July 29. 2010 by Merilee.

Glacier National Park

July 27, 2010

I have put this majestic park on the top of my list of favorite national parks.  It is truly special and unique with the many glaciers, mountains, waterfalls, high altitude wildflower meadows and jaw dropping views.  We have enjoyed the Going to Sun Road a few times and keep seeing more details and beauty.  Strongly recommend this two week stop for the bucket list.  Don’t try to see it in one day by driving the Going to the Sun Road.  At each of many pull-offs, one can find pristine lakes, glacial rivers in aquamarine, stellar mountain ranges with the peaks in the clouds.  This view is of Mt Jackson  elevation 10,052.

This pic of the red jammer waiting to load eager tourists to tour in the open air bus through Glacier National Park.  The jammers were an instant hit when introduced in the 1920’s and are still the best way to experience a guided tour of the park.  This location is at the Two Medicine Lake General Store in Glacier National Park.  I have posted many pics on my flickr page if you want to see more.

Lion Lake is just one gem in the hundreds of glacial lakes and ponds in the northwest section of Montana.  This pristine lake is in Hungry Horse Montana in the Flathead National Forest.  Rumor has it the fishing is excellent here. The lake was a mile from our campsite in Hungry Horse, Montana.

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July 23. 2010 by Merilee.

July 20, 2010

Glacier National Park

Often described as the most scenic drive in America, the Going to the Sun Road is far from just scenic.  It is truly magnificent in grandeur.   It is really difficult to convey the majesty in this “Crown of the Continent.”  This day we started in West Glacier and drove by Lake McDonald, old growth cedar forests, crystal clear Avalanche Creek, dozens of high mountain waterfall and glaciers.  It is truly a landscape formed by rock and ice.  The mountains just touch the beautiful blue sky in the most amazing way.

Okay, you must see Glacier National Park in your lifetime.  Put it on your list and find a way to experience it.  Of all the National Parks that we have seen, Glacier is truly on the top of the list.  The season here is very short as the road just opened on June 25 and is scheduled to close on Sept 21st.   While I do not take any stock in “the glaciers are melting” due to global warming,  I do believe that natural climate changes can affect them.  This is a must see.

This pic is taken from below Logan Pass of Gun Sight Mountain and Heaven’s Peak on the right.

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July 15. 2010 by Merilee.

Glacier National Park

July 15, 2010

Exploring the Many Glacier section of the park was quite exciting.  I was off on one side of the road on my knees photographing the amazing high altitude wildflowers.  When I got up and turned around, I discovered that a traffic jam had started.  Down in the field on the other side of the road was a momma grizzly bear with two cubs.  They were just grazing through this amazing field of wildflowers.  This is a shot of her.  The high winds recked havoc with my long telephoto lens.  The foliage was too high to catch the cubs but I did see them both as they frolicked and jumped after mom.

On our way out we came across another big traffic jam.  This time we saw a sow and 3 cubs!  Brad got a very good look at her as she turned and headed right for him and the ranger standing next to him.  The ranger immediately barked orders that everyone must leave now.  I was stuck in the crowd and never did get a pic of this family.  Brad got an eye full of his second grizzly in the wild that he will never forget.

Running Eagle Falls in the Two Medicine section of Glacier National Park.

Today we drove southwest to the Two Medicine section of Glacier National Park.  We both enjoyed the hike to Running Eagle Falls and Trickle Falls.  Can you see that there are two distinct falls in the background?  There was a fly fisherman working the waters under the falls and he said the fishing was grand.

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July 13. 2010 by Merilee.

Glacier National Park

St Mary, Montana

July 13, 2010

The wind has been blowing and gusting to 45mph since we arrived yesterday making doing anything outside difficult.  We were awestruck by the drive up the Going to the Sun road to Logan Pass as it was truly breathtaking.  The temperature was a very brisk 43 degrees at the pass with  steady and gusting winds.  Still the scenery was just magnificent and hard to comprehend the vast rugged beauty of the area.  Some of the statistic will show the magnitude of the park:

1,013,572 acres

175 distinct mountains

40 glaciers

200 lakes

563 streams

1,606 miles of streams

One could spend a lot of time here exploring, photographing and learning about the history and geology of this great park.  I have to say that each national park has had it’s own special and unique beauty but Glacier is all superlatives.

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July 10. 2010 by Merilee.

White Sulphur Springs, Montana

July 11, 2010

The jeep took us exploring the Lewis and Clark National Forest today.  The loop ride took us over some high ridges with panoramic views.  The most amazing feature of the ride was the abundance of wildflowers.  I will be busy for days trying to identify many new to me species.  This pic does not do the blossoms justice.   This is just gorgeous country.

The jeep looking back to Mt Baldy from Duck Creek Pass at 7,343 ft elevation.  You can just see a few of the many alpine tundra wildflowers.

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July 6. 2010 by Merilee.

Big Timber, Montana

July 6, 2010

We had a very scenic drive today from Sheridan, WY to Big Timber, Montana.  We are camped on the Boulder River in a campground/trout ranch!  A new one for us.  This is the view from our campsite.

Stopped to see the Little Big Horn National Monument but there was no place to park and have to mark it for another day.  Who would have thought this out of the way monument would be mobbed on a Tuesday?

The surrounding Bear Tooth Mtns. and Crazy Mtns. will be explored this week if the weather cooperates.  The peaks are still snow covered.

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