Day 6: Trail ride, Lift ride & huckleberry milkshakes

Today was just an awesome day!  We had such a great day! 

First, we went for a two hour trail ride through Glacier National Park on the Upper McDonald Creek Trail.  It was run by Swan Mountain Outfitters. 

image via the Swan Mountain Outfitters website

 Their staff was top-notch, really knew the trails, horses and how to talk to people.  Neither of us have been on a horse in probably 10 years, but it was like coming home.  And yes, I did keep my heels down, Allison!  We unfortunately couldn't take any photos, it was a liability issue, and thats fine!  At times, we needed both hands holding on to the horse, not the camera.  My (Amanda's) horse, Rock,  was very gassy, which was funny to me, but not to Aaron, who was behind me.  Aaron's horse, Bullet, was a good boy.  Aaron really liked him.

After that, we stopped for  huckleberry milkshakes (YUM) at the Huckleberry Patch shop and restaurant.

Then, we drove through the town of Whitefish to go to the Whitefish Resort and take a ski-lift (gondola) ride to the tip top of their mountain. 

I'm standing in snow!

Aaron throwing a snowball at me!

It was such a great day!  Any of those parts were great on their own, but combined, just make the day so special.

Tomorrow (Friday), we're off to Kellogg, Idaho to visit our friends Megan and Travis and to flowride at Silver Mountain Resort. 

Day 5, part 2: Dinner at the Montana Club

After we drove through Glacier on the Going the Sun Road, we reached Kalispell, Montana.  Our hotel just happens to be next door to The Montana Club restaurant and since our room didn't have a microwave (which meant we couldn't heat our dinner), we had to go out!  We walked right over to the Montana Club and had probably one of the best dinners ever!

image via google image search

The restaurant had great atmosphere and wonderful food (and a casino, but we didn't stop there).  We had (and really recommend) the beer battered halibut sandwich (try the tartar sauce) and the glacier dip (if you were to set it on top of your head, your tongue will beat the crap out of your face trying to get to it).  And to top it all off, we had the huckleberry sundae.  

Do yourself a favor and stop there!  

Day 5: Driving through the Blackfeet Nation

Today, (Wednesday), we drove through the Blackfeet (Native American) Nation.  Its a 1.5 million acre reservation in western Montana that borders the eastern side of Glacier National Park.  For more information on the Blackfeet Nation, click here. 

Here are some pictures that we stopped and took along the way.

A lone dog we saw walking around.  I didn't get a picture of his friend, "Foxface" the akita.

The statues were made of old car parts.

Montana is one of the prettiest parts of the country I've seen.  Very windy, but beautiful.

Day 4: Action river flowrider in Great Falls, Montana

Aaron has been talking for 4 years about wanting to go to this flowrider (in Great Falls) because its so different from what we're used to.  (An action river draws water from and leads into a lazy river---you'll see from the videos).  But, he hasn't been able to!  Last year, we even made it to the waterpark, and then found out that the flowrider was being repaired that day!

Please listen with the sound down, but here is are videos of Aaron and I both riding at Great Falls!

On Wednesday, we're off to Glacier National Park!

Day 3: Theodore Roosevelt National Park (UPDATED)

Today we drove 13ish hours from Minneapolis through North Dakota to Billings, Montana.  On our way through North Dakota, we passed the Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  I'm so glad we stopped, it was beautiful, but OH-SO-WINDY!  The ranger said that it was 35-40 miles per hour.

Buffalo dung!

UPDATE:  Here is the picture of the bison (thats what it says on my magnet):

Tomorrow, we're off to Great Falls to ride their action-river flowrider.  After that, we'll spend 2 days in Glacier National Park!

Day 1: Fun with the GPS

If you have the time and are up for an adventure, tell your GPS that you want to "avoid toll roads".  If you're feeling really adventurous, you'll do this while heading through West Virginia.  I have no idea where we were, but eventually we ended up on Interstate 70 and were able to make up for lost time.

Our first day's stop was in Carmel, Indiana (right outside of Indianapolis).  The town there has an outdoor waterpark with a brand-spanking new flowrider.  It was a double, but sadly enough, they used the barrier.  However, the ride was so nice and smooth, it was totally worth the smaller space.  The staff was great, and we're hoping to hit it on the way back east.

Tomorrow, off to Minneapolis.  Not riding, just a good place to stop for the night. 

Official Theme Song of 2012 Trip

"Bangarang" by Skrillex

Aaron likes it because it makes him feel good and his head nod.  I like it because of the cool beat and because it references Peter Pan ("shout to all my lost boys", "somebody got my marbles").  Though the first time I heard it, I kept expecting someone to shout, "Rufio!"