Day 21

Oh what a morning we’ve had. Yesterday after our swim both G3 and I were itchy. By the time we went to bed, I was fine and G3 was no longer complaining. However, this morning he woke up covered in what appeared to be hives and he was more itchy than yesterday. We immediately drove over to the ranger station to inquire about a doctor. They sent us to a clinic five miles away. We were the first ones there — arriving 20 minutes before they opened.

When the physician’s assistant showed up he tended to G3 immediately. He was wonderful and seemingly thorough. He made us feel like he had all day to spend with us. He diagnosed G3 with Marine Toxin Dermatitis — or in layman’s terms, swimmer’s itch. It is a parasite that burrows into the skin and is caused by fowl populations. Apparently, it is not uncommon in lakes. The physician’s assistant said that often two people may swim in the same place and one acquires the parasite and the other doesn’t and science hasn’t figured out why. He did add that the fact that G3 swam closer to the shore, whereas, I swam out deeper probably contributed to G3’s more severe reaction. There is no treatment for the parasite, it will go away on its own in about a week. But he recommended rubbing Benadryl ointment on G3’s skin to alleviate the itchiness and taking Benadryl at night so he can sleep. Of course, after leaving the clinic, we went directly to a pharmacy. While outside the park we stopped at a diner for breakfast since G3 request “comfort food,” claiming it would make him feel better.

Due to our unexpected detour this morning to the medical clinic, we got a late start on our activities for the day. We finally got on the Going-to-the-Sun road around half past noon. We planned to drive all the way to the other end to visit the St. Mary’s Visitor Center and gift shop. G3 has been buying Lego-like animals to put together at all the parks we have been to. But so far he hasn’t seen any at the gift shops we have explored here at Glacier.

The Going-to-the-Sun road is only 52 miles but it snakes around the mountains gaining a great deal of elevation. The average speed is about 20, maybe 25, MPH. Driving the entire length took an hour and a half.

When we got to St. Mary’s on the other side of Glacier National Park we stepped out of the car and immediately smelled smoke. The smokey haze is worse today obscuring the mountains more than on our previous days here. We can see the mountains but not as clearly as we would like. We drove a long way and the smoke is disappointing. It’s not like we can just swing back this way when the air clears. Without the smoke, the scenery would be gorgeous.

The gift shop was microscopic. They did not have the buildable animal figures G3 wanted. But they did have a tee shirt we all liked so we bought another set of matching shirts. Apparently, we are incapable of traveling together if we don’t all dress alike. I guess if one of us ever goes missing it might make finding the lost person a little easier.

I think the east side of the park is more picturesque than the west, though it is hard to really say because of the smoke. Late this afternoon we hiked through a cemetery of dead trees — trees that had been charred in a forest fire six years ago. Their skeletal branches still twisted toward the sky and combined with the Smokey background they lent an ominous feel to the landscape. Our hike brought us to St. Mary’s Falls. There is definitely no shortage of waterfalls in this park. I could not believe how blue the water was. G3 enjoyed sitting at the edge and watching the water crash into the river.

The man who gave the astronomy program a couple nights ago told us that if we came back at 11 o’clock tonight he would take G3 out into the parking lot and show him some stars with his telescope. All night G3 was looking forward to it. At the campfire he was even reading about the different constellations in preparation for it. Not wanting to be late, we left early and when we got to the amphitheater the man was breaking down from tonight’s presentation. He told us to wait for him in the parking lot, so we did. We waited about twenty minutes but instead of showing G3 the stars as promised, without a word to us he got in his car and just drove away. That was a really crappy thing to do to a kid. G3 was beyond disappointed. I don’t blame him. And so our trip to Glacier ends on an exceptionally sour note. And my opinion of rangers and their programs took a severe hit.

Sorry about the super later posting. I had to wait until I had service.