Glacier National Park, Day 1

Thursday,  August 11th-  We left Billings early and headed west/northwest for Glacier National Park.  We planned to stay in Kalispell, about 45 minutes south of the Park.  The drive took us through wide open valleys surrounded by mountains on 2 sides, the floor of the valley covered with long golden grass.  Interspersed throughout were ranch houses protected by an oasis of green trees.  You could always tell when there was a river or stream in the area by the line of trees following the water.

Just south of the Kalispell area is Flathead Lake.  Half of the lake is part of an Indian reservation, the other is privately owned.  The lake is very beautiful, definitely a destination for those wanting to boat and fish.  Within the reservation was a rest area, overlooking the Mission Mountain Range.  The range is managed on the west side by the reservation, and on the east side by the forest service.  This reservation was certainly one of the more prosperous we have seen.

We covered a lot of territory, and arrived in Kalispell fairly early, about 4 pm.  The main difference we found from our stay in 2009 was in the price of lodging- I would bet the hotels had almost tripled in price.  For example, last time we stayed 3 days for about $222 dollars.  The same hotel was charging $179 per night weekdays, over $200 weekends.  We ended up finding a less expensive hotel, which worked out fine.  On checking in, the older gentleman behind the desk was telling us how important it was to get in to the park early, as the park had been very busy, and finding parking in the lot at Logan Pass, the summit of the mountain, was difficult.  He also mentioned that he had read a recent article where a ranger was quoted saying the lot was nearly empty at 7 pm.

That got us thinking- we were only 45 minutes from the park, it was early, it stayed light pretty late here, why not take our first shot at the park today?  In addition, a big plus, it was clear.  As some may remember who followed this blog in 2009, we made several attempts to go into the park at that time, only to encounter fog, mist, wind, and 40 degree temperatures.  After staying several days and going into the park twice, we gave up.  That experience was very different- because of the visibility, the park had a more intimate feel.  You could sense mountains in the distance, but could not see them.  Our focus was on the wildflowers (still abundant on this trip), the lake, and other sites close to the road that could be seen.

We had to make a stop on the way- Hungry Horse, home of the wonderful Huckleberry Pie.  We needed something to tide us over (as Dale put it) until dinner after our park visit.  What better than Huckleberry Pie with ice cream (huckleberry, of course...)

Glacier National Park is a special place.  The U.S. portion of the park covers 1,013,572 acres.  It adjoins the Waterton Park in Canada, covering 129,700 acres.   In 1932, the combined park was declared by Canada and the U.S. to be the world's first International
Peace Park.  Although administered separately, the 2 parks cooperate in wildlife management, research and visitor services.  The Blackfeet Indian tribe controlled much of this land in the 18th and part of the 19th century.  It supports a great diversity of animal life.  In addition, as per its name, it supports a number of glaciers.  Unfortunately, with global warming, the number of glaciers in the parks has been reduced from an estimated 150 in 1850 to around 25 in the park today.  It is estimated there will no longer be glaciers in the park by 2030.

Spectacular.  That is the only word I have for what we saw on our trip into the Park and up Going to the Sun Road that evening.  The road itself is an engineering marvel, built in the 1930's by the CCC.
It is in great shape, and a testament to the folks who are pledged to maintain it.  In places, it barely clings to the side of the ledges on which it was built.

We drove up the road, not really stopping, as we were anxious to get to the top, do some exploring, and get some photos before it got too dark.  I was not thrilled to think of descending that road in the dark.  I really didn't have to worry- it was still quite light by the time we headed down about 7:30 pm.  I mentioned our last trip was very intimate- the Park did not want to share her secrets with us at that time.  This time, however, she welcomed us with open arms.  Not only clear weather to see those incredible mountains we were not even aware were there, but sharing her wildlife, as well.  Just before reaching the top, right next to the road, was a mountain goat, beautiful fluffy white coat, grazing in the grass.  Not at all bothered by the humans who were trying to get a picture of him.  We were thrilled to have the opportunity to see him.

The weather that evening was strange.   There was rain in the distance, and we actually got sprinkled on a few times, but the light coming through the clouds into that light rain was just beautiful.  We were thankful we had made the decision to do this tonight.  Although it made for a very long day, not getting back to the motel until about 11 pm, it was definitely worth it.  We planned to return to the park tomorrow for more exploration.