We were away for a mere three days, but it seemed like much longer. In recent travels, we have been sad to go home — wishing our vacation would keep going. Not this time. What changed? I think it was the vast chasm between expectation and reality.
We are typically masters of the offseason, visiting popular locations when they are not . . .popular. And Montana wasn’t our first choice this week, but we were nevertheless excited about our decision once we reached it. Glacier National Park sees a shockingly high number of visitors in the summer months when the roads are open. Other major parks such as Yellowstone or Yosemite see annual numbers above 4 million. But even Glacier, a more obscure park which has perhaps the shortest window of time that it is fully open saw numbers over 3 million in the same time period. Even during 2020, a pandemic year in case you forgot, the park saw over 1.7 million people pass through its gates — the overwhelming majority in the summer. It is written that cars will circle for hours looking for a parking spot, and a new ticketed entry system is meant to limit visitors to certain times to avoid overcrowding.
And as far as our desire to avoid the crowds in the park, we were successful. There weren’t many visitors, as this time of year literally requires some extra leg work to get to some of the park’s more popular locations. It really does offer up some beautiful scenery. The snow, the cause of many road closures, aided in this beauty. I felt we were able to experience Glacier in a way that gave us a chance to be in solitude with nature with no sounds other than the birds and an occasional snoring bear. We didn’t have to search for a parking spot or deal with tailgaters. It was relaxing.
And this was our desired result. We wanted, at the end of the day, a relaxing trip. Living in a major city like Los Angeles comes with its stresses — traffic is returning to pre-pandemic levels, the airports are crowded, and slow-speed chases are once again interrupting the evening news. With that being said, the national park gave us gorgeous scenery that we would never see in Southern California, but the rest of the region really tested us.
In our minds, Kalispell was going to be quaint — a sort of log cabin in the woods vibe. It most certainly was not. Between the rusting out vehicles, the abandoned washing machines, the maskless marauders, and the hair in our burgers, we were absolutely taken aback. When you fly domestically in the United States, there is a degree of comfort that usually goes along with it. You needn’t worry about brushing your teeth with the tap water, fumbling with an adapter for your electronics, or trying to convert currency in your head while haggling with someone in a different language. It should have all been easy, which usually means relaxing. It was anything but.
The region seems to be in denial of current events and basic cleanliness. At the best of times, this would be a slew of health code violations. In pandemic times, it is frustratingly irresponsible. We were in the minority with our masks, a fact which led to awkward stares. Judging by the Trump banners, flags, and makeshift billboards, it appears they also think that the election didn’t end over five months ago either. Remember, however, that the lawns are full of decaying . . . everything. These banners and signs will be in the exact same spot 60 years from now along with the carcass of a boat, a collapsed shed, and a school bus from the 1970s. Decaying RVs outnumbered Covid testing sites by a factor of 100 to 1.* Ok, that was just a cheeky comment, and didn’t really contain the truth. Since there were no covid testing sites in Northwestern Montana, the real number would be at infinity. To be fair, though, I am quite certain the local population believes there is no Covid, so testing sites would merely take up valuable real estate that could be used to illegally dump an old Pontiac.
So to conclude, Glacier was very nice and relaxing, but the surrounding towns were absolute trash if I may be blunt. The seemingly simple act of picking up a pizza was very stress-inducing. The day after landing back in LA, I went for a run down to the beach. Everyone was keeping distance, wearing masks, and following all the basic protocols. It is evidently something I had taken for granted. I often say, “Get out of your comfort zone, see something new, be around people who think differently.” We certainly did that. That experience may not always be an enjoyable one, but it can be quite insightful. For a year’s worth of lockdowns, isolation, and the feeling of being trapped, Los Angeles became associated as the place we had to escape. It took a domestic voyage to Northwestern Montana to give us a reset and reframe how we viewed Los Angeles. It became what it should have always been — home sweet home.
passports & pepto bismol 