Glacier National Park

Overwhelmed By God's Creation

Leaving South Dakota (and Kristi at the Rapid City airport) was bittersweet. We enjoyed the variety of this area - Black Hills, culture, patriotism, desolation, and bison burgers at Wall Drug, and will surely miss Kristi's humor and trip planning ability. Enjoy going back to work, kiddo, we're going on to GLACIER NATIONAL PARK!

Glacier has several sections; we visited West Glacier first, then East Glacier. There is also a joint Canadian-US section, Waterton, but we did not take in this portion.

West Glacier

We arrived midday on our first day in West Glacier. After snapping the all-important photo, we began the drive through the park. The only road that goes straight through to the East side is the Going-To-The-Sun Road. It is easily one of the most scenic drives in the US.

Gotta have "the sign"

We drove along Lake McDonald for several miles. I named the color of the water Glacial Blue. I've never had a favorite color before (they are all awesome) but I do now. Notice the haze obscuring the mountain in the background. This is smoke from fires in British Columbia and Alberta. 

Lake McDonald

We decided to take a short hike then call it a day, as we had driven over 6 hours to get to GNP. The next morning we got to the park before 7 AM and caught a nice pre-sunrise at Lake McDonald. Again, the smoke from the Canadian wildfires gave the mountains a blue hazy look.

Dawn at Lake McDonald

We wanted to get to Logan Pass, the path from west to east, before the sun came up, but misjudged how long that would take. Here are some shots of the sun and shadow on the mountains. Soon these would be completely immersed in sunlight.

We also saw Bighorn Sheep just before arriving at Logan Pass. These were on Dave's gotta-see-it list of animals. 

Bighorn! Yay!

One memorable hike we took included a number of natural wonders. Avalanche Lake hike began with this most important reminder.

We're in bear country!

We then hiked through a stand of Black Cottonwood trees. They were HUGE! The rough bark reminded me of Sequoias on last year's trip.

The Avalanche Lake trail was a lot of UP. Rocks and roots (now nicknamed Tree Trippers) made the going tough, but eventually we were rewarded with... THE LAKE!

Avalanche Lake

Going back was (supposedly) easier, as it was a lot of DOWN. However, one of those pesky rocks got the best of me, and I took a tumble that left my shoulder, elbow, and hip battered and bruised. I now have skin color that matches the huckleberries this area is famous for.

Speaking of huckleberries, isn't this the cutest truck?

I treated Dave to an afternoon of fly fishing for a belated birthday gift, and we had a thoroughly relaxing time on the Middle Fork of the Flathead River. Dave caught six trout, but they were all catch-and-release, so we had pizza for dinner. 

Dave is familiar with casting.
But fly fishing is a different motion, both casting and pulling in the prize.

Cutthroat trout are on the decline, so we had to throw them back.

A suitable fishing spot, wouldn't you say?

We hiked to so many waterfalls I lost count, but one of our favorites was McDonald Falls.

McDonald Falls.

Mc Donald Falls from the bottom.

"Unremembered" Falls

East Glacier

After three glorious days in West Glacier, we camped in St. Mary on the east side of the Rocky Mountains. Again, we arrived after 12PM and had some time to check out the area.
Wild Goose Island seemed so lonely in the St. Mary Lake; apparently there are boat tours on the lake, and this is one of the iconic features included on the cruises.

Wild Goose Island

We enjoyed the visitor center. So did a little friend who chattered at us as we watched him scrounge for any scraps. 

Hey! This isn't my best side!

That's more like it!

We found another friend on the way out of the St. Mary part of East Glacier.

This red fox was running right along the road.

Two Medicine

The next day we headed south to Two Medicine, another entrance to the East side of GNP. Unfortunately the weather decided to turn cold and rainy. But we still had a wonderful chance to see wildlife and waterfalls while we hiked.

The weather was cloudy, and then rainy at Two Medicine.

Do you see the moose?

Running Eagle Falls is actually a cave waterfall.
During the spring water falls from the top of the rocks as well as through the cave.

We headed back to the camper a bit wet and cold, but we've only had 2 rainy days so far on our trip! Can't complain. And the BOGO Progresso soup really tasted great for dinner!

By the way, Running Eagle was a real woman who was an incredible warrior, and eventually chief of the Blackfeet Tribe. The falls were named by the tribe in her honor.

Still smokey, but we enjoyed spotting this very long waterfall.

"For purple mountain majesty..."

After 5 glorious days exploring the beauty and majesty of Glacier NP, it was time to pack up and go for a moon walk. Stay tuned!