Glacier National Park

Today’s travels brought us to higher elevation and we drove by Flathead Lake which is huge; 15 miles wide and 30 miles long.  It is the largest freshwater lake in the west.  






Glacier National Park is the 6^th National Park to be established and is called that because immense glaciers carved the area many, many years ago.  Unlike rivers, glaciers erode wide bottomed, steep-sided, U-shaped valleys.  Deep glacial lakes like Waterton, Saint Mary, and McDonald, fill the bottoms of some larger glacial valleys.  

We entered Glacier National Park from the west entrance and went to the Apgar Transit Center where we parked the truck and got in a line to wait for about 45 minutes to catch a bus.  That bus took us to Avalanche Loop where everyone gets off the bus and gets in line for the ‘small’ bus which takes you to Logan Pass.  The small buses can navigate the roads so much easier than the big ones. The roads are quite curvy and there isn’t much of an edge protecting vehicles from a humongous drop off the mountain.  Taking the bus makes enjoying the spectacular scenery possible for everyone and they are environmentally friendly.  The only problem we see is that you can’t just pull over and take a picture of one of those spectacular sites, you just go on by them.  We did see quite a few very nice waterfalls from a distance.

Once at Logan Pass which straddles the Continental Divide, the 1.5 mile (one way) hiking trail to the Hidden Lake Overlook is in a beautiful setting.  The lush meadows of wildflowers are surrounded by jagged peaks.  We did see Mountain Goats on the hike, one walked right to us and then crossed over into the midst of some trees. 

Mike walked all the way to view the Lake, but Judy quit about 45 minutes away because of ‘old’ knees.  It was a fun 8 hour day.  

Thirsty Mountain Goat

Walking the boardwalk on Hidden Lake Trail

Hidden Lake

Sunning Mountain Goats

Meadow with Wild Flowers

Big Horn Sheep Blend So Well Into The Mountainside

Famous Red Tour Buses

                                 The next day we left a little earlier than yesterday and headed to St. Mary Visitor Center. We are staying by the West Entrance to the park and that is at the East Entrance to the park.  We weren’t three minutes in to the park when we saw two little deer run across the road right in front of us. The difference between taking the bus system yesterday and driving today is we were able to make stops where there were overlooks and capture some of the beauty in pictures.  One of our first stops was by some white water rushing by.  When getting out of the truck Judy saw a bear walking on the other side of the water and pointed it out to Mike.  He (the bear) disappeared before we could get a picture.  That makes two for two of not being as quick as the animals!  We made a few other stops along the way. We walked down to the water and were able to take some pictures of the gorgeous views we had.  

They are doing road work on the way to St. Mary so we were stopped a few times, the delays were never very long, but what a mess it made of the truck!  It went from a medium to dark grey, to a very light grey from the dirt/dust from the gravel road and the water truck trying to improve the dust situation.  We then left the park via the East Entrance, drove on regular highway, and then entered the park again to go to Many Glacier.  That road was also very rough, but the                                                                                  scenery was worth it.  

Waterfall Running Below Road

Riding The Edge

Enjoying The Scenery

                    Ride The Edge With Us

We stopped at the Many Glacier Hotel, what a gorgeous setting and view.  The hotel is located along the shores of Swiftcurrent Lake and is the largest hotel inside the park  The great northern railroad built this historic hotel in 1915 to accommodate the many tourists passing through Glacier National Park.  Many Glacier Hotel is built in the Swiss Chalet style and the Swiss theme is carried through the interior of the hotel as well.  This quaint hotel provides world famous scenery, with panoramic views of nearby Grinnell Point and Mt. Henkel.

Our last day (fifth) in Glacier we we drove an hour and a half, heading to Two Medicine, near East Glacier.  We were lucky enough to find a parking spot not too far from the boat launch.  We got tickets for the boat ride on Two Medicine Lake which takes you across the lake.  A guided hike to Twin Falls is only offered at 1:00 and 3:00.

The boat we were on  was the Sinopah which was built in 1924 and holds 49 passengers.  It’s amazing that it is still in service, but it is safe and licensed to do its job!  Kiley, our boat captain and guide, explained about the rock formations, plants and trees we saw on the hike.  The weather was perfect for the boat ride and the hike.  Mike had on a sun-shirt and Judy wore a light jacket when needed.  The trail was slightly up-hill, but not difficult, and there were many tree roots to avoid.  There were a couple of wooden bridges to walk across crossing the river with only one rail to hold on to.  We also had to cross a mud-hole on slippery rocks.  

Twin Falls

The Other Twin

After disembarking we walked back to the truck and headed to Running Eagle Falls, also known as “Trick Falls.”  One waterfall is supposed to tumble over a cliff and another pours out of a huge hole in the cliff wall.  Since August is towards the end of the season, the upper falls had dried up, leaving the lower fall apparently springing from solid rock.  The hike was short and very easy and we remembered it from previous visits.

This was our fourth visit to Glacier National Park and we still enjoy it.

                                                                        Trick Falls