September 19, 2015 at 06:45PM by advodna_dave

As we approached Helena, MT this afternoon, we saw a sign for the "Gates of the Mountains" recreation area and took the exit. After a loop around the marina parking lot, we determined they didn't have camping. With Mae due for her second nap, we found a pullout overlooking the lake, put her to sleep and set up the playmat for Wynne with the trailer blocking the wind. Half hour later, a pickup pulls up with two guys wearing head to toe camo. I'll admit my first thought was that they were going to skin us, stuff us and hang us on the wall of their hunting cabin, but in fact, they'd seen us down below and wondered if we were looking for a place to camp. They suggested Black Sandy State Park just up the road on Hauser Lake. I'll admit that my first thought was that it would be easier for them to skin us, stuff us and hang us on the wall of their hunting cabin if they first sent us somewhere remote to camp, but in fact, we arrived to snag the second to last waterfront site (selective cropping above!) on a beautiful little lake with kids for Wynne to play with and tons of locals out enjoying one of the last Saturday night camp outs of the season. And that concludes our accelerated IG catchup of the past week or so. We did it! We're up to date! Thanks for being tolerant of the overgramming! #airstream #liveriveted #myrivetedlife #hauserlake #montana #helena #taxidermiphobia

September 19, 2015 at 04:39PM by advodna_dave

When we'd found out the campground inside the east entrance of Glacier National Park was closed, we decided we'd just grab a private site nearby and binge on some internet for a night since our AT&T phones still only intermittently showed a Rogers (Canadian) signal. We pulled into the KOA without a lot of confidence given that the sign on the highway hadn't said anything about wireless. When they said they had it, I grilled them about how well it worked, confirmed it wasn't TengoInternet and made sure it would reach our site. As I walked back towards the trailer with our site Sharpied onto the campground map, my phone buzzed to life. New emails, IG comments, Facebook birthdays! But, I hadn't connected yet. Wait, could it be? The JetPack had signal and my phone had connected automatically! Ah, sweet unlimited internet, I've missed you! USA! USA! The next morning, we decided we didn't really wanna go anywhere. Ann's back had been giving her trouble from all the baby sherpa-ing (on the trail and off) and we both just needed a day of rest. After a mellow morning, we drove across the highway to Johnson's Cafe, a 65 year tradition outside the park, for a decent down home lunch. Despite the wind picking up to gusts of 40 mph by the time we returned, there seemed like only one sensible thing to do with our afternoon. Sure, it may be at a KOA on a windy plain outside of national park, but it still qualified as the second best hot pool we'd been in in the last two weeks. #okayitsnotliardbutwelltakeit #fulltimefamilies #travelwithkids #familytravel

September 19, 2015 at 02:28PM by advodna_dave

Glacier in Fall is amazing. Another one from the GTS Road! #goingtothesunroad #glaciernps #glaciernationalpark #goingtothesun #loganpass

September 19, 2015 at 01:20PM by advodna_dave

After dropping off the trailer at a KOA outside the park entrance, we took advantage of a rare clear day for a spectacular drive over the famous Going-to-the-Sun road. Normally, here I'd include a few facts about the building of the road from the park brochure with a little Wikipedia sprinkled in for color, but I'm feeling lazy so I'll just make a couple things up like that it took 4,000 workers and 6 herds of trained mountain goats 12 1/2 years to build it and each stone in this tunnel was tossed into place by catapult from the valley floor. #npsfacts #goingtothesunroad #glaciernationalpark #glaciernps

September 19, 2015 at 10:43AM by advodna_dave

The idea was to relocate to St. Mary's in Glacier a National Park along the Going-to-the-Sun Road, but the ranger at the east gate informed us that the campground had been closed due to "bear activity." Apparently, they'd had to put one down recently. Oh well, the visitor center provided a good opportunity for Wynne to claim her Junior Ranger badge. Number 9, I think? Can someone check back in my feed? 😉 #waytooearlytolosecount #juniorranger #glaciernps #glaciernationalpark #roadschool #childhoodunplugged

September 19, 2015 at 06:32AM by advodna_dave

From Many Glacier, we headed south for easier access to the Going-to-the-Sun Road (and honestly in search of our first dose of good ol' American unlimited internet so we could order a few things to be sent to meet us in Bozeman). As we pulled out of the CG, a two tone Argosy caught my eye and a sticker on the back confirmed that it was @aquahaus. We all met quickly while we blocked the road, we pulled out hoping that we might cross paths again for a bit longer another time down the road. #airstream #liveriveted #myrivetedlife #glaciernationalpark #glaciernps #manyglacier #manyglaciervalley

