Lake Blanche

In August, we hiked up to Lake Blanche in Big Cottonwood Canyon with my dad to prepare for our upcoming ascent to King's Peak. 

The last time Will and I ventured on this trail was during snowshoeing in a blizzard a couple of years earlier. Needless to say, Will enjoyed this trip much better. 

This time Will could actually see the lake instead of me pointing to him and saying amid the fog, "This is where the lake should be," Will was much more impressed this time around. Dromedary Peak is right above the lake.  

I couldn't resist adding another shot because it's so great to see the reflection of the mountain in the lake.

Cole is happy after his feeding. There is nothing more comfortable than nursing on a rock. 

We did it! The hike up to King's Peak wasn't nearly as steep or strenuous.

St. Mary Lake

Our last hike in Glacier National Park was halfway around St. Mary Lake. Our picnic in the parking lot was a little windy, but the hike was fabulous. It was about seven miles round trip.  

This is the first of three waterfalls we saw during our hike. There were actually several more, but I learned that it is not technically considered a waterfall unless it is at least twenty feet high. 

There was this cool dock we were able to walk out on. When you jumped on it, the dock swayed back and forth. I pretended I was a pirate and for the rest of the hike started every sentence with "argh"... just kidding.

The second waterfall. 

Upon seeing the water in Glacier, I was  constantly reminded of Gatorade. The camera doesn't even do the color justice. 

I love this picture of father and son at St. Mary Falls. This was our final destination and the tallest one. It was definitely worth the hike. Cole's thigh looks massive in this shot. We can pretend that he has always been a chubby baby. 

The falls in all their glory. 

Cole was laughing uproariously on the way back. Every time we would try to take a video, he would stop. At least we got a photo to capture his love of hiking.

The Homefront

This is Sarah and Ben's beautiful house that Ben built by himself. They will never have a mortgage payment, just pay as you go. I wish we could do that. Absolutely astounding craftsmanship and creativity. 

This is their starter home. They lived in the tree house for three years as newlyweds. Now, Emily and her husband are living in it. Greatest feature is the zipline to the outhouse. Before Sarah and Ben were married, we were talking about how great it would be to live in a tree house and they actually made it happen.

Tifilia at dusk on the Henderson property.

Just taking a walk to see the dead cow house. 

The infamous dead cow house. This was one of the first houses made from lumber milled in Eureka. The Henderson 's took some of the wood and used it on the interior of their coffee shop. I loved the weathered wood painted light green. I want to do it in my house. 

Moshe and Emily.
Thanks for such a great time in Eureka! We always love coming to visit. 

Lake Koocanusa with the Cousins

So this post is out of chronological order. I realized there was more Eureka stuff I wanted to publish. 
Lake Koocanusa, really a giant reservoir straddling the border between Montana and Canada. The "Koo" stands for Kootenai River that was dammed, the "can" is Canada, and the "usa" is for U.S.A. Kind of fun to say, but I feel like I would have named it in second grade or something. 

We went up to West Kootenai so Will could see the Amish country, but the store and everything was closed, unbeknownst to us. It was a beautiful drive, however. 

The whole clan, minus Mindy. She was always taking the pictures for us. The Henderson's were fabulous hosts. I definitely gained weight due to Mindy's delicious cooking. 

Moshe in a cool log on our hike to see a little waterfall. 

Grandpa Gary with grandson, Emil. So cute. 

 

In January, Sarah and I took pictures with the bellies. This is the "after" shot. It's always a fun adventure to go on car rides with two nursing babies. We definitely made the trip longer. 

More Glacier

When Cole was first put in the tent, he started to cry. He just wasn't sure about the strange little hut, but he quickly adapted and was as happy as ever. 

I was really paranoid about the little guy getting cold during the night since we didn't have a sleeping bag his size. I bundled him up in layers and swaddled him. Cole has hated being swaddled since the day he was born. I think he's probably a little claustrophobic after his bout in the birth canal for three and a half hours. Anyways, he woke up in the night screaming since he couldn't move. So both nights he ended up in my sleeping bag. Miserable. I finally figured out that I should unzip my bag and throw blankets over me and that was a little better, but still cramped. 

This wasn't even a redwood, but humongous nonetheless. 

Little midget all bundled cozy at camp. 

This is on the drive up to the top. Countless waterfall,s too many to even name.  I liked how the water was just pouring from the rock onto the road. The cool thing about the bridges and the "Road to the Sun" at Glacier is they were designed to blend into the surroundings. 

I love the craggly peak. 

We couldn't hike up at the top because the trails were still covered, even thought it was the last week of July. It was beautiful to see the wildflowers peeking through the snow. 

Avalanche Lake at Glacier National Park

After we finished our time in Eureka, we headed to Glacier National Park for a couple of days. Glacier was absolutely breathtaking. Since visiting, it has become a fierce rival of Yosemite to take place as my favorite National Park.

Our first hike was a six-miler to Avalanche Lake. Sarah fell into the river at the very beginning of the hike and made it all the way in soggy shoes. 

Almost there. The lush greenery was absolutely beautiful!

Five different waterfalls running into one basin. Incredible. 

Cole is such a great hiker baby. I couldn't have asked for a better-natured kiddo. He just doesn't know he's supposed to be looking at the camera. 

This was at the very start of the hike, but I got some great shots on the way back. It's probably one of my all-time favorite sights I beheld with my own eyes (not counting looking on my child for the first time or gazing deep into my husband's eyes when we were married.)

I just loved the deep cavern that the water carved away, and the moss clinging to the sides of the rock was a beautiful contrast to the icy blue water. I have never seen water naturally that blue and clear. 

Awww... that is all.