Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

Roaring Mountain - fumerols venting steam

Lower Falls and Yellowstone River

We traveled out into Yellowstone National Park today, this time driving past Mammoth Hot Springs and south to Norris, then headed to Canyon Village and the main feature, the Upper and Lower Falls. Yellowstone National Park has 7 main areas of interest to see, this Canyon area is one of them. So in 2 days we have covered 2 of the 7!  Yellowstone River carved out the canyon that the river runs through and it was quite impressive.  But first, along our road to Canyon Village we stopped at the Roaring Mountain, a fumerol where steam is vented out on the side of a mountain - and you can hear the roar of the water escaping.  We also stopped along the road where boiling water was perculating out and bubbling!  Weird to see - I thought of how hot the water was and we are standing on top of a volcano!  Speaking of - there are over 600 earthquakes in the park every year.  These earthquakes change the course of many of the vents and places that steam escapes.  They say that everything changes every day. We also saw lots of bison on our road trip today - had to be careful.  Once we got to the trail head for the falls, decided to hike down the Uncle Tom's Trail to the Lower Falls which took us 300 steps and about 500 feet straight down to the base of the falls.  Little disappointed we could not get closer to the fall but was still impressive.  Had a rough time walking back up the steps to get to the top where the trail is.  At 8000 feet altitude, I had some trouble breathing.  After recovering from this we drove to Artist Point which is a scenic overlook that is painted by many.  An artist - Moran - painted this area in 1871 and these paintings greatly helped persuade Congress to declare it a national park.

Since we wanted to cover all the bases and won't be back to this particular area, we drove to the North Rim loop road which is right on the other side of the canyon we were hiking on, and followed it until we got to Inspiration Point, pretty awesome to see the colors of the canyon.  After seeing this area as a whole we now understand how Yellowstone got it's name.

Steps for viewing Lower Falls

Followed the Grand Loop road north now, driving towards Tower-Roosevelt visitor's center, got caught with road repairs and had to wait for about 1/2 hour, then continued on back to Mammoth and out.  Long day but saw about 1/3 of the park from the road.  Not alot of hiking trails, which is fine - the bear and wolf activity is high, don't want to get into trouble.

Range Wildfire

On our way from Canyon Village to Tower we saw wildfire smoke in the distant.  As we got near Mount Washburn, which is a separate road trip to the top with vista views, we had a chance to pull off on a pull-out and there was a park information employee there to answer questions about the fires.  We had a great view of the Range Fire now going on with Cygnet in the back of the Range - edging closer.  And stink.  The clouds of smoke put a haze on seeing vista views.  Both of these fires were caused by lightning and the employee said that neither one is being suppressed - they are only watching it.  Not in any area that would harm people and fires are good for the vegetation - only in extreme heat (fire) does the lodgepole pine tree's nuts break open and these seeds are what regenerates the fire area.  There are 5 wildfires within the park and it makes for photo taking a disappointment since the smoke hinders vista views.  So we hope for lots of rain soon so a) the fires are put out and b) the air is cleaned up.  Not sure if we will go out again tomorrow or wait until Sunday - rain is predicted late tomorrow afternoon and 50% chance for Saturday - maybe this will help clear up the sky.

Mammoth Hot Springs - Yellowstone NP

We made the quick ride from Livingston to Gardiner, Montana yesterday morning - drug our tires as slowly as we could but still had to wait an hour until we could check in.  Since this park, Rocky Mountain RV Park, is a tad expensive, we didn't want to pay another day for being early.  So - we parked the truck/RV right at the street where we turn up into the park and waited for the magic hour of 1 pm.  No problem getting settled, spent a nice evening watching people come in.  This morning we had planned to go to the visitor's center to gather information and plan our visit.  Got to the Albright Visitor's Center around 10am, toured the visitor's center, then decided to go to the hot springs since we were that close.  94% of Yellowstone National Park is in Wyoming, the other 6% is in Montana and Idaho.  It was weird to see people stopped at the 'welcome to Montana' sign inside the park.

