Saturday, October 15, 2011

The Magic Bag

See this rather normal looking brown paper bag...who would have known that inside it was the yummiest most amazing thing imaginable......


You see, I was in Montana, and Carrie took us on a bit of an adventure. We left Kalispell (population 30,000) around 9am on the way to Glacier National Park. Glacier is one of the few National Parks that spans the Canadian Border. So, we took off on a 45 minute drive to get to the gate entrance, and then another half hour up to Lake McDonald. The weather was cool -- in the mid-50's, and crisp. We had our jackets and hats, and we went on an adventure around the Lodge, and up around Lake McDonald and the creeks that feed it. I took tons of pictures, and I am fairly certain it will be several weeks before I have them all cataloged and filed. We kept going up toward avalanche, and when we reached the road closure, we went another mile or so on foot to see some of the clearest ,narrowest, deepest water I had ever seen. Carrie had us covered in the event we had any visitors of the 4 legged kind, and so we took our time and took pictures and hiked around.

After an hour or so, we headed back to find some lunch, and found most of the park closed since it is the end of the season, so we headed out of the park for some lunch at a little diner, and then back in the Jeep for another excursion. We took the road up the west edge of the park, bumping along finding little homesteads that are in park property, and quaking aspens the color of mustard. But no wildlife...they were all hiding! At least until we got to the little town of PoleBridge......and I mean little town. There was literally a bakery/hardware store/convenience store/gas station which would have fit in my living room. And from it was wafting the most glorious smells...of coconut, chocolate, cheese, and potatoes. There were potato augratin bagels, and bear claws, cinnamon rolls, and caramel slices, and fresh baked cookies in half a dozen flavors......and fresh from the oven Huckleberry macaroons. The macaroons literally came out of the oven while I was at the counter, so I got one for each of us (Carrie, Terri and I), and proceeded to go out to the porch. Where we met the wildlife....of the human kind. They were funny and I had almost forgotten about the macaroons until we were getting ready to leave......needless to say, we had to re-enter the little bakery and get a baker's dozen for a wopping $5. yes, $5 for the most amazing macaroon that I had even tasted. They were sweet and chewy, and full of fresh huckleberries. They really were quite amazing. Any if you ever get the chance to go to Glacier, even if you aren't an outdoorsy type, stop in for a macaroon.....they are delightful.   




Time to get back to work.....