Glacier

Before I write about Glacier, a little real time news.  7/3/18 – Banff NP, Alberta, Canada.  7am. -2 degrees C, 30 F!!!  Snowing!!!  What!?!?  Good day to do some writing.  Back in time to Glacier time.

6/21/18 – Sad to leave Yellowstone, not nearly enough time there, but excited to move on to Glacier and the famed Going to the Sun Road.  Long drive, got there kinda late and got I think the last available campsite.  It wasn’t good, in a dip and camper door facing away from picnic table.  So didn’t unhook camper, figuring I’d get another spot early in the morning since it’s a first come campground.

6/22 – Which I did, right across the camp drive up a few spots.  Perfect.  But, but, but, Going to the Sun wasn’t open!!!  The main thing to do, the way to see Glacier, what else do you do here?!  Hiking of course, lots of fantastic hiking trails but I certainly can’t hike across, plenty of folks biking it tho.  It goes east-west across the giant peaks from one entrance of the park to the other.  The only road. They have to clear it each Spring of all the 80′ of snow and avalanches.  And repair, and replace the guard rails on the winding, narrow, clifts-edge road.  They take them down before snows start because avalanches do it for them if they don’t.  Well, it was open part way from each direction, so we’ll just have to drive the west portion.  Then next day drive around the southern boundary road and start from the East entrance.

The first days drive was great, around Lake McDonald, the huge, long lake the campground is on, water falls and some 8-9000′ peaks.

 

The next morning the Ranger came by and said the Sun Road was open!!!  Yippee!!!  So off we go to do the whole thing.  What a spectacular road!!!  An engineering miracle for sure.  Fantastic views of peaks, Going to the Sun Mountain at 9642′ being the highest.  As you’ll see in the pictures, it was rainy, misty, socked in, and very scary driving at points.  Could have as easily been named “Going into the Clouds Road”.  Very limited visibility, but fantastic anyway.  We were in the clouds, on top of the world.

 

The last 2 are looking down into the valleys, zoom and you can see the rivers.

 

If you can zoom in on the signs, interesting info and the 3rd one has a map.  See how close the road is to the “wall” and cliff?  Yikes!!

 

Bikers, above the clouds.  See the road going across Bird Woman Falls? Just went over it.  Glaciers.

The “weeping wall”, driving right in it’s waterfall.  Interesting info about Logan Pass and Glacier Park.  Wonder how these trolleys make it on those sharp turns and not hit the wall.  All that can be seen of the visitor center, all socked in, and looking away at the view.  Except this little fella, just chattering away, probably saying “what are all you folks doing here? I was having a nice quiet spring!  There were people standing all around watching and listening.

 

Coming down the other side got a little clearer, St. Mary’s Lake.  We then drove up to the Canadian Waterton Lakes National Park..  Waterton was established as a NP by Canada in 1895, Glacier by US in 1910.  They adjoin each other on the US Canada Boundary which led to the two governments linking the two parks in 1932 as Waterton Glacier International Peace Park. The land has always been sacred to the Blackfeet, Salish, and Kootenai Indians.  Now, 2 countries and the tribal people share stewardship, protect and celebrate this beautiful, sacred place.

After very exciting day returned to camp, scurrying over the mountains as it was getting late, so not many return pictures.  Leaving the next day for Banff NP in Canada.

See you in Canada,

Lynn and Xena