Water bubbling up from deep - steam rising

Yellowstone National Park is the first national park of the US, started in 1872, and the first national park in the world, this park was the pattern for other countries to emulate.  Lots of foreigners - lots!  We thought that waiting until the kids go back to school would help the crunch of people - and I would say yes, very few children, but lots and lots of foreigners.  I just read a statistic from the park superintendent that in 2010 there were 281 MILLION visitors to all the national parks and sites, of which 5 million visited Yellowstone. And this park is only open from May 1 to about October 31st, closing down all but this north entrance road we traveled in on, for the winter.  There is winter access - snowmobiling, skiing, having the north entrance as it's hub.

Beautiful Canary Spring and waterfall

Long story short - Yellowstone is situated over a huge active volcanic area, where water that seeps into the ground from rain and snow will heat and escape as steam or very hot liquid up to the surface. Hence you have geyers (Old Faithful the most recognized) hot springs, mud pots (bubbling mud holes), steam vents and lots of other things to do with volcanos.  Mammoth Hot Springs area was a haven for people coming here in the late 1800's for health and medicinal reasons - all that has ceased with the advent of conservation.  If you get caught touching or walking on any area you aren't supposed to be on - well, big time trouble for you.  Did the loop trail looking and seeing the hot springs and travertine formations from the boiling water.  Signs posted every where that says do not touch due to scalding/burning.  And the smell!  Sometimes you got a good whiff of sulphur then cleared up. Wasn't a huge amount of people on the loop trail, we did see a crunch of folks at the visitor's center, tho. Dave and I both said that this Hot Springs area had a definite WOW factor - we have never seen anything like this before.  Can't wait to see the rest of the park.

Now we are back at the RV, needing Donna to come help us figure out what trails to hike, what to see. She was a great tour guide when she visited while we were in Glacier - we need her to come here!

Boardwalk over hot springs - very hot!

Will look over the brochures, find the best fit of day hikes and sights to see.  This park is known for it's wildlife viewing, one of the rangers gave us a heads up on the best areas to go see elk, grizzly and black bears, wolves, bison, moose.  And speaking of elk - last evening while sitting relaxing in the RV - I happened to look out the back window and thought I saw 2 deer with pretty large racks on their heads.  No - found out this morning that it was elk - should be pretty common within the next week on for 2 months to see.

Ahhhh - Mountains Again

Yellowstone River - they say great trout fishing here!  This river is really deep.

We paid our dues in Great Falls and are rewarded with this campground in Livingston, Montana - about 20 miles east of Bozeman.  Right on the Yellowstone River, right near a quilt shop, right near heaven.  Too bad that Yellowstone National Park is 51 miles away - and then that's just the north entrance - probably about another 25 miles after that to start seeing things like geysers, hot springs, etc.  Too much diesel being used up to travel back and forth from here.  Ah well, so we enjoy our little 24 hours right here.  I thought we were done with Lewis and Clark (you thought so too, huh?) but found out that in 1806 when the two captains split up, Clark came through here on the Yellowstone River, camping just downstream of where we are.

We left Great Falls by 9am, took US Route 89 south all the way here.  Past some beautiful country, amazing how the upper great plains changes so fast - we quickly moved into the Lewis and Clark National Forest, climbing up into the Little Belt Mountains and back down.  Then came out on a plateau with the Absaroka Range to our left and the Gallatin Range to our right.  These are two ranges within the Rocky Mountains - yay! we are back in the mountains.

Quiet here, we will have trouble sleeping tonight because of the quietness.  After unhooking and getting settled, I walked over to the laundry room where there is information and saw a picture taken right by us in May of this year with a Mama moose and her baby walking in the river.  Can't even hope that we will see the same while we are here for the next 18 hours, but stranger things have happened.

Tomorrow morning we will take our time - really - and drag our tires slowly towards Yellowstone, specifically Gardiner, Montana, where we have a campground site reserved for the next two weeks.  Problem is that we can't check in until after 1pm - so we will have to really drag our tires getting there.

Sitting on the banks of the Yellowstone River

Something we have not done since being on the road for a couple of years - go out and get breakfast before leaving.  We can walk next door to a small restaurant and they serve (we are told) a mean breakfast - so be it!  Sounds great.

