Glacier National Park

 

Hello from Glacier National Park!! Noodle said that Pappy got way too much coverage in the last post so he wanted to say "hi" first thing to everyone! 

So Glacier National park had us saying "WOW" so many times. We had several days here so we were able to hike and explore multiple waterfalls, lakes and absolutely amazing sunsets that went on forever. 

This was on the way to Avalanche Lake, which was a grueling but so worth it hike. It was supposed to only be about 5 miles long but I think we walked a mile just to get to the trailhead. The power of the water on these rocks was amazing to see.

And just as we were about to leave the lake, out comes this bear!! He was across the lake (thank God) and just walking along the shore. We learned later from our boat captain that the berries have been very scarce this summer so the bears have been looking for alternatives, including moths. I am just glad we weren't on the menu! 

The colors of the water were so crystal clear aqua and a great compliment to the lichen on the rocks.

Also, we did the Cedars Trail and Dave was blown away at how huge these trees were! We were pretty pooped that night so we opted to eat in the park at the Lake McDonald Lodge. It was built in 1914 and has some very cool architecture paying tribute to the Blackfeet Tribe.

We didn't take the "Red Jammers" tour as we opted to drive the Going to the Sun road ourselves. It was a good call as we stopped SO many times! We hiked up part of Logan's pass, stopped at Rising Sun for a boat ride on St. Mary Lake and on the way back was treated to a sunset that lasted almost an hour...warning picture dump in 3...2..1... 

Interesting fact on these road guardrails, they are seasonal. That's another reason (besides the massive amounts of snow they have to clear) that it takes so long for the Going to the Sun Road to open in the spring. These wood guardrails have to be installed every year. If they left them up the snow and wind would wipe them out each winter.

Our photos don't begin to do the views or road justice or give enough kudos to the engineers and team of people who built this road. It was started in 1923 and completed in 1933 and believe it or not only 3 lives were lost during that time. Just crazy to think about what they had to do with TNT to make the road possible. Good thing OSHA wasn't around!

Not sure if this little guy wasn't feeling well or just had too much sun but he was sitting there on the side of the trail...no, I didn't bring him home. Dave said no. :(

What a stud!

This was the start of the Logan's Pass trail to Hidden Lake. We only were able to do about 3 miles of it because the trail was closed due to bear activity! Guess that lake will stay hidden to us!

For my favorite Canadians! Love you and miss you!

Going on the boat ride on St. Mary Lake. Another great way to see the mountains around us and also a stop at St. Mary Falls that was beautiful.

And here is the road back home heading west on the Going to the Sun Road...we couldn't of had a more spectacular drive!

We also made it to the Two Medicine Lake on the east side of the park in hopes of some more kayaking. It was a lovely drive but we were disappointed to find that once we got there (an hour from our campsite) that no watercraft activity was being allowed this season due to lack of staff for inspections. Here in Montana as the source for a lot of the country's water supply they won't allow you to enter a body of water without an inspection. Oh well, it was another gorgeous day for a drive!

 

We stopped at Goat Lick Pass and while we didn't see goats here we did on our drive back from the Going to the Sun road. Yes, that's the hood of the truck that is getting the amazing reflection of the sunset. I'm taking the picture from standing up thru the top of the sunroof, which is where most of the photos were taken! We'll leave you with a few of our favorites from Glacier National Park and our campfire tonight...wow, what another spectacular place!