Glacier National Park

June 23 – Glacier National Park. We won’t have time to see the whole park or even do much hiking. The Going To The Sun Highway is one of the key attractions at Glacier so off we went on the 52 mile drive across the mountain with a plan to return later in the afternoon when the sun would be behind us.

Of course, we are always on the lookout for wildlife, and we scored our first big hit just a couple miles from the campground. Cars were stacked along the road (the first sign that wildlife are around) and we spotted a bear quite a ways off the road. I had my camera and telephoto lens sitting on the floor beside me. I snapped off just one shot before a park ranger “reminded” me that I wasn’t properly parked off the road and had to move along. Looking at the photo, the bear appears to have the tell-tale hump of a grizzly, but a closer look at his snout makes me believe it was most likely a chocolate colored black bear.

A highlight is the Going-To-The-Sun road. It is a national scenic road that traverses Glacier NP  and crosses the continental divide near Logan Pass. Parts of the road gets up to 80 feet of snow and generally takes until early June to be open to the public. The road is narrow and has many switchbacks so vehicle traffic is restricted to less than 21 feet. Our Roadtrek worked just fine.

Park visitors can also ride one of the Red Jammer tour buses. The tops pull back so passengers can stand to take photos.

There are several glaciers in the park but Jackson glacier is the only one left to see from the road. Like most glaciers, it is receding rapidly and it is estimated that ALL glaciers will be gone by 2030 – only 14 years from now.

And there are great views of lakes, streams and waterfalls.

The highest point of the road is just over 6,600 feet at Logan’s Pass.

We had a bonus at Logan Pass – Big Horn Sheep were on the mountain across the road from the visitor center. They blended with the surroundings so well that we would not have noticed them if it weren't for others who pointed them out.

While there is no bad time to visit national parks, but I’m beginning to favor spring. Especially, in mountainous areas, because the snow adds to the color and contrast. Flowers are blooming and wildlife are giving birth to their young.

 Tomorrow we will cross into Canada. I’m still undecided whether to travel the main road through Calgary and Edmonton or if we should take a bit longer and travel through Banff and Jasper National Parks.