Day 9

Logan and Kendal rested and did nothing of note today and Logan is allowing me to write the blog post.  Today was supposed to be spent exploring the rest of the park but the ‘Going to the Sun’ road is still closed and will probably not open until the end of July due to the huge amount of snow received this winter.  Last night after posting the blog a huge storm came in with sustained winds over 50 mph with stronger gusts.  Our rooms face Swiftcurrent Lake and at times during the night, Teri and I thought the roof of the hotel was going to come off and you could literally feel the building moving as the gust hit the building.  At 2 am both of us were still awake due to the howling of the extreme wind.  We went next door to check on the kids and they were both sound asleep with their window open (crazy).  In the morning (after sleeping in until 9am), we ventured to get coffee and milk for the kids.  The wind was still screaming outside and is supposed to continue for another day.  Everyone is fairly tired from all the going so we decided not to do any driving and stay around the hotel area.  Teri and I went for what was supposed to be a small stroll around the lake but turned into over 5 miles as we proceeded down a trail to Lake Josephine which is just up from our hotel.  Teri got really close to the largest marmot yet (pic enclosed). From the end of this lake we could see the top of Grinnell Glacier but decided not to go another 2 miles because we are scheduled for a horseback ride tomorrow to the glacier overlook (not to mention we didn’t take any water or food).  We tried to take the last section of trail around the lake but it was closed due to recent bear activity.  By the time Teri and I got back to the hotel it was 2 pm and the kids never missed us.  We all went down to the dining hall to get cheese fondue but upon arrival it was not ready yet so we went ahead and ate our big meal for the day.  Logan got a huge bowl of breaded mushrooms, Kendal and I shared fish and chips and Teri got a pecan/pineapple salad and a bowl of soup.  Because Teri and I hadn’t slept much the night before we decided a nap was in order.  Upon waking from the nap we looked out our window and the gang of big horn sheep was in front of the hotel again.  This time there were two babies with them.  For the next hour we enjoyed watching this unit go up and down the hill, dodging cars and people.  At 7pm we ventured back into the dining hall and this time shared the cheese fondue with bread and vegetables.  Afterward we shared a cup of huckleberry yogurt and caught a ranger program on owls, bats, and other creatures of the night.  To cap off the day we had the privilege of seeing David Walburn perform song and storytelling about the Lewis and Clark expedition.  It was great. We are now ready for bed and the wind is still howling outside, occasionally making the building shake (hope we can go to sleep).                     Stephen