Last summer we did a multi-trip road trip. And while it was fun and all, I wasn’t a fan of going to more than one place. I remembered this when I planned this Silverwood and Glacier National Park trip. But I figured it’d be easier to combine the two trips, since we would be over that way anyway. It worked out fine but I really need to make a mental note not to combine trips again.
Mental note noted, now about this dual trip.
Silverwood is an annual thing—we’ve been going since 2019. Except we didn’t go in 2020, pandemic and all. That makes this our fourth time and it was just as fun with the added bonus of knowing Silverwood super well. But this was our first time camping; we usually stay in a hotel near the river. Next to Red Robin and a movie theater, and a trail for morning jaunts to get some much needed quiet, alone time. Another family joined us this year and they found a private campground in Coeur d’Alene, and booked a site to tent camp. At first I stuck with our hotel plans. I was hesitant to give up our standard routine because we’re creatures of habit. But we were going a few weeks later than usual, and it must have been graduation time because all the hotels were spendy.
We don’t tent camp. I’m sure it’s lovely and enjoyable, but I like walls and electricity. I booked the last cabin at the campground—two weeks before our trip—that fit our family. I was surprised the cabin was available being summer and all. And technically, it fits six people but two kids equal one adult, right?! We figured Blaise could tent camp on our friends’ site if it was an issue. (Blaise is a tent camping fan but given the walls and electricity option, he’s like me.)
The two families whom we went with left a day before us, they were into the water park at Silverwood. We aren’t big water park people. We do take the kiddos to Great Wolf, usually yearly. And after going the past several years, I’m not sure I’m into communal water parks. There aren’t enough chemicals in the world for me to feel comfortable in water with people whom I don’t know about their hygiene. Especially after reading copious posts on reddit about people in professions that deal with human bodies and also in the r/sex subreddit from people who talk about experiences they’ve had with naked bodies. There are some things I can’t unlearn. Anyway, no water park for us.
The plan was to leave Thursday for Coeur d’Alene for two nights, and then on to West Glacier for three nights. And that’s the plan we stuck with but it’s still always something. More on that in a moment. I wasn’t sure I’d feel up for going to Coeur d’Alene this year, not after Idaho moved backwards following the Supreme Court ruling last June. Idaho has no abortion rights and the whole trying to penalize women for traveling across state lines for healthcare is troublesome. And that white nationalist U-Haul thing that happened in Coeur d’Alene last summer at a Pride event. Coeur d’Alene has always felt off to me. It’s clean and beautiful, but it feels white and republican. The feel of oppression is in the air. It was a tough decision to cross over from the Left Coast but we went, and I’m still not sure I’m comfortable with the decision.
Thursday! We had a slow morning. I hit the trail solo because we had dropped off Melvin at his BFFs house the night before. We took our time packing and loading the car, and readying the house to leave for five nights. Since we were cabining, we had to take bedding and food with us. Plus the bikes. It was a packed car! It was about noon when we pulled out, having had a late breakfast to hold everyone over until Ellensburg.
The drive was smooth. Our kiddos are seasoned road trippers; it’s never an issue for any of them. Other than the initial arguing over who gets to sit where. That’s always fun. And there’s one electrical plug in the car that the kids call dibs on, that sometimes leads to bickering.
It’s about a two hour drive to Ellensburg and there was no reason anyone was hungry. I’m not a snack mom; I never have snacks on me when we’re out and about. And the kids are used to this. But the moment the kids know there are snacks in the car, they’re magically hungry. I find this annoying. Especially since they had just eaten before we left. Not just the magically hungry part is annoying, also their lame attempts and cleaning up after themselves. I’d rather no food in the car but somehow this is rarely enforced because Brian is a snack dad.
