The most iconic part of Glacier National Park in Montana is not the scenery which was carved by glaciers, but the magnificent road that runs through it: Going-to-the-Sun Road. While the Road is an amazing feat of engineering and construction, winter in the Rocky Mountains closes the Road. Each spring crews begin the process of clearing snow from the Road, plowing through snowdrifts that can exceed fifty feet in height, and repairing damage caused by the winter avalanches and rock slides. In most years, the goal is to have the road open for the three million tourists who visit the Park by mid-June or early July. While the crews are working in the high mountains, visitors can drive to the Avalanche Campground area and from their they can walk or bike up the Road for several miles. The lack of automobiles on the Road, means visitors can stop and enjoy McDonald Creek and the many changing views of the mountains. The photographs shown below were taken on June 5, 2018.
Public Lands
Public lands, such as national parks, are currently under threat from: (1) under funding, lack of maintenance, and the idea that visitors should have to pay to visit them; (2) the ideological mantra of privatization and the assertion that public lands should be developed by corporations; (3) lack of concern for the environment and global warming; and (4) the use of political and religious ideology in decision-making rather than scientific data. More Glacier National Park photo diaries from this series:
Public Lands: Apgar Campground in Glacier Park (Photo Diary)
Along Going-to-the-Sun Road (Photo Diary)
Glacier Park: Lake McDonald (Photo Diary)
Glacier National Park: St Mary Lake (Photo Diary)
Glacier National Park: The 1913 Ranger Station (Photo Diary)
Glacier Park: The Swiftcurremt Nature Trail (Photo Diary)
Glacier Park: Many Glacier Hotel (Photo Diary)
Glacier Park: Two Medicine and Running Eagle Falls (Photo Diary)
Glacier Park: The Sun Road on a Cloudy Day (Photo Diary)
Glacier Photo Diary: The Rocky Point Nature Trail