Jim and Lyndi's 2018 ZR-1 Road Trip to Glacier NP, Western Canada and the Rocky Mtns

[QB93Z]

Day 8 - At Glacier National Park


On Tuesday morning we took a Red Bus Tour of the Eastern Alpine regions of the Park:





The tour lasted about 4 hours and was conducted by an experienced guide in one of the 32 restored busses the Park Service owns. I highly recommend going on a tour to get a "lay of the land" about the Park. It was a windy and blustery day in the Park for the 2nd day. Even with the top rolled back, the bus was a comfortable vehicle for touring.


One of the prominent features of the east portion of the Park is St Mary Lake:





to be continued....

[QB93Z]

That afternoon we decided to hike to Apikuni Falls. The trail head was about 2 miles from the hotel and the hike was .9 miles, one way, up hill:





Along the way we found a cute Ground Squirrel:





After about 50 minutes of hiking up hill, we got our first view of the falls:





We found another squirrel on the rocks below the falls:





When we finally reached the top of the trail we got a wonderful view of the falls:





There are many of falls like Apikuni Falls in the park. Most are the run off of melting snow in the mountains. By the middle of July, most of the snow will be gone and all the falls will be dry.


Jim

[QB93Z]

Day 9 - At Glacier NP - Driving from the East Side to the West Side of the Park.


On Wednesday, we awakened to an amazing view from our room of the moon setting over the mountains and the lake:





Here is a view of the Many Glacier Hotel Lobby:





We left the Many Glacier area of the Park and drove out of the NP and South to the Two Medicines area in East Glacier, to one of the oldest lodges in the NP area. The Glacier Lodge was built by the Great Northern Railroad in the early 1900's. It is a beautiful lodge:





The Glacier Lodge lobby:





There is still a railroad station in East Glacier, MT that has daily passenger service on Amtrak's Empire Builder train that runs from Chicago to Seattle. The station faces the Glacier Lodge and there is a shuttle bus to transport passengers:





to be continued.....

[QB93Z]

We left East Glacier and drove west, again on US-2. We crossed the Continental Divide, elevation 5216 feet:





We reached West Glacier and entered the NP again. We drove the first part of the Road To The Sun and arrived at the Lake MacDonald Hotel, the third of the original Glacier Park lodges:





The Lake MacDonald Hotel sits on the shore of Lake MacDonald. It is a beautiful, historic lodge. I would rank this lodge as third of the big lodges in the Park because the view from the lodge across the lake does not include any of the tall mountains of the range and trees block most of the view of the lake.


The view from our room:





We enjoyed sitting on the second floor balcony over the lobby:





Jim

[QB93Z]

Day 10 - In Glacier National Park. On Thursday, we started the day early and drove the Going to the Sun Road. The Going to the Sun Road is the center piece of the spectacular Glacier NP. It allows car traffic from the west side to the east side of the Park. From Lake MacDonald on the west side the road goes from about 3,250 feet to the summit at Logan Pass at 6,667 feet (on my GPS). The road was built by the Great Northern Railroad crews that built the Great Northern's path across the Rocky Mountains. The road follows the contour on the mountains and make the minimum impact on the majesty of the landscape. There are two tunnels, hand cut from the stone mountains.


In the lobby before the trip, I found a lodge version of my cell phone that had no service and tried to make a call:





Because we got an early start, we had the road to ourselves as we ascended:





A nice view of the mountains. The bike belonged to a young man from Boston who was our impromptu photographer:





This dramatic waterfall required a stone arch as the road climbed the mountain:





The Going to the Sun Road closes every year by the snowfall. Winter 2018 was a very cold and lengthy season and some parts of the Road were covered with 150 feet snow. The NP road crews finish clearing the snow and opened the road only two days before we arrived in the Park. There was still a lot of snow on the edges of the Road:








Another section of the road that required a triple arch of stone:





to be continued.....

[QB93Z]

After visiting the Visitor Center at Logan Pass, we went to the east side of the Road to St Mary's Lake to hike along the lake shore from the Sun Point Trailhead to Baring Falls. We chose this hike because a forest fire two years ago burned most of the trees so the view of the lake and mountains was mostly unobstructed:





The views of the mountains were wonderful:








And then we reached the falls:





On the return hike back to Sun Point, the hikers we met reported that they had encountered a large grizzly bear that stood up in the path and challenged the group twice before going up the hillside and over the ridge. We had to pass back through the area where the bear had been to get back to the Purple Z. We hiked quickly and made a lot of noise to deter the bear from approaching the path again. We made it back without encountering the bear.


Jim

[Paul Workman]

Oh, simply STUNNING photos! I can almost hear those water falls and smell the pine mixed with that mountain air!

Bears:

Recommend you wear tiny bells on your clothes to let them know where you are, and carry PEPPER SPRAY in case one needs to defend against a bear.

Of Black bears vs. Grizzlies, the latter are the more aggressive species. By reading their scat (poop) you can know which species' territory you're invading.

Black bear scat is similar in appearance to that of a large dog. Grizzly scat is much larger and often filled with tiny bells and smells like pepper spray!

[efnfast]

Originally Posted by Paul Workman

Oh, simply STUNNING photos! I can almost hear those water falls and smell the pine mixed with that mountain air!

Bears:

Recommend you wear tiny bells on your clothes to let them know where you are, and carry PEPPER SPRAY in case one needs to defend against a bear.

Of Black bears vs. Grizzlies, the latter are the more aggressive species. By reading their scat (poop) you can know which species' territory you're invading.

Black bear scat is similar in appearance to that of a large dog. Grizzly scat is much larger and often filled with tiny bells and smells like pepper spray!

LMAO! Thanks Paul.


Jim, you said one of the roads had 150 feet of snow, is that a typo?
And, Mount Washington is known for the fastest wind on the planet (231 mph), not the coldest temp

[QB93Z]

Originally Posted by efnfast

LMAO! Thanks Paul.


Jim, you said one of the roads had 150 feet of snow, is that a typo?
And, Mount Washington is known for the fastest wind on the planet (231 mph), not the coldest temp

Not a typo. Near the tunnel on the St Marys side of Logan pass, the snow was reported to be 150 feet deep. The cliff face near the tunnel is almost vertical so the snow on the mountain side is also "on" the road.


Jim

[QB93Z]

Day 11 - Glacier National Park to Lake Christina, BC - On Friday, we left Glacier and drove through Montana, Idaho and then north to southwest Canada. We followed US-2 West through forests and hills





We passed through several small towns. We stopped for a picture of this eagle sculpture high in the air:





Then we noticed a trend of putting things on poles.


Cars:





Flower trucks:





Then campers:







In British Columbia, Canada we drove west on the Birdsnest Highway BC-3. The road was in very good condition and was a nice drive:





When we reached our destination for today, we were greeted with a familiar sign:





Christina Lake is a small "resort town" with a beautiful lake:





Jim