Glacier National Park (10 page)

Dad stayed around the Apgar area watching
people come and go. After a while, he walked back to the ranger station and checked for updated information about travel on Highway 2.
It’s going to take them some time to get here
, he realized.

Dad wheeled his bike down to the water at Lake McDonald. He sat near the shore and gazed at the surprisingly clear view.

• • •

Mom, Morgan, and James approached a bend in the road at Bear Creek. The pilot car pulled aside and let the caravan of cars pass. Mom followed the car ahead of her into two-way traffic.

“It’s less smoky now,” James reported.

“Yeah, I feel like I can breathe again,” Morgan added with relief in her voice.

“We’re going to be fine, kids,” Mom assured them. “Look, the cars around us are speeding up. At this rate, hopefully we’ll get to Apgar in an hour or so.”

• • •

The late afternoon breeze chilled Dad. He zipped up his jacket just as he heard footsteps approaching.

Dad turned and, to his surprise, saw two familiar faces. “Hey! It’s
my old buddies from Sperry Chalet!”

“Hi!” Greg smiled. “Long time no see.”

The couple saw Dad’s bike. “Are you out for a spin?” Corinne asked.

“Sort of. But it’s not quite the ride I intended it to be.”

Dad told Greg and Corinne about his climb up Going-to-the-Sun Road and the closure at the summit.

“So,” Corinne said, “you’re here without food, your camping supplies, and your family?”

“That’s pretty much it.”

“Throw your bike in our truck,” Greg spontaneously suggested, “and we’ll drive you back to Fish Creek Campground.”

“Thanks,” Dad said. “I’ve already ridden that stretch of road a couple of times today, and I was getting pretty tired from it.”

Greg and Corinne got into the truck, and Dad hoisted his bike into the back. Then he hopped into the backseat to join them.

“We need to stop at the store really quick on the way,” Corinne mentioned. “Is that okay?”

“Of course,” Dad replied.

• • •

Mom, Morgan, and James drove up to the ranger station. Morgan hopped out of the car and ran up to the building. She first checked the fire information board. Then Morgan jogged to where notes were posted. Morgan found Dad’s note. She read it, then ran back to the car.

“Dad made it!” Morgan reported excitedly. “He says he’s in site D-18 at Fish Creek. And if he’s not there, he’s around here somewhere, looking for us.”

Mom drove around the block several times. They also checked by the lake. “I think Dad’s probably in camp now,” Mom concluded after not seeing any bicyclists.

The three Parkers headed toward Fish Creek.

• • •

At the store across the street, Dad grabbed some additional food to supplement his stash.

Greg and Corinne saw Dad’s basket as he joined them in line. “You’re hungry!” Greg exclaimed.

“A little,” Dad admitted. “But now that I don’t have to carry all this in my bike jersey, I thought I’d bring it to camp.”

“You’re going to eat all that tonight?” Corinne inquired.

“Maybe,” Dad replied. “I can always save some for morning.”

“Where?” Greg asked. “As of now, you have no car to store it in.”

“You’re right. I hadn’t thought about that.”

Greg and Corinne looked at each other and nodded. “We’ve got an idea,” Greg said. “We’re staying at a hotel just outside the park. We’ll hang out with you until dark. If your family isn’t there by then, you are welcome to stay with us.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Dad replied sheepishly.

“You can’t stay in camp without a tent and sleeping bag!” Greg exclaimed.

“That’s really kind of you,” Dad said. “Boy, I sure hope Kristen and the twins make it here before nightfall, though!”

Dad paid for his food. They left the store and walked back to the truck. The three got in and began driving to Fish Creek.

• • •

Mom slowed down at the campground entrance station and rolled down her window. “We’re the rest of the Parkers in site D-18,” she reported.

The woman in the booth looked at a list. “Okay,” she replied. “I’ve got your name here.”

The ranger wrote their campsite number on a slip of paper. “Here,” she said, handing it to Mom. “Put this in your driver’s-side window.”

