Labor Day Fun!

First, let me apologize for being MIA for so long.  It's been a hectic end to this summer and I've been so incredibly busy that I haven't found the time to get any blogging in.  I hope to be back now for good, and I couldn't be more excited for it to be Fall and the beginning of September.  I had a wonderful summer, but I'm ready to transition into the next season and to enjoy what Fall has to offer.

We ended our summer on a high note with a Labor Day trip to Whitefish, MT and Glacier National Park in northwestern Montana.  I had made one previous trip to Glacier, but it was in the Spring when the park wasn't completely open yet, so I didn't really get to experience much of it.  Needless to say, I was excited to explore a part of Montana that I haven't really been to before.   I've always heard how beautiful it is up there and I was excited to see it for my self!

We left pretty early Friday morning and made our way to Whitefish, MT, where we were staying for the weekend.  We made a few stops along the way, including having a picnic lunch on Seeley Lake and stopping at a brewery on Flathead Lake.  We got to Whitefish Friday afternoon, and checked out the city beach that they have at Whitefish Lake and then made our way to the Whitefish Mountain resort where we were staying for the weekend.  Friday night, we went back into Whitefish and ate at a bar where a friend of one of our friends was playing with his band.  We listened to him for awhile and had dinner.  He played great music and it was really a fun night.

Saturday morning, we hiked up Whitefish Mountain on the Danny On Trail.  The hike goes up the ski hill to the chalet at the top of the mountain where they have a bar and restaurant open during the summer.  We had planned on having lunch up there, but we hiked it so quickly that we decided to ride the chairlift down so that we could fit in some more activities Saturday afternoon.

We had lunch in Whitefish and explored the little town for awhile.  Then Drew needed a nap, so we decided to take a drive south to another brewery on Flathead Lake.  Drew slept on the way and once we arrived, we enjoyed some drinks on the patio.  Saturday night, the Bobcats had their opening football game, so we found a bar in Whitefish that was showing the game and watched it for awhile.  Unfortunately, the Cats didn't do so hot, so we ended up leaving early and making the short drive back to our condo at the mountain.

Sunday we decided to explore Glacier National Park.  Holy cow, if you ever have the chance to go, you definitely should.  It was magnificent.  I see my fair share of mountains around Bozeman, but these were something special.  It was absolutely gorgeous.  We had a beautiful morning to make our way up Going to the Sun road.  We ate lunch at the top and by the time we were finished, the weather was starting to move in.  We decided to head back down the road and do a hike at the bottom of the valley.

By the time we started the Avalanche Lake hike, the weather seemed to be better again, and we were excited to get out of the car and stretch our legs.  The hike was a little longer than we were expecting, so we didn't come very prepared.  We made it to the lake with no troubles and as we were taking pictures, we heard a loud clap of thunder.  We knew we better head down quickly, and as I looked at the sky, I knew we were going to get wet.  It started raining about 1/3 of the way down the trail.  And unfortunately, we left our raincoats in the car because we had underestimated the hike.  We got absolutely soaked!  It poured for about half of the hike back down and we had no cover whatsoever.  Luckily Drew's backpack has a sunshade so he stayed dry for the most part, but Doug and I got absolutely drenched.  It was quite the adventure, and not too surprising as we've found ourselves in situations like that too many times.  We changed clothes at the car and said farewell to Glacier and made our way back to Whitefish.

Monday morning, we decided to break up the drive home by doing a short hike outside of St. Ignatius, MT called Mission Falls.  We had no idea what we were getting into, but ended up at an absolutely beautiful lake with a waterfall in the background.  We had hoped to hike to the waterfall, but never did find our way there.  We got some beautiful views of it though and had some fun getting out of the car for awhile.

We made it home just as the sun was setting Monday night, so we made the most of our Labor Day weekend.  It was a fun trip and we sure got to see some beautiful country.  Now I'll share some of our pictures.  Be warned......there are many!

Starting the trip off with a car selfie!

Not a bad spot for lunch! Seeley Lake.

Drew checking things out.  Of course he found a stick!

Having some lunch!

It looks like Drew is trying to enjoy an iced tea in this pic!

Flathead Lake Brewing Company!

Watching dad throw rocks into the lake.  This wouldn't be the last time we did that!

Pretty nice spot for a brewery.

Whitefish City Beach!

Doug getting ready to go for a swim.

Drew watching dad go for a swim.  I think he was jealous!

All wet!

Drew really, really likes to ride on luggage carts!

Enjoying some live music!

Family shot!

The Danny On Trail up Whitefish Mountain.

Drew kept sticking his head into the mesh to look back at me.  How stinkin' cute!

Of course we forgot to bring water bottles, but lucky us, we had a beer growler along with us that saved the day.  I was a little embarrassed to say the least!

Doug thought it made us look cool!

There's the chalet we were hiking to!

The top of Whitefish Mountain Resort.

Riding down in the gondola!

I die for those eyes!

All sporting our Montana State attire for the big game!

My sweet boy!

Drew was dancing on chairs.

What's new?

Flathead Lake is so beautiful!

Mom showing Drew the lake!

Dad showing Drew how to throw rocks!

So gorgeous.

Family selfie!

I had to include this one because this is what 90% of our attempts look like.  Drew's not into pictures!

Enjoying the lake!

Watching dad throw rocks again!

We even got to stop at a winery!  Now we're talking.  It's only fair since I go to my fair share of breweries!

Watching the Cats!

Glacier National Park

Spectacular!

We saw a bear right off the road!

'

Having lunch in the car because it was too cold to eat outside!

Drew LOVED the goats!

After lunch, the clouds really moved in.  You can see the road right under the cloud line!

Avalanche Falls.

Avalanche Lake

Absolutely soaked!

Drew stayed dry so he thought it was funny!

Hilarious in fact!

All wet!

When he won't cooperate right side up, try upside down!

Another pretty spot for lunch!

Mission Creek

We planned to hike to that waterfall in the background, but never quite made it.

The road to the trailhead was a little sketchy!

Mission Falls

Drew loving on dad!

We stopped for dinner in Butte.  Drew loved to rub the soft glasses cloth on his cheek!

Made it home just as the sun was setting!

What a fun Labor Day weekend!

Hope you all had wonderful Labor Day weekends as well.  Summer's finally come to a close.  Hope you had a good one and are ready for Fall!