Since we were not sure about the parking situation we got up early and went right to the Apgar Visitor Center inside of Glacier National Park to get the lay of the land. This visitor center is on the southern end of Lake McDonald relatively close to the park's west entrance.
The girls got their Junior Ranger books and Adam and I talked with the Ranger. We were shocked when she told us very matter of fact that the average wait time to board one of the park’s shuttles is 2 hours. There was no way we were ever going to attempt that. In Adam’s pre-trip research he learned about the red bus tours that you can book to go around the park. We could not understand why these tours were so popular here until we learned about the park shuttle wait times.
The ranger also told us most parking lots near trailheads fill up very early since the lots are small and the park is open 24/7. We decided not to chance moving the truck for today. There was plenty to do in this southwest section of the park. We started with a half mile walk over to the Apgar Village. The village is right on the shore of Lake McDonald. It contains a restaurant, numerous stores and a campground.
During our half mile walk to the village we immediately noticed a difference between Glacier and the other National Parks we visited on this trip. There were bear signs posted everywhere. Before this trip started Adam ensured we had day packs fully loaded with all kinds of safety supplies. Bear spray was the only thing he had knowingly omitted. These signs made us a little nervous.
One of the first things we noticed in Apgar Village was a sign for bear spray rental. We laughed about this and seriously considered stopping back after we got some breakfast.
Apgar Village is also home to a Nature Center which is the meeting place for many Jr Ranger programs and activities. We stopped at the nature center to see the schedule for today’s Jr Ranger programs. The first program of the day, a Jr Ranger Explorer Walk, started in about an hour at 10am.
A cute little restaurant, Eddie’s Café, sat just across the street from the Nature Center. We were all feeling hungry so we decided to grab breakfast.
We thought an hour was plenty of time but the service wasn't very fast and unfortunately we arrived at the nature center about 5 minutes after 10. The volunteer inside told us which way to go so we could participate. After a short walk we found the group. Instantly we were all captivated by the very engaging and animated ranger. She was talking about how some wild animals build their homes with items found in nature. Then she tasked the kids with going off in the woods surrounding where we stood to see what they could gather. The group examined what was found and discussed how the it could be used by the animals.
Next the ranger led the group over to a bank on McDonald Creek which is the outlet of Lake McDonald. She pointed out the large mound of sticks on the other side of the water and explained beavers built that and live inside.
We then learned about how an animal’s coat can help them to survive in their habitat. A beaver pelt was in her bag and everyone got a chance to see it up close and feel it. Next she showed us a skeleton of a beaver skull and taught us about their teeth and how they are helpful for them to survive.
The ranger then led the group further on a trail and explained how we should use our sense of touch and smell to examine the trees and bushes we pass. She stopped in an area of the woods and had the kids move about trying to find leaves that smelled like mint and citrus.
We continued our walk into a meadow and learned how the sense of hearing helps to protect animals, especially deer. She taught the group how the size of the deer’s ears and their ability to turn their ears in different directions allow the various sounds to be amplified so they can stay clear of other animals trying to capture them for their prey. Then she had everyone put their hand to their ears in a cupping formation and stand quietly while listening to the sounds all around.
Sadly this was the last activity for the morning’s Explorers Walk and we all went back to the Nature Center. The walk had taken us on the Oxbow Trail and in total it was about 1 mile. The girls asked the ranger to sign their books since this fulfilled one of the tasks needed to become a Glacier National Park Jr. Ranger.
The nature center was very cute, built like a little log cabin. Inside was a mini Please Touch Museum. The girls were having a blast checking everything out. Unfortunately I had to watch from the doorway because no drinks were allowed inside.
During the explorers walk the Ranger had shown everyone red berries that were in the foliage and encouraged us to try if interested. Well, our girls did and they loved them. As we were leaving the nature center they spotted more of these berries and had to pick and eat them.
At Eddie's Café earlier this morning we all got a good laugh at the oversized teddy bear sitting at one of the tables. We left in a rush to make the Jr Ranger walk. Now that we were finished the girls wanted to go back for a photo op with the teddy bear.
