September 2019 - Cruisin with the Colemans

Camping & Hiking Glacier National Park

Posted on September 25, 2019 by Cruisin Michelle

In 2016, we hiked and camped at Glacier National Park. This was a part of our two month trip out west, we affectionally called it the #GoWestColemans trip. 2016 was the year hashtags became trendy and since we name every trip, it was a great way to embrace the trend, haha. You can see the complete trip map, by clicking here.

We were apprehensive about camping and hiking Glacier National Park; the park is home to majestic wildlife and we had a lot to learn how about to share space with the animals. With a bit of research, asking questions of those who have gone before us, and a lot of preparation, we were ready. In this blog, I am going to share what we saw, how we prepared, our favorite hikes, and where we camped.

Below are photos of the wildlife we witnessed at Glacier National Park. We were lucky enough to hear about a family of moose eating in a lake very close to the Many Glacier Campground Store so we wandered off to see them. I had about 50+ photos on my phone similar to what you see below. We watched the moose graze in the lake for hours and it was the most fascinating scene we have ever witnessed.

We spent a day hiking the Highline Trail and we heard that if you don’t see wildlife, you are doing something wrong. We saw the mountain goat in the lower-left photo within the first 5 minutes and the only other animal we saw the entire day was the marmot in the lower right photo. The bighorn sheep (top right) posed for their photo-op in the parking lot at the end of our day. I am sure a lot of animals had human sightings but they really are not interested in being noticed.

The only time we saw a grizzly bear was when we were driving, the photo in the lower middle. We were prepared with our bear bells and bear spray…most of the time. You should have a bear bell and spray on you at all times when you are in Glacier National Park because you never want to surprise a grizzly bear. We made a mistake. We walked from the campground to the hotel for an afternoon break. This is a 1/2 mile walk and honestly, we weren’t hiking so we didn’t think about our bear bells or spray. Once we arrived at the hotel we saw several park police where we had just walked. A grizzly bear was sighted on our trail. We were lucky he wasn’t interested in us and we didn’t startle him, we didn’t even see him. However, I sang loudly to Brian the entire walk back. My rendition of 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall had me laughing, but Brian may have been just shaking his head at me. The moral to the story: always carry a bear bell and spray in Glacier National Park.

There is something majestic and romantic at Glacier National Park. You are surrounded by mountains, glaciers, lakes, and waterfalls. Everything around you feels massive and perfect. We were certainly caught in the magic of the park. I wish we would have allowed more time here. The park is enormous and you need to spend time on one side of the park and then move to the other side. We camped at Many Glacier Campground but I wish we would have also camped at Fish Creek Campground so we could have spent time on that end of the park. We came into the park from the south so we were able to drive much of it and visit the Apgar Visitor Center; however, we spent most of our time in the Logan Pass Visitor Center and Many Glacier Hotel/Campground area. Just to give you an idea of how large the park is, it took us about 75 minutes to drive from our campground to the Logan Pass Visitor Center.

I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about the ever-changing glaciers. There was an exhibition at Many Glacier Hotel where they showed photos of what the glaciers looked like and recreated the same photos with how the glaciers look now. You can read about the Repeat Photography Project by clicking here. Climate change becomes extremely real when you see the glaciers in person. Fortunately, there is a lot we can do if we are willing to be a part of the change. You can read about how the glaciers are changing by clicking here.

Our two favorite hikes were the Grinnell Glacier hike and the Highline Trail hike. The photos above are from both hikes. You can only access Grinnell Glacier by boat out of the Many Glacier Hotel, pictured below. The Grinnell Glacier hike includes a lake, waterfalls on your trail, mountains all around you, and glaciers that you can walk on (in 2016). We saw bighorn sheep on the trail, one even led the hike for a bit (with a good distance between us).

The Highline Trail is fantastic because you are high above the Going to the Sun Road but you can still see the tiny cars below. You can make this a one-way day hike if you park your car at The Loop on Going to the Sun Road, take the shuttle to the Logan Pass Visitor Center, hike the Highline Trail, take a break at the Granite Park Chalet, and then walk back down to your car. Be warned, this is a much tougher hike than it may seem. It looks relatively flat but there are some elevation challenges, there is an option to hike a seemingly innocent out and back to Hidden Lake which is very steep, and the walk down from the chalet is no joke! It is a lot of steep down and hard on your knees. However, the hike is worth it, you just need to be prepared.

