Just Along for the Ride...

   Thanks to a 7am wake up call today (ahem....Eldon) we found ourselves dressed, fed, and ready for the day by 9:00. Did I mention this is in the MORNING? This is not usual for us, especially on days when we have absolutely ZERO plans.  Opening the blinds revealed a cloudless sky that couldn't be wasted on a day at home.  So we packed some snacks, a diaper bag and my camera, and headed for.....nowhere. We just drove. And it was perfect.

   We headed up around Foys Lake and decided that since mentioning Lone Pine State Park's craft corner in my last blog post, we should check it out. (I have some edits after learning more about the craft corner, most important being that it is for ages 8-11. Whoops. The woman running it was so accomodating and offered to let us hang out as long as I stayed with Eldon. We did. They made "talking sticks" and learned about the different kinds of trees that their sticks came from. Very cool. They also have some great classes for kids Eldon's age coming up this summer.) 

   We walked the trail to the scenic lookout and I was absolutely blown away.  The grace, magic, and overall grandness of our Valley is astounding.  And to think, it took us less than 10 minutes to get from home to a point where the view stretches from Big Mountain almost to Flathead Lake. Breathtaking. Awesome. We live here?!?!

   We played around through Kalispell and then somehow ended up exploring backroads in the Canyon.  That led us to Glacier National Park, where we figured "eh, why not?" and drove up to Lake McDonald. (I am not even sure you could get much further if you tried.) Nate stepped out onto the ice quite a ways, but it was pretty sketchy.  We waited on the "shore" and I flipped through mental pictures of him just dropping out from in front of the landscape. Splashing into the water that is frigid and cold in the SUMMER, let alone in March. Luckily, those visions remained nothing more than visions.  The mounds of ice and snow on the already beautiful lake made for an almost haunting experience.  Or maybe it was just the combination of that and seeing the usually booming Apgar Village deserted like a ghost town.  Either way, the scenery was ridiculously cool...as it always is, and my Husband (although not entirely brilliant) is still alive.

   I love when unplanned adventures turn into great days. Sometimes it's hard to step away from the calendar and just look around.  A day where the only goal is to go around and see cool stuff, is a good day in my book.  So screw the jacked up gas prices. I filled my tank up anyway. And I think it's safe to say, I got my money's worth.