Hike to the "M"

View of Hellgate


On a hill overlooking "Hell Gate" the team decided to hike to the big giant "M" on the side of the hill. Todd went with a chunk of the family, while I stayed behind with Luke. (Quite frankly, after the Avalanche Lake hike, I was done.) From the pictures, the view was amazing and I was jealous about that.

From the top, they could see Hellgate, the valley where the Native American tribes would ambush each other. Most of the schools in the area are named Hellgate, which I find . . . strange.

Notice: especially endearing about the hike, Em (Emily) was on the "M." Yup, Em on the M. We're dorky. It is what it is.(lft to rt) Tia Katie, Ellen, Em, Aunt Bigie

(lft to rt) Uncle Jan, Aunt Bigie, Tia Katie, Em and Todd

Is it fun?

Apparently, we think the best way to have fun with our child is to put him on the world's fastest, most terrifying carousel. Little did we know, carousels can in fact be terrifying. Lesson learned. Yes, they are blurry, awful pictures, but Luke was scared out of his mind the first round, so we promptly put him back on the carousel. (note: Mommy had enough after Round 1. Daddy took over for Round 2. Luke had to go on twice! We're mean!)


Here is Grandma Harvana and Tia Katie enjoying Dragon Hallow Park. (note: I totally fell and busted my butt on the playground as it had rained that morning. I'm such a klutz.)


I really enjoyed the "backstory" of both the carousel and the adjacent park and love supporting good causes. The short story: both the carousel and the park were built by volunteers from the community. Read about the story here: http://www.carrousel.com (yes, I know carousel is spelled wrong, that's just the website.)

Tater Tater Tater Tater Tater Tater Tater

TOTS!



After the hike, it took quite a bit of time for the whole crew to get back to the hotel. While the unencumbered adults (sans kids) planned on going out for a late dinner, we knew we had to get a quick dinner for Luke. He had eaten Taco Johns the afternoon before and loved it, so we tried it again. What could be better than a quesadilla and tater tots??


Luke discovered that half the fun of tots is the stacking! He stacked to a solid three, but that fourth tot just would not stay on. Stack, fall, try again. Stack, fall, try again. Stack, fall . . . eat. Much more successful method.


Granted, it was late, Luke was tired, so he was especially loopy and giggly about the tots. But it did make for a humorous picture or two.

Avalanche Lake

We decided to take Luke on a 4.5 mile hike up to Avalanche Lake in Glacier. I am not a hiker. Yet, the Flory-Unger clan sure is! I always end up hiking around with them, and as I told them: I'm annoyed while hiking, but always really glad I did hike wheneverI get to where we're going.

This was no exception - the trail opened up to a beautiful lake with three waterfalls flowing into it.

The shore was rocky and wide, allowing us to take Luke out of the pack and let him run around a bit. He had been in the pack all day and was surprisingly not too annoyed by it.



But once we let him run, he was a happy happy kid. He was so tired, he kept falling. We just told him to "brush it off" to which he would rub his hands over his shirt and keep running. It was pretty entertaining to everyone around.


Luke with his cousins (2nd cousins?) Rose, Emily and KayKay.


We took off his shoes and stuck his feet in the lake, which he loved.

When it was time to go, he was pretty bent out of shape: once he has freedom, he is unlikely to give it up without a fight. But off we went, back down the trail to meet up with the rest of the clan who had not joined us.

Todd noticed the weight suddenly shifted in the pack and asked my aunt if Luke had fallen asleep. And he had. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself. Out he went like a light.

Little Hiker

Those who know me are very aware that I am not outdoorsy. But when in Rome . . .

We took the opportunity to go hiking in Glacier National Park and I am so glad we did! The park was beautiful and the hike was beautiful. And Luke looked really cute in his hiking boots. That were purely for show. We stuck him in a kid carrier and off we went!



We started off at a lake, skipping rocks, which Luke loved. I was impressed that Todd could skip rocks with Luke on his back.

The whole gang - we never seem to get to see each other often enough! ( We missed you Brian and Ben!)

Beautiful lake!

Pre-hike nap. The joys of being 18 months old!

Cousin Time!

My cousin Emily and I have always gotten along and had fun together. We're 10 years apart and rarely see each other, but when we are around each other, she is like a sister. I was thrilled when she was born, as I was clearly outnumbered by all the boys. Then her sisters followed (Rose and KK) and the girls finally outnumbered the boys. Yes, I care about this stuff. Well, more so when I was 10, but still - it's important! Its a very "Patty Duke" cousins looking alike stuff, which is fun, but she's the skinny, blond version of me. Foiled again!

Here we were outside of the Kiddie Kamper Touch-n-Feel Animal Kabin Thing in Glacier National Park. Good times!

Water Park in MT

All of the family trekked down the street to the local water play zone at the park. Luke is very hesitant with water, so he mostly ran around the edge of the play area and watched his cousins (all of them!) have a wonderful time playing in the water.

We ventured off to play on the playground ("sly! sly!") and spent some time there. Luke began feeling a little brave and went into the middle of the water zone. Right under buckets. Buckets that fill with water. Buckets that fill with water and then dump unexpectedly onto whatever happens to be directly underneath.

That's right.

Luke has fantastic timing.

It dumped right on him.

Just like a cartoon.

WOOOSH!

He cried. A lot. Not for long, but definitely an impressive wail. Then he was fine and played in the water again.