Away | Glacier National Park

wander

Oct 25

We sliced a section right out of the middle of life, and escaped to autumn in the mountains of northwest Montana, my original home. From childhood, I hiked these Rockies, lived them, breathed them. They taught me, held me, raised me. They are my soul.

And there I was, living them all again, for a handful of days with my love by my side, in celebration of the days when we honeymooned there, in Glacier National Park, twenty-five years ago.

There was morning fog, caught by high granite peaks. The pungent, earthy-sweet scent of alder and pine. Ancient rivers tumbling liquid ice. Deer standing, watching, chiseled in place. Everywhere, birch and aspen confetti.

There were crooked cabins tucked beneath tamaracks and cedars; historic lodges resting on lake shores or sitting beside mountain depots. Built of stone hauled from nearby riverbeds, of pine boards and cedar logs cut from trees that once stood among the ones that now sheltered them, they were structures continuing the narrative of their surroundings, anchored in their sense of place. The man-made and the God-made in harmony.

We were quiet, breathing deeply, letting the ancient mountain soul fill us, revive us, keep us.

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Hello, loves! So glad to share a glimpse into a trip my husband and I took earlier this month - a perfect respite before other, busier travel that’s followed. Between trips, I’ve directed tradesmen as they worked their skill in our little house. We’ve got a bit more to finish in the next couple weeks, but it’s all looking so very beautiful and I couldn’t be happier with how it’s turned out.

I’ve just returned from the last trip of the month, and I have to say that having my morning tea under a throw blanket on my own sofa with Nellie snoozing on her chair nearby while writing this blog post to you has been heavenly. The sun is up now, and is calling me to tie my running shoes on, clip the leash onto Nellie and run in our own mountains for as long as we want to today. Bliss and luxury all wrapped into one.

Wishing you the loveliest of weekends, friends.

Pictured above: Lake McDonald Lodge, Izaac Walton Inn