An Experience We Won't Forget

We are moving tomorrow to Livingston, Montana, which is about 40 miles east of Bozeman and about 176 miles south of where we are. A day early which is fine with us.  Then spend one night, not unhook the RV and truck there, then head out Tuesday morning for Gardiner, Montana which is 5 miles from the border of Wyoming and 1 mile from the north entrance of Yellowstone National Park.  We plan to be there for 2 weeks, then head south towards 'home'.  Yellowstone will be closing their roads by September 30th due to winter coming, and we wanted to wait until now to go, hoping that families will be at home with school starting and less crowded at the park.  Well, maybe other people where thinking the same - when I called around to find a campground near Yellowstone, I think we got the last spot in full hookup, the lady who I spoke with said that this begins their busy time with big rigs coming in.  We think this means that other folks are doing the same as us, waiting.  And also we have noticed a start of the winter snowbirds beginning to float down from parts north, heading towards Arizona or Texas for the winter.

Now - about the title above.  This campground is something else!  We have never felt in danger, as a matter of fact most people don't lock their RV when they go.  To best explain it - we are in a city or urban campground.  Right in the heart of Great Falls. Traffic, trains, jets, cars, trucks, motorcycles, dogs barking, people yelling - it's all here.  Gone are our quiet peaceful get aways. People leave out expensive toys such as ATVs with keys in them, mopeds, expensive bikes, boats, antique cars, some have landscaped around their unit with lots of flowers, etc. and go away for awhile.  We still have the mentality of things have to be locked up.  Strange for us to see this.

  And - this campground is open all year.  With winters here in the minus 20's to minus 40's at times, we just can't imagine living like that.  You see RVs that have begun to skirt their units - placing some kind of barrier against the lower portion to block out the wind going under - hoping to keep the 'basements' warmer this way.  And big huge multiple propane tanks sitting alongside the unit.  Dave was putting stuff away this afternoon and the gentleman from across the way came over to make conversation.  He said he's been living here 14 years - even in winter!  Didn't have alot between his ears, if you know what I mean.  And the class of RVs - amazing!  Old, old units, right next to it a brand new spanking out-of-the-showroom Class A, units that have seen better days but someone is living inside it, some RVs have multiple cars or bikes or both along side or hanging off the back end.  Sheds beside a unit, lots and lots of bicycles, kind of redneck and then 2 down - brand new unit. A true hodge-podge.  Amazing.  A lot of transients through here.  Mornings you see mass exodus then by 1pm another huge amount coming in.  We don't know if they were going to stay longer and the noise got to them, or was this the plan all along.

We are at the cross roads of Interstate 90 and Interstate 15.  Very very very noisy.  Just when you think that traffic has died down and we can get some sleep, some ya-whoo goes by revving his engine.  Kinda reminds me of high school guys revving their engine to impress girls.  With the Air Force base near by, Great Falls International airport not far, gets even more noisier.  About 8:05am the fighter jets take off and the RV trembles from the vibrations.  Sometimes they do fly-bys and that is extremely noisy.
Then we have neighbors who have dogs, sometimes lots of dogs.  Our neighbor that came in yesterday is in a tiny OLD box, about 40 years old, with 2 young adults and 1 Jack Russell dog and 1 HUGE dog - it is bigger than a Great Dane.  Someone goes by - bark, bark, bark.  Dave thought that there was an animal last night near by - he heard some funny noises.  What it is - this old little unit squeaks anytime someone or one of the dogs moves - the floor must be giving out - squeak, squeak.  I hear it all night long.  We go to bed tired, get up even more tired, and are grumpy with each other due to lack of sleep.  Sad that this place and one other RV park are the only 2 in town.  The other one was double the price - now I understand why - supply and demand!!!  Glad we are moving tomorrow - I need to sleep!

The Great Falls, Fort Benton, UMRBNM

Great Falls, Ryan Dam

The first thing we did yesterday morning, on our way to Fort Benton, is to drive to Ryan Dam where the first falls that Lewis and Clark encountered. When L &  C came through, they had to pull the boats up on shore and hauled them by land until they got past the last falls (Black Eagle) and then put them back in water and onward.  This took 3 weeks and 18 miles of drudgery for the men.  And it is huge - 778 feet tall.  Of course there is a dam built right before it, built in 1910, to harness the energy, but you have to imagine what it looked like before the dam was built. We parked the car near the foot bridge that you walk over - called Goat Island - to view the Falls at closer range.  The warning at the bridge was enough to stop you and think about crossing, then another sign after you got on the island warns you to evacuate when you hear 8 short blasts.  Yikes!  The view was spectacular.  There is renovation going on at the dam so water was only being released in one area.