After a few damn snacks, we made it to Ellensburg. I’m still not sure why—because we never have before—we decided on Taco Bell. Taco Bell was fine when I was younger but now I question if it’s actually food?! In high school, I’d go to Taco Bell after school everyday to the point that they’d just have my order ready for me at the same time each day. But now, I can count on one hand how many times I’ve been to Taco Bell since college. I guess I did go through a chicken taco craving phase when I was pregnant with Blaise, but I discovered Chipotle mid-pregnancy and never went back to Taco Bell. In fact, we joke that Blaise was a week late because he didn’t want to give up having Chipotle.
Because it’s always something, the Taco Bell internet was down and we couldn’t pay. It’s was like $60-something and apparently they can only take payments without internet under $25. We didn’t have cash on us. The register guy was super great and helped split our order into three orders to keep each total under $25. A bit later, the food was ready and we ate inside. It was eh to all of us.
Back on the road with about three hours to go. No plans to stop. I’m not a stopper. I like to just go and get where we’re going. I don’t even really like stopping for food to be honest. But that would never fly with the rest of the family. The drive was uneventful. Brian usually takes the bulk of the driving. To be completely honest, half of the time he has no idea where he’s driving since I book all the trips, haha. It works for us.
Just after 5pm we pulled into the campground. I was impressed. Cute place. It’s on the east side of Lake Coeur d’Alene, with water access to the lake. The campground is nestled into a hillside that goes down to a marshy water area that connects to Lake Coeur d’Alene (or maybe it’s considered Lake Coeur d’Alene?!). The campground has a pool, kayaks, pedal boats, life jackets to use, and several communal areas to hang out. I checked in and got the key to our cabin, and we quickly unpacked and settled in while the kiddos explored.
Our friends were still at Silverwood and the water park, and we took our time nosing about the campground. We managed to find one of the family’s campsites thanks to a personalized chair for on of their kiddos. The other family was also cabining and we didn’t know which was theirs until they arrived back. It was a few cabins down from ours. All three of our families were relatively close-ish.
The other families made it back and the kids all took off after we ate dinner. The big kids were all about the kayaks and pedal boats. They tossed on life jackets and set off into the marsh for a bit. At dusk, we did s’mores before calling it a night. Friday was going to be a busy day at Silverwood.
It was after 10pm we got the kiddos off the water and all in bed. It was a cozy little cabin, with the added bonus of the kiddos in a room with a door. Normally when we travel, it’s all seven of us together all.the.time. A bit of separation at night to wind down is much appreciated.
Day one, check. Friday was all about Silverwood.
Friday! We all slept well and had a quiet morning. Brian made eggs, bacon, and fruit for breakfast while I made sandwiches for lunch at Silverwood. In past years, we’d just buy lunch at Silverwood. But these kids eat more and more, and the food there isn’t the best, so we opted to take our own lunches. It went surprisingly well. Like I mentioned, I’m not a snack mom; I don’t really like dealing with taking snacks (or lunches) with me places. I much prefer convenience. But this time, I think I’m sold on taking lunches places where buying food is an option.
Funny Saige moment. At her dance recital in May, they have snacks for purchase before and after the recital, and during intermission. Saige, with her dollar in hand (everything is $1), stood at the table looking around and asked in a disappointed voice, “Where are the healthy options?” She wanted an apple. The lady said, that’s a good question, maybe next year. Haha, Saige. She’s so funny. You’d think she’s a sugar-hound because it’s almost like she thinks she should be and buys candy. But then she rarely eats any. Just this last week, she bought two bags of candy but ended up giving most of it away at her summer camp.
Silverwood opened at 11am the day we went. We arrived just after 11am, after the kiddos had fun singing on the way there. Hahahaha. This was the first year we didn’t take a stroller. Brian packed his backpack with lunches and water, and all the other supplies we’d need. I remembered in the parking lot for Brian to put his pocket knife in the car. Usually we remember at the security check point and he has to run back to the car. Through the security check point, it was time for the standard picture (we’re missing two kiddos from the picture). The other family was already inside setting up at the water park.
The original Dumb Ways To Die.
