Now I need to go back to Day 9 at Glacier National Park. This has been my favorite place so far. We camped like 15 minutes outside of the park on National Forest land, which is what made it so hard to swallow when the guy at the entrance gate told us we missed shuttle tickets by about 30 minutes, and they were now sold out. Ya see... the west side of Glacier was majorly on fire, and has been for a month. We learned this, but we also learned there was a shuttle. After finding no info online or by phone on how to get onto said shuttle, we decided to just show up and see. Turns out we shouldn't have cooked those delicious eggs that morning. Side bar here... This is a perk to Narendra being on antibiotics for a sinus infection he self diagnosed last week. It is sad he was sick, but now he is better, and I get to enjoy breakfasts because he has to eat with his pills! So... we missed shuttle tickets, but in the end that is totally fine. Narendra suggested a short hike and then drive on, which I quickly vetoed. Instead we "settled on" driving 2.5 hours to the east entrance, which was a great decision (we will both admit). It was a long drive, but it was made easier when we saw the mountains above the clouds on our drive. Then we did a sweet 6 mile hike to 3 waterfalls where we got to witness firey red and yellow leaves, burned trees, a bright blue lake, and towering peaks with a little dusting of snow, as well as layers and layers of waterfalls. Then we went to the top of Logan Pass (our initial destination for the west side shuttle), where we were blown away with 360 panoramic views of epic mountains, and an awesome hike to Hidden Lake overlook. It was the touristy trail where anyone and everyone was attempting for the views - including our friends Dennis and Nancy who we met again on the trail! We then started the march back to the east side to pick up Bessie, and then drove another few hours to Idaho. A facetime call from Grammy and some beautiful stars helped pass the late night drive.
Day 10 was spent in Coeur D'Alene Idaho, which was an unexpected gem. We drove until midnight - and until the gas light turned on (don't tell my mom). But we parked at a campground (that was closed), and it ended up being a great decision. We woke up, and rather than driving to get gas first thing, we decided to opt for adventure. Narendra did a classic mountain bike ride, and I took Kolton up a steep ridge to some beautiful views of the lake. After our adventuring, we were all in high spirits, and then we made it to the gas station, which helped our spirits even more. We spent the rest of the day relaxing at the park in downtown Coeur D'Alene. There was an awesome playground, picnic tables, and dog park, and a spot for our hammock where I could nap. This was the first time we had no agenda and just relaxed during the day. We cooked lunch in our camper, and then went grocery shopping. The eating in has been a huge perk to the camper! Kolton also got some wiggling time, which we realized is important given the amount of car seat and backpack time he gets. Although sometimes he is just plain lazy! We decided to stay in a nice little RV park outside CDA- mostly because I needed a shower - lesson learned shower right before you leave the RV Park - and also because we were almost out of water. The place we stayed was great for a night, and we were able to do laundry, and clean up for a night!
Day 11 was mostly spent driving, with an amazing stop in Seattle for the Pike Fish Market and some tasty clam chowder. We had a 4+ hour drive to the city, and then 2.5 hours to our RV Park outside Olympic NP. In Seattle, we surprisingly found a parallel parking spot down the road from the market in downtown. Finding the spot was one thing, and getting in was another. We managed, and put ole Bessie lined up on the curb for a few hours. We got to walk around, eat some good food, and experience a good ole American protest. When Kolton had a breakdown, the first one we had experienced like that, we decided our time in town was done. As it turned out, he was just hot and sick of being smashed next to me, so we probably could have stayed a while, but we didn't figure that out until we were almost back to the car. Chalk this one up to a parenting fail. We landed at Elwha Dam RV Park that night, and we settled in. They had fire pits - that we could use! So, we obviously made the s'mores we had been hoping for. It was great to enjoy a meal outside, and when the stars came out, they were beautiful!
Day 12 was our first playing hooky from work (for a few hours). The weather looked like it would be good only for Monday and Tuesday, and then rainy the rest of the week, so we decided at 10am to take the next few hours and head up to Hurricane Ridge where you only get views on clear days. It was another 360 panoramic view that was incredible - for a minute. We got a cool view of the mountains down to the ocean... and then not 2 minutes later we lost the ocean, and then 20 minutes later we couldn't see the trees behind us. The clouds rolled in quickly. But... we had a great hike, epic views, a happy baby now that we has a proper jacket, and some good ole mountain top exercise. We then caught up on work at a coffee shop in Port Angeles, and then headed back to camp for dinner. We have to really meal plan as space is limited and grocery shopping is selective. We had some delicious grilled cheese, tomato bisque soup, and a salad with multiple veggies from the local RV Park garden! It was amazing! Given the forecast, I figured it was a good night for a bike ride, and a sunset, so I hopped on my bike after dinner, and then I met Narendra down at the pier for the sunset (after a few miles of uphill getting lost). This Olympic Discovery Trail is amazing! It goes for 100 miles (or so) along this area, and it is paved for portions and dirt for portions. My ride was filled with foliage that matched the sunset colors, crunchy leaves on the path, and deer I had to shoo off the trail. I met Narendra and Kolton just in time for the sun to go down, and a reminder that we are small maps on the dot in this big ocean where this big sun warms us. I also realized that sunrises (less so), sunsets, and stars inspire me to move faster, stay up later, and tolerate colder. Narendra feels the same way about mountain biking as I do sunsets and stars.
Day 13 - Tuesday- was a productive day of work, which despite the beautiful weather, was what my mind needed. Narendra did a big mountain bike ride, which is what he needed, and I hung out with Kolton in the camper working. It was not ideal that I had to ignore Kolton most of the day, but it was ideal that he was in his element and could roam around, yell, and play all he wanted. This was the first time we spent the day in the camper on our personal hotspot, and it worked quite well, compared to being in public yelling. Come 5pm, we set off for some adventuring. We went to Marymere falls for some hiking and trail running. The falls were cool, but probably cooler in spring when the water is booming, and probably cooler when you haven't just come from Glacier. I decided to tack on some trail running, which was good for my soul. It was beautiful with crisp air, green fuzzies lining the trees, soothing river sounds, and the hills were rolling up and down which kept my heart and my knees nice and balanced. I loved the balance of a good day at work with some good adventures, topped off with a nice sunset on the water off of the point to the north. We probably should have brought a backpack and probably a jacket for Kolton, but we didn't... and he was a trooper, and was just loving being outside, despite the temperature.
Summary Lessons Learned:
- Proper clothing goes a long way for the baby (and adults). The baby will only keeps hats on if he is very very cold.
- Yes, I need 3 cameras everywhere we go - sometimes I need the wall shot on my DSLR, sometimes I need the postable photo on my phone, and sometimes I need the photo book shot on the GoPro
- You are in control of your life, if you don't ask, then answer is always no. If you do ask, maybe there is a chance for you to do something epic. Ask Narendra if you need more incentive.
- Kolton is a bad ass, and he has been an awesome baby dealing with a lot of teether (shut up) snacks in the car, lengthy backpack hiking time, and being pushed off his favorite counter spot.
- Get out there and stargaze, chase a sunset, or do that ride/hike/run/climb you have been eyeing passionately. Your passion is not going to grow itself, you have to give it some sun and water. YOLO!
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