If you can even spend one night or one afternoon at the Many Glacier Hotel, we highly recommend it. The hotel has the charm of days gone by, but plenty of amenities. The sunset (above right) is one not to miss! We stayed at the campground. If you want a reservation at this campground, be ready to make it the day the 6-month window opens. This campground sells out quick in the summer. The walk-up campsites had a wait of about 10+ vehicles by 5 a.m. every day while we were there. That is not how we wanted to spend our time, but many people made it work.

In 2016, we were still tent camping. We camped in luxury though, in the REI Kingdom 8. We had the added garage which we used for bike storage and when it rained we could put our chairs in there and relax (see photo below). We lived in this tent for 2 months that summer so a bit of luxury was nice. We slept on an air mattress on a cot and it was extremely comfortable, you can get one by clicking here. We also had a heated mattress pad on it for those higher elevation campgrounds, which you can find by clicking here. Finally, our clothes were all tucked under our bed in under the bed storage tubs. We had four tubs total, one each for clothes, one for shoes, and one for hiking gear. The tubs stacked neatly in the back of our Honda Pilot. We also had a tub for camping gear (see above).

When you’re camping in a place like Glacier National Park it is imperative that all of your “smellies” are kept in your car. This included our shower house stuff (shampoo, deodorant, etc.), our cooking gear, food, and our cooler. The tent was a smelly-free zone as to not attract the animals, big or small.

Hiking and camping at Glacier National Park is an absolute must and we look forward to going back to this park because there is so much more to see and do there. It is not hard to prepare and stay safe at this park, just to remember the basics:

Be bear aware: Always have a bear bell on you, carry bear spray, never hike or even walk alone, and make plenty of noise.
Keep smellies secure, in containers in your car.
Carry food, Gatorade, and more water than you think you need, no matter how short your hike.
Bring layers when you hike, the weather can change quickly.
Practice the habits of Leave No Trace, even an apple core is not appropriate to leave on the trail.

If you have been to Glacier, tell us what you loved! What else can we tell you about Glacier? If this blog helped you, give us a thumbs up. Heck, if you made it this far, give us a thumbs up. 🙂

Happy hiking, until next time!

Our Top 10 Reflections from our 2019 Camino – Part 2

Posted on September 18, 2019 by Cruisin Michelle

Last week I began reflecting on our 2019 Camino, sharing five of our top ten reflections from our Camino. You can find that blog by clicking here. In June and July of 2019, we biked and hiked about 550 miles or 882 kilometers on the Camino. We walked from León, Spain to Santiago de Compostela. Then we flew down to Lisbon, Portugal where we biked from Lisbon to Porto and walked from Porto to Santiago de Compostela. This was our second Camino as we walked the Camino Frances in its entirety in 2017.

We were blessed with fantastic weather, being the summer season. In June we had cold mornings and cool afternoons, by July we were thrilled to have quite a few weeks in the mid-70s. It only rained twice, which probably wasn’t great for the farmers but we relished in the weather.

Though the weather was kind to us I struggled throughout much of the Camino. I had foot problems which wasn’t anything too unusual for me. But more importantly, I developed anxiety while on the Camino which stunned both of us. Unfortunately, I had to go to the emergency room the night before we walked into Santiago on the Camino Frances because my shortness of breath was at an all-time high. I was convinced it was a heart attack. Thankfully we found a hospital with an interpreter who stayed with us all night and had fantastic staff who ran a lot of tests before concluding it was anxiety. They taught me to remember I was on holiday and needed to start acting like it. I am still coming to terms with the “why” I had such high anxiety but I think the answer lies somewhere in the remaining five reflections.

#5 – Live Like Locals

This reflection comes from the idea that when you walk the Camino you are on vacation, or on holiday as my nurses reminded me. In general, when we travel we try to follow the philosophy of “living like the locals” by minimizing tourist attractions, avoiding chain restaurants, seeking out local activities, and finding ways to engage with local residents.

A wonderful picnic lunch with locals and owners of Camino by Boat

On the Camino Portuguese, there are a lot of locals and not much else; however, many pilgrims stick with other pilgrims. It may be seeking what we have in common with one another, the language barriers, you’re only with a local for a night or two, or just the ease of talking with those you walk by every day. But if you can spend time getting to know the locals, I promise you will have a richer experience. There are several ways this can happen.

