Day 21 - Yodelayheehoo!

We started out early to head to Logans Pass and ultimately the Many Glaciers Hotel. The drive up and through Logans Pass was nothing short of spectacular. The road was winding, narrow and thrilling. My legs were getting sore bracing them so that the car wouldn’t go over the edge as Tim navigated the twists and turns. We finally reached the top only to find a filled parking lot. We thought we left early enough to avoid this but obviously 7:30 am wasn’t early enough. We drove back and forth to get a spot and then decided the best was to park and wait. After a little while, Tim suggested that I go into the Visitors Center and look around while he jockeyed for a space. Within 15 minutes he joined me.

We headed to a 3-mile hike up a mountain behind the center to a lookout. On the way we encountered mountain goats and snow! It was quite tricky navigating the patches of snow.

Once we got to the top we were rewarded with a stunning view over Hidden Lake surrounded by mountains. Many pictures later we headed back to the Visitors Center to continue on the Logan Pass road. As we began our descent, we encountered the beautiful aqua-colored St. Mary’s Lake.

We came to the road which would lead us to Many Glaciers Hotel. We were warned that the road would be rough. That was an understatement. Not sure why it was so filled with potholes. Guessing it had to do with water run off and freezing temperatures. When we rounded the bend and saw the hotel it was almost like a dream. I felt like we were in Switzerland nearing a chalet on an alpine lake. It was beautiful. We were really looking forward to spending the evening here getting a break from campground living.

We checked into our room which was on the ground floor with a lake view. It was small but very clean and the view was wonderful. We then toured the hotel. It was so comfortable with large leather sofas and chairs with footstools in a large high-ceiling main room overlooking the lake with mountains in the background.

We had an early dinner which was very good. Tim had a bison sirloin and I had prime rib both meals accompanied with garlic mashed potatoes and steamed colored cauliflower. We were stuffed and looked forward to an early night to rest up from the busy day knowing the tomorrow would be just as busy.

That’s when this beautiful dream turned into a nightmare. The hotel is over 100 years old. Consequently, the walls are paper thin and the old wooden floors above us squeaky. It started with what sounded like 50 people talking and walking in the room above us. Then, added to this was what sound like a group of young kids laughing and giggling next door. Needless to say, we could not sleep. We finally called the front desk at 11:00 pm to ask them to either move us or ask security to knock on the doors and ask for quiet. About midnight things finally settled down and we got to sleep! So much for a break from the Airstream. At that point, we longed to be back there in our own beds in the quiet campground.

Even though we had this bad sleep experience, we would go back because it’s that beautiful. We know now which rooms to ask for!