Like always, we hit the carousel first. Tradition. Then it was free-for-all. The day was successful, with the kids hitting all the rides they wanted, often several times. Blaise and Laine are all about the coasters that go upside down. Baby checked off going on her first upside-down coaster (she wasn’t a fan). I don’t have many pictures from the day. We were all busy Silverwooding. My only complaint that isn’t really a big deal, is the train ride we took was just a train ride. There wasn’t a show to go along with the ride like before. Last year there was a bandit on the train. The year before then, there was a robbery and shootout at the old western town along the tracks. I didn’t realize there are only shows at certain times. We managed to be lucky in the past and pick the right times to ride the train. Noted for next year.
It’s always something, Silverwood edition. Baby was tired most of the day. Made sense, since she was up the night before and excited for Silverwood and camping with friends. She wasn’t complaining about anything, and happily went on rides. It was mid-afternoon when she had absolutely no energy. Thankfully our friends with a toddler had their stroller, and Baby took a seat. She passed on going on more rides. She looked okay, wasn’t complaining—again we thought she was just exhausted. A few hours later, still in the stroller, Brian felt her forehead (again). This time she was burning up. In my mom experience of feeling heads, my guess was 103 degrees. We didn’t have a thermometer so I quickly ordered one for Target pickup on the way back to the campground.
Back at the campground, with a thermometer in hand and a lethargic Baby lying in her bunk bed, the reading was 104.4 degrees. Awesome. Thankfully we travel with Tylenol and immediately gave her some. She wasn’t moving for the night. I stayed close to the cabin to keep an eye on her. Poor kid was passed out cold. I made sure her temperature went down once the meds kicked in. It went down slightly but was still in the 102 range. We’re not big rush to urgent care parents. We try to manage things first before the resorting to the hassle of going to urgent care—even with excellent health coverage. Obviously if it’s a major issue, we’d rush no question. But not for fevers when there aren’t any other glaring symptoms, we wait.
The rest of us had dinner that I cannot for the life of me remember what we ate. But I know we ate because we feed kids dinner every night. The other kids were quick to get on the water. Blaise and his buddy took a fishing pole and lantern, and stayed out past dusk. Laine and her buddy took off also. And while we said to stay close I think they ventured further than we would have liked—they made it into Lake Coeur d’Alene. Laine! Always pushing boundaries, that one.
Back on land, the kids played some games at the tent campsite before we called them to bed at 10pm. Quiet time. Eleven kids are NOT quiet at quiet hours, no matter how quiet they attempt to be. I pulled the parent card for ours. The four kiddos called it a night and were in bed by 10:30pm, and all out quickly. Brian and I stayed up longer to keep an eye on Baby and give her more meds at the four hour mark since she last had some.
In the meantime, her fever was back up. I’m not sure if the thermometer was off a bit or if it was accurate, but we had a reading of 105.3 degrees. At that point, we were like, maybe urgent care?! We gave her another round of meds and waited for her fever to go back down. Thankfully it did, but still in the 101-102 range. She was not feeling great. Poor kiddo. We set an alarm for four hours to wake in the night and give her another round of meds. She kept a 101-102 degree fever through the night.
Loooong Friday, check.
Saturday morning was quiet. The kids all ate breakfast, even Baby had a small appetite. She was still not feeling great but functional. We had her stay close to the cabin to take it easy. And to keep her germs away from the other families. Brian and I packed up the cabin and loaded the car, ready to head to Glacier for the final leg of the trip. We were out close to 11am, check out time.
The drive to Glacier from Coeur d’Alene is about four hours. At least where were staying. At the West Glacier KOA. The drive was smooth. Baby was feeling better and had energy. We drove on the 90 east until our exit in St. Regis, to head north to West Glacier. We lunched at a restaurant right off the exit after getting gas. Surprisingly, they had a table open for our family. We usually have to wait—either for them to combine tables or for a table(s) to open up. The highlight of this restaurant was their milkshakes. The kids scored. They had made an extra milkshake for some reason and gave it to our table knowing the kiddos would make it disappear. I may have helped, haha.
