Mel & Trinity

I left Calgary early on Sunday (12th July) as I knew I had a 6 hour ride ahead of me. The weather was not playing along. For the first time since I arrived in America it was raining. And boy was it raining! Fortunately the rain only lasted for about an hour into my journey before it stopped. Phew!

I had been advised by two people, Rand and Lisa, that I should take Highway 22, also known as the Cowboy Trail, to Kalispell where I was meeting my cousin (Jaco) and his family. It was a great choice. What a lovely ride.

About a 20 minute ride south of a town called Black Diamond there was a farm which really stood out. The length of the farm, probably a mile along the road, had caps or hats on each fence post. It was so unique. I’m now sorry I didn’t stop to take a photo of it.

I stopped a few times along my route. A few times to take photos; once to put on another layer of clothing (it was a lot nippier with the rain – thank goodness for heated handle grips); and to get some lunch. This stop was in a town called Starwood which advertised having the worlds largest truck. It was a mine truck. It reminded me of a time that my dad, little brother (Clive) and I went with my dad to work and we sat in the mine truck. I still have photos of the day. It was a great day!

The border crossing was a breeze via Highway 93, certainly in comparison to entering Canada via Highway 5.

My introduction to Montana was a very pleasant one. The first little town I came across made me smile because of things I saw that reminded me of very special people in my life. The second was a lake just outside of a town called Eureka. It was so peaceful. There was nobody in sight besides one fisherman on the lake.

The next stop was a town called Whitefish. What an awesome little town! The locals were really friendly and I even came across a Brit who has been living in the U.S. for 20 years. We had a nice chat before I started walking around the town centre and I came across a souvenir shop that I absolutely loved. Sadly I don’t have space to carry extra things or I would have made a number of purchases. I’ve included a picture of the shop.

I arrived in Kalispell about 20 minutes before Jaco and the rest of the family. As with everywhere I have been so far there were a number of motorbikes siting in front of the hotel. North America, certainly at this time of the year, is motorbike mad! It’s fantastic! I met a guy called Scott who is from Colorado and does an annual circa 4,000 mile ride with his dad every year. They were on Harley’s – definitely the brand of choice in North America. It’s always nice to hear what other people are up to.

Yesterday (13th July) was a brilliant day! We woke up early with one thing in mind – zip lining! The boys, Nico and Chris, were really keen to do it and of course it’s one of the items on my bucket list, so I was never going to say no to joining them. In the end all six of us did the 9 line treetop adventure. Amazing!

Our guides, Tommy and Sunflower, were fantastic! I can’t believe the things Sunflower let me get away with. If Tommy, as lead guide, went down backwards on the line, I went down backwards. If Tommy played dead, I played dead. I couldn’t let him have all the fun after all! Once my family download the photos from their camera I’ll post them.

After dropping Trinity off at the lodge we headed to Glacier National Park via a pie store. My first experience of American Pie. It’s great but sweet!

Glacier National Park is stunning! As we were limited for time yesterday we took a short drive into the park and stopped off at some of the rapids. It was nice to have a chilled out day.

Today we’ve been in the park all day. We had a glorious hike up to Avalanche Lake. The waterfalls along the way were so beautiful and the lake was splendid. I could easily have put up camp next to the lake. I would highly recommend doing the Avalanche Trail of you are ever in the park. Below is a taster of some of the views, and my playful family!

As soon as we got back to the car it started raining. This was a massive pity as we were driving through the park along Going to the Sun road, which is know to be one of the most scenic drives in the U.S. It was fantastic, even though we couldn’t enjoy it in all its glory. It wasn’t too bad on the summit though (see below).

Our last stop before our 2.5 hour drive back to the lodge was Many Glacier. This part of the park is far less popular with tourists but every bit as beautiful, if not more so, that the main section of the park.

In summary, what a wonderful introduction to the U.S. National Parks, made extra special by the De Bruyn family. Thanks guys!