Smooth Sailing

We stuck to the west side of the park today. The east side still has a few closed trails, but honestly, I didn’t want to drive the extra hour to get to the east side because that meant a morning alarm. I’m holding strong to no alarms until I go back to work. ​Lucky for us, the west side still had places and trails for us to explore. Case in point.

We hiked a much more manageable five mile trail through a forest and next to McDonald Creek. The ground was packed dirt and my knees thanked me. My toes think new hiking shoes are a future purchase. 

After our hike, we drove to West Glacier to connect with our guide for a float trip down the Flathead River. I found my rocks. 

Our guide said that the river would be super busy. It’s 85 degrees, summer, and a Saturday. This was our view for most of the float.

We then returned to Apgar Village where I got one more taste of huckleberry ice cream.

We made it back to Whitefish for dinner, World Cup games, and a huckleberry pastry. 

We have a very early morning to get back to the airport. Wes is already planning a return trip for a backwoods camping trip. What a great weekend trip! 

Huckleberry Highs

​Today’s highlights are brought to you by huckleberries. This wild berry can be incorporated into everything, and I’m here to try them all. Thus far, I’ve had the huckleberry hard seltzer. A clear win for me after a long hike. Huckleberry icecream. Another clear win for me because icecream is one of my favorite food groups. And huckleberry cheesecake. I mean why not? 

We drove the Going to the Sun Road today and made a few stops. First stop was McDonald Lodge.

I really wanted the iconic shot of the red,  purple, and green rocks. This is what I got. I guess the lighting was not working in my favor. 

A bit further down the road we found a look out point with mountain goats! 

Another stop gave us even more beautiful views across the valley. 

Then we made it to Logan Pass for our big hike on Highline Trail. We could not have timed this any better. We got a coveted parking spot with no trouble! We were limited to three hours, so we knew we didn’t have the time to go all the way to the chalet. But the first 2/3 of the hike is the best part anyway. The garden path on narrow trails with steep drop offs is not for the faint of heart. But the views! The mountains!  The mountain goats! The wildflowers. 

My feet may never recover. I have blisters on almost every toe. My knees  and ACLs are toast from the uneven, rocky terrain. I’m pretty sure I was also dehydrated on today’s hike, so I got back home and recovered with a Diet Coke and a beer. That should feel great tomorrow! 😕

I thought I’d stay up to watch the sun set tonight, but it’s 10:00 and the sun is still shining. I’m too tired to even consider another 20 minutes. Maybe tomorrow…

Weekend Get-a-Way

​We have been awake for 21 hours, but it seems like days. But let me tell you, we have done more in these 21 hours than most people do in a day! We caught a 0515 flight to Denver, a 0745 flight to Bozeman, drove five hours to Whitefish, drove another hour to Glacier National Park, hiked six miles, went grocery shopping, and now I’m laying in bed wishing I booked that AirBnB with the hot tub. My feet and knees are so sore, and I still have two full days of hiking to go! But our spontaneous weekend get-a-way to hike in Glacier National Park has begun, and I plan to squeeze every minute out of this trip! 

We opted for the long drive because our flights to Bozeman were purchased with points and thus, cost us only $11.20. We drove through forests, fields of lupine, cattle farms, small towns, and canola farms. 

Our first hike in the park took us to Avalanche Creek and then to Avalanche Lake. It was a fairly easy six mile out and back hike. We encountered a huge mule deer walking the trail with us. We had burgers and beers in a park restaurant. I ate every fry with no guilt; my 15,000 steps earned it!

On our way out of the park traffic slowed to a crawl for a grizzly bear. By the time we got to the spotting, though, he had disappeared in the trees. You better believe we carry the bear spray, but you’d be surprised at the number of people on the trail today without bells or spray. And signs are posted warning visitors of recent bear activity! 

We have decided going to the park later in the day is the way to avoid crowds on the trails, long lines at the entry point, and increases our likelihood of seeing animals. So tomorrow we are sleeping in and taking our chances at finding afternoon parking at one of the most popular trails (when we hope everyone else is leaving). Fingers crossed!

Meet June

​June was surrendered due to the original owners’ lack of means to care for her. She was not happy living her days in the kennel at animal control, and she hissed at everyone who stopped to say hi - everyone but Keagan. We told the front desk we wanted to adopt her, and they said, “Are you sure?” 

She’s lost weight so we are trying our best to fatten her up. Hopefully, she finds a taste for mice because when the farmer across the street decides to harvest his tobacco, the field mice will run our direction. 

Tivoli

​We made our way across the boot back to Rome and made a stop in Tivoli. We walked through Villa D’Este, the expansive home of a former wealthy Roman Catholic cardinal. The gardens are now considered a UNESCO heritage site because all of the elaborate garden fountains operate with the force of gravity, no pumps are used. This is impressive today but was very impressive in the 16th century when it was designed. 

I’ve had my last spritz. Wes had his last taste of Italian meats. We are tucked into our airport hotel ready to make our long flight back home. What a trip!

Puglia

​We ate our way through Puglia today. For breakfast, I ate taralli, a Puglia version of a pretzel, with my yogurt. It was good but not so good I felt like I needed to buy a bag to take home.

Our first stop was Alberobello, the home of the trulli, peasant houses with thatched roofs. The houses were built with thatch so that when the tax collectors arrived, the thatch could be easily removed, and the farmer wouldn’t have a “house” to pay taxes on. 

We wondered the streets and alleys among the largest collection of trulli  houses in Puglia. Today they house boutiques, artisan workshops, coffee shops, and vacation homes.  

Then we jumped in the car for our next stop: Lorcorotondo, known for its white washed houses. There was a picture at every corner. 

We stopped at the famous, king of sandwich shops, Er Paninaro Er Più, for a prosciutto and burrata sandwich in the centro storico. The “chef is #1 in the area, the best”, and he will tell you all about it. Wes said it was the best 20 Euro spent on the trip. 

His hand written reviews hang from the ceiling to persuade everyone else that he’s #1.

Next stop was the sleepy town of Cisternino. It was so sleepy we were here less than an hour. 

We then drove to Ostuni, known for its white washed houses, pastries, and burrata.

We stopped at the town center for my new found favorite caffe affogato and Bellinis - what a combination! But when on vacation you do whatever you want. 

This hilly town was beautiful and picturesque. There were live musicians, and the centro storico had little shops for pottery, clothing, local food products, and cafes. We are bringing back pasta and olive oil so we can attempt to relive our Italian summer vacation in Tennessee.

I say the pastries were the best spent 5 Euro; these were better than yesterday’s nuns’ tits.

After seven miles of walking, we were back in Monopoli to our cute apartment for an afternoon rest. 

We headed to the pedestrian area for dinner. The boys had lobster. Keagan had a limoncello spritz and regretted not ordering them earlier in the trip. He said, “Mom, these hit just right.” 

Why do you think I’ve had 20 of them in 10 days?

The downtown area of Monopoli is great for people watching, eating, and window shopping. 

The waterfront is the perfect spot for watching the sun set. We missed it this evening, though. That lobster and that second round of spritzes put us a bit behind schedule. 

The guys are ready to head back home; I could easily do another week. But sadly our time is coming to a close. One more full day living La Dolce Vida.