In the grass across from Eddie’s Café we noticed there was a solar viewing astronomy program in progress. Park rangers had set up two telescopes with different filters making it safe to look directly at the sun. One of the filters made it very easy to see a sun spot. It looked like a tiny black speck in the middle of a large orange globe. The ranger explained that this speck was bigger than the entire planet Earth.
Once we all took a turn looking into both telescopes we started walking over to Lake McDonald. Wow, was this a gorgeous location! Unfortunately, the smoke from wildfires all throughout Montana caused there to be a haze over the mountains in the distance, but it was still breathtaking. The water was as clear as could be and it was amazing to see the various colors and sizes of the rocks that made up the lakebed below.
We were starting to get hungry and Ella wanted to change into short sleeves as the day was warming up quickly. Adam and Ella walked back to the truck so she could change and to get our picnic lunch. They also grabbed our fishing poles for some after lunch fun. Lily and I found a shady area to relax and wait since their walk would be one mile roundtrip.
When they returned we sat at a picnic table and ate quickly. Just as we finished the sprinklers turned on all of a sudden. As it was getting hotter by the minute the girls took this opportunity to run, play and cool off in the sprinkler surprise.
Then we took the poles out onto the edge of one of the docks and the girls practiced casting their lines. We are very new to fishing. We bought these poles and learned the basics before the trip. Now at 54 days in this was the first time we used them during the trip.
This became increasingly challenging as more and more people started to swim and boat in the same area. We ended up giving up and decided to cool off with a mid-afternoon treat of, yes, you guessed it, more ice cream! Adam, Lily and I shared huckleberry and vanilla soft serve twist and it was beyond delicious. Ella got a dish of salted caramel and thoroughly enjoyed it.
As we began to walk out of Apgar Village one of the stores caught our eye and we convinced Adam we should go in. The store was filled with works from local artists and we were all enamored by the plethora of photographs taken by Sumio Harada. When Adam finally pulled us out of the store a woman was sitting on the bench just outside with her adorable dog. We went right over to see the puppy and started talking with her. Her dog had a stick he was loving and the girls were throwing it for him to catch.
While we were chatting Lily spotted a very cool green caterpillar on the ground and instantly became obsessed. She picked it up and would not put it down. She kept a leaf in her hand for it to rest on and eat.
We talked with the nice woman and her dog for a while and eventually parted ways but Lily could not bring herself to part with her new best friend, the green caterpillar. The entire half mile walk back to the truck she kept it in her hand and talked to it. This was slowing her down quite a bit and she was excited about every move it made. Adam walked up ahead and was trying to quicken our pace, but his plan was failing and the caterpillar dominated their attention instead.
When we finally made it back to the parking lot Lily was practically in tears because she knew she had to leave her caterpillar behind. As part of the Jr Ranger program at every park they learn "Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints." She found a baby tree close to the path and gently placed it on one of the branches. We could not leave until she made sure this new home suited the caterpillar and we stayed there watching as it slowly started to move around the tree. We took a final picture with Lily and the caterpillar in the tree and went to the truck.
Lily was definitely heartbroken and she kept looking back and talking about how she wished she could have kept it and was worried if it would be ok.
On our way back we noticed a market that had a sign advertising they sold huckleberries. Adam ran inside and bought us a tiny container. We were shocked how much these little berries cost. He purchased a tiny container and it was just under $14. We had tasted many things with huckleberry flavor at this point. We couldn't pass up tasting real huckleberries.
When we arrived back to the RV we were greeted with a very sad sight. Somehow a beautiful little bird must have flown into our door and now it lay dead beneath it. Streaks of the birds blood was on the door. Adam moved the bird to a better resting place and cleaned the door while I made dinner. It was another beautiful night and we sat at our picnic table to dine al fresco again. For dessert we ate the rest of our blueberries from Oregon and some of our fresh huckleberries.
As we ate we had a discussion about the differences between the two. Huckleberries are smaller, more purple in color, firmer and tasted more tart but we all agreed we liked both. As the sky turned to night and the moon shone down several stars started to appear. Adam decided to try his hat at night photography to capture this end of day beauty.
