June 23, 2018
Today, we left Columbia Falls at 9:30 AM and drove to St. Mary’s at the east entrance to Glacier National Park. Throughout the morning, we experienced rain showers and a cool temperature of 50 degrees. Our route was US 89 to Browning, US 464 north to Baab, US 89 south to St. Mary’s. We drove through The Blackfeet Indian Reservation and at one point we were welcomed to Canada! We reached our destination at the KOA in St. Mary’s.
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Upon arrival and registration at the KOA, I overheard a conversation about the opening of the Going to The Sun Road. It opened last night at 10PM! The timing of our trip ended up working out after all!
As we were settling into our RV site, the rain and clouds disappeared and it turned into a beautiful afternoon. We gathered our necessities; camera, water, and sweatshirts and headed to the park. Shortly after entering the park, we came upon a line of cars, in both directions, stopped on the road. Was it wildlife on the road? We couldn’t belive our luck! There were two bears grazing in the meadow right next to the road. The park rangers were on the road to keep the tourists in their cars and away from the bears. We learned from one of the rangers, that the bears were Black Bears, one blonde and one black. They looked like Grizzlys to us! Seeing the bears, I decided that I liked the East side of the park better than the West.
The main road through the park is the Going To The Sun Road. It was a two lane road (barely) that winds through the heart of the park. As we continued on the road, we began to experience clouds and fog.
We passed through a burned area where we could see the evidence from the Reynolds Creek Fire that burned thousands of acres of Glacier NP in the summer of 2015. Dead trees and brush litter the landscape where the fire closed down sections of the park for weeks.
(click on the thumbnails to see slideshow)
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Most of the glaciers were not visible from the road. However, Jackson Glacier was one that was easy to see. It was on the fourth-highest peak in Glacier NP at 10,052 feet.
(click on the thumbnails to see slideshow)
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We passed through the 408-foot East Side Tunnel. It was completed in 1932 and the workers had to carry out by hand all the rock they blasted away. How tedious!
Yes, there were still snow drifts along the road. The Big Drift area is the spot where up to 80 feet of snow can accumulate during the windy winters. It took weeks just to clear that section of the road.of the road that takes weeks to clear that section of the road.
(click on the thumbnails to see slideshow)
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Finally, we reached Logan Pass, one of Glacier’s most famous spots. It is the highest point on Going-To-the-Sun Road. Due to the heavy fog, we could not see anything but the tailights of the truck in front of us!
It was still foggy as we passed the Weeping Wall. We could barely see the water pouring through the rocks, but we did see and hear the gush of water as it hit our jeep!
As the road began to descend, the fog dissipated and we continued down to the Avalanche Creek area on the West Glacier side. After Turning around and starting back up the road, we could see that the fog was moving in our direction, meaning we would not have very good views on the return trip.
As we got below the fog, we were able to see some beautiful waterfalls, walk in the snow, and we even saw some sheep on the mountainside!
(click on the thumbnails to see slideshow)
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Tomorrow we are hoping for a beautiful day without fog so we can clearly see the beauty of Glacier National ParK!
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