Glacier National Park (continued)

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.

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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.

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The lobby was fantastically beautiful.

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

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

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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.

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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.

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

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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.

Grand Tour of Drumheller

Drumheller, AB – Land of the Dinosaurs

Our next stop on our fabulous tour through Alberta was Drumheller, AB.  Prior to this trip I had never heard of this town.  But anyone who has studied dinosaurs is sure to know of it’s existence.

We were camped at the Dinosuar RV Park within walking distance to the entire town.  It was a nice campground with plenty of washers and dryers.  Here is a pic of my site.

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We are going to be here 3 nights so we had time to do the laundry as well as relax..  Chica offered to help me with the wash, but I couldn’t get here to fold the socks.

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Drumheller Tour

The first full day we were here many of us decided to go on a tour of the area, which was offered by the RV Park for $25.  They had a bus that carried us to many unusual sites in the area.  Our guide had lived here most of his life so could answer our many questions.

Our first stop was Drumheller’s Little Church.  It would seat 10,000 people but only 6 at a time.

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OOPS, wrong picture!

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The next stop on our tour took us to Horse Thief Canyon where a local tour guide met us.

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The views were awesome.

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Then we crossed the Red Deer River on the Bleriot Ferry.  It was named after Andre Bleriot who homesteaded here around 1904.  A homesteader could buy 160 acres for only $10.  I sure wish you could do that now.  What a bargain!!!

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Then we proceeded to an overlook of the Red River Valley.  What a view!

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Up close with the Hoodoos

Then we traveled through Drumheller to the other side of town where we saw a fantastic display of hoodoos.  You could walk among them and see them up close.

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A wiggly suspension bridge

We then all hopped back in the bus and drove to the Star Mine Suspension Bridge.  Miners used this bridge to get to the other side of the Red River and the coal mine .

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Lots of buffalo

The last stop on our tour was at a ranch that raised buffalo.  These were the females approximately 2 years old weighing approximately 850 lbs.  They were very curios as you can see and started walking toward us.  They are probably saying to each other, “humans have to be the weirdest thing I have ever seen”.  They walk on their hind legs and talk way too much.

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Then we headed back to the RV Park.  It was a great tour and I would highly recommend it to anyone passing through Drumheller.  The next day we planned to visit the Royal Tyrrell Dinosaur Museum.  It is known as the most famous dinosaur museum in the world.  I will cover that in my next post so stay tuned