Lunch and milkshakes consumed, it was time for the last two hours of the drive. Baby was feeling so much better after eating but still a bit weak. No fever, phew.
The drive from St. Regis to West Glacier is beautiful. The landscape isn’t much different than around here but somehow it was prettier? It felt bigger?! I guess that whole Big Sky Country motto is a real thing. And bonus, because it matters to me, abortion is legal in Montana. Of course republicans tried to ban it after the Supreme Court ruling but they failed to remember that they have a state constitution that allows abortion, and overrides the Supreme Court ruling. I digress.
We made it to the KOA without stopping. Well, a quick switcheroo on the side of the road… Brian was tired (see it’s always something Glacier edition below).
It was just after 4pm when we made it to the KOA. I’m the checker-inner, and went into the office. With Baby not feeling well and wondering if any of the other kids would fall, I adjusted our stay to two nights with the option to add on the original third night once we knew if we were good to stay longer. Easy peasy, all the KOAs we’ve ever stayed at have been wonderful.
We rented a cabin and scored with the location. The cabin was on the end of the row of cabins, next to the pool and open grassy area. I was impressed. We unloaded the kiddos first, and set up Baby on the big bed downstairs. The cabin has a queen bed in the main area, a bunk room with a door, and a loft with beds. Brian and I forfeited the queen bed for Baby to be more comfortable, plus there’s a television in the main area.
After getting everyone and everything unloaded, we set out to explore. KOAs usually have activities daily, and this day it was tie-dyeing shirts. The girls were all in. Blaise had no interest and took his football to the open grassy area. It wasn’t long before he had a group of kids to play with. Baby was resting in the cabin. Another bonus of the location was we could see the cabin from all the areas we went, which made us feel comfortable to come and go if kids stayed behind (with the exception of Maive, she’s not quite old enough to be alone yet).
The girls tie-dyed, Blaise footballed, and then they all hit up the playground before even more football for Blaise and Laine. Laine made a shirt for Baby, in Sonic colors. These kids are thoughtful.
Saturday evening was pretty chill. Everyone was tired form the eventful Silverwood part of the trip. After a late dinner, I put Maive down next to an already sleeping Baby while Brian took the other three to the pool. The pool closed at 10pm and Brin was back with the three kiddos not long after, who all quickly readied for bed. We were all tired and out after the busy few days.
Sunday, Glacier day! Baby felt better! I took a chance when I booked the Glacier stay last summer. I read online that the Going To The Sun Road is sometimes closed until July. Thankfully it was open when we went, having opened on June 13. We drove the road June 18. Phew! I had already purchased our park entrance fee and the measly GTTSR $2 fee before entering the park. The plan was to drive the road Sunday and explore the park Monday. And that’s kind of what we did.
Driving the Going To The Sun Road is not for those of us who don’t like heights. Brian is Mr. Safety when it comes to driving, so he took on that job. Not that I’m not safe but I would be nervous driving with the heights. It wasn’t super busy at the entrance. At least not compared to Yellowstone. I remember being so turned off by how amusment-parky it felt in line to enter Yellowstone. Yellowstone was pretty and all, and I enjoyed the animals but it was mostly a total turn-off. I don’t know, it just felt touristy and not in a good way. People watching Old Faithful through their phone cameras, the mass amounts of overweight people on jazzy scooters, so many people smoking, all the consumerism at park stores… it was eye-opening. I really was (and still am) taken aback by the SHEER amount of large folks. Not that there aren’t large folks around here but they stand out more than the average person. And not that everyone is a fitness model. Just healthy. Living in California and the PNW, people tend to be more active I suppose? And I’ve mostly lived in areas where people tend to have higher incomes that helps people eat healthier, which is a terrible capitalistic thing. But that’s a whole other rant.
