One Night in Essex
For our second visit to a historic lodge around Glacier National Park, we booked a room in the newly renovated Loge Glacier, also known as the Izaal Walton Inn. We really enjoyed our room, everything was in great condition, the bed was comforable, and Loge does a good job of making a stay enjoyable.
Going To The Sun
I took Mario on the Going to the Sun road to Logan Pass. The pass was over course, very busy and most of the pullouts were full. We did make a few stops along the way. We did stop at Lunch Creek and hiked up to the Lunch Creek Falls to make a work call using his Starlink. Once that got overrun with people, we headed back toward town. Before leaving the park, we did stop along McDonald Creek for Mario to fish for a few minutes.
A Quick Trip to Belton
We decided to be more determined to get to Glacier National Park this year. In the past few years since we moved here, we just haven’t gotten to the park and hiked like we normally would. So this year we booked three differenet trips to some of the lodges in and around the park. First up is the Historic Belton Lodge just outside the west entrance to the park at Apgar. This lodge is a a timeless design that really standes out with its western roofline extending much futher than the eastern side.
San Antonio Xmas
We headed south for Christmas this year and booked a room on the River Walk in San Antonio, Texas. We spent 5 days in Texas and had a blast enjoying some warmer weather and a bustling city. Over the week we visited The Alamo along with all the other area Missions, took in the River Walk, visited Six Flags, and visited the Natural Bridge Caverns.
Olympic National Park
For our summer vacation this year, we decided to drive to Olympic National Park and spend a week exploring the Olympic Peninsula. We went all the way the first day and stayed at the Log Cabin Resort on Lake Crescent in Olympic National Park for the first three nights. On the fourth day, we took the ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria, British Columbia, for the day. In Victoria, we had tea at the Empress and revisited Abigail’s Hotel, where we had honeymooned 25 years earlier and enjoyed shopping. For the next three nights, we stayed in the Lake View building at the Lake Quinault Lodge. Here, we took a boat tour of Lake Quinalt and explored the Lake Quinalt Rain Forest and the coast around Kalaloch. Finally, we drove through Mount Ranier on our way home.
A Clear Day @ Glacier
The rarest of events happened yesterday, I woke up to the Flathead Valley without a cloud in the sky during winter. With such rare conditions, I cut out of work early and we headed up to Apgar on the shores of Lake McDonald to capture a few images. We spent about an hour walking along the shore before driving through Apgar Village. On our way out we drove to the old bridge that starts the South Boundary Trail and watched the ice chunks flowing down the river.
A few days in Florida
Jolie and I visited the East Coast of Florida for a few fun-filled days. We first went to Fort Lauderdale and stayed a few nights in the Hard Rock Hotel in Hollywood. We toured Downtown Fort Lauderdale, including a stop at Cafe Bastille for one of the best breakfasts we have ever had. This was followed by strolling along the riverfront walk, the historic buildings on Moffat Avenue, and finished with some shopping on Las Olas Boulevard. The final part of our visit to Fort Lauderdale included attending the Tool concert in the Hard Rock Live Theater, a fantastic venue.
Teddy’s Park
A winter visit to Apgar
A day in Glacier
Shores of Saint Mary Lake
