where the park is located. We hiked a bit at sunset and were able to see some gigantic fossilized teeth along with pretty views.
Heading into Uncharted Lands
As we leave Montana, we’re heading into all new territory for us! Let us know if there are any spots we shouldn’t miss as we head into the Midwest!
Camping Tip:
While most of this trip is pre-planned, these last few days were not, which is how we typically like to travel. On those days we had great luck using hipcamp to find last minute camp spots in areas where we ended up being, as the state park campgrounds were already full. The hipcamp spots tend to be cheaper than a lot of larger campsites and, for us at least, feel safer and certainly more scenic than the Walmart parking lot (which we have done numerous times as well!).
Another great post! Looks amazing!
Thanks!