The research

   I love the speed of researching on the Internet, but when it comes to trip planning, I prefer the library and a good map. Maps are so important. There is nothing better than paging through the highway atlas looking at the landmarks and figuring out the mileage. I'm so grateful for a library system where a variety of resources are hands on the ready for my consumption. On my visit today, I found the Glacier NP hikes included in a Banff, Jasper and Glacier travel tour book. Lots of up to date information.

The girls and Pat know my box of maps in the basement. Where ever we traveled in their childhood, we kept the maps of the area and brochures of the sights. Mostly we'd gather rough information about an area, then leave our schedule flexible so we could explore other sites in the same area. I can honestly say we never went to the usual touristy spots. We always headed to the water sites and the least populated sites. 
Our last trip to Glacier NP was 18 years ago. The girls went independently from us when they were in college. I have hiking maps from those trips as well. So I've been studying trails  in the Lake McDonald, Many Glacier, St. Mary, Logan Pass. We can handle 5 mile hikes RT with moderate elevation gain and still feel like we are on vacation. I'm thinking about vistas and waterfalls as our primary destinations. So I'll use the Internet to verify what we already have on paper. So many photos on Instagram to checkout these locations. There are trip reports on websites as well. The Rialta will be our homebase, RV campsite availability is going to be tricky. August is a busy month, first come, first serve at a campground. 
Pat is pretty excited to purchase his America The Beautiful senior pass. A $10 fee for a lifetime pass to our American National Parks. Happy 100 th birthday to the people's parks!