Family Trip #7--Visiting Glacier National Park

In the spring of 1994, we purchased a used Toyota van. It was not a beautiful car but it had pretty good ratings for reliability and we needed a bigger vehicle for our third child who was going to be born in December of that year.

That gave us the courage to go on a big trip that summer to Glacier National Park where we were going to meet my family and go camping. We took off on July 15 and drove to New Salem, North Dakota, where we found a campground and camped that night. This was the home of the largest cow in the world and we found that it was, in fact, quite large.

The next day, Saturday, we drove to Great Falls, Montana, and spent the night there. We went to church the next morning and then drove to Glacier National Park. We camped there from Sunday until Thursday.

This trip has a couple of memories I should mention. After we arrived and set up camp, we were sitting around reading comic books. My mother suggested going swimming in one of the (ice-cold) lakes. My father said, "Susan! On Sunday?" My mother said, "It's better than sitting around reading those spiritual Crankshaft books!" So we headed to a nearby lake. Scott decided to go in the water which was absolutely freezing. He was out in the lake about 10 feet and Jan who was about 18 months old decided to follow him in. After a few feet he fell into the water and was taking on water when Scott rescued him. This picture was taken right after that traumatizing event.

David and Liesl hanging out. They liked watching the eternal baseball game from this perch. (see below). The baseball game was the main entertainment for the younger set.

A mountain goat

Glacier is famous for it's "Going to the Sun Road" which has really amazing views.

David, Jan, Paula, Liesl, and Heidi on a little hike

We rented a boat for a few hours and enjoyed boating on Lake McDonald.

Jan loved hanging out in the car.

I remember one more event from that trip to Glacier--running out of gas. I kept telling Scott we needed to get some gas for our van but it was not convenient. So we didn't do it until we ran out of gas and it was really not convenient. I think it's the only time we've run out.

Glacier was a nice place to camp. When we got back to Orem, Scott went to Boulder, CO, for something related to his studies while the rest of us stayed in Orem a little longer. I went up to Maple Dell and saw Brian get awarded his Eagle at Scout camp. After some time in Orem, we loaded up and drove back to Wisconsin. We enjoyed a break from our usual activities and enjoyed seeing family and friends.

Brian getting his Eagle

Our Toyota van in all its glory--we were taking back the cradle for our new baby. We just gave that cradle away on Facebook Marketplace.

Right before we left to go back to Wisconsin: Brian, Mom, JoEllen, Jan, Bruce, Scott, David on his back, Heidi, Liesl, Dad.

Comments

Our Cousin Drew

This last week, my brother and his wife lost a very precious son, just 13 years old. He collapsed while running with a cross-country team and passed away before he could be revived. Everyone that knew Drew is broken-hearted at this loss. He was the happiest, most agreeable kid we knew. I remember him being at my house without anyone close to his age to hang out with, so he found our Duplo blocks and started building even though it is a toy that boys his age don't usually enjoy. He was so content. He didn't complain that I ever remember. His mother always called him the perfect child. He will leave a big hole in not only his immediate family but our extended family as well. Here is a poem my aunt shared that seems fitting: Leave Taking How I would have liked to wave goodbye and watch until you turned and smiled and disappeared on the horizon. You who taught me to dance and let me teach you, who laughed at my stories and winked at me when I was sad. I can just see you trav

Remembering Drew

This weekend we celebrated Drew's life. On Thursday night, we gathered as an extended family and had a dinner then sat in a big circle and talked about our memories of him. I took some notes and here is what people said. Grandpa (Gary Hansen): The last time we saw Drew was last week on the 4th. I remember all the cousins on the trampoline, bouncing up and down and playing basketball. Grandma (Susan Hansen): I asked Drew to come over last winter to teach my Activity Day boys how to make origami stars. He was very patient in working with them even though they were pretty clueless. Eventually they all went home happily with their stars. Paula: This last winter we invited Bruce and Michelle over for dinner and we didn't have anyone his age for him to hang out with. I remember that Drew found the Duplo blocks on his own and played with them all by himself, quite cheerfully entertaining himself. I asked him if he wanted to play with a different toy--maybe something more sophistica

Drew's Funeral

Yesterday was the viewing for Drew and then today was the funeral. There were a LOT of people at the viewing. Bruce and Michelle greeted people for almost four hours yesterday and then again this morning before the funeral. Bruce said that if weren't for Drew's death, it would be the best week of his life with so much love being shown to them. Friday actually began with a family run in Drew's honor. We started at a church by the new Lindon temple and ran to Bruce and Michelle's house with breakfast following. Friday night was the viewing. There was a very nice display of all things Drew. This was one of the pictures displayed and I recognized someone I know: We stood in line and the paramedics who worked on Drew stood in line behind us so we got to talk to them. Here's a fun fact: They cover both Orem and Vineyard but Vineyard gets a lot more 911 calls than Orem per capita. It's a younger population and they are quicker to call. They said it's hard when the

Search This Blog