“Hide and Seek”
Childhood games of hide and seek were full of adrenaline, planning, suspense, and giggles. We had our share of hiding and seeking this week, in a variety of situations. Sometimes we were the hiders, but mostly we were seeking this week. What were we seeking? That very much depended on the day.
We succumbed to the evils of television withdrawal, and decided to add a portable satellite dish to our tiny house on wheels. We already have a Directv account at home, so as long as we don’t want local channels or nbc, abc, cbs, and don’t mind programming for eastern time while we are on mountain time, it only adds a small fee to our monthly bill. Sounds easy, right? Well…not so much. We headed over the mountains to an rv dealer in Kalispell to pick up the dish. But they were out of receivers that would work with the dish. “No problem,” we say. We try Best Buy. Nope. How about AT&T since they are now partners with Directv? Nope. Where else can we pick up a receiver? We ask Directv and they take forever before suggesting the very place we just left, or Cabela’s. Really. Well, it is Montana. We try Cabela’s. Nope. They suggest another rv dealer. We try them. Tons of Dish network receivers, no Directv. They suggest the name of a man named Chris who installs them. We call. He suggests a satellite company in another town. We call. Yes, he says. We drive there. Not the correct model. I can order one, he says. Okay. We leave name and number. Head back to then campground after an entire day of seeking only half successful.
At this point, we decide to ask the campground if they have any extra receivers around since the big cabins have Directv dishes. They do. Yay! Wrong model. Boo! We decide to order one directly and have it shipped with two day shipping so we do not have to wait as long as we would with the Satellite company. After ordering on Thursday, we discover two day shipping means it will arrive on Tuesday by 4:30. What? I guess that is shipping company time. We settle in to wait.
After many hours on the phone, having our homeservice “upgraded” for our trouble (which actually caused them to accidentally shut off the receiver in the den at home), we are finally able to watch tv in the camper and everything is fixed at home as well. Seeking round one done.
While we were heading into the park to hike the next day, we found some hiding animals. We shared a couple of these on Facebook, but want to share them here as well.
These two bears were hidden in the underbrush or wildflowers on the road into Many Glacier. We decided to take photos and not tag them or race them to the goal. 🙂 That way we all win the game.
Our second turn at seeking something came when Glen decided to find another disc golf course. This one was listed as being at Whitefish Mountain Resort, and was partially on ski slopes, and partially in the woods. We drive up a beautiful winding mountain road into a ski resort and try to find someone to ask about where the course is. First stop, the baselodge where there is a shop for people wanting to use a zipline. A young man with a large mustache tells us he does not know about any course on the mountain, but there is one north of town on the lake. He gives us some sketchy directions about going five miles toward the lake and there will be a random parking lot on the left. Uh huh.
We decide to strike out further up the ski mountain in hopes of finding someone who knows of the first course. Next stop…a clothing store in the ski village. Older lady. She does know of the first course but says it no longer exists because it was too difficult to keep the underbrush in check. But she refers us to the mountain bike rental store to chat with some of the young guys there. Here we get confirmation of the second course near the lake and some slightly better directions that appear to confirm mustache man’s ideas.
Off we go into the unknown. Small, winding lakeside road with mansions and camps interspersed along the shore. Eventually we find a parking lot that is the only possibility that fits with the directions. No signs, no cars, no people. Glen decides to head into the woods adjacent to the parking lot to look for signs of a course, while Terry chooses to wait in the car with the doors locked.
After a few minutes of bushwhacking, Glen actually finds signs of a course. Well, sort of. As you can see by the pictures, Montana disc golf isn’t for the faint of heart. Tucked into the woods was a course that some local disc golf fanatics cobbled together. The baskets were made from fence posts that were about 8 inches in diameter, propped up by circular piles of rocks, and made visible by the painted coffe cans that were stacked around the posts. The boxes had logs pointing out the direction of the hole while rocks on the ground had the hole number painted or scratched on them.
Glen went back to the car to tell Terry the happy news: there was a course, and they could play some golf! The undergrowth was a bit thick, but well-worn paths showed that the course actually got quite a lot of play. Play continued until Glen thought that a GPS might be required to continue, then we bushwhacked back to the car. No lost discs and a personal best score on that course; the perfect recipe for disc golf success.
With that adventure behind us, we took on some hikes. We are still exploring some trails we have never been on in our attempt to build strength before tackling some tougher things. We tried a two trail day, with a short 2 mile round trip hike to Apikuni Falls and a 5 mile trip to Red Rock Falls on the Swiftcurrent Pass trail. It was a super day, as we got to test our climbing muscles on the way to Apikuni Falls, and we saw the two bear from above, and three moose.
Apikuni Falls
View into the Many Glacier section of the park from the Apikuni Falls trail.
Wildflower meadow on the Apikuni Falls trail.
When we finished the Apikuni Falls trail, we transitioned to the Swifturrent Pass Trail on our way to Red Rock Falls. We hiked past Fishercap Lake and heard there was a moose there, so we took the side trail to the lake to see if it might still be there. Not only was there a moose…there were three: two cows and a baby!
This is where we got to play another game of hide and seek. Except this time, we were hiding. One of the adult moose decided to exit the water and head toward the hiking trail. We (and several other hikers) left the trail and hid behind some trees waiting for the moose to decide where it wanted to go. We had no desire to be found! After a few minutes, we were able to backtrack to the lakeshore and then connect to another trail to rejoin our original hike. It was quite an adrenaline rush for a minute or two!
The trail to Red Rock Falls was gentle, and we enjoyed our hike there. We did encounter rain before we got done, and were glad to have packed our rain jackets. Some hikers were not so prepared, but they still seemed to be having a good time. Luckily it was not cold.
Later in the week, we hiked to Grinnell Lake. At seven and a half miles, it is our longest hike to date. We are still holding together well. Knees and achilles are cooperating. We had never hiked this trail either, so we were happy to give it a try. We are becoming much more valuable resources when people ask us about hikes to take!
Here are some views from the Grinnell Lake trail.
Another part of Montana life is a “bear jam”; a traffic jam caused by someone spotting a bear and everyone stopping to take photos, etc. This week we encountered something we had never seen before.
This is…..a wildflower jam! The meadows were so pretty, that tons of people were stopped and out in the field taking photos.
Lastly, we had a fireworks display in the campground. It was postponed from the fourth due to bad weather. Here is the view from our campsite. It echoed and boomed off the mountains creating a spectacular event. We are sure there were some dogs hiding out during this!
With all the world news lately, we may just hide out, too. Until we return to Maine, you can find us seeking out new fun.
Glen and Terry
Wandering Holyokes 