From the dam we drove north east to Fort Benton, the last fur trading post established on the Missouri River by John Jacob Astor (yes, the same as the New York Astor) for his American Fur Company in 1807.  Fort Benton is a cutsy little town situated right on the Missouri River, and driving into the town you are surprised at how large it is.   We stopped at the visitors center for the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument which explained that  it was established to protect the river from harm and to prohibit any changes or improvements to the river, making it remain as pristine as it was when Lewis and Clark came through in 1805 and 1806.  Most of the monument is not accessible by car, only by water.  They encourage you to see the river by boat, canoe, kayak, or hiking.  We didn't have time or wanted to do this so we went on to the fort.

Replica of Fort Benton

What a surprise this was.  Long story short, Astor established the trading post for his company to move the skins and hides, specifically buffalo hides, and to provide a trading area for the local inhabitants - namely the Blackfeet Indians.  This fort also is the only fort that never saw any skirmishes with Indians, being a fort of peace. By 1848 when the town was established alongside the trading post, steam boats came up from St. Louis bringing supplies and then returned with the hides and furs.  By the 1880's the railroad come through and the fort was abandoned. This fort is a replica of the original fort.  Had an interpreter inside explaining what went on, how life was.  In the other part of the fort a new museum was built just opened this May,  of the living quarters of Culbertson (the fort's manager) but inside was really a museum of Bodner's paintings and lithographs (a German artist who came through there in 1840) and of Scriver, a local artist who sculpted out of metal. Pretty impressive.

Buffalo from the Smithsonian

And last, while in Fort Benton, we went to the Museum of the Northern Great Plains where  life is depicted on the Great Plains area through 3 generations.  In tact homes and businesses of the 20's, farm equipment from the early 1880s to present, displays of everything and anything relating to the last 100 years.  The most incredible thing we saw - was the exhibit of buffalo, from the Smithsonian, which was returned to Fort Benton after 70 years in the Smithsonian since the buffalo were killed right in the area and it was fitting that they returned 'home' to be on display, and also with the exhibit were Remington sculptures!  Real ones!  Talk about a lot of money in one town! Between the Remingtons and the Scrivers and Bodners art plus this display of buffalo, WOW.

Portaging the Great Falls

Compass Rose at entrance to Center

Center sites atop bluff of Missouri River

One of the reasons we came to Great Falls is to visit the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center located on the banks of the Missouri River in Great Falls.  We went there yesterday and we were not disappointed at all.  Talk about the state-of-the-art complex!  Pretty neat how you are introduced at the beginning of the entrance with a huge compass rose made out of marble, depicting where you are and what point they Corp of Discovery traveled.  The first thing I thought of - Oh! Vermilion, Ohio - and where we lived - at Compass Rose.

Once you enter into the heart of the complex you are drawn down into the lower level, equal with the Missouri, and you travel along the path where it explains from the beginning with Thomas Jefferson developing the plan to financing and outfitting the Corp to the selection of men, to the start in St. Joseph, Missouri.  They actually started in Cincinnati but picked up more supplies and men as they neared St. Louis.  One side of the path or displays depicted the Indian version of what was going on and their perspective and the other side was Lewis and Clark's travels.  Even to the point where they were going to cross the Continental Divide in Lo Lo, Montana (just west of Missoula), they built the display as if you were climbing a mountain - going uphill on an incline.  Then when you came down the other side depicting Oregon, you were also stepping down.  Quite impressive and ingenious.

The Great Falls as Lewis and Clark experienced it was 5 different falls - the first one and most impressive is way downstream and we are going to that today on our way to Fort Benton National Historical Park.  They thought that this was the one and only falls that the Indians told them about and then discovered they had 4 more to transverse.  Today Colter Falls is underwater because dams have been built just upstream of each of the other four and Colter Falls was just a 'baby' and US thought it was expendable.  Oh well.  It took 1 month for the Corp to go through all the falls, they brought their boats out of the water and pulled them on wheels passed the last falls - Black Eagle - which is right near downtown Great Falls.  I was impressed with the Center, did not learn anything new except the talk we sat through regarding the maps Lewis and Clark had and what the theories were as to how the western US looked like in 1804.  Very informative.

