#7 - Glacier National Park and return to Utah

Highlights:
1. Iceberg Lake hike 
2. Seeing Grizzly bears through binoculars and telescopes
3. Comfy cabin out of the rain and elements
4. General Conference in the car
 
Lowlights:
1. Low visibility on Road to the Sun

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Itinerary:
Thursday Sep 29 - We drove out of Canada, and due to the ongoing rain forecasts booked ourselves in a cabin for the next two nights.  We arrived at Glacier National Park on the west side after about a 4 hour drive from Cranbrook, and drove the Road to the Sun over to the east side of the park.  We stayed at Leaning Tree Campground and Cabins

Friday Sep 30 - We woke and started the day with a 9.3 mile hike to Iceberg Lake (300 ft/mile).  This took up most of the day, and we returned to the cabin for dinner, then headed back out for some overlook sunset viewing, and returned for bedtime.

Saturday Oct 1 - We checked out of the cabin and drove the 10 1/2 hours back to Utah, listening to all three sessions of General Conference in the car.  Since our house was rented, we stayed the three nights with our good friend the Martins.

Sunday Oct 2 -  We stayed at the Martin's all day, and watched General Conference and had dinner with our kids Nathan and Anna and friends!

Monday Oct 1 - Megan and Jacob went down to BYU to take their AP Calculus final as a proctored exam, and Erik went up to Salt Lake to do some maintenance on some of the mobile homes that had not yet sold.

Highlights:
1. Iceberg Lake hike - This was our longest hike yet, and we were ready.  It wasn't too steep, and it was glorious because the autumn colors were out in their full splendor.  We were lucky enough to hike alongside a volunteer park ranger, and we chatted the whole time about his experiences in the park.  The trail was hardly busy at all, and our arrival at the lake was stunning.  The sky was still overcast, but not so much that we could see the snow fields on the cliff surrounding the lake.  It was quite windy at the lake, and we stayed for some snacks and the view and then turned around for the wonderful hike back.

2. Seeing Grizzly bears through binoculars and telescopes - We didn't see any bears while we hiked, but upon returning to the trailhead, we saw a number of people looking through binoculars up on the hillside,  Sure enough, there was a grizzly bear that we could barely see with our eyes, and see clearly with the binoculars.  Luckily, there was a photographer who had brought his 50X and 70X telescopes, and he set them up and we were able to view the bear in it's full glory through the scopes.  Then on the way back, driving along the lake, we pulled alongside another couple stopped on the side of the road who had spotted a Grizzly and her two cubs walking along the lakeshore.  These were even closer to us, and stopped for a view minutes to watch the mother lumber along the lake, and the two cubs jumping and running and playing behind her.  After they traipsed back into the woods, we lost them and we continued on our way.

3. Comfy cabin out of the rain and elements - After 7 nights of camping, with wet rainy weather in the forecast, we were ready for dry beds and reliable wifi. It was beautiful not to have to set up tents in the rain, and sleep in a comfortable bed.

4. General Conference in the car - We got to listen to conference without distraction while in the car ride home.  What a blessing to listen to the bi-annual words for prophets and apostles and spiritual leaders.
 
Lowlights:
1. Low visibility on Road to the Sun - So apparently, the "Going to the Sun" road over the Glacier National park is one of the most beautiful drives in America, full of stunning mountain vistas, and glaciers dotting the landscape, and contrasting peaks and valleys galore.  And all we saw was a bunch of clouds and rain.  It was NOT stunning for us, and we laughed the whole way.  Lucky for us, our weather in Canada was beautiful, so we're due a few rainy days, even if it is unfortunately during our Glacier drive.