From Yellowstone, we made our way to Columbia Falls, MT, the west side of Glacier National Park.
Glacier National Park
Unfortunately, I don't think it lived up to the hype. We had been told by a few people along our way that it was great! Yes, we had a nice visit and it has good scenery, but it wasn't great. Like the other National Parks during the summer, it was crowded. But, we just mingled in and it didn't impact us.
Glacier NP got its name from the 125+ glaciers that it had in the late 1800's. The lakes, canyons, and mountainsides are the result of glacier carving. But today, there are only about 25 glaciers by the park's standards. These are alpine glaciers and don't rival other glaciers that we have seen like in Alaska. The park is scenic and, without the crowds, it would be peaceful.
The main sightseeing attraction is the Going to the Sun Road that crosses the park west to east (or east to west). This road climbs through the mountains and crosses the Continental Divide at Logan Pass at an altitude of 6646 feet. Once again, we crossed the Continental Divide west to east and back again east to west. We just can't make up our minds which way we are going.
To fully enjoy the Going to the Sun Road, and not have to drive and fight crowds, we took the Red Bus Tour. The Red Buses are 1930's buses that hold 17 passengers plus the driver and have been doing this gig since the 1930's, except they have been refurbished a few times and, as of 2002, they had their chassis and drivetrains replaced. There were originally 35 Red Buses but now there are only 33. One has been kept in original condition for a museum spot sometime. The other one was wrecked in the 60's by some of the drivers taking it out afterhours for a joyride, while they were drunk, and crashed it in the woods. At least that is what we were told.
Anyways, we took the Red Bus Tour that went all the way across the Going to the Sun Road, out of the park through part of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, back into the park (a little farther north) and over to Many Glaciers where we had a great lunch and view from the lodge's dining room. With knowledgeably selected stops along the way and a stop at Logan Pass where we didn't have to wait and fight for a parking spot, the tour was worthwhile. This was a nine-hour tour. I would have taken the six-hour tour but they were all booked, get your reservations early!
The views from the Going to the Sun Road were great and the commentary from the driver/tour guide was good. A great relaxing way to tour the park.
The next day, we came back to the park and took a one-hour boat tour on Lake McDonald, the largest lake in the park. It was relaxing but we didn't see anything we hadn't already seen.
Now for a few pictures to wrap it up
Our little Red Tour Bus. This is a terrific way to see Glacier NP.
Lake McDonald on the west side of the park looking east. If you see the farthest mountain in the V of the other mountains, that is where Logan Pass is and the Going to the Sun Road goes over and to the east side of the park.
A cascade waterfall. We saw several of these along our way.
A view across the valley along our way. There are a couple of glaciers on the far mountains but mostly snow and ice fields.
The view from Logan Pass and the Continental Divide at 6,646 feet. See the snow on the ground. I made a snow ball. It was 100+ degrees in Folsom, CA that day, just saying.
On the east side of the park is Saint Mary Lake. A big lake but not as big as Lake McDonald. See that tiny island in the middle? It is called Wild Goose Island and there is a story behind it, but I’m not telling it.
Becky got much better pictures than I did, she had a window seat and I had to sit in the middle. This is one of twin bear cubs that surprised us. They were very cute. Our bus was about 75 feet away and a ranger still came over and chewed the driver out for being too close. I think the ranger just doesn’t like the Red Buses.
The view from our lunch spot at Many Glacier Lodge. It was a very good lunch and the view was excellent.
On one of our short hikes, we saw this little guy staring at us from the cliffs.
The boat for our one-hour relaxing boat tour.
Looking west from the boat up narrow Lake McDonald.
Looking east from the boat down narrow Lake McDonald. That was all there was to see.