Day 10

We spent most of the day in Canada

It rained all night and was still quite cold and wet once we awoke.  We decided to change our previous plans to hike in the snow at Logan Pass, which is the highest point in the park.  The road to the pass, called "Going to the Sun Road" is known as one of the most scenic drives in North America.  It is narrow and winding with steep drop offs.  It can actually have snowstorms in conditions such as this.  We figured it would not be a pleasurable experience.

We drove around the park, which took a couple hours.  The border crossing into Canada was easy.  We proceeded into Alberta Canada and visited the Canadian side of the park.  It presented a different view of the Mountains that are equally as stunning.  We stopped at the visitor center and got some hiking suggestions.  We decided on a hike that was about 5 miles round trip and terminated in a nice mountain waterfall.  It was mostly uphill but the children, did fine.  There is something about the sound of running water that cleanses the soul.

On the way back to Montana, we took a different route.  This road traveled through an area with wild buffalo and stands of trees.  We noticed some movement on the side of the road and stopped to watch a fox trotting along, freshly killed ground squirrel hanging from his mouth.  We noticed some construction signs.  One in particular caught my eye.  It was a warning for frost heaves.  You see, up North the road can get so cold from the permafrost underneath it will actually buckle, making a course washboard in the asphalt.  They can be especially treacherous when hit at highway speeds.  The road to Alaska was littered with them, did may a damage to the Endeavor. I smiled at the memory. For a fleeting moment, I felt the pull North, the memory, sights and experiences of the day carried the memories into my consciousness.  I had the sinking feeling for a moment, that I was missing something, that wild Frontier there at my fingertips calling.  What if we just kept driving?  I wished I had the carefree spirit and enough Wanderlust to do such a thing.  Begrudgingly, we made the Right turn and steered the Endeavor back toward the border crossing.

The weather had cleared by this time and we decided to take the pass.  When we arrived on top, it was 42 degrees and windy.  Ah, but the kids had seen the snow.  Amy and I bundled up, fighting the stinging of our ears and let the kids have a couple snowball fights.  It must have been a snowy winter as the trail and boardwalk has yet to show itself.  We made our way down to the campsite where we had supper and attended a ranger program to finish out the evening.