Western US
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Two nights in the backcountry at Glacier National Park’s historic Sperry Chalet
On August 10, 2017, a lightning-caused wildfire – soon to be known as the Sprague Fire – ignited near Sprague Creek in western Glacier National Park. While initial growth of the fire was slow, over the next three weeks hot temperatures and strong winds pushed the flames uphill, inching closer and closer to the historic… Continue reading
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Glacier National Park: a bucket list hike on the Highline Trail
I’d been wanting to hike the Highline Trail for years. So had my family. This was a bucket list hike for all three of us. They visited Glacier together a few years ago and I made them promise not to hike the Highline without me. Then, when we started planning this trip, they made me… Continue reading
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Glacier National Park: driving the iconic Going-to-the-Sun Road
If you do a google search for “most scenic roads in the USA,” Going-to-the-Sun will probably be on the list. If you do a google search for “most scenic roads in Montana,” Going-to-the-Sun will definitely be on the list. Out of curiosity, I just googled “most scenic roads in the world,” and Going-to-the-Sun even popped… Continue reading
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Glacier National Park: a bucket list hike to Grinnell Glacier
If someone told me they only had one day in the Many Glacier area, my advice would be to hike to Grinnell Glacier. It’s a beautiful hike with a little bit of everything – flowers, lakes, glaciers, views, and most likely some wildlife. I’ve seen both bighorn sheep and mountain goats along this trail, and… Continue reading
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Glacier National Park: hiking to Ptarmigan Tunnel
In 1930, workers in Glacier National Park blasted a 250 foot (76 m) tunnel through the sheer rock of Ptarmigan Wall, forming an easily navigable connection between the Many Glacier and Belly River Valleys. Located at about 7200 feet (2195 m) of elevation, Ptarmigan Tunnel is now a popular day hiking destination, as well as… Continue reading
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Glacier National Park: a stunning hike to Iceberg Lake
Many years ago, three friends and I embarked upon a three-week Canadian Rockies adventure in which we camped our way through Glacier, up into Waterton Lakes, Banff and Jasper National Parks in Alberta, and finally over to Vancouver before heading back home. It was on this trip that I hiked to Iceberg Lake for the first… Continue reading
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Glacier National Park: a scenic boat ride and a hike to Dawson Pass
When my mom was a teenager, her best friend’s family invited her to join them on a three week cross-country road trip, from the flat expanse of the midwest to the Rocky Mountains of northern Montana. It was her first time ever seeing mountains and, as she tells it, she knew then that she was… Continue reading
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Glacier National Park: the lakes and waterfalls of Two Medicine
There are quite a few versions of the origin story of the name Two Medicine, but most of them refer to two medicine lodge ceremonies – a Blackfeet tradition – taking place in the region at approximately the same time. This southeastern region of Glacier National Park now retains the name, as do three lakes… Continue reading
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A comprehensive guide to visiting Glacier National Park
(Updated May 2025) I know some people have a hard time answering the question “what’s your favorite place you’ve ever been?” Not me. Hands down, it’s Glacier National Park and the Canadian Rockies (and yes, I know those are technically two separate places). In fact, I love Glacier so much that we originally planned to… Continue reading
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A photo a day: Glacier National Park
This past summer, we celebrated our anniversary with a two-week roadtrip to my favorite place: Glacier National Park. It was my husband’s first ever trip to Glacier – though he’s been listening to me rave about it for years now – and I was so excited for him to finally see the park with his… Continue reading
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Montana road trip 2023, part IV: the Flathead Valley and Hungry Horse Reservoir
Of our four days camped near Flathead Lake, we actually only spent two of them at the lake itself. The other two were spent visiting three of the main cities in the Flathead Valley: Whitefish, Kalispell, and Columbia Falls. First up was Whitefish, a former railroad town that has become a resort town. The slopes… Continue reading
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Montana road trip 2023, part III: Flathead Lake
Located in the northwest corner of Montana, nestled in a large valley between the Salish and Mission Mountains, is the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi River: Flathead Lake. It was formerly called Salish Lake after the Salish tribe, who were among the original inhabitants of this land (as were the Ksanka (Kootenai) and… Continue reading
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Montana road trip 2023, part II: hiking to Leigh Lake
Just a few miles south of Libby, Montana, deep in the Cabinet Mountains, is a (somewhat) hidden gem: Leigh Lake. This is supposedly the most popular hike in the area, but it seems as though its level of popularity depends on your perspective. We hiked this trail on a Monday and encountered probably 10-12 other… Continue reading
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Montana road trip 2023, part I: Eureka, Libby, & Lake Koocanusa Scenic Byway
I know Minnesota has laid claim to the nickname “land of 10,000 lakes,” but it could just as easily be the slogan for northwestern Montana. Twenty-four hours after arriving home from Minnesota – which, for the record, was way too short a turnaround time – I was on a plane to Montana for our annual… Continue reading
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Springtime in Santa Barbara, part I
My sister moved to southern California years ago, but until recently I’d never visited her there. It’s not for any dramatic reason. It’s just that she shares a small place with a roommate and they both work from home, the roommate often on evenings and weekends, so having overnight guests isn’t super feasible. And until… Continue reading
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Snapshots from the sky: Colorado to California
Sometimes I think I should have been a pilot. I’m not actually sure the realities of that job would be the best fit for me – and I love my actual job – but I know for sure that I’d never get sick of gazing down at our beautiful planet from the air. I’m forever… Continue reading
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Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park, Montana
A couple years back, my mom – an avid blog reader since day one – wrote her first ever guest post. She really enjoyed the process and offered to write more posts in the future should the opportunity arise. This one had actually been in progress for a while and, since my California trip still… Continue reading
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Montana Summits: Storm Castle Peak
Never ones to waste a day of sunshine, my mom and I decided to squeeze in one last hike before the end of our trip. So we headed down Gallatin Canyon to climb Storm Castle, a 7165 foot (2184 m) summit. This is a fairly popular hike, although somewhat less so than other nearby hikes,… Continue reading
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Montana road trip 2022, part I: Philipsburg, Anaconda, and the Pintler Scenic Highway
Inspired by our previous Montana roadtrip, my mom and I planned another one this past summer. Our intended theme was a little less history and a little more scenery. The actual theme ended up being ‘where can we go next to avoid the rain?’ But despite the less-than-stellar weather, we mostly made it work. Day… Continue reading
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Eight Hours in Laramie, Wyoming
While we were camped at Vedauwoo (if you missed last week’s post, you can read all about Vedauwoo here), we took a few hours out of our day to visit nearby Laramie, Wyoming. Laramie is the third largest city in Wyoming and home to some interesting museums and quite a lot of frontier history. We… Continue reading
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