Gazing at Glacier

We were up early this morning, determined to see as much of Glacier National Park as our limited time allowed us to. We arrived at the Apgar Visitor Center right when it opened at 8:00 am and discussed with the park ranger about what was best to see on the Going to the Sun Road. After confirming which stops we were going to make and glancing at the sparse exhibits in the visitor center, we started down the fifty mile road.

Our first stop was at the Lake McDonald Lodge. We admired the well-crafted lodge and viewed the inside which featured many hanging animal heads on its walls. After looking at the lake itself, we continued our drive. We drove through the West Tunnel which was carved 192 feet through the mountain using 1920s technology (quite an impressive feat). We parked at the Loop Trail and took pictures of Heaven’s Peak while avoiding oncoming traffic. We drove by Birdwoman Falls and the nearby Weeping Wall which appeared more like the wall was teary-eyed due to the summer weather.

Lake McDonald Lodge

So many antlers

Coming up on the West Tunnel

The Weeping Wall

A little father down the road, we took in the grand view of the Oberlin Bend, a view in which the beautiful mountain peaks with their lush green trees and the valleys below could all be taken in at once. There was even a mountain goat that hung around long enough for us and every other tourist present to photograph. Logan Pass Visitor Center was our next stop and we decided to rebel against the park’s established order by parking in one of the shuttle parking spots since all the other spaces were occupied. I looked at a few of the exhibits including information about how the Going to the Sun Road was constructed (e.g. it took twenty-three years to build). Before a park ranger discovered our illegally parked vehicle, we were already on our way to our next stop.

Oberlin Bend

Goat

Lunch Creek was the next destination on our survey of Glacier Park. We arrived and partly hiked up the waterfall that formed the creek. It was pretty fun to hike right along the path of the water, even if it was a little wet and muddy. We got back in the car and drove to Jackson Glacier, the only glacier I saw in the entire park. From a distance it looked kinda small, but was still fairly large in size when compared to the mountain it’s resting on. Leaving the glacier, we headed to our hike to St. Mary Falls.

Lunch Creek

Jackson Glacier

The trail to St. Mary Falls was about ¾ mile descending down through bear territory as pointed out by a large warning sign. After that reassuring announcement, we made a quick trip back to the car to get the bear repellant spray and began the hike. The trail was easy coming down and St. Mary Falls was a spectacular sight. We headed back to our car at a slower pace due to the trail being uphill now. A little tired, we headed to the St. Mary Visitor Center to look at the exhibits and then waved goodbye to Glacier National Park at around 2:00 pm.

St. Mary Falls

We had a five hour drive to Coeur d'Alene, so we filled up with gas and ate some lunch on the way to the Staples’ house. The drive consisted of several random highways through the expansive void of Montana and we lost cell service and mobile data for the majority of the drive. Fortunately, around 6:30 pm (due to gaining an hour via crossing time zones) we arrived at our friends, the Staples’ house. The entire family, including sons, wives, and grandchildren were present for dinner. The last time we’d seen them was probably ten years ago and there was only one or two grandchildren at that time instead of the ten present tonight. Dinner was delicious and catching up with and meeting new members of the Staples family was wonderful. Tomorrow, we’ll spend the day with the Staples at the lake.

For a different perspective of today’s events, read my Mom’s blog here and my brother Joe’s blog here.