Glacier NP

We just got back from a week in Glacier with the Koning side of the fam. It was fantastic, refreshing, and spectacular. Our first stop was at Sakuma Farms near Mount Vernon. Nate met us at their big fruit stand a mile of I-5, and hooked us up with the best strawberries that this fertile earth has every produced!!! I've had plenty of berries in my 30 years on this planet, but all pale in comparison to what those Sakuma Bros grow right here in WA.













They had some fun toys for the kiddos, and Abigail didn't hesitate at all climbing right into the cockpit and drivers seat. Look out Amelia Earhart and Danica Patrick.
















We stayed the first night in Revelstoke, BC, at the Frontier Hotel. It was an old-west style ya-hoo good time, with a great breakfast! We put Abee to bed and Melis & I played frisbee in their mostly-empty parking lot until it was too dark to see. Melis tossed the disc out into the highway once, but I hit our car twice before we called it a night.













From there we went into Banff and drove up to Morraine Lake where we grabbed lunch and walked out a ways, admiring the deep turquoise color.













Taking advantage of light that kept the day awake until 10:30 at night, we did a bunch that day. We drove the Icefields Highway to the Columbia Icefield in Jasper, and forked out the dough to take the bus-on-steroids up onto the Athabasca Glacier.













I was again reminded why I'm convinced that ice is the most beautiful part of God's created world. For any of you that haven't crossed off 'walking on a glacier' from your bucket list (it ought to be there if it's not), I could write pages trying to describe the depth of the blue that exists deep in the crevasses in a glacier, but it wouldn't be enough.













Melis dipped our Nalgene (yup - we still use 'em dispite all the warnings against them) into the river flowing through the ice and we enjoyed sipping on the 32.1 degree high quality H2O.













Abigail did great on the ice, but we were glad we put on her extra layer.













From there we drove back to Banff and saw the iconic Lake Louise. The Abee Joy wasn't all that impressed. She slept great all the way to Calgary that night.













Then came the main event. We drove from there to Martin City, just outside of Glacier NP in MT. We met up with the Koning side of the family - those from ID, SD, WA, CA, & even CO ('sup Steve!). Here Grams Great enjoys making Abigail smile.













Aaron, Serena, & Dillon at Avalanche Lake.













Cousin Dillon had a blast in the water, but Abee wasn't quite so sure about that lake water. And she was pretty sure there was something a little fishy with the slimy mud between her toes.



















Uncle Steve got quite the smiles out of her.



















Enjoying just a few of the many waterfalls that cut down from the peaks.







































Check out the tongue of this bighorn sheep. Beargrass, anyone?














I enjoyed tinkering with a new lens that I got recently (I owe the idea to Malissa Eekhoff - thanks!). It's a simple, inexpensive, fixed-focus lens that has the ability to have a very wide aperature. The affect is a single point of focus, with everything else blurry. I'd be happy to go into the physics of why this happens. . .but I don't want to put anyone to sleep.



















The group shot near the Many Glacier area. Coming back through this area a few hours later, we saw 4 bear in this general viscinity.













A small peice of Redrock Falls, aptly named.













The place we stayed was awesome. We had three cabins, and had a great time. It was a rustic area a ways off the beaten path. Abee seemed to take to the area well. As long as she didn't have to touch the grass.














She has grassophobia.



















My two cute chicks.



















She got a handful of slivers crawling around on the porch, but didn't mind at all. After all that time in the car, she was just happy to be a free baby once more.



















Fence & daisy with the new funky lens.









After getting particularly dirty one day, the cousins got a badly-needed bath. Together.












Blongo ball was a favorite pasttime.













The whole clan again.













As we were leaving, we put Dillon & Abee in an old wagon they had on the property. I'd say they loved it!













After everyone else headed home, we climbed up to the Apgar Lookout, an old fire post. It's 1,850' in 3.5 miles each way was mostly through areas burned out by the 2003 Robert Fire.



















Great 360 views.














We could look down to the east and see Lake MacDonald, which we'd taken a boat tour on a few days before.














This fine young buck sporting stubby velvety antlers bid us farewell just before heading home.














We sure appreciate our family! We miss you already.