The Boys Montana Road Trip 2011

Originally, the whole family was supposed to go down, but R wasn't feeling particularly well so she and Katie stayed behind, making it a trip for just us boys. I was pleasantly surprised to see that Scott has come a long way in his travelling. I hung the DVD player to the back of my headrest, gave him some DVDs and he did the rest, switching up discs to suit his mood. I occasionally had to throw him some snacks, but he even managed to go 5 hours without a bathroom break. I guess I can take some credit for that, since I've learned not to give him a slurpee an hour into the trip (like last summer, when we ended up stopping every few minutes).







Once in Kalispell, Scott was in absolute heaven playing with his 6 cousins. He continues to idolize his older cousin Connor, but I noticed that he played with Bailey the most. She was really sweet about looking out for him and helping him to have fun. I also saw that Scott's tendency to treat children younger than him as second-class citizens continues -- according to him, little Cannon (2.5 years old) has no right to the soccer ball. I shot a bit of video at the park [click to view]:



Although the majority of our time was spent at the park across the street, we also managed to take in Cars 2 and see Mater and McQueen take on the forces of evil on the big screen. Aside from our time in the theatre, the kids spent very, very little time with TV or movies, splitting their efforts between board games and the park. It was a great trip and I think we both can't wait to make the trip back.





There are a few different ways to get from Calgary to Kalispell, the shortest distance being the route south through Cardston and then over Logan Pass in Glacier National Park. The scenery in the park is gorgeous, but the winding roads are a bit intense, the speed limits are low, there is frequent construction, and sometimes I'm more interested in just getting to my destination. I also don't like paying the $25 toll. An alternative is to turn south at Duck Lake and go around the park through Browning and come into Kalispell from the East. It is further, but you can drive faster (but if you go too fast you'll get a ticket like I got in October); however, the scenery is pretty bland (brownish grassland) if you go around the mountains like that.



My new favourite route is to go south to Nanton and then turn onto the 533 and head southwest through the foothills to Highway 22 (the Cowboy Trail) and then the Crownest Highway. I think that route is really spectacular in its own right, especially that first little bit in the foothills. There are a very few farms or houses and it feels more like a wilderness trail and less like a highway.

Another highlight is driving through the Frank Slide site near the Crowsnest Pass, where the mining town of Frank was buried in a sudden avalanche of rock from the adjacent Turtle Mountain in 1903. The road is surrounded on either side with an immense field of boulders that almost makes you shudder. Even though Scott had been engrossed in a video, he suddenly looked up and said, "Wow, look at that!"





So if you have already been over the pass in Glacier, you should consider Frank Slide. It will take your breath away but let you keep your $25. You can use the savings to buy a barrel of cheeseballs at Walmart (they can be found on the shelf right next to the pork rinds).