Thankfully Glacier didn’t have that Yellowstone vibe. It was quieter and people felt more active. Like they were there to experience the park, not be a passive tourist. Of course I had the kiddos get out to take a picture by the entrance sign. I wasn’t the only mom doing this, haha. After loading back in the car, it was a quick entry since I had my Apple Wallet ready to be scanned. We followed the sign to the GTTSR and ended up in a massive backup. They’re doing construction on the first few miles of the road, and we had the luck of being caught up in the line of cars. After a few miles of bumper to bumper traffic, the construction ended and cars spaced out. It wasn’t trafficy at all. Sure, there were other cars but it didn’t feel crowded.
Brian took his time driving up the road, the posted speed limit is pretty low anyway. We had enough space between us and other cars to slow down to check out views if we wanted, without inconveniencing others. Man, it is a beautiful park. So amazing that this type of place exists. Geology is pretty freaking cool. I was in awe of all the views. And it takes something impressive to move me. Despite my dentist in college calling me easy, I’m not. Haha. That was a fun moment. Super religious dentist, with a cat poster on the ceiling with a bible quote, said, “Wow, you’re easy,” while he was working one me. I said, “I’ve never been called easy before,” to which he turned bright red. The young hygienist laughed.
It was a few hours until we made it to Logan Pass. We parked and checked out the visitor center up there. It was SO cold. I knew it would be coldish in Glacier but man, it was freezing. Like ice cold air. I wasn’t expecting this. We nosed around a bit and while Brian and the girls went back to load into the car, Blaise and I walked around a bit, taking in the views. It is absolutely stunning. And bonus, Blaise and I found a cute little critter.
The bag of chips! It filled with air as we drove up GTTSR. It was a big burst when we opened the sucker.
Leaving Logan Pass, we considered continuing on GTTSR to the east entrance of the Glacier. But we had hungry kiddos and timing-wise, we didn’t want to be in the car much longer. It would already be a couple of hours going back the way we came.
We started the drive back, and we stopped at one of the pull-outs for a hike. I had seen the bridge over the river on our way up and wanted to check it out. I like bridges. Not sure why but I do. I wish I had taken note of where we stopped to get a name for the area. But I didn’t.
After several hours spent in Glacier, we left the park for food. We were all hungry and found a cute little restaurant just outside of the park. Brian used ChatGPT to find family-friendly restaurants. We went to the one that was recommended. No complaints, it was food and we were seated right away and the service was good. Brian was starting to feel an asthma attack coming on…
Back at the cabin, we nosed about the KOA—football, playground, riding bikes. We occupied ourselves until the magic show Sunday night. The KOA event for the evening. It was cute, cheesy, and perfect for the kiddos. Even the older ones were entertained. Laine was selected for one of the magic tricks. And then Brian, for the adult magic joke. Funny thing, when the magician was looking for an adult volunteer, even the moms we didn’t know standing near us were pointing to Brian. Haha, no mom wanted to go up. Brian took one for the moms and participated. Brian was trying his hardest to hold off coughing, his asthma was getting worse.
After the magic show, we went for ice cream. The KOA has an ice cream shop on site, and we (specifically me, since I didn’t have one the night before when Brian took the kids) scored the last waffle cone of the evening. The young gal working the shop was cute, “Are they ALL yours?” she asked when we walked up. Haha, maybe large families don’t stay at the KOA often? Brian was starting to feel awful. Back to the cabin we went. He and Maive called it a night and settled into bed.
Blaise and Laine made plans with the kids from the night before to meet on the grassy area for another round of football. And with Baby feeling better, she wanted to go swimming since she missed out the night before. I took her while the other kids did their thing. Saige made friends with kids at the playground and stayed there. Baby was finished swimming after about a half-hour, and I called it a night for her. I gathered Saige and got those two into bed. I let Blaise and Laine stay out until the other kids called it a night—which ended up being just after 10pm.
