Glacier 2010

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!  My favorite thing is always getting to spend the whole day with my family and knowing they can't get away!  

So along that line, I sure haven't been scrapping Christmas this week.  I was looking through some pictures I've been meaning to use for a while and found this one from my husband and I's trip to Glacier a couple years ago.  This picture has some really good memories attached to it.  

This is Hidden Lake, aptly named because it really is hidden until you get to right about this bend in the trail.  

Along the way you hike right alongside mountain goats, and see rock chucks (aka yellow-bellied marmot,) beautiful flowers and summer snow.

And where will you ever see a mama rock chuck nursing her babies??

Did you know they have purple tongues?

Then you have a steep drop to the lake and a steep climb out.

They're everywhere!

Much of the early hike is snow-covered if you go as early in the year as we did.  You'll see lots of tourists in flip flops.  Brilliant.  Most of them are just trying to get a picture in the snow, then they turn around and go back, so if you go all the way to Hidden Lake, you'll stop seeing so many people.

Literally they walk right alongside you.

Look at his tongue!

Baby!

And then BOOM.  You see this, and the picture doesn't even do it justice.  The mountains on the other side of the bowl are far away, and it's gorgeous.

Super clear glacial runoff.

Chipmunks will hit you up for food.

Well that was weird.  I didn't really intend for this post to be an infomercial on Glacier National Park, but you get what you get when it's free, huh?  :)

The sketch is from My Creative Sketches and the flowers/branch idea is from Gabrielle Polacco.