Travelogue | New Years in Glacier National Park

Glacier Park holds a special place in my heart. Justin and I have spent one long, blissful week in his family’s cabin there each of the ten summers since we started dating. It’s where we were engaged in 2006 and, in 2008, we were married just outside the park in the tiny town of Polebridge.

This year almost was the first year we weren’t able to honor our traditional summer Glacier visit. The week before our scheduled trip, we were trumped by a family member with much greater leverage. Rather than stay in Seattle, we took our time off at another family member’s vacation home in Jackson Hole. (I know, not exactly terrible, right? But not the same, either!)

We just had to set foot in the Glacier cabin before 2009 ended! A few phone calls, and an extra day or two off around the holidays, and we were headed to the Park accompanied by our good friends. Somehow, the weather cooperated perfectly and the passes were clear. We arrived on New Year’s Eve to usher in 2010 in utter solitude on the banks of Lake McDonald.

We brought some snowshoes, a handful of good books, and a few bottles of wine.  It was a half mile hike on the closed Going to the Sun road to the car and from the cabin. There was nothing resembling civilization for miles.

BLISS.