I've been wanting to visit Glacier National Park since we weren't able to fit it in during our last big road trip in 2007.  It's so 'on the edge of the map' that you really have to plan specifically to go out of your way to visit it.  Fortunately this time around, it was right in our path while headed up north...so we took in the scenery of GNP.  Our trip thus far had been relatively uneventful. GNP was basically the beginning of our real vacation.  We burned up a good portion of our morning in Missoula dealing with various things.  It was a beautiful but long drive around Flathead lake....and the start of the glacier-carved mountains.  By the time we arrived at the actual park entrance, we were ready for an easier day.  Dallin had just been fed as we stood at the park sign for a picture and spit up big time right before the picture was taken.  I've kept it in the photo set for a good laugh.  There was some amazing scenery, but none as exciting as when we started the actual climb of the Going to the Sun road.  That drive is not for the faint of heart, with huge dropoffs, one lane bridges, etc.  It truly was like you're "going to the sun."

We made it to Logan pass, which was where I planned to do a short hike with the family.  It's a fairly popular hike to Hidden Lake behind the visitors' center with some beautiful scenery.  We saw some mountain goats, ground squirrels, and even a group of bighorn sheep.  Right at the Hidden Lake overlook, we saw a family of mountain goats up close and personal, including three kids.  Kiara had fun on the hike, though I could tell that the thin air caused her to struggle more than she was used to.  The streams and waterfalls kept her entertained in the mean time.

We blew out the fuses in our cigarette lighters on our way to Missoula.  Our AC inverter had a cracked housing and had a short in it.  We've come to rely on AC inverters and the cigarette chargers on our road trips...so when they stop working, it's somewhat of a panic mode.  We had a similar incident on our 2005 road trip in Pennsylvania and we spent the balance of the morning searching for a Radio Shack for a new AC inverter.  I thought no big deal...we'll grab some fuses and new AC inverter at Walmart while we're loading up on supplies.  Turns out the fuses in our Sienna are proprietary and neither NAPA nor Walmart had them.  Had to track down a dealership to replace a couple of $0.50 fuses!!

I didn't change out my rear windshield wiper before this trip and was regretting it when we got to Missoula.  I thought no big deal...just stop by an Auto Zone or NAPA and grab a spare blade.  Turns out that it's a proprietary blade.  It was even a special order part for the Toyota dealership!!  I had bent my metal blade supports while pulling out the insert, thinking I would just be replacing the whole blade anyway.  Well, rather than wait a week for a replacement, I bent them back into good enough shape and grabbed the $4 blade insert.  And who would have thought that the parts division for the Toyota dealership are in the Ford building.  Crazy Montana folk.

Road Trip 2009 Pictures