Everyone went to bed. I stayed up and slept terribly, I was concerned about Brian’s asthma. He was wheezing big time. I kept checking on him to make sure he was alive! But apparently we missed each other being up in the night; he was sleeping in with Baby. Maive had been with me but left to go sleep with Brian and Baby. Brian was up off-and-on with Maive in the night. Thankfully Baby was feeling better!
It’s always something, Glacier edition. Monday morning was fun. Brian felt AWFUL. Like he couldn’t get out of bed awful. Baby was totally back to normal, so there’s that. Brian didn’t move. He spent the entire day in bed. I was looking forward to going back into Glacier, and checking out Lake McDonald and the colorful rocks. And I had hoped for a family hike but with Brian down and the other something, I nixed that plan.
The other something. Maivers! She was chipper and felt fine but was having major tummy issues. Like she couldn’t be away from a bathroom tummy issues. Which is why Brian was up with her in the night. Two people down for the count on vacation, lovely. Saige took one for the team and offered to stay behind to keep an eye on Brian and Maive. Saige wasn’t that into Glacier the day before. She liked the idea of staying behind and having the ability to go socialize at the KOA playground. Saige is our extremely outgoing kiddo.
It was all me Monday. Not that I can’t pull my weight but usually on vacation, Brian does the majority of the things. I do all the planning and legwork before the vacation, and then Brian does al the driving and most of the duties on vacation. It’s just how we work. But not this Monday. I made the kids breakfast, got everyone ready and situated before leaving with Blaise, Laine, and Baby to go back to Glacier.
There was no line entering Glacier. We went right to the check point, ready with my Apple Wallet to scan. Instead of hitting GTTSR, we turned left to Apgar Village. There was ample parking, it felt quiet. My kind of outing. Having no knowledge or plan of where or what we were going to do, we just went for it. Which is SO not like me. I’m a planner. But sometimes it’s fun going with no plan. Like this day.
The lot we parked in had a trail to somewhere. Where? We had no idea. But it felt like we were going toward Lake McDonald. Sure enough, we made it to a village, Apgar Village to be exact. It reminded me of Tahoe. I’m not sure why but it did. We found a beach access point and hit the rocky beach. I had higher expectations of the colored rocks. Probably because of massively photoshopped images. It was pretty and all, and colorful but more dull than expected. Photoshop for sure. We nosed about the shore for a while.
There’s a kayak rental place, and we were going to rent two kayaks spontaneously but that plan was halted when it wasn’t an option for Blaise and Laine to kayak on their own, they needed an adult. Which wasn’t going to work. We briefly considered renting a boat because we could all fit but I am NOT a boat person. No matter how many boats my dad had growing up or how many times he took us to lakes and rivers, I never became a boat fan. In fact, I actively avoid boating. If someone offered me a free boat, nope. And if anyone asks me to go out on a boat, nope. I quickly decided against the boat thing. Although it would have been fun to be on the water, only in kayaks.
We wandered a bit longer on the rocky shore before exploring the village. It’s so cute. There’s a nature trail to a nature center, and that was super cool. Nobody else was inside other than the older woman whom I’m guessing is a volunteer? She had a cute ranger-like outfit on. I’m guessing volunteer because she was well past retirement age. And as we were leaving another older woman—with the same cute ranger-like outfit—came in to relieve the woman. I’m right.
The Nature Center is filled with several animal displays and objects. They have pelts of all the animals that live in the park; we were able to pet different bears and a wolf! Baby was so excited for the wolf. And skulls galore. The woman had us guess the weight, and then hold, a bighorn sheep skull with the horns. It was something like 28 pounds. Crazy. We must have spent 20 minutes in there. It’s not super big and being the only folks in there, we managed to check out all the things fairly quickly.
