Glacier Nat'l Park

We finish August at Glacier Nat’l Park. After spending considerable time yesterday talking to folks who have been to the park or live nearby we decided to leave earlier this morning for our best shot at seeing a bear. Bingo, about 18 miles in to a 96 mile trip and after taking a few pictures of mule deer 8 ft from the truck there the elusive bugger was walking down the street like we weren’t there. We were able to get two pictures before it disappeared in to the brush, unfortunately neither were very good.

A bit further up the road we could check the mountain goat off the list of animals that allowed us to stand three feet from them and take a picture. A couple huge eagles and that completes our list of animal sightings at Glacier.

If you close your eyes and picture the park on a beautiful late summer day with a light breeze, brilliant sunshine and moderate temperatures then, that would be, the exact opposite of what we had today. We had the opportunity to experience this park in some extreme conditions and it was a very interesting contrast to Yellowstone. When we entered the park it was 54 two hours later at the summit it was 35 with a mild 40 mph breeze and the occasional trip through the clouds. It was amazing.

The drive as you can see is a path called “going to the sun”, many thought this road couldn’t be built and it is easy to see why. Our mirrors were in most of the trip and several times one wheel was on the edge of the pavement or a couple inches from the rocks. It was a gorgeous 6 hour drive.