Going to the Sun

Sunday 23 August 2015

Today's plan involved getting up early and heading to Glacier NP. Our route would take up through the park and then back to Kalispell round the southern edge of the park.

We were out of the hotel and on the road just after eight and followed the U.S. 2 through Columbia Falls and Hungry a Horse to West Glacier Park. At the gate to the park, we purchased a one year pass to the National Parks at a cost of $80. This seems expensive, but a visit to each park can cost $30 per day. It is easy to quickly make the annual pass pay.

By the time were entered the park, the temperature had dropped from 45F at Kalispell to a chilly 36F, despite the blue skies. The road at first meandered around through forest and alongside a river before the valley opened out and we had Lake McDonald on our left. We stopped at the far end of the lake and pulled on jerseys before taking a few photos.

From here on, the road started rising, slowly at first, before swinging round into another valley and climbing more rapidly. The road had been cut into a shelf onto the valley side and there were dizzying views to the right. This is the 'Going to the Sun' highway opened in 1932. It is a remarkable feat of engineering.

The views are spectacular as the road carves up through the Rockies finally reaching the summit of Logan Pass at 6646 feet above sea-level. This is also the American Continental Divide, rivers to the west flow to the Gulf of Mexico or Atlantic, rivers to the west to the Pacific. We stopped for a while at the top and saw several ground squirrels as well as Pine Siskins. We'd also seen some Evening Grosbeaks and a Pika, a small rodent, on the drive up.

From the Pass the road wound down more slowly onto high prairie. We passed through several areas where recent forest fires had clearly taken hold, a sad sight. Not long before we got to the eastern edge of the park, so spotted a small Black Bear crossing the road, it may have been a cub, but their was no sign of an adult.

All the way through the park we'd seen the iconic, red single-decker, 1930s-styled motor coaches. All of them had soft tops rolled back so their passengers got the best views. They certainly look the part, some drivers had gone the extra mile and were wearing period clothes!

Back at the eastern entrance to the NP at St Mary, we stopped to eat some lunch before our journey back to Kalispell.

First we headed south on route 89 towards Kiowa. The road ran through open rolling landscape for miles, very big scenery! At Kiowa, we took the route 49 toward East Glacier Park. This is quite a small road with some steep climbs, huge drop-offs and an often poor road surface, in other words, the sort of road we love! We followed Two Medicine River for a while and eventually passed the huge Glacier Park Lodge, a hotel built by the railway to bring tourists into the area in the 1930s. It was built in wood at around the same time as the Old Faithful Lodge in Yellowstone NP.

Arriving at the railway line, we met the U.S. 2 again. We parked, and for old times sake, revisited the small motel that we got snowed in at in June a few years ago. It has had a makeover, but was instantly recognisable. We also felt obliged to have an ice cream just to try and recreate the icy conditions of our last visit.

From East Glacier a Park, the road winds around the south of Glacier NP via Maria's Pass (5280ft), on the continental divide again, and back to West Glacier. Part of the way along the road we passed through an area where wildfires were still burning. We had to drive in a convoy with an escort vehicle for several miles.

Finally, back in Kalispell, after a memorable (!) visit to Jo-Ann's we were very unadventurous and went to Applebee's for dinner. They have a good deal, 2 salads and 2 main courses for $25. I had steak, it was very juicy and delicious. Following this, we went back to the hotel to plan our journey, but the internet wasn't working, so frustration all round!

 

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