Jason gets a paid week-long vacation every year courtesy of his employer. Yes, the actual vacation is reimbursed, not just the time off. This year, Jason and I fancied using our free ride to see Glacier National Park in northwest Montana. Although many of our acquaintances questioned the coolness of this destination, you don’t need to be a genius to realize that coolness kind of comes with glaciers. Duh.

Although experiencing Glacier National Park was the primary purpose of our trip, we didn’t head there directly. Instead, we stayed a couple of nights at a waterside lodge in Whitefish, a friendly little town about half an hour from the park. Whitefish is primarily a tourist spot with Whitefish Lake attracting visitors in the summer and Whitefish Mountain Resort bringing skiers in the winter. Its easy-going attitude was instantly decompressing. Hello relaxation!

On our first afternoon, we decided to rent a canoe and paddle along the shore of the lake. We aren’t canoeing experts and we were pretty inefficient rowers but we had a great time gliding slowly through that watery landscape.

We spent the following day stepping on Big Mountain via the Danny On Trail, the most popular footpath in the Flathead Valley. Danny On attracts about 14,000 hikers every year but it wasn’t crowded when we trekked it. That’s probably because tendrils of clouds were tenaciously clawing their way up its slopes of pine and wildflower, threatening to unleash their moisture at any moment. Fortunately, rain didn’t materialize much out of that dense haze. The scenery, enshrouded in vapor, was dreamy but it provided more than just a feast for the eyes. Wild huckleberries, growing abundantly and ripe on the hillsides, warranted frequent tasty stops.

After our hike, we hooked in for a Walk in the Treetops at Whitefish Mountain Resort. A Walk in the Treetops is a hiking tour that travels through half a mile of forest on boardwalks that are suspended up to 70 feet in the air. This particular expedition is one of the few canopy tours available in North America. Surprisingly, although I am not crazy about heights, I didn’t mind the ground being so far away, for the most part, and enjoyed this informative and uplifting outing.

The next day we were off to Glacier National Park. Our adventures trudging onto its frozen expanses and getting cozy with its famous wildlife will be explored next week. Stay tuned.

Every summer, a group of our friends forgoes the comforts of roof and bed to head out into the “wild” for a weekend of camping. This year we opted to go to Rockport Reservoir near Park City, per my brother Drew’s suggestion. It turned out to be one of his better ideas in a while.

Our company at Rockport consisted of my brother’s family and the Rowleys. We spread ourselves out over a few nearly ideal campsites. They were directly on a beach that was only accessible to campers and boaters, hence, we had it completely to ourselves almost the entire time. And, unlike many of Utah’s beaches, this cove was actually sandy.

As lovely as our secluded shoreline was, beyond it the water beckoned. Jason and I decided to rent a couple of personal watercrafts for a few hours on Saturday morning. These rentals were available for pick up right on the reservoir and we were able to drive them straight onto our beach. Yes, it was rather convenient. The WaveRunners were a big splash with the kids, whom we took turns giving rides to, ranging from mild to wild.

After hours of sandcastles, backstrokes, and wakes, we took a break from the reservoir to go geocaching, which Jason and I had never tried. One failed search led to Jason landing in a large bouquet of stinging nettle but, eventually, we did find a couple of different caches. The kids loved these technologically-enhanced treasure hunts and the adults seemed to find them intriguing.

Following our geo quests, as camping tradition dictates, we ate hotdogs and s’mores around a campfire before jumping into some spooky tales at Silas’ request. Most of the adults passed on spinning a ghostly yarn but not me. When it comes to inventive blabbering, I don’t scare easily. I gave those youngsters a never-ending story that would make The Iliad and The Odyssey look like CliffsNotes. (I tried several times to finish my tale hastily but the kids wouldn’t allow it.) Two hours later, my impromptu account of the history of a haunted house involving bones, phantoms, and tragic romance finally came to its overdue conclusion. And you thought my posts were longwinded…

Our Rockport weekend went by quickly. It had all that you’d expect from a camping excursion: cozy fires, stinky pit toilets, ghost stories, sizzling wieners, relaxation, and energetic chatter. Plus, it provided the perks of a sandy oasis.