After the Nature Center, we hit up a cute little store that is in the former one-room schoolhouse. There were two older women working there and were quite chatty with the kiddos. Baby found a wolf hat she really wanted so as I was ringing it up, one of the women was asking the kids how old they are, what grade they’re in, what school they go to… all the standard old people questions. When one of the kids said they’re homeschooled, the woman immediately asked if they were part of a Christian homeschool group. Hahaha. Not sure if it’s because we were in Montana and it feels different or if they figure homeschoolers are religious, but I got a silent chuckle out of that question. The kids were quick to say no, that we aren’t Christian, and that they attend a few homeschool programs and went on to tell her about them. The only Christian thing in our house is that my kids probably think Jesus’ middle name is Fucking. I guess we do celebrate Christmas and Easter, but not in a Jesus way.
A few hours later, we hopped back into the car and drove further into the park until we found a campground. We parked and checked out the shoreline from the beach next to the campground. We didn’t spend long there, maybe 15 minutes before the kiddos were ready for lunch.
Outside of the West Entrance is a cute little shopping area with kitschy buildings. Blaise was determined to stop at the Huckleberry Hut. It’s huckleberry madness all over the area. In fact, the restaurant we stopped at on Saturday, one of the kids ordered the huckleberry milkshake.
It was a cute store but overpriced. Much like the kitschy grocery store next door that we stopped at the day before. I had never spent $10 on a dozen eggs or $10 on bread before. They know people like me will spend that in a pinch, to avoid driving further into town. We left Huckleberry Hut buying nothing, even though they had some tempting products.
It was time for lunch. I had texted Saige to check in and all was well. We felt comfortable staying out longer. There is a small town about 20 minutes up the road from where we came into town. We went that way looking for a place to eat. We settled on A&W, the only fast food joint in that town. I think the kids wanted root beer and couldn’t have cared less about food. Which is probably a good thing because that food was questionable. I should have known this going into this plan but whatever. We ordered and ate inside, using ate loosely. None of us were really into the food. Blaise did like the sliders but the chili cheese fries looked disgusting. Blaise and Laine both ordered some and neither ate any. It’s not my thing to begin with, but looking at the glossy cheese, it didn’t even look like food. Baby had chicken strips and they seemed okay. But the glass mugs of root beer were the biggest hit with the kids. At least there was something.
Stepping into that place felt like a time machine. It was the ’80s all over again. And the workers, all women, were wearing circa early 2000s jeans with the low-rise, bootcut, and bejeweled back pockets style. They all had super obvious fake eyelashes on also. I guess this is the current Montana style? They were all pretty gals and dressed well but it sure felt like a time warp. Then again, there’s this about the PNW (totally true). So who am I to comment on Montana style.
Back into 2023, we left A&W for the cabin. Driving, we saw a sign that said Hungry Horse Dam. It was a spontaneous day. We turned. This ended up being my highlight of the day. We drove maybe 10 minutes and ended up at a dam. There was ample parking, and we scored a spot right outside of the visitor center. They have docents all around. One young man approached us to tell us about the dam, and the kids had a few questions. Then he asked if we wanted to see something cool. Um, of course we did. He walked us to two spots in the cement wall where there are spaces. They have two bats who live there. We were able to see them between the cement spacing. Not super clearly but clear enough to make out that they were bats.
He then guided us to the visitor center and showed us the machine where you print designs on pennies. I remember these suckers from our day trips to San Francisco as a kid. Shockingly, the machine was free. Even back in the day I think we had to insert a quarter first, and then a penny to smash with the design. The kids each made a penny—and two extra for Saige and Maive—before we nosed about the visitor center a bit.
Next up, we walked across the dam. But not on the dam side. At least I didn’t. The kids could have but they stayed with me. It was super cool. Much more impressive than Hoover Dam, in my book. Not that Hoover Dam isn’t impressive, it was pretty cool also. Especially when you can stand on the Nevada and Arizona border. But this dam, the water was fairly high and it just felt more dam-like? I don’t know, I just liked it better. Not as touristy either.
Across the dam is a small recreation area and a little creek. And a rock slide area fenced off.
Trekking back, I grabbed a picture from the dam side. Heights! Ugh, not my thing. But I didn’t drop my phone so there’s that.