Mom posted the paper, then leaned out. “Have you seen a man on a bike wearing a blue jersey?”

“Yes,” the woman replied. “I saw him earlier today.”

“Thanks,” Mom said with a sigh of relief. She drove through, and they found site D-18, but it was empty. Morgan hopped out of the car and found another note from Dad on the picnic table. She picked it up and dashed back. “I’ve got another clue!” Morgan called out.

Morgan read the note to Mom and James. “We must have missed him somewhere in Apgar,” James concluded.

“Or he’s on his way here,” Morgan added.

“But then we would have seen him on the road,” Mom realized.

“Should we go back?” James asked.

“I’ve got an idea,” Mom said. “In case he’s around here somewhere, let’s set up for his birthday and wait. Then if we have to, we’ll go back.”

“Okay,” Morgan and James agreed.

The three of them hurriedly got out all their decorations. They taped up the H
APPY
40
TH
, D
AD
! banner, put out the tablecloth, Dad’s card, and his birthday cake.

Mom grabbed the candles and pushed them into the cake. “Let’s get a few pictures now too, before Dad gets here,” she suggested.

Morgan found her camera and snapped several photos.

• • •

When Greg, Corinne, and Dad drove up to the campground entrance station, Dad leaned out the window behind Greg and asked the attendant, “Has anyone checked into D-18?”

The woman in the booth smiled. “Yes. They just got here a few minutes ago!”

Dad raised his arms. “Yeah!” he called out.

• • •

Mom gazed at their site with James and Morgan. “It looks festive, doesn’t it? But we’re still missing one thing.”

“Dad!” they all said at once.

A truck drove up. Morgan, James, and Mom stared at it. They saw a couple in the front, but didn’t recognize them.

Morgan noticed there was a bike in the bed of the truck. First Greg got out, then Corinne. Finally, a man climbed out of the backseat.

“Dad!” James and Morgan called out, running up to their father.

“Honey!” Mom exclaimed and joined in the reunion.

Dad hugged and kissed his family. Then he stepped back and inspected their campsite. “You’ve been busy!”

“Wait!” Mom said. She lit the candles and called everyone over, including Greg and Corinne. “Okay, ready everyone?”

And they all started singing.

“Happy Birthday to you…”

Dad blew out his candles, looked up, and smiled. “My wish already came true.”

“What did you wish?” Morgan asked.

“I don’t want to say. That would jinx it. But I bet you can guess.”

Mom looked at Greg and Corinne. “You’re going to stay for cake, right?”

“Of course,” Corinne replied. She looked at Dad. “Why didn’t you tell us it was your birthday?”

“I had other things on my mind.”

After eating, the Parkers exchanged e-mail addresses with Greg and Corinne.

As the couple walked back to their truck, Greg called out, “We’ll e-mail you our pictures from Sperry Glacier!”

“I’ll send you ours!” Morgan called back.

Once Greg and Corinne were gone, Dad smiled at his family. “Come here, all of you.”

Dad put his arms around Morgan, James, and Mom. “Thank you for a great birthday! It really was a surprise.”

“We had it set up for you at Rising Sun,” Morgan informed him.

“Really?” Dad replied.

“Yes,” James said. “After you took off this morning, we set it all up.”

“Then we had to take it down once we were evacuated,” Morgan added.

The Parkers cleaned up. Afterward, Dad noticed it was still light out. “How about a little walk to the lake?” he suggested.

The family strolled down to the same beach they had visited over a week ago. Morgan and James brought along their journals.

They all sat down in the sand. The skies were clouding up, but to the east a gigantic plume of smoke towered over the park’s high mountains.

“Hey,” James realized, “we never made it to the Two Medicine area.”

“That leaves us something to come back for,” Dad said.

While the family sat in silence, Morgan pulled out her journal.

James stared at the lake a little longer, then pulled out his journal.

James put down his journal and sighed.

Mom noticed James’s somber mood. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

“I’m sad that we’re leaving.”

“Me too,” Morgan added.