We were all very happy to make it to our cabin in Apgar and be able to get settled. We got to Apgar around dinner time so we ate at the diner in town and then got settled in at the hotel. We got Alden and Anders ready for bed pretty quickly, after giving them a little time to stretch. It was nice because once Alden was down my dad volunteered to stay with him in the room so that Drew and I could go out and walk around a little. It was nice getting to see Lake McDonald at sunset and take in the beautiful views.
Alden had fun walking around and exploring with Grandpa when we first got there.
Anders was so happy to be out of his car seat and able to stretch and wiggle. He was so happy and full of smiles!
My dad took these when he went down to see the lake.
When Drew and I went down a little later it looked like this.
It is such a pretty place and I wish we could have stayed here longer!
This was even later in the evening after Drew and I had walked around a little more. I love the dark tints and the pink in the sunset now.
Lake McDonald is so pretty. Drew and I both agree that this would be a fun place to go back and visit again!
After leaving Calgary we headed to Glacier National Park where we decided to drive along the Going to the Sun Road to get through the park to Apgar. This drive is very scenic and beautiful and I think we got pretty lucky with our timing. There were storms on and off all day at the pass but we never ended up driving in the worst of it. We did get to hike in some of the worst of it, but that made for a very memorable and interesting experience.
We stopped at Logan's Pass to get out and look around a little. It wasn't raining when we got there so decided we would start walking the trail. My dad happened to mention to Alden that there were mountain goats at the top of the hike and that got Alden going. Unfortunately, it meant that he didn't want to turn around even when it started to rain. My dad finally tapped out first, figuring he had had enough hiking in the rain but Alden was determined to keep going and find those mountain goats. However, that was about the point where we heard a loud boom and saw lightning strike maybe a quarter mile away on the hill. We saw the lightning hit the ground and saw smoke rise from where it hit. At that point there was no discussion, we picked Alden up, turned around and headed back down the hill. On our way down the hill it started hailing and raining harder so we were all very wet by the time we got back to the visitor's center. It was a very memorable hike and even Alden had his own version of what happened.
Here is Alden's story of the hike. As you will see he thought the lightning was really cool!
These were some of the gorgeous views from along the Going-to-the-Sun-Road.
These were at the Visitor's Center at Logan's Pass. As you can tell it was very cloudy, but not raining when we arrived.
They have lots of these ground squirrels around the visitor's center that Alden had a lot of fun watching.
These squirrels were not afraid of us and definitely had no shortage of food.
These squirrels would just sit there while Alden watched them.
It was really pretty when we started out on the hike. Drew, unfortunately didn't have a raincoat.
This trail is just hiking up a boardwalk through a meadow....however that wasn't so great when lighting strikes.
All bundled up and hiking. Alden was so determined to keep going and find those mountain goats. I managed to get Anders bundled well enough that he never got wet when it started raining. He got to stay very warm and dry.
But, when the lighting hit, we were done! We got down off the mountain pretty quickly at that point. And, as you can see, with the lightning came more rain.
After our hike we were all thoroughly soaked. As you can see here Alden's jacket and pants were soaked. We got in the car and quickly turned on the heater to try to warm up. We then proceeded to drive the rest of the Going-to-the-Sun-Road to Apgar. Luckily, the storm let up for the rest of our drive.
These were the views on the drive down the other side of the Going-to-the-Sun-Road, after our hike. It really was nice that the weather cooperated and it stopped raining while we were driving.
On our last morning in Calgary we decided to take Alden down to the pool one last time because it was the last time we would have convenient access to a pool on our vacation. We had been swimming at almost every hotel we stayed at for the whole trip and I was so impressed by the amount of progress Alden made in such a short time. He went from only being willing to stand or sit on the top step to being able to jump from the steps on his own and take off swimming all the way across the pool with just the help of his floaty. I really want my kids to learn how to swim and feel comfortable in the water and I feel like this was a big step for us, to get Alden to the point when he is no longer afraid of pools.
This pool was a very warm temperature which was nice for Anders. It meant that I could take him in for awhile and he really enjoyed it.
Alden started out being timid on the steps again...
But, he quickly jumped in and was swimming all over. This was a video of Alden when we first got in the pool here.
At some points Alden would rest on the stairs and want the ball passed to him. Here is a video of Alden on the stairs.
Anders had a great time in this pool because it was so warm. Here is a video of him in the water.
Alden had a lot of fun chasing the ball around the pool and he got pretty good at it. Here is the first video of Alden chasing the ball. Here is video # 2 of Alden chasing the ball.
Alden also learned how to scoot along the wall which you can see in this video.
Such a happy swimming boy by the end. I am so proud of Alden for improving so fast and I think this video shows how much he has improved and how much fun he has swimming now.
