Slices of Life

We packed our lunches and were ready early so we headed out to the national park and arrived just before 7; we actually had a Going to the Sun Road pass included with our scenic boat tour reservation but we didn't need it since we're such early risers. The sunrise was beautiful! We did have time to take a photo with the Glacier park sign though and since another couple was doing the same thing we took turns taking photos for each other.    We parked at McDonald lodge and walked around for a while.  It is really such a beautiful property with some pretty lovely views. We bought some popcorn and I got our vacation ornament. Then we sat and waited for our boat tour.   We were perhaps the 4th family to board the boat so we sat up front in the bow. We learned a lot about the history of the lake and lodge, about some of the wildfires they've had in the park, and that September is referred to as "smoketember" since there are usually lots of wildfires all around the regio...

 After two very early morning starts and a 10 mile hike the day before my husband and I were looking for something a bit easier when we stumbled upon the Conrad Mansion Museum. We thought it sounded interesting. It didn't open until 10 so we spent a lazy morning watching movies (my husband)/ working on the blog (me).  We arrived just a few minutes after 10 and missed the first tour of the day. So we had nearly an hour wait until the next tour. Our tour ended up being HUGE and at times we all could not fit in the room! This made for limited photo opportunities but I tried my best.  The house was built in 1895 by Charles Conrad who was the founder of Kalispell and made his fortune in trade and freight on the Missouri river. Him and his wife had 3 children; only one of which lived long enough to have children of their own.  The house and grounds are beautiful! Though there was once a carriage house and a stable yard that were sold off many years ago.  Inside the ho...