OK since I am writing this at the end of our time here, I can now safely say this was our favorite National Park on this trip. It was incredibly beautiful with the lakes, snow capped peaks, glaciers, animals, waterfalls, and breath taking vistas. The Going to the Sun Road is not only an engineering marvel but an awesome ride. No RVs allowed (thank God) but awesome views, weeping walls, bears, big horned sheep, and sheer drop offs. It’s the only road from the east end of the park to the west end without going outside the Park for many miles.
We arrived July 3. and we have found that each travel day, even if it is only a few hours, tends to wipe us out. But the time we break camp, drive, set up, we find we really don’t want to go do much. Sitting outside enjoying the view is enough, thank you. The next day being July 4th, we decided the Going to the Sun Road may be more crowded than we wanted to hassle, so we opted to stay on the east side. We drove up to Many Glaciers and had lunch at the Many Glacier Hotel. We like finding old Inns and checking them out. Eating lunch in these classic places sounds great, but honestly the food disappoints. Guess I just expect an awesome meal at an awesome looking Inn. But the area is gorgeous, the Lake beautiful, and the off and on rain was not a problem at all.
The next day we did the Going to the Sun Road. It’s a popular drive and everyone tends to go slow (too much to see) so it is actually a pleasant drive. We loved it so much we did it a couple times a day just for the changing lighting and animals. It’s 18 miles to the Logan Pass Visitor Center (parking lot ALWAYS full), but a easy turn around. The next part of the road drops down into the canyon. Very cool to do but took a longer time to get down and back up, so we only did it a few times.
Lake McDonald (largest lake in the Park) and it’s Inn are on the west side of the park. A couple of years ago there was a huge fire in this area and we had heard the Inn had burned down, but thankfully that is not true. The fire came right down to the other side of the Lake, but all is intact at the Inn. Another great Inn to hang out in the lobby, but we bypassed eating there. We did do the boat tour on the Lake, and a Ranger gave us a great talk about the Park.
Seeing animals is always great. You can’t believe how excited people are when they see something. All it takes is for 1 person to point, then every car stops to see what you’ve seen. If an animal is around, the rangers seem to be right there to try and keep people moving on the roads (but hey, we all want to see the bear).
One day we decided to head up to Canada. We were only a few miles from the border and the Canadian side of Glacier Park is called Waterton National Park, and together it is considered the International Peace Park. Very nice drive up. We found another area we need to go back to. The area and little town was beautiful and quaint. The Prince of Wales Hotel sits on a bluff overlooking the Lakes. Another cool Inn to visit and we did eat at this one (very British – most got fish and chips but I had to try Bangers and Mash since I never knew what that was (sausages and mashed potatoes). They seem to do a High Tea here that may have been a better choice. But hey, we are here for the ambiance, not the food. A truly classic British Hotel (at least in my mind since I have never stayed in one).
Along with spending a couple of days at camp, the week went by pretty fast. So maybe we need to stay longer than a week in places. We are still working so every day I have the schedule to do (with lots of help from Jesse in Calif), but Marsha has postings, billings and payroll to do, so she is much busier than me. She needs some “work” days to keep abreast of everything. Plus we enjoy just hanging out and not going any where. It’s all about the balance. But now on with our journey.
