By Mildred Diaz
The best things in life are unexpected. When I applied to work for the Glacier National Park Conservancy I had no idea how significant of an impact it would have on my life. Many different things have led me to Montana and Glacier National Park such as summer camping trips, a love for nature and conservation, and a desire to explore and enjoy life.
I grew up going hiking in the Sierra Nevada, so I was no stranger to the sheer magnetic pull that the mountains have. Yet there was something about driving up Going-to-the-Sun Road for the first time that drastically changed my definition of what mountains were. I remember how I felt so vividly: my heart instantly leapt out of my chest, my breath was literally taken away, and I knew then that this place was going to be very special and meaningful to me.
The sheer size and magnitude of the mountain range and grand lakes are enough to make any visitor appreciate the park’s natural beauty. And while the mountains are undoubtedly majestic, it was the personal and intimate moments I had with friends and with the national park itself that make Glacier so important and dear to my heart.
Milly stands among the fireweed blooms at Big Bend.
During my time in Glacier I had an overwhelming amount of feelings ranging from happiness, warmth, and excitement, to belonging and adventure. However, the biggest and most prominent feeling of all was love.
To love often means to admire the small moments and things. Glacier isn’t just another national park to check off your list. It’s meant to be thoroughly explored and loved through every nook and cranny within every lake, creek, mountain, and trail.
Love isn’t always loud and in your face it’s small and unknowing, and it creeps up on you in the strangest yet wholesome ways. Love is going paddle boarding on Lake McDonald and feeling the waves gently rock you as the sun shines down on your face on a perfect summer day. It’s blasting music with the windows down while driving the Going-to-the-Sun-Road and feeling the wind in your hair. It’s laughing with coworkers who become lifelong friends in the living room after a long but fulfilling day of work. It’s reading in your hammock at a campsite when a deer suddenly decides to join you for a brief moment. It’s hearing the birds sing in your backyard and knowing which type of bird it belongs to. It’s sitting down and eating a squished sandwich after summiting a mountain and taking in the impressive views. It’s the childlike wonder as you watch the northern lights dance right above your head.
The Northern Lights as seen from GNPC seasonal housing.
I feel so incredibly lucky and grateful to be a part of the Glacier National Park Conservancy and to do work that helps protect such a beautiful and amazing place. Every day at work feels special because I know that the work I do here has a greater purpose and helps preserve the park. It’s such an amazing job that creates bonds and friendships with strangers from all over the country due to our core mission and like-mindedness in loving Glacier and wanting to support it. By the end of the season, it doesn’t even really feel like a job, it feels like a community, found family, and home.
Love is all around this stunning national park, you just have to slow down and allow yourself to feel it. The next time you drive Going-to-the Sun Road, hike a trail, or lay by the shore of Lake McDonald, listen with your entire soul to the gentle sounds and call of Glacier. It’s a sentiment that can only be compared to hearing a tender, sweet soul whispering the words “I love you” for the first time.
As a seasonal worker, I may not know where my next adventure may be. However, I do know that no matter where I go a part of my heart will always yearn and long for Glacier. There’s much to be said about this remarkable national park, but until you see it in person and spend time exploring it, no words can ever describe the feeling other than these: Glacier National Park is where your heart and soul are free and alive.
