He's so sweet! He has been telling me all year that we were going to take this vacation before the year was up because we were overdue for a visit with Jan. He said that this is my 25th-anniversary present. Jan recalled a song that we all learned as children - "Make new friends but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold." I've certainly got two gems in Nathan and Jan. He felt that if he worked on a little project here, that would give Jan and me time to visit and catch up. We have thoroughly been enjoying just being together and chatting. She gave Andrew the opportunity to earn some more vacation money by mowing her yard. While he mowed and used the weedeater, Jan and I continued our visit out on the lawn cleaning the flower beds.
This afternoon, she treated us to a trip to Glacier National Park! Before entering the park, we stopped for some yummy huckleberry ice cream. Then we entered West Glacier and drove up to Lake McDonald where she had reserved tickets for us to take the boat tour. The smoke is pretty thick today. We were only able to see the outlines of the mountains all around us, but closer in we were able to see parts of the shoreline. Burned trees and new growth were visible there from the 2017 fires. Wildfires are a sad part of life in these parts, but as Jan explained, that some of the pines around here have serotinous cones. That means that they need the intense heat from fires in order for their cones to open and release the seeds. We also saw and were told about a resort across the lake that is being rebuilt. That portion of land was owned by homesteaders prior to the land in the area becoming a national park, so they are allowed to keep their little piece of heaven as private land. If it had burned completely, they would have had to surrender the land. Lake McDonald is glacier-fed and too cold to swim in comfortably. We saw a few children splashing and playing on the shoreline and adults sitting along the shore in swimsuits, but they looked VERY dry. The lake is similar to a bathtub in shape. It has a very shallow shoreline and then drops pretty substantially. The water is so clear though and full of the colorful rocks that sparkle in the sunlight.
After the boat tour, we hiked the Trail of Cedars. It is such a nice, quiet stroll. The trail is about a mile long and filled with such majestic trees - sooo much greenery. I loved looking up through the needles to the sky. It almost seemed lacy. We were also in awe of the bark on these cedars. Some was 3-4" thick!! Midway, we enjoyed the sights and sounds of Avalanche Gorge where Avalanche Creek pours through. Andrew was having a fit to get in the lake or creek, and Jan kept promising him an opportunity. After completing our hike, he was able to play in the creek for a bit. He took pleasure in his ice water shock as he attempted to subject random parts of his body at a time to the water until he was completely wet. He missed his upper back, but you've got to give him kudos for accomplishing what he did.
After leaving the park, we still had to make the drive back to Kalispell. Andrew was wiped out from the day's activities. We met Grammy at a Mexican restaurant, and Andrew woke up just long enough to stumble in and order sweet tea. When we woke him to leave, he had no idea where he was or why we weren't eating dinner. For a second I thought I was going to have to pick him up and carry him out to the car. He finally stumbled along with me. Back at the house, Martha had prepared a birthday cake for Nathan, so we were able to extend his birthday celebration, sing again, and enjoy some pineapple upside-down cake. It was nearly midnight when we turned in.
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