Hi everyone! We are home, safe and sound.
We got home at about 3:30am last night. It was so nice to wake up in our own bed and to sleep in, but I'm already missing the simplicity of camping. Waking up with the sun, not caring about what you look like, making pancakes and bacon on the camp stove, being outside. I feel almost like I've experienced culture shock coming back to town.
Our first night in Glacier was fun. We got close to the park in the evening and the drive in was just beautiful! It was rainy and the mountains were covered in clouds and mist and it gave it a magical feeling. We found a KOA campground at the edge of the park and got to shower (FINALLY) after days of being stinky. It was a drizzly evening and we set up camp and lit our fire and got settled in for the night. Our "neighbor" got back to camp and he joined us for a drink and shared our fire. He ended up being a pretty neat guy with lots of life experience and we had a nice time getting to know him. He told us that he bought a book called "The Most Scenic Drives in America" and how he was going around seeing the places in the book. I am now going to buy the book because I think it's a fabulous idea!
The next morning we woke up and packed up camp. It was another rainy day but it cleared up right as we hit the road to head through the park. It was the most beautiful sight EVER having the clouds clearing and everything being wet and UGH. It was just so beautiful. We both kept yelling "IT'S JUST SO PRETTY!" while we were driving around. We saw a group of mountain goats on the hillside and it looked like something from out of movie. The grass was glowing it was so green and the goats were so white. I just can't even describe how beautiful it all is! My boss was the one who told us we should go to to Glacier and that if you were ever going to see unicorns somewhere, it would be there. And it is absolutely true! Just go see it. That's all I can say.
I want to go back to Glacier when I'm a little more prepared for hiking around. The difference between Yellowstone and Glacier is that Yellowstone has more paved roads which I think makes it more appealing for the average tourist because you can drive around to all the pretty places and stay in the comfort of your car. Glacier is a lot of dirt roads and there is really only one road that goes straight through the park. The only way to see most of the park is to hike to all the sights.
We drove home through Idaho and Utah yesterday and I was surprised that I fell in love with Idaho too! I didn't think that I would like the more flat landscape of Idaho, but it was green, beautiful farm land and I just loved it. I knew that Idaho was the "potato state" but I also found out that Idaho is known for their opal mines. We stopped at a little shop in Spencer, Idaho and the couple who owned the store did most of their own mining and make their own jewelry from the opals they pull from their own mine. Their jewelry was beautiful, and everyone who comes into the shop gets to take home a free piece of opal in it's natural state.
I got to see Salt Lake City for the first time and I think it would be a fun place to explore. We drove through in the middle of the night and it was eerie. There were massive factories everywhere that were all lit up and this huge city in the middle of the mountains. It was just a crazy sight. The Temple is beautiful though. We saw it from a distance and it's just this magnificent thing glowing on the hill above the city. We took the back roads to Price, Utah that dumped us right out on I-70. That drive was a little sketchy. It was dark, and kind of creepy and then you'd round a corner and there would be a little town tucked into the cliffs or a factory all lit up. Such a strange feeling. It could have had something to do with the fact that it was after midnight and we were exhausted and started to get goofy and freaking ourselves out, haha. But after all the crazy driving madness, being stuck in the car for 18+ hours, loading up on caffeine, and some Taco Bell, we finally made it home.
Bring on the next adventure!
Love you all,
Buns
