Off to Glacier with Curt & Kara!

We had some pretty awesome houseguests arrive on the train from Chicago last Friday! Curt & Kara made a trip out to visit us, and while they were here, we were all able to get away to Glacier National Park for 4 days. After a trip to the Farmer's Market on Saturday morning, we packed up the car and headed up to Glacier. We were able to do some hiking, and for the first time since we've lived in MT, The Going to the Sun Road was actually open while we were there (probably the most major attraction in Glacier, but is only open about 2.5-3 months of the year due to snow and reconstruction). We all enjoyed the scenery that the pass provided and it was fun to do a couple new trails that haven't been open to us in the past.

My particular favorite hike was Hidden Lake trail which took us up a hill and gave a beautiful overlook of a prairie full of wildflowers and we also got to see quite a few mountain goats and big horn sheep. At the end, you reach a great view of the lake - Kara and I almost missed the view as we thought we had found the hidden lake a bit before the actual lake. But after the guys found the lake, they started back down the trail with Ellie while Kara and I continued the rest of the trail to see the view. We decided that our picture would make a great Christmas photo - we'll just have to photoshop the other 3 into it!

Although this was my favorite hike, I also really enjoyed a stop on another hike that we did in Many Glacier. Although the hike was a bit more elevation than we were expecting, it did have a pretty waterfall that we enjoyed on the way back down and I'm sure Ellie enjoyed the sound of the water rushing while she enjoyed a nice meal (it was probably the most serene place to nurse a baby).

We stayed at the East Glacier Lodge - an almost 100 year old hotel located just outside the park, and while I really enjoyed staying at the hotel, I have decided that when you have a 3 month old infant, I prefer the amenities like a sink large enough to wash a bottle, a bathtub, a door that blocks out the atrium noise, and air conditioning (I'll even settle for a fan that fits in the window!) that are offered at places like the Holiday Inn! :) Seriously, though, we had a wonderful time, and despite Ellie's sleep-deprived screams in the car (sorry, Curt & Kara!) and a few blow-out diapers, we all managed to have a fantastic trip.

When we got back from Glacier, Nick unfortunately had to go back to work, but we did meet him for lunch on Thursday. The rest of the time was pretty lazy as I tried to get Ellie back into somewhat of a normal schedule, but Curt & Kara did get a tour of Great Falls. Better yet, Thursday night, we all headed out to the ballpark to take in a Voyagers game - it was some pretty serious baseball in which we lost 1-5. ;)

We feel very blessed to have such great houseguests and look forward to having them again someday! Until then, our guestroom is open again and awaiting it's next visitors!