This journey began in March of 2026.  It has been a desire of my heart to camp in Glacier National Park for several years and each year it got put off until later.  Several years ago we camped at Turtle Province in Canada and also in Teddy Roosevelt National Park and it was so much fun.  Five years ago we camped in Yellowstone with our daughter’s family.  We had such a great time with them. 

I realized that we are not getting any younger.  I would like to visit all of the national parks but I’m not sure that will happen but we have seen twenty-one national parks.  So in March I began to try to get campsite reservations for June of 2026.  Nothing was available but I was able to book a couple of different sites in the park in August.  There would be no electricity, no cell phone coverage, and no internet but there would be beauty and quiet. 

We took our teardrop camper and headed for Glacier on August 17.  Our first night of camping was at Guernsey State Park in Guernsey, WY.  The wild turkeys came over to visit our camp site in the morning.  We were parked by a railroad changing station that was a busy place all night long.  We are very good sleepers and were able to sleep through most of the commotion.  It was a beautiful spot.

On the 20^th we pulled into the most beautiful spot in the entire campground in Glacier.  Our little camper was nestled down in the bushes full of berries and there were towering 75 foot pines above our heads.  Our gracious heavenly Father truly provided us with a delightful place to camp. 

On our first day in the park I had purchased a tour on the Red Bus Tour.  They have been in the park since 1930.  They have a canvas top so you are able to really enjoy the scenery.  Our guide was excellent. We travelled up the Going to the Sun Road to Logan Pass and then back down to Apgar.  We learned so much history about the area and we able to relax and enjoy the scenery.

We saw a bear on the road by Lake McDonald.  It was quite a ways away.  The next day we saw one on the road that was really close and got some nice pictures.  We took a short hike and enjoyed the views.  We wished we were younger and could have taken some longer hikes but we loved being able to do so many fun things. 

A boat tour on Swift Current Lake a few days later allowed us to hike to a falls and also to see a moose in the water on the lake.  We loved being able to learn more about glaciers and to see some of the glaciers.

“In God’s wildness lies the hope of the world.” – John Muir

Our love for huckleberry ice cream and pie was founded on this trip.  Huckleberries grow wild in mountainous regions at altitudes between 2,000 and 11,000 feet. They ripen in the late summer and are usually harvested in mid-to-late August. In the US one of the best places for harvesting wild huckleberries is the area around Glacier National Park in northern Montana.

It should be noted that “harvesting” in this case is not done with huge machines, but rather by dedicated teams of intrepid souls who scour the landscape harvesting the often hard-to-find wild huckleberry by hand.  Huckleberries have resisted domestication.  If you go looking for huckleberries you might remember that you are not the only mammal desiring them as bears find them very tasty also. 

Our camp stove and our cooler kept us fed on this journey. We had to be very bear conscious with all of our food supplies and cooking utensils.  Everything had to be secured after each use.   We ate out one special night at Lake McDonald Lodge in Russel’s Fireside Room.  The farmer had lamb shank and I had a delicious pork loin.  It was here where we finished our meal with Huckleberry pie. 

Every single day of this trip, we sensed we were being incredibly blessed by our Lord and Savior.  We felt blessed and highly favored.  Every day we celebrated with praise to God for bringing us here to savor His incredible creation. 

The Farmer and I love where we live and farm on the flatland prairie of Kansas and we celebrate God’s goodness to us there also.  But there was something very special about this trip and the blessing it was to our relationship.  Fifty four years of marriage and we can still fall more deeply in love.  We fell more deeply in love with each other, with huckleberries, God’s creation and our Savior.  It was an unforgettable trip. 

“Give a month at least to this precious reserve. The time will not be taken from the sum of your life. Instead of shortening it, it will indefinitely lengthen it and make you truly immortal.” – John Muir