After we found our way out of the middle of nowhere, we hung out in Park City for a while and caught our breath. Well, not really, breathing isn't that easy at 7,000 ft.! We did do our laundry, rode our bikes, played golf with friends and slept in the same bed for a week...which was nice! Who knew we would be spending another summer in the Wasatch Mountains?
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| Love the wild sunflowers here! |
On July 4, we drove up to Montana. Last year, we reconnected with friends from our youth and realized we still really like each other so why not give traveling together a try. We planned a practice trip up to Glacier National Park. Our Montana friends are familiar with the area and love it, as does anyone who goes there, and happily came along to show us around. Glacier has been a dream visit for a while. Every photo of the park made me want to see it in person more and more. This was the perfect opportunity to see it with someone familiar with the area. To say I was excited would be an understatement. This park has a reputation. It is possibly one, if not THE, most scenic National Parks. There are surely other opinions but in my book it was very high on the "must see" list. I dreamed of perfect blue skies, snow capped mountains, reflective lakes, random wildlife sightings and breathtaking views at every turn. The day we drove up to Glacier, actually Kalispell, the weather was perfect. It was clear, sunny, warm...not hot, and the perfect backdrop for our National Park visit.
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Montana...the state that continues to amaze me!
Just one of the stops between Bozeman and Kalispell. |
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Views like this on the way to Kalispell only raised my expectations for
the perfect day in Glacier NP!
Flathead Lake |
We got the required pass ahead of time to drive the Going to the Sun Road the next day. We had been told it would be a curvy, steep at times, and an amazingly scenic drive. I was so ready! The batteries in my camera and my phone were fully charged. I went to bed that night with visions of national park beauty in my head. Imagine my disappointment when we woke up the next day to gray skies. NO...not today! I decided to accept the cards dealt to us, because we can't change the weather, embrace the gray skies and try to make the most of the day. I mean, come on...how many cloudy, gray sky amazing photos of Glacier are there? Maybe I could make the most of the conditions and capture a real keeper.
We packed the car with our positive attitudes, lunch fixings, multiple wardrobe choices for changing weather conditions and headed to the park . In spite of the weather, I was still very excited to be experiencing the Going to the Sun Road. Our first stop in the park was Avalanche Lake and the Trail of the Cedars. A short, flat trail to warm us up for the day. We enjoyed getting out of the car and walking through the woods along the stream. The woods were thick and not what I was expecting for this park. No cliffs, mountains, or glaciers just yet. We were entering the magic slowly.
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| Into the forest! |
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| The bottom of a fallen giant. |
After our hike we were ready to drive all the way to Logan Pass and hopefully find a parking spot! We may have had to stop a few times to take in the beauty that unfolded before us. The Road to the Sun is one of the most beautiful drives in the country. Even if it was cloudy. What a geological marvel. As you probably know, I love going to the top of things. The higher, the better. Looking down into the valley between the mountains all day long was a view I could never get tired of! The road itself is an impressive engineering accomplishment. TJ managed to enjoy the ride even if there were a few hairpin turns involving sheer drop-offs on one side.
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| Happy to be here! |
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| This magnificence brought to you by glaciers! |
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| The tiny white car on the right side on the road gives a bit of perspective. |
We made it to Logan Pass and were very lucky to find a prime parking spot, thanks to our friend's handicap pass. The unfortunate part of having a handicap pass is that one of our friends could not make the hike to Hidden Lake with the rest of us. He stayed behind and patiently waited for us to return. The sky was still cloudy and it was a bit cool. We headed up the hill/mountain. There were some patches of snow we had to cross and let me tell you, they were not easy to cross. They were hard but melting packed snow on steep inclines (or declines on the way back). I was thankful for my hiking shoes more than once, wished I had a hiking stick and appreciated our experienced snow hiker friend! The only thing I do on snow is ski! The hike was a good one, uphill all the way. We were lucky enough to see some mountain goats and a horned sheep. Once we reached the lookout for Hidden Lake we enjoyed the view, had our snacks and drinks and that is when it finally decided to rain. It always happens when you are at the farthest point from shelter doesn't it? Really, it was not a hard or long lasting shower but the temperature did go down a few more degrees. We headed back carefully over the snow covered path. We were almost all the way down when much to my surprise I saw some blue sky peeking out over the mountains. Hope springs eternal! Maybe the day would not be a total gray day after all.
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| They were not lying! |
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We are ready!
Sunglasses are ambitious! |
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| Sheep crossing! |
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| The view of Hidden Lake |
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| Baby! |
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The turning point of the day!