When you are looking for a room for the night stay in a small albergue, stay an extra night if you meet a local that you really connect with, and seek out places to eat where you can engage with the locals. Also, if someone is selling something on the side of the road, talk to him or her. We each bought Camino necklaces made by a local and the stories he shared made our experience much richer (photo above). We learned so much about the communities, the culture, the neighborhoods, just by talking to the locals. They are certainly the most knowledgable about the country you are experiencing.

#4 – Find the Festivals

This is a must-do for us whenever we travel for several reasons. (1) If prices are usually high, a festival is usually the reason why. Then you have to decide if you want to stay in that town for the festival or press onward. (2) You can learn what’s important to a community based on what they are celebrating. (3) We make a reservation in advance to make sure we have a room, and if you book early, you usually can find a better price. (4) It helps us decide if we want to plan an extra rest day in that town/village.

The Festival of Trays happens once every 4 years in Tomar, Portugal

On our Camino, we knew about two festivals that we made sure were included. The Festival of Trays in Tomar, Portugal which included a competition of “best-decorated neighborhood” in the photo above (not the winner, that we know of), parades, and processionals. We only planned one rest day here but wished we would have had two days in Tomar. The second festival was the Apostle Festival in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. It happens every year during the Feast of St. James. It is the largest festival of the year and we have been able to attend during both of our Caminos. However, if you don’t book early, it will be tough and expensive to find a room.

#3 – Alone vs. Lonely

This is an interesting reflection for me and one that surprised me deeply. Let me set up. In 2017, on the Camino Frances, we were with people all the time. We were rarely alone and we are still friends today with several people we met on the Camino. Was it because we walked the entire Camino? I don’t think so. Were we different? I don’t think so except that I was in a lot of pain this time so I may have been more introverted. So that may have been one reason.

Brian capturing the perfect water shot on an empty beach

On this Camino, we decided to walk part of one Camino and all of another. Does that mean we split our focus and didn’t have the time to build relationships? Maybe. Upon reflection, I wish would have only walked the Camino Portuguese. We were too “all over the place” on this Camino.

However, and this is big, the friendships we still have today from our 2017 encouraged us to walk on the Camino Frances. Why? I am still processing but here is what I have concluded thus far about our Camino Portuguese. (1) We were on bikes from Lisbon to Porto which means we were not walking day by day with other people. (2) Pilgrims were shockingly judgemental about those who bike the Camino. This hurt me deeply but we had fellow pilgrims tell us we were cheating. The locals were kinder than pilgrims. (3) By the time we were walking again, many people already had their “clicks” and we were not a part of them. (4) There were a lot of larger groups on the Camino. (5) When we talked to pilgrims, we learned that many people walk the Camino Portuguese in part because there are fewer people and they were more interested in the solitude. In the end, Brian and I had each other and we certainly grew closer together.

#2 – Planning Extends the Fun

We absolutely love planning our travels. The planning time gives us something to do when we can’t travel because we are working, it gives us experiences to look forward to, and it gives us time to research what is happening during the time we will be at a certain place. I don’t see us ever traveling without planning something. Even if we don’t make reservations, just researching where we are traveling gives us a lot to look forward to when we get there!

The village of Águeda and the ever-popular Umbrella Sky Project

The day we were riding into the village of Águeda was filled with anticipation because we knew about the Umbrella Sky Project. We didn’t, however, know how many streets are decorated. Above is the main street but there is so much more to this village. It’s this anticipation that got us through the tough days, the hot days, and the days we wanted to quit.

We encourage everyone to at least do some research when you are traveling to a new place. Whether you learn how they interact, what they eat, what they celebrate, and what makes the town special. This research will give you a lot to look forward to and enrich the anticipation of what is to come.

#1 – In the End, Don’t Plan Everything

Here it is, the number one reflection so far. I can’t believe this is my number one, Brian is still on the fence about it. But based on both of our Caminos and all of our years of travel, I have to say don’t plan it all.

Let me set this one up and explain why we plan everything. We plan our routes and make all of our reservations for one specific reason – we can only travel during the busiest times of the year which is school holidays because we are teachers. When we travel it is the busiest and most expensive time of year so planning helps us same money, find deals, helps us do a lot in the time we have, and gives us travel to look forward when the workdays are rough.

I am sure you already know the downside, we did but it didn’t change our way of doing things. When you plan everything out, you are locked into a route and a time frame. We have been ok with that because we always have contingency plans. If we were too hot, too tired, sick or injured, we were ok with taxing/bussing ahead. For us, that normally works. Here’s the problem this time, there are a few of them.