Rainbow Falls/Dam and a tidge of Crooked Falls

And that puts us to Great Falls and our stay here.  As I said before, very noisy, lots of people and for the first time we are not in view of mountains!  Since a year ago last August.  Maybe that's the problem? I am looking for campgrounds to move to in Livingston, Montana - just west of Bozeman, for a one night layover, then move to the north entrance of Yellowstone National Park - still in Montana.  Hopefully move Monday instead of Tuesday as planned.

Moved to Great Falls

We packed up and skedaddled out of Hungry Horse yesterday morning by 9am, knowing that a storm was coming and predicted to hit Hungry Horse by noon.  Prediction of high winds, hail and lightning/rain was forecasted and Dave does not like to drive in those conditions, pulling the RV.  We headed east on US Route 2 towards East Glacier (again!), this time we had the RV behind us.  We counted the number of times we have crossed the Continental Divide with the RV and so far it's been 3. We will cross it once more before getting back to Picacho late October.  Got to this campground by 12:45pm.  Manager was very rude, that didn't bode well with us.  We are not happy here,  very noisy, we will not stay the full week - probably move out Saturday or Sunday towards Yellowstone. We were settled in and had an early dinner when we got the storm that was predicted here - high winds, no rain which they say is typical of the Chinook winds that are common here.

The RV is doing good, will need some service work when we get back, but we have put alot of miles under it since we purchased the 5th wheel in 2009.  It has been to New Brunswick, Canada, down to Florida, ridden the mountains in North Carolina, stayed at a wonderful place on the tip of the upper peninsula of Michigan, journeyed down to the lowest point of Texas (Brownsville), it has had it's wheels in North Dakota wondering if it will make it out of the sight since the water was creeping up to it (Devils Lake), up to within 30 miles of the northern border of Montana and Canada, as far west as Salt Lake City, and now heading back into the Rocky Mountains again coming down into Wyoming and Colorado.  Things are beginning to wear out and will need the dealer to fix.  Still under the extended warranty, thank goodness. Four more western states to hit next summer and then cross back and pick up Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri.

Here in Great Falls we plan to see the falls that Lewis and Clark took over a month to cross in 1805 - there is an interpretive center in town that we plan to visit.  Then head up to the National Park of Fort Benton - the trading fort from the early 1800's, and also see the Upper Missouri Breaks National Monument.

Ready to Move

I've done the laundry, Dave has vacuumed the RV, we have begun the process of putting things away so they don't become flying objects inside the RV as we move tomorrow.  We are going to Great Falls Montana, will be there a week.  Then we have decided to alter our plans a little, we were going to drop down to the east side of Yellowstone National Park but decided to move to Cody, Wyoming instead.  Reason will be to bypass all the last hurrahs of families camping and visiting over Labor Day weekend.  And so we will wait until the week after to go to Yellowstone for a visit.

We have run into people who have been quite alarmed that we don't have plans to be somewhere after the next spot.  That's too much like a work schedule and we thankfully have put that phase of our lives way behind us.  If we decide to go a different direction, so be it.  We have also run into people who just can't break the chain of commitment, something we also have managed to avoid for the most part.  Right now we have 3 commitments, long term.  First, to get this RV into service when we get back to Arizona - Dave found an area in the front (nose) of the unit that needs attention and it is something he doesn't want to tackle because he doesn't have the tools.  Second, avoid cold/snow at all costs.  Which means we have to be back in AZ by late October.  And third, I have purchased an airline ticket to fly to Cleveland from Phoenix's Skyharbor Airport on the 6th of November.  We better be back by then!

Thoughts about this area:  we are ready to move on to see other things.  We were disappointed in our expectations of Glacier, but for people who have not seen snow capped mountains or experienced the wilderness, this is the place.  We both agree that Rocky Mountain National Park is the dearest to our hearts.  But we have much more to see so that may change.  Since starting this adventure in December 2010 we have visited 39 national parks/monuments/historical sites/battlefields and it's all good.  Kinda knowing where we will be traveling to before getting back, we will have 4 more national parks to visit, 3 of which we have been to before but over 20 years ago.

