Category Archives: Glacier National Park

Glacier National Park (continued)

Posted on by
8

Moved to a new site

I had to change sites from Loop A to Loop B as A sites were all reserved for the next few days.  I decided to stay an additional 2 days to get to see more of Glacier’s beauty.  I had to wait until the people in the site I had reserved had left before I could move over there.  I then drove the car over and walked back to the rig, then drove the rig over and got all settled in.

Later on I drove over to the Discovery Cabin across from the Apgar Visitors Center just inside the West Glacier entrance.  It was a small cabin that contained a lot of interesting items.  They had many of the skulls of different animals within the park.  I found this display showing a variety of antlers of many animals.

DSC_0607

They also had a full coat of both the black bear and the grizzly bear to show you the difference between the two.  You could see the claws up close.  What a difference!  The grizzly claws were huge compared to the black bear.  I sure would not want to run into one of those guys.

I also heard a very educational talk on Glaciers by the ranger outside of the Discovery Cabin.  What I found very interesting was that there were 150 glaciers when Glacier became a national park back in 1910.  Today there are only 26 glaciers in the park and the ranger said that in 7 years there would be 0 glaciers.  Whether you believe in “Global Warming” or not it is hard to justify what is occurring in Glacier National Park.

Lake MacDonald Lodge and Falls

The next day I traveled to the other end of Lake MacDonald to the Lake MacDonald Lodge.  It was really a beautiful setting.

DSC_0611

DSC_0616

The lobby was fantastically beautiful.

DSC_0623

DSC_0624

This was taken standing on the pier in front of the lodge.

DSC_0612

Then I traveled further to the Lake MacDonald Falls.  What a mass of rushing water.

DSC_0627

DSC_0629

DSC_0631

Avalanche Creek Campground

Then my adventure took me to the Avalanche Creek Campground.  This was the end of the trail as the park was closed off at this point until they get the snow plowed.  The campground was closed for camping but actually became a big parking lot for all the hikers.

This picture does not really do this justice as it looks much more fantastic in person.  It is just up the road from Avalanche Creek Campground.

DSC_0634

DSC_0639

DSC_0640

DSC_0641

Trail of the Cedars

Then I took the “Trail of the Cedars” hike.  It was a short hike (.8 mile), but takes you through a very deep cedar forest.  It is really beautiful.

DSC_0645

DSC_0647

DSC_0648

DSC_0650

On my return trip to my campsite I took these pics of Lake MacDonald.

DSC_0659

DSC_0661

It was a great day visiting just a few of the attractions of Glacier National Park.  The ranger in the Discovery Cabin told me that I should return after July 1 when all the roads are open.  She suggested the Logan Pass Trolley that takes you to many scenic spots.  You can also get off for pics and hiking and get on the next trolley.  I am not sure I will be in the area at that time, but for those of you who mentioned they were coming to the park around that time, I would highly recommend it.

No to slow Internet

It has taken me a while to upload this post.  I am in a spot where there is no Internet so I went into the town and my Millenicom WiFi was extremely slow.  So I am now in a McDonald’s using their fast WiFi.  I will be posting more in a couple of days regarding my present location.

Glacier National Park

Posted on by
7

Border Crossing

We crossed the border at a little town called Coutts, AB.  It went without a hitch as John and Linda went first and paved the way for the rest of us.  Just the usual “Do you have any fruits and vegetables?” question and I was back in the good ole USA.   Here is a pic of me crossing the border taken by Linda of adventureswithsadie blog fame.

Image

As much as I enjoyed this trip throughout Alberta, I am really glad to see the prices go down for gas ($3.65 vs about $4.62 per gallon) and wine ($9.99 vs $5.90 for a bottle of Yellow Tail).

The day started out beautiful but as soon as we got across the border it started to rain.  It was a huge downpour and it was difficult to even see the road for a while it was coming down so hard.  It then turned to a light rain which followed us almost into West Glacier NP.

Fish Creek Campground

I had made reservations online prior to the start of the trip for 2 days at the Fish Creek Campground.  We were all camped in Loop A for our final get together.  Everyone in the group had made reservations for 2 nights.  This is a couple of pics of Lake McDonald from the Visitor’s Center boat dock.

DSC_0565

DSC_0566

Fish Creek is located on Lake McDonald on the west side of Glacier NP.  It was a beautiful setting among the trees.  I got settled in and took Chica for a walk.  We hadn’t gone 100 feet, when a large deer crossed the road in front of us.  At first both the deer and Chica stopped and just stared at each other.  Then as the deer started across the road Chica began getting braver and started to bark.  It was very funny.  Sorry but I didn’t have my camera at the time, but this is the same deer I saw later looking for food inside the campground.  It is between the two tall trees just right of center.

DSC_0591

I Brake for Bears too!

The  next morning I decided to take a drive north of our campground.  About 10 miles up the road I saw a bunch of cars stopped on the road.  Up here that only means one thing.  There must be something for a photo opportunity.  I stopped also and sure enough there was a black bear (only it was colored brown) foraging the area at the side of the road for food (probably berries).

DSC_0572

I didn’t want to get too close to this guy.  I may have come within a foot of a rattlesnake but did not want to get within a foot of this guy.

DSC_0567

DSC_0569

DSC_0575

Happy 75th Birthday

That night we all met for a 75th birthday party.  Randy found out he was not the only one celebrating this milestone birthday.  After checking with all the others in our group, he found out that there were 6 of us who have or would be celebrating their 75th birthday shortly.  So he and Suzanne bought a cake and we all celebrated with them.

Here is Randy emceeing the party.

DSC_0599

And the delicious cake!

DSC_0601

Here are the 75’ers.  Age means nothing to any of them as they were all very active.  From left to right standing, Linda, Al, Randy and Suzanne.  Sitting is Dian and Pete.  Happy 75th guys!  I hope I too will be as active at that age as you are.

DSC_0605

Our last night together

We had fun getting together for the celebration since it was our last night together.  We took a group picture of those camping at Fish Creek.  However it is missing John and Linda, Coy and Cynthia, as well as Tony and Michelle who departed earlier.

DSC_0606

Standing from left to right: Linda, Carole, yours truly, Suzanne, Al, Anna, Randy, Nikki, Steve, Pam and John.  Sitting and kneeling: Dian, Pete and Zoe.

Pete from the Lazy Daze Northwest group was the wagon master for this wonderful trip.  I only knew a few people prior to starting this adventure, but got to know everyone before it ended,  I had a fabulous time and it is an adventure I will never forget.  I had never been in Alberta before but certainly enjoyed all it’s beauty and the congeniality of it’s people.

Many thanks to Pete for organizing such a wonderful trip and to John and Linda who suggested it to me back in January at Quartzsite.  Plus to all the wonderful people who went on this trip who I can now call my friends.  I know we will all meet up at other times throughout our adventures.