It was this day, to my juvenile amusement, I learned dams have glory holes.
The dam stop was great. I’m glad I was feeling spontaneous this day. We decided it was time to head back to the cabin to check in on the rest of the crew.
It was a quiet evening. Brian was still in bed. Saige did a great job watching Brian and Maive, and thankfully Maive was feeling better. I relieved Saige, and she took off with Baby and Maive to the playground to socialize. Blaise and Laine took off also, to find their football buddies. I knew getting everything to leave the next day was on me, so I started packing up what I could and loading the car. I wanted to get up early Tuesday to drive straight home. I had fed the kids dinner before they dispersed so I could get all the kitchen stuff packed and loaded.
Around 8pm I called back Maive, Saige, and Baby to the cabin. I had them pack up and put on whatever they wanted to wear on the drive home. The only thing I left out were toothbrushes. They were all out fairly quickly. Brian was still in bed. No appetite or anything. And his asthma was still bad. I feel like he should have gone into urgent care but he felt like it was under control. I wouldn’t mess with breathing issues—but that’s me, an inexperienced, non-asthmatic person.
Blaise and Laine were back at dusk, and I had them do the same. Pack up and put on whatever they wanted to wear for the drive home in the morning. After they called it a night, I loaded all that I could into the car, showered, and called it a night myself. My plan was to wake up at 6am, pack the last little bit, get everyone up and loaded, and pull out at 7am to stop at a grocery store for a lame breakfast of donuts and fruit.
The one thing about me, is I’m an excellent time manager and planner. Everything went as planned. We pulled out at 7am and thankfully Brian was mobile. The one thing I needed him for was putting the bike rack on the car. I’m sure I could manage if I had hours on end. He also helped loading the roof rack. But he was spent after those two things. He settled into the passenger seat while I hit the road.
Later, cabin! Our poor dirty car.
The drive home was smooth. One thing I’ll give Montana is people drive fast. Posted speed limits at the bare minimum, my kind of people. We made great time. It was just before 10:30am when we made it to Coeur d’Alene. I pulled off to get gas and brunch, with everyone deciding on McDonald’s. It made it easy, they were serving breakfast and switch to normal food at 10:30am. It was like 10:24am so they let us order whatever. Everyone hit the restroom and we loaded back into the car. I was down with the kids eating on the road because I wanted to get home.
Brian mostly slept, which was great. He needed as much rest as possible. I was speeding along the 90 and was making excellent time. It wasn’t until Ellensburg when more cars were on the road but everyone abided by the stay right except to pass rule. Well, almost everyone. One middle-aged dude in a truck was like, I’m going the speed limit! In the fast lane. Ugh. I managed to pass him after he finally got the hint other people may want to drive faster, even if it’s above the speed limit. It got busier as we approached the pass but people were still great about staying right. And when they weren’t as we approached North Bend, the right lane is usually the fastest up here when people camp in the left lanes. There was only one car who wanted to go faster than me the entire drive home, and of course I moved right to let him pass even though he would be stuck behind the slower person in front of me who hadn’t moved over yet. They eventually did.
This is one thing I really miss about California. The fast driving. Although, I’m acclimated to up here I suppose. Last year when we were in San Diego, we were going like 75 mph in the SLOW LANE and we were the putters, hahaha. I can still remember driving down the 5 almost every weekend to visit Brian before I went to Cal Poly, and everyone drives fast. Even the big trucks. It’s not uncommon to pass a CHP and not even worry about going 5-10 mph over the speed limit. Maybe this has changed; it’s been 20-something years.
HOME. We made it home before dinnertime. Brian was back amongst the living and able to help unpack. He didn’t have to but I think he was tired of resting. He even vacuumed out the car for me. We were quickly unpacked and had laundry going, and everything was where it belonged. All that was left was going to grab Melvin. Saige had a dance class and she felt like going. Brian dropped her off and picked up Mel, and then picked up Saige. We were back to our normal.
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