The Times and Travels of Nolan
Documenting trips I've taken and places I've seen.
Reminder: this diary was handwritten on the night of September 21 and has been lightly edited in the transcription. 8:20 am – We’ve just departed from the Lewistown, MT Super 8. It was definitely nicer than the [Minden, ND] Days Inn, though I would rate that comparative rather than superlative. Sunrise this morning was beautiful …
Continue reading “Glacier 2025 Diary: September 21, Two Medicine”
Editor’s Note: This post is a transcription of a diary that I kept from my trip to Glacier National Park with family in September of 2025. It has been lightly edited for grammar and syntax, and photos have been added. 9:15 am Currently writing from I-94 in far western North Dakota. We’re 27 miles from …
Continue reading “Glacier 2025 Diary: September 20, Makoshika State Park”
Editor’s Note: I spent September 19-26 of this year with my immediate family (my mom, dad, and Taylor/Kyle/Wyatt) at Glacier National Park. This was the first leg of my parents’ six-week-long tour of the Northwest to celebrate my mom’s retirement. It was the first time I’d gotten to travel over a long period with Wyatt …
Continue reading “Glacier 2025 Diary: Visiting North Dakota (September 19, 2025)”
Here we are, over three years after my visit to Glacier National Park with Elizabeth. I’m finally writing out my 34th and final blog post from that trip. The reason to finish it now when there are certainly other, more fresh trips in my head to try to blog about is simple: next weekend, I’ll …
It’s only 3 years later and my Glacier National Park blog has finally reached its last full day – and just in time, because in 2 months I’ll be joining my family for another trip to Glacier for a week. It’ll be myself, my parents, Taylor, Kyle, and Wyatt, who at a year and half …
Picture this: you’re sitting in a building on the shores of Swiftcurrent Lake, enjoying a beautiful Montana afternoon. Except your enjoyment is twofold, because not only are you in front of one of the most beautiful views in the world, you also have a beautiful view right in front of you. No, I’m not talking …
Continue reading “Glacier National Park: Many Glacier Hotel”
Blue waters gleaming like a tropical paradise. A warm, sunny day with just a hint of a breeze. Two campers who hadn’t had a proper shower in about 96 hours and several dozen miles of hiking in the interim. You put this all together and it makes sense why Elizabeth wanted to hike down to …
The quintessential Glacier National Park experience: driving up the long valley of Lake Sherburne on a beautiful, perfectly clear July morning. Pulling over along the way to spot bears in the distance. Driving into a beautiful, craggy mountains with snow shining on their flanks. And then embarking on foot on a journey that takes you …
Continue reading “Glacier National Park: The Grinnell Glacier Trail”
There are two different types of campgrounds. The first type is the campground that exists for the purpose of camping. You stay there with friends or family, maybe in someone’s RV. You make campfires and roast marshmallows. During the day, you swim in the lake. You tell your friends about the time you went camping. …
Situated at the foot of Upper Waterton Lake is a bluff. From this bluff, one can look basically down the length of the lake all the way back to Glacier Park. It was designed as a luxury hotel for tourists stopping along the Canadian transcontinental railway way back at the start of the 20th century. …
Continue reading “Waterton Lakes National Park: The Prince of Wales Hotel”
