Well we have survived ten days and nights, traveling over 1,200 miles, in what we can now call "the trusty Vanagon". The Vanagon is twenty years old, which is quite contemporary in Volkswagon bus terms, but frighteningly ancient when considering a long road trip through remote land and grizzly country. I've seen several Vanagons broken down on the side of the road or being towed away to VW graveyards. I've also seen one on fire in our neighborhood. Not great images to have when setting out on the first extensive adventure in the TMF's ride. But, it proved we had nothing to worry about. And the TMF's obsession over every little accoutrement and accessory proved to be quite worthwhile - screens to keep the mosquitoes out but fresh air in, specialty fridge so we didn't have to constantly be fishing our food out of 6 inches of melting ice. I no longer complain about the endless hours he spent on the internet researching the infinite ways to pimp the Van out. He chose wisely and I admittedly benefited greatly.
Some highlights of the trip:
The Food. The TMF obsessed over the Vanagon while I spent days planning dinners, creating spice rubs and marinades to take with us, cooking and prepping ingredients in an effort to make things as easy as possible while camping. I must say, we ate well. We ate the same thing for breakfast and lunch for the entire 10 days. Breakfast was yogurt, fresh fruit and the homemade granola pictured below. Lunch was a veggie filled sandwich (also pictured in the collection below). But dinner is where we got creative. Grilled caprese ((mozzarella, tomatoes, basil) paninis, fish tacos, dutch oven cod bake with leeks, potatoes & carrots, chicken satay with peanut sauce & grilled broccoli, carnitas tacos with grilled corn, on and on. I even made a peach cobbler in the dutch oven. Almost all attempts were a hit, but I'm looking forward to continuing to experiment with the food portion of camping.
The Wildlife. The plentifullness of wildlife in Glacier National Park is both a blessing and a curse. There is a large grizzly population in the park and it's impossible to forget. There are signs everywhere and at least one person is mauled per year inside the park. This led to a rather tense five hours as we hiked 15 miles through the forest and mountains of the park. In the end no grizzlies were spotted but we did get to watch a herd of mountain goats make their way across a snowy cliffside, seemingly defying gravity. It was amazing to watch them as the babies slid down the snow caps, eventually finding their footing rather than falling thousands of feet to their death. Later in the week we were paddling around Lake McDonald at dusk when we spotted a mountain lion (Otherwise known as a cougar. The kind of cougar that likes to eat 100 pound children or stalk hikers for miles and then attack the last in line because they are presumably the weakest. They are not dumb animals.) stalking us from the shore. It was pretty exciting at the time since they are pretty elusive animals, not often seen by humans. We also felt pretty safe in the water since they are a cat and not likely going to jump in the lake in pursuit of us.
The Views. Glacier is a feast for the eyes, no doubt about it. You should be able to tell from the pics below. We were consistently in awe of the views. The weather we enjoyed certainly helped that situation!
Awesome pics. Looks like you ate really well.
Guess we'll have to add Glacier to our travel list.
Posted by: Mom | Tuesday, July 20, 2010 at 05:46 AM