Glacier Day 2

Yesterday, between "Thank you, God," "You are incredible, Lord!"  and "How excellent is thy name in all the earth!" I may have mentioned to the Lord that today is my birthday and how nice it would be to have sunshine for the morning while I hiked.

It was a gorgeous, cloudless morning. He doesn't always answer yes to my prayers, but this one he did.

I learned my lesson yesterday. I went straight to Logan Pass without stopping. Well, almost without stopping. I couldn't resist a couple pullouts to take pictures of the rising sun on views that had been overcast yesterday. 

But no short hikes or waterfalls. I was very much aware that every car that passed me would be looking for a parking space at Logan's Pass. I pulled into the parking lot at 8:45 and took the last space I saw. (There might have been one or two others; I didn't go up every lane; but I didn't see any more.) The queue for the chemical toilets was even longer than yesterday. Everyone, like me, wanted to use them before setting off. I climbed a mile and a half to Hidden Lake Overlook. 

I stopped frequently "to enjoy the scenery." After all, I was back at 7200'. The music going through my head constantly was "Climb Every Mountain / Search high and low / Follow every byway / every path you know."

I did not hike the extra mile and a half to the lake itself since that would have been mostly steeply downhill, and what goes down, must come up. But the view from the top was worth it.

For that matter, the view in every direction was worth it. Besides the path back to the visitor center, you can see the road east off to the right.

Picnic spot. I was thinking that I had a four-hour drive after I left the park. If I had realized it was only two and a half, I would have lingered more.

I kept telling myself, "This is the last picture." This one really was. Wild Goose Island.

I am in Great Falls, MT, tonight. Then I have three long days of driving to reach Indianapolis for my father's 100th birthday. Unless there are more adventures than I am praying for, I don't expect to post anything more here. It has been a lovely couple days at Glacier. We will definitely be back. Wonderful time exploring and with family before that.

Now I think I will go eat one of the chocolate covered cherries my husband wrapped up for me as a birthday gift.

P.S. Almost forgot one last adventure. When I got back to the parking lot about 11:30, it was jammed with cars, circling round and round hoping for someone to leave. I was happy to oblige them, only my keys were not in my pocket. They weren't in my other pockets either. They weren't in the pocket of the jacket I had stuffed in my backpack when I got warm exercising (even though there was ice on the puddles.) Or anyplace else in my pack. I was sure I had put the keys in my back pocket. I will never do that again. They will be clipped to the string in my backpack where they can't possibly fall out. I dreaded climbing all the way back to the overlook, searching the ground for keys. Besides, wouldn't I have seen them on my way down? The only other place was... the toilets? I walked back up to the visitor center (while cars circled below like vultures waiting for my parking space) and asked if they had a lost and found. "What did you lose? Car keys? Did they have a little white plastic tag attached?" Oh, the relief!

There was a car waiting in front of my spot when I got there. I think he thought he had won the lottery when I said, yes, I'm leaving. His wife had to get out and stand there to keep someone else from swooping in as I pulled out.

I'm just really glad the keys hadn't fallen IN the chemical toilet.