Glacier National Park is just one stunning view after another. On our way down from Logan Pass you realize that you are on the Eastern Slope of the Continental Divide. We had just crossed it the day before on I-90 and here we were going back over the hump.
We hadn't gone too far down the road towards St. Mary when a couple of us saw movement against the mountain. Between our driver and one other passenger, they located what turned out to be a Rocky Mountain Goat. In the next two pictures, see if you can spot the white. Hint: Clicking on the pictures will give you a larger view and zooming on the second one will reveal the animal.
We had seen two goats earlier walking across a grassy area but were not able to get a picture due to traffic near Logan Pass. I wasn't too sure about this photo either until I could look at it on the computer.
Since glaciers are retreating. it is sometimes difficult to tell the difference between a glacier and left over snow from the previous year. This is Jackson Glacier and is one of the larger ones at 250 acres.
Glacier has two major glacier created lakes that are easily accessible by car. On the West side it is Lake McDonald and on the east side it Lake St. Mary. Our route took us almost the entire length of Lake St. Mary as we came down the mountain from Logan pass.
Our lunch break was scheduled for an area in the park known as Many Glacier. Mountains were spectacular.
And the lodge, like others in the park was built by the railroad to promote the hotel and the park. This building dates from the 1909, 1910 period. It still is quite nice and actually overlooks a lovely lake. Just before we got dropped off at the hotel for lunch, we spotted more wildlife. How about a grizzly sow and her two cubs.
The road back from Many Glacier took us back over Going to the Sun Road in the opposite direction. Not surprisingly, the scenery was much different. Lots of waterfalls that were not visible to us
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| This stream formed when an earthquake left a large crack in the side of the mountain. |
What is somewhat unique about waterfalls in Glacier is that their water source may actually be on the other side of the mountain. The underlying rock structure in Glacier is not granite but soft sedimentary rocks from an ancient sea bottom. Water flows between the rock layers and can seemingly come from nowhere.
Looking back up lake St. Mary towards Logan Pass. Again, an outstanding view.
The rest of the trip back was pretty uneventful. We make one last stop, along a river that supplies Lake McDonald for a look at lovely blue color in the water that you get from glacier runoff.
We spent 8.5 hours riding in the Red Bus and visiting the highlights of Glacier National Park. To be honest, we were pooped and had to take the next day off from exploring.
Our next adventure was up the west side of Glacier. Not heavily travelled because it is a dirt and gravel road most of the way.
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