September 18, 2015 at 02:21PM by advodna_dave

Okay, looks like we got us a new front runner for the Xmas card. Now if we can just get these damn things ordered before we go anyplace else pretty. 😉 #fulltimefamilies #hikingwithkids #travelwithkids #grinnelllake #manyglacier #manyglaciervalley #glaciernps #glaciernationalpark #findyourpark

September 18, 2015 at 09:52AM by advodna_dave

Wynne waked the entire mile from the second boat to Grinnell Lake. That definitely deserved an extended session of tossing sticks into the lake. #childhoodunplugged #grinnelllake #manyglacier #manyglaciervalley #glaciernps #glaciernationalpark #montana #findyourpark

September 18, 2015 at 10:05AM by advodna_dave

"Where are your feet?!" #childhoodunplugged @mec #babysnuggie #heylookkidsaglacier #travelwithkids #hikingwithkids #grinnelllake #manyglacier #manyglaciervalley #glaciernps #glaciernationalpark #findyourpark - posted by advodna_dave on September 18, 2015 at 10:05AM

September 18, 2015 at 07:51AM by advodna_dave

The steep slopes on either side of the valley cause frequent avalanches which inhibit growth of trees. Instead, huckleberries and countless other wild berries flourish, providing a rich habitat for Grizzlies. Of course, this year's minimal snowpack and warm temps have thrown off the timing of the blooms and the bears have had to go wandering for food, perfect motivation for some loud renditions of alphabet songs on the trail. 🎶 The B says Buh! The B says Buh! Every letter makes a sound, the B says Buh! 🎶 @leapfrogofficial #leapfrog #hikingwithkids #childhoodunplugged #roadschool #travelwithkids #familytravel #manyglacier #manyglaciervalley #grinnelllake #glaciernps #glaciernationalpark #findyourpark

September 18, 2015 at 06:01AM by advodna_dave

The Many Glacier area has an absolutely perfect hike for kids: 20 minutes on a boat across Swiftcurrent Lake, a 1/4 mile hike over a little hill, 20 minutes on a boat across Josephine Lake and a flat 1 mile hike to Grinnell Lake that includes fun boardwalks and what's gotta be the lowest suspension bridge in the world hanging about 2' high over a 20' wide by 1' deep creek. #manyglacier #manyglaciervalley #glaciernps #glaciernationalpark #montana #familytravel #travelwithkids

September 17, 2015 at 05:19PM by advodna_dave

One hundred years ago, tourists would take a train to the East Glacier Depot and travel into the Many Glacier Valley on horseback to stay at the Many Glacier Lodge. It took 400 railway workers only one year to build the massive wood beam structure along the shore of Swiftcurrent Lake with majestic views of the twin valleys and peaks behind. It took us nearly 3 minutes to drive there from our campsite for dinner including a bison burger with bacon and Swiss and a Going-to-the-Sun IPA. #glaciernps #glaciernationalpark #manyglaciervalley #manyglacier #manyglacierlodge #montana

September 17, 2015 at 01:36PM by advodna_dave

After a quick stop at the post office in Babb, Montana to mail a couple envelopes full of "priceless art" to grandparents, we turned up the Many Glacier Valley and were immediately rewarded with views of jagged buttresses, hanging glaciers and a narrow chains of lakes, remnants of a larger glacier that carved the valley during the last ice age. After a couple investigatory loops of the generally small sites in the campground, we found a curved pull-thru spot that pointed our windows towards Grinnell Point separating the Swiftcurrent and Grinnell Valleys. Tomorrow, we'll try to figure out which one is the "Many Glacier." Side note for anyone following the generator threads. By forcing the fridge to propane and minimizing other power draws (furnace is the biggest but fairly essential as temps are dropping and LED lights are nominal), I've been able to bump up the charge rate on our charge controller to pull around 30 amps from our 1000W Yamaha without overloading it. With the furnace switched off, I can push to just under 40 amps, just about right to replenish our daily usage in a couple hours of runtime. And no, it was not this sunny until the last day there! #airstream #liveriveted #myrivetedlife #grinnelpoint #manyglacierscampground #manyglaciers #glaciernps #glaciernationalpark

September 17, 2015 at 12:21PM by advodna_dave

A couple days ago, we crossed back into the lower 48 for the first time in 4 1/2 months! While we both commented that somehow things felt very different, perhaps just signifying the beginning of our final leg over to the East Coast, the radio still played the CBC, surreally a show on families dropping everything to go traveling for a year, and our phones proudly still displayed a spotty Rogers connection. We'll spend a couple days on the east side of Glacier National Park before continuing south. #merica #airstream #liveriveted #myrivetedlife #fulltimetravel #fulltimefamilies #travelwithkids #ilikebigbuttesandicannotlie