Another thought - we are still watching and reading and tracking all the wildfires going on around us.  There are over 45 right now in Montana and Idaho, and reading about people who have to evacuate their homes and possessions as a fire nears.  Let me tell you - it is an awful site to see.  And scary.  The wildfire that started while we were in Salmon, Idaho is raging out of control.  The drought here is terrible.  We have seen first hand the after effects of wildfires - takes 20 years or more for vegetation to come back to where it was prior to the fire.  Hope we all have a very wet winter.

One Last Time in Glacier

Avalanche Creek

After Donna flew back to Ohio we decided we would chill out for the next couple of days, begin to get ready for our next move to Great Falls.  What can I say?  We were Donna depressed - sad she was gone, sad that we didn't have the gumption to get out and explore the park further, sad that we had no incentive to do anything.  Until yesterday.  We said - let's do it - and traveled back into Glacier National Park for one last hurrah - going to the most hiked trail in the park - Avalanche Lake.  Beautiful, beautiful walk! Temp starting out was 58, by the time we got back to the car it was 87! A bit disappointed with the end result - the lake and waterfalls - but the walk was well worth the trip. This is also the first time we saw the warning for mountain lion in the area - typically see only the grizzly bear warning.  Said to not hike alone.  Okayyyyy.  Dave had his bear spray but that won't do good with mountain lions.  Fortunately there was plenty of hikers coming and going on the trail that we didn't worry about any animals, except the two legged kind.

We started out a bit frustrated, having trouble finding a parking spot.  That is one negative with this park - not enough parking for people who want to stop, look, or take hike a bit in the wilderness. Also no areas set up to have picnics. The park officials expect you to board one of the shuttles to move around in the park, but you have to wait sometimes an hour for the next bus - not worth it.  For the most part we see that they could expand the parking area, why don't they?  Anyhow - back to the walk.

Avalanche Lake

Trail starts along Avalanche Creek, crystal clear blue water, flowing very fast - we know that it is a product of a glacier melt due to it's milky color.  You travel along the path for about 2 miles, meandering deep into the woods and back along the creek.  Then it opens up into the lake. We got there just as the sun was cresting over the mountain and could not get a good shot of the three waterfalls, but definitely could hear them.  Lots of people there, some fishing, some just hanging out. My foot held out until the last 1/2 mile and then really started to ache. Traveled back along the same path, got back to the car and on our way out stopped at a waterfall along the Sun Road, viewed, snapped some photos, and then decided to go to Hungry Horse Dam, located right back here in town. Was told by the campground owner that we should make it a point to go.  Glad we did.

Hungry Horse Recreation Area - Bob Marshall Wilderness

Now that was impressive!  The dam is situated at the head of the Bob Marshall Wilderness, deep into the Rocky Mountains.  Stunning! We can see why this area is so popular.  The dam was built in the late 1940s to control the flooding caused from many rivers flowing out of the mountains, and to also harness the energy to provide electricity to a 5 state area.  We understand now the high tension lines coming out of Hungry Horse, makes sense.  But damming up the south fork of the Flathead River provided a fishing and boating haven, plus many hiking trails, camping, hunting.  Lots to do for the outdoor person - even in winter snowmobiles, cross country skiing, skijoring, hunting goes on. Now this is the Montana I thought it would look like!

Glacier NP - General

Glacier National Park - what can we say?  We saw so much, hiked many trails, transversed the Going-To-The-Sun Road 6 times in 5 days, saw many animals, saw field upon field of wildflowers, dipped our toes in the icy cold creeks that flowed down from the glaciers, saw animals that only thought we would see in Alaska, experienced the sadness that within 20 years all the glaciers will be gone (only 20 left of 250), felt the crunch of three thousand people a day visiting Glacier, conquered Glacier National Park.  We feel if it wasn't for Donna coming from Cleveland to visit us, we would not have seen or experienced as much as we did.  We were out every day by 9am, back about 8pm, viewed the 4 historical lodges within the park and ate at 3 of them (great food!), just had a marvelous time!  Thank you Donna for getting us out of our comfort zone and seeing and experiencing more than we would have!

