Glacier report with photos.
We began our visit to Glacier by spending the night in the wonderful Kalispell Hotel, somewhat discomfited because my luggage was still in Seattle, but comforted by the cookies and coffee in the lobby. The suitcase was there in the morning so we headed for the far end of the park and entered at East Glacier. Our first view of Two Medicine on the way to the lake was amazing.
We found the lake and bought tickets for the boat trip. The young woman at the ticket booth was petite, blond, and beautiful. A guy was at the end of the dock. We made an assumption: wrong! She was the captain and the extremely knowledgeable tour guide; the guy threw off the rope from the dock. We learned a lot about the area on that ride.
Driving back to the Izaak Walton Lodge I saw a sign about a "trick" waterfall, which I had read about in the tour book, so we stopped. One part of the falls emerges from a hole in the rock wall and one part from above. Late in the season the upper one dries up.
The next day we met up with Kossacks at the campground where Thinking Fella was camping and met everyone, some of whom we knew and some who I only knew on line. Across the board Kossacks are the best people anywhere and it's always a joy to gather with them. During the totally relaxing opening night BBQ, prepared by Thinking Fella, Ojibwa's wife, state of confusion, personalized bags she had made for us, shown here with a beer holder from Durango.
We walked the Trail of the Cedars which was a boardwalk with access for everyone. At one point we took a trail off of the boardwalk which looked inviting and isolated. We met no one. Mrs. side pocket made a lot of noise because bears.
We then returned along a stream and saw Lady Gaga sitting in the stream with pink hair and purple dress. It's possible it was someone else.
Just chillin.
Ojibwa led an epic hike to
Avalanche Creek but we could see we'd never make it so we took his advice and walked the Oxbow trail which was level. It was beautiful but in the sun it was hot hot. It, too, was isolated and we saw no one. Ready for a beaver shot?
The water was crystal clear.
What a wonderfully peaceful place. This is in the bow of the oxbow.
On Saturday 17 of us got into one of the ubiquitous Red Busses and rode up the Going-to-the-Sun Road. We had a great guide plus Ojibwa who knew what the guide knew and so much more. It's a spectacular trip; the whole cycle takes four hours. Mountains on either side and the valley between carved out by glaciers.
Amazing what nature can do in only 6,000 years.
Joan McCarter followed us up in her own car; she had her dogs with her which probably couldn't take the bus.
Once at the top our ever-elegant Diva paused to take a selfie in front of the sign.
I suspect she'll get back at me for this,lol.
Our bus at the top: #99, the best one.
After the trip, we took another boat trip on McDonald Lake, the largest in the park (10 miles long).
Group dinner in McDonald Lodge that night, followed by a boa ceremony outdoors. Too complicated to explain here (but there will be other Glacier diaries).
Thinking Fella,navajo,peregrine kate,figbash,state of confusion,Ojibwa
The last day we took the long drive down to the base of the Hungry Horse Dam. As I took this picture I almost expected to have some authority run out and confiscate my camera.
Thinking Fella says it holds elebendy gazillion gallons of water.
The other side of the dam. There was a sign on the road: no backpacks, no camera bags, etc.
The final night's BBQ was just wonderful. It actually
was 103°, exactly what was predicted. And the band, Truckstop Honeymoon, was so great I can't tell you. I bought two of their albums. But even though we were staying in our cute cabin right at Tamarack I didn't get any photos. I was very relaxed.
It was difficult to winnow down hundreds of photos to fit this diary. If there are other Glacier diaries I might be able to add to them. Hope you enjoyed these.
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