First, when we walked into Sierra, Spain, the starting point for those who only want to complete the last 100k of the Camino required to earn your Compostela, there were busloads of students. Multiple busloads. A lot of people. If we would have stayed an extra night, maybe we would have avoided that crowd. However, maybe there would have been more the next day. I don’t know but we didn’t have the flexibility to learn.

Second, when my foot started giving me trouble, it would have helped if we would have done half days. Yes, we could have walked half the day and taxied/bussed the other half, but I was too stubborn until the pain reached a breaking point. 🙁 Half days would have also helped my anxiety but I didn’t know what the problem was at the time. Slowing down period would have helped because I was feeling the pain in many ways.

Finally, not planning the Camino in its entirety would have given us time to stick around a village longer if we needed or wanted to stay. However, we had festivals to get to, an ambitious route planned, and we were determined. In the end, we walked a lot less than we wanted to and I pushed myself way too hard.

Do you sense my inner conflict? Because it’s there. I know there is a lot to be said about going with the flow. I want to, I really do, we will see where life takes us next. I will say, we are doing a better job of planning with flexibility. For example, our next two trips, Nashville for Thanksgiving and Naples, Florida for Christmas, are planned, but minimally. We have reservations for our campgrounds which are necessary because of the time of year. Our Naples campground was sold out by August. However, we don’t have daily plans. We made a general list of things we would like to do while at each destination. However, what we actually do will simply be what we are in the mood to do.

There you have it, our top 10 reflections from our 2019 Camino. From footwear, to festivals, to going with the flow. At this point, it has only been a month and I am sure there will be more reflections as we work on the presentations we are giving in the future about our Camino experiences. For now, head over to YouTube for a lot more Camino content.

We would love to hear from you! What did you learn from your Camino? What do you wish we would have talked about? What questions do you still have for us?

Thanks for reading, and until next time…

10 Reflections from our 2019 Camino – Part 1

Posted on September 11, 2019 by Cruisin Michelle

“OUR TOP TEN REFLECTIONS MAY NOT SURPRISE YOU, BUT OUR NUMBER ONE WILL LEAVE YOU STUNNED”

We walked part of the Camino Frances and all of the Camino Portuguese in June and July of 2019. As of today, we’ve been home for exactly a month. We have been extremely busy since we’ve been home with little time to reflect but the Camino is always on our mind. Creating a list of our top 10 reflections is tough because it may be too early to genuinely process our experiences. However, we think this is a pretty good representation.

#10 – Every Camino is Different

We didn’t consciously go into this Camino with a list of expectations; however, since we walked the Camino Frances, from St. John Pied de Port, France to Finisterre, in 2017 we unconsciously had more expectations than we realized. For example, being teachers the overall time of year we walked was the same for both. However, we started in León, Spain this trip around the 10th of June when last time we didn’t arrive in León until the 4th of July. A month makes a difference that we didn’t expect. Last time it was the festival season, this time it was large groups of school children walking the Camino as their end of the year school trip.

Additionally, we heard the Camino Portuguese has fewer people; however, we figured that would make people want to bond more. Not in our case, remember every Camino is different, people were already in self-proclaimed groups or wanted to be alone. The other factor we had is we biked from Lisbon to Porto and then walked from Porto to Santiago so we didn’t have the ability to follow at the same pace as others. The final major unexpected factor was the sheer foot pain I was in for most of the trip. I wasn’t the happiest person all of the time and it greatly impacted our experience.

#9 – The Camino Tells You When to Stop

This is a tough one for me to admit because I want to be unstoppable. However, the Camino will humble anyone. In January through March of 2017, I was in a walking boot for a stress fracture on the top of my left foot. We walked the Camino Frances that year in June and July. The Camino wasn’t too bad, I had my bad days and I should have had foot surgery as soon as we returned home. But I didn’t. Sadly, after more over-training and overuse, I was back in a walking boot from March to May 2019 for two stress fractures on the top of the same foot. I needed surgery but the Camino was calling. I scheduled my surgery for August 2019. As of now, I am 2 weeks post-op and though I can’t bear weight on my foot, I am in significantly less pain.

If you skip to the end of the video below, you will see my reflections about walking the Camino after only 3 weeks into our 8 week trip. I was humbled, broken, and yet inspired by what I was learning from the Camino. Another pilgrim on the Camino said, “listen to the whispers before they become screams.” He was right, great advice, the Camino is always talking to you.