Triple Arches of Going-To-The-Sun Road 

View across the Sun Road to Glacier and Angel Waterfall

Many Glacier Lodge

Sun Point - Donna hiking to us - notice smoke from wildfires

Sunset from Many Glacier Lodge

Wild Flowers everywhere 

Photo from Road into Two Medicine - Two Medicine Lake

Here are some general pictures of Glacier.  The road was not fun - with an oversized truck, was very tight maneuvering for Dave.  I would not drive this road, only drove the outside roads to get around the southern end of Glacier or the eastern side.  We never saw the west side of Glacier, supposed to be an outdoor's person paradise - fishing, hunting.  No glaciers on the west side.  We were only 20 miles from Canada's Waterton-Glacier National Park, which this park the world's first international Peace Park, partnering with the US.  Just not enough time.  We have stuff to do now, Donna flew back to Cleveland today, truck in for tune-up, errands, shopping, cleaning, laundry - will be heading to Great Falls, Montana early next week.  Wonderful, wonderful time here.

Glacier NP - Hikes

Dave and I hiked 23.9 miles over a 5 day period.  Donna did a couple of hikes without us (she had the bear spray on her if needed) and she hiked 32.4.  My foot gave me problems after about a 3 to 3 1/2 mile marker - so Dave and I didn't do more than 4 miles on any given hike.  Will have to see a foot doctor when we get back to AZ this fall.  Regardless, the hikes were beautiful.  Saw many waterfalls (our weakness) and streams with clear freezing water running along it.  Some trails came to lakes, some trails just continued on and on.  One particular hike we did (only about 1000 feet of) is called the HighLine Trail - which ran above the Going-to-the-Sun Road - above on a cliff, up and over the horn of a glaciated mountain (where 3 glaciers came together and squashed the cliff and pinched the rock up into a horn), some trails went the entire length of the park - about a 35 mile hike.  There is lodge called Granite Peak lodge located way inside the park, only accessible by hiking there.  Set up for hikers.  We met people who had been on the trail for days - some coming in after 7 days out.  There is a hiker that is missing also - they have abandoned the search - how in the world can you track someone in this vast park?  Yes, the blue of the lakes and waterfalls is that blue.  The glaciers, as they melt, crush the granite into powder called granite powder, and the water flowing out of the glacier is a milky color.  When it gathers in a lake - the milky color looks so surreal blue - eventually the granite flower settles to the floor of the lake and the lake becomes a 'normal' color.  As long as the lake stays azure blue, the geologists know that the glacier is still there, melting. One hike - to Grinnell Lake/Waterfall/Glacier - we traveled by boat on Sherbourne Lake, walked 250 feet to the next boat, traveled over Josephine Lake then departed that boat and hiked 3 miles to Grinnell Lake.  What fun!  That's when we saw the new bear scat on the path - we were prepared just in case.

Our Boat docked on Josephine Lake - waiting to return back

Appistoki Falls - by Two Medicine 

Baring Falls - near St. Mary

Donna at IceBerg Lake - near Many Glacier

Grinnell Falls, Lake, Glacier - near Many Glacier

Hidden Lake - trailhead behind Logan Pass Visitor Center

Hidden Falls - near Grinnell Lake 

Hidden Lake Trail - near Logan Pass Visitor Center 

His and Her Pit Toilets near Grinnell Lake

Hidden Falls on Red Rock Lake - Many Glacier

Running Eagle Falls - Two Medicine

Siyeh Bend Trail and creek - near Gunsight Pass (Logan)

St. Mary Falls - near St. Mary Visitor Center 

Virginia Falls - 1/2 mile beyond St. Mary Falls

So many pretty trails and waterfalls and lakes.  Again, words cannot express the beauty.

Glacier NP - Animals

I have decided to break out the Glacier National Park photos and memories into 3 blogs for today - could have gotten really big if I included all in one.  This particular blog is about the animals we saw - most from a great distance.  Like the Grizzly Bears and the black bears.  And the moose.  The mountain goats, the marmot, and the pikas were seen very close - they were not shy.  The bighorn sheep were very fleeting and could only get a quick glance at them.  Pictures worth more than words. 

Bear Scat (Poop) just down - it was in our path right before us! 

Black Bear - crossed our road path to Two Medicine

2 Black Bears and a dead elk

Mountain goats - alot of them around!

Siesta time - mountain goat sleeping on ice pack 

Grizzly!

Bighorn Sheep - very elusive

Marmot - size of a beaver

Mom Grizzly and her cub - notice the cub's whitish fur

Moose! Laying down taking a siesta also