Here comes the sun! |
We managed our way down the trail without slipping or sliding to the bottom like many of those ahead of us, and met our very patient friend at the end of the trail. Onward to find more treasures. We found a lovely short hike with a couple of waterfalls. It is amazing how many waterfalls are in Glacier. I wonder if anyone has counted? I would imagine that the number varies depending on the time of year but I love a good waterfall or 10! Instead of boring you with every single waterfall, I have made a collage and these are not all of the waterfalls that day. Seeing so much water made me really appreciate the park. After leaving Park City in a smoky haze due to wildfires, one can never underestimate the importance of water.
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| Just a few of the many waterfalls of Glacier NP. |
Lake McDonald was our last stop for the day. There is a beautiful lodge on the lake and would be an amazing place to stay, if you are the type to book a trip at least a year in advance. Yes, it is that popular! Needless to say, we did not stay there. The lake is also one of the more iconic Glacier NP viewpoints. Thankfully, the day ended with much clearer skies than it began and the lake was as picturesque as I had dreamed it would be. The Going to the Sun Road was everything it was hyped up to be and more. I could go back day after day and never see everything there is to see or hike every trail. This is definitely a place we need to come back to for much more exploring.
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Lake McDonald
The stuff dreams are made of! |
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| Again! |
One day just was not enough for TJ and I, so we stayed on. Our friends headed back home and we drove over to the east side of the park to explore the Many Glacier area the next day. The drive alone was worth another day. We also had the perfect weather, which made me smile from ear to ear. We found our lodge, checked in, grabbed some sandwiches (a topic I will address in a future post....sandwiches...) and headed to the park entrance, a short(ish) 1 hour drive. We had not experienced any long lines at parks all summer thus far. We turned on the road to the entrance and about 5 miles along came to some construction and a sign that posted "one lane traffic ahead". Translation, "lead car ahead, prepare to sit and wait for at least 45 minutes to an hour for your turn to be lead through the one lane section". We were the 5th car in line, which meant we would be there for a while. About 30 minutes into our wait, the sign holder came and told us that the park was closed because there was no parking. The 4 cars ahead of us turned around and left...we were now #1. The people behind us came and visited with us and we decided we were in it this long, we might as well try our luck. Along came the "lead car" and the cars leaving the park. Several of them stopped and told us they had been turned around from the other side and we should all abort mission. We did not. I am married to a very persistent man.
It was finally our turn, we followed the "lead car" and were on our merry way. We got to the ranger station and it was vacant...no ranger...no one turning people away... so we went through and found a half full parking lot. Victory!!!
We got there fairly late for a park visit, around 3:30. We chose our hike and headed out. It seemed like we were the only people going out, everyone else was coming back. We were also suddenly aware that we had no bear spray, were in an area that was posted as bear country and were mostly...alone. Do you know how hard it is to keep talking to someone you have been with constantly for over a month....every hour of every day? We did try our best to keep it lively and every time we saw another hiker I was very glad. I was also very glad we saw no bears. We did not really know how far we were going to hike, we just kept following a path. We were definitely rewarded when we found Grinnell Lake and its magnificent view! We both took off our shoes and waded into the frigid water. We had the entire place to ourselves! Late day hike for the win! We were so glad we hung in there and followed that "lead car". Many Glacier area is not to be missed if you visit the park.
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| Totally worth waiting an hour for the "lead car"! |
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| No bears were encountered here...whew! |
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| Mother Nature at her finest. |
I could have wandered those trails for days. Three hours later, we made it to the Many Glacier Hotel just in time for some perfect reflection photos of Grinnell Point on Swiftcurrent Lake. Our plan was to eat dinner there. Times being what they are, dinner was more of a bag-of-take-out situation than a sit-down-order-real-food situation. The wine came in a can! Did I say that with the proper wine snob intonation? We were too tired and hungry to care much, plus the view was worth drinking wine out of a can in a plastic cup. We do things right, here on the 2021 road trip!
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| Fine dining at Many Glacier Hotel |
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| Worth waiting for! |
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| I could sit and sip canned wine all night looking at this! |
We ended our visit the same way it began, waiting for the "lead car". I decided to take the short cut back to our lodge which meant a cliff hanging, narrow road with very little shoulder and few guard rails...TJ's favorite. Good thing I turned my nose up at the canned wine, this was definitely my kind of road to drive, not TJ's!
We loved our visit to Glacier National Park. It turned out to be everything and more than I had anticipated. I have said it once and I'll say it again, I would go back in a heartbeat! What a place.
If you have not seen enough, or just have some extra time, I have an album of photos attached...because 25 photos in one post isn't enough, right? Warning....some repeats.