Our Last 2 days on the Camino Frances and Reflections of 300 Miles Walking this Camino

#8 – Never Judge Someone’s Footwear

No, these aren’t our hiking shoes, but they are shoes made of cork that we brought home from Portugal

Yes, there is an unintentional theme going on here regarding feet but when it comes to the Camino it is the most important discussion, food is second and it’s next on our list so hang tight. Brian and I are completely different when it comes to foot problems, I have a lot and he has none. He walked our 2017 and 2019 Caminos entirely in Chaco sandals, linked below, and had zero feet problems. He used O’Keeffe’s Healthy Feet cream every night to help with dry skin.

I need to wear one specific pair of shoes, they need to fit my feet with bunions and hammertoes and need to be wide-ish but my feet are not wide enough for wide shoes. Not all Merrell shoes work for me but the Moabs, linked below, are a great shoe for me. Additionally, I love toe socks and wool socks. I alternate wearing them both when hiking. Unfortunately for this Camino because I was in a boot for so long and I was trying out a different pair of Merrell’s I didn’t wear my Moab’s. Big mistake, always trust the shoes you know. If you can walk all day around an amusement park and still want to continue the next day, those are the shoes to walk in.

Every single person on the Camino is wearing the shoes they think will be the best, some based on experience, others based on someone else’s input. So many people expressed shock when they saw Brian in his Chacos but never said anything to me. However, I was the one struggling.

#7 – The Food in Portugal is Amazing

We didn’t know what to expect when it came to Portuguese food as it’s not a cuisine that you hear about in restaurants. But holy cow were we pleasantly surprised when we arrived! The food was flavorful, colorful, and though there were common staples, there was a nice variety. The one thing we knew was Portugal was known for their pastries and they did not disappoint. They had both sweet and savory, you could find them on every corner, and we ate a lot of them! Haha

Our favorite restaurant on the Camino Portuguese was Tudo aos Molhos in Sao Joao da Madeira. Jorge, the owner and host, takes a level of pride in the food he serves that is rarely seen in home kitchens, let alone busy restaurants. For us, this place is probably the biggest not to miss stop of Portugal! You can see our meal beginning at 2:52 in the video below.

The bottom line is we ate our way through Portugal and it was amazing! If you have favorite Portuguese food, leave a comment.

#6 – Porto has Port, Lisbon has Soul

We thought for sure we would love Porto more than Lisbon. Why? I have no idea, maybe something we heard, maybe the draw of Port wine, maybe the water, who knows. I am not sure why we were trying to pick one over the other except that we had 3 days at the end of our trip and we were trying to decide where to spend those days. Early in our trip planning, we picked Lisbon without much thought and then we changed our minds but we were locked into a non-refundable hotel. This all happened before we saw either city but we had to stick with spending our 3 days in Lisbon and we pouted about it for a few months. Now, I am disappointed that we spent so much time pouting because from the moment the plane landed for a 7 hour layover in Lisbon we were in love.

The beach, the buildings, the character, the Tuk-Tuks, the people, the wine, the music, and the neighborhoods, there is so much to say about Lisbon. Brian created a “48 hours in Lisbon” video, it’s linked below. There will also be another 48 hour video about Lisbon in the coming weeks, subscribe to our YouTube channel to get notified when that video drops.

We stayed in the neighborhood of Alfama both times we were in Lisbon, both during our layover between Camino’s and at the end of the trip. The first time we were in Lisbon they were celebrating the Festa de Lisboa which celebrates the barrios (neighborhoods) of Lisbon for the entire month of June. The whole city is decked out for the party and it is sure not to disappoint. Grilled sardines in the street, fado music floating out of doorways, vino Porto, Ginja, sangria, and so many more drinks to sample keep partiers going all night long for the entire month! Alfama is one of Lisbon’s oldest neighborhoods having survived the earthquake of 1755 and they take the party up a notch. During the rest of the year, Alfama is a little quieter during the day, but in the evenings this neighborhood comes to life and should not be missed.

48 hours in Lisbon – The 1st of 2 Mini Travel Guides

Wait? Where are the last 5 reflections? I’m sorry, you’ll have to wait until next week. But I promise it will be worth the wait. There is still much to reflect upon, it’s too much for one blog post. I will give you a hint – when we walk the Camino again, we won’t do it the same way. Our number one reflection even shocked us!

We will have a YouTube video out on Sunday and another blog post will come out on Wednesday. Be sure to subscribe to both our blog and our YouTube channel if you like what you are reading.

Until next time…