Summer is the time of pleasure and excitement. Since my childhood, I have always enjoyed my summers by going on long trips and exploring new places. Vacations are exciting as they help to relax and keep oneself away from the regular work. When the last summer holidays started, I couldn’t make up my mind on where to head for the vacation. Finally, my friends came up with the thought to go to Montana for a long trip during the vacation. For a person like me who hails from Saudi Arabia, a trip to the mountains was a real excitement. It was a week-long vacation and the best one I have ever enjoyed in my life. Montana is a treasure of landscapes and sceneries, which I would cherish for a lifetime. The article describes my experiences during the exciting trip to Montana.
The first day of our trip, our group of friends went on a hike to the Rocky Point, which lies on the western shore of the Glacier National Part in Montana. The place was full of isolated beaches and lakes. It was a two mile round trip with an elevation of about 350 feet. For a beginner like me, this was a perfect start. Next, we headed towards the Glacier National Park in Montana. The thing that impressed me the most in the Glacier National Park was its quick elevations, glacial peaks and hiking trails. The glaciers are high and I had to go on a long hike to reach them. My friends were experts in skiing, but I was not familiar with skiing as I never had the opportunity to ski in my hometown. However, the volunteer hosts were humble enough to teach me how to ski. I couldn’t learn perfectly, but was able to balance myself in the midst of chilling ice on the glacier. It was a thrilling experience for me.
The Glacier National Park has several waterfalls and lakes that capture the attention of the eye. I was hoping to see the animals such as bears and moose, but they are visible at higher altitudes, however I was able to see deer and mountain goats. We spent a night on the east side of the Glacier National Park and headed towards the west in the next morning. On the way, we came across a beautiful golf course, a restaurant and a swimming pool and moved towards the Two Medicine to grab the breathtaking views of the place. In between our journey, I saw the Running Eagle Falls which was a beautiful waterfall and then proceeded towards the Logan Pass. It was not even 10 in the morning, but the Logan Pass was crowded by then and we didn’t even find a space in the parking lot.
We further moved to the Hidden Lake trail which had great scenery. We then began to drive down the Going-to-the-sun Highway to reach the Avalanche Lake. We went amidst wonderful green forests and finally left the Glacier National Park. I had a great night’s sleep in the hotel and the next day, I went to the Flathead River for rafting. The water in the Flathead River was very pure and crystal clear in color. We took a half day rafting trip which was about 8 miles. Initially I was a bit nervous, but the guide whom we hired was very much familiar with the area and made our rafting trip an enthusiastic and entertaining experience. I was completely exhausted after the rafting and had to take a complete night’s rest to overcome the tiredness. The following day, we headed to the Spencer Lake, where there were vast ranches of about 3,000 acres.
The ranch had provision for a wide variety of activities such as indoor and outdoor horseback-riding, large meadows, entertainment areas for pole bending, archery, and cabin suites. I had the experience of riding camels in Saudi Arabia as they were abundant there, but horse-riding was a new experience to me. The horses were well-trained and I had an incredible riding experience. I wanted to dedicate one full day for sightseeing. After the glimpse of icy mountains, we headed towards Central Montana, which was a land of scenic grasslands and historic importance. I visited the historic C.M. Russell Museum in Great Falls and had an experience of the local food at a small rural town. Our next destination was Southwest Montana to climb the alpine peaks of the Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness.
I visited the miner-baron mansions in Helena, the capital city of Montana. I also went to White Hall, where I had the option of hunting, boating, swimming and backpacking. It was a nice experience to fish the Boulder River near Whitehall. The guide advised to visit the Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park, which was the state’s first park. The park featured limestone caverns and caves that were naturally air-conditioned and electrically lighted as a measure of safety. The place was at an elevation of 4360 feet. The park also had recreational activities such as a movie theatre, baseball court, bowling alley and antique stores. I also watched the railroad that was built in the year 1889. After our long and tiring trip, we returned to our place the next day. Altogether, it was the most exciting and memorable summer trip I have ever had. I hope to have such exciting trips in the future too.
Works Cited
Murray, J. Montana. ABDO, 2010.
