Scott

We headed back to Glacier for our second day and had plans to see some things along the way.  The first day we just drove straight to Logan Pass so we could hike there, and on this day we wanted to see some other things on the west side and then explore the east side on our way out of the park.  We couldn’t hike in a couple places we wanted to near the entrance because it was just so darn crowded and there was absolutely no place to park.  So we forged on and saw a sign for McDonald Falls on the side of the road.  Yeah, it was another of those “Scott, stop and pull over” screaming moments where we lose some tire tread and Scott gets a gray hair trying to accommodate me.  What a nice guy!  So we got a spot and walked down to a really pretty river with a wide falls area spanned by a bridge.We moved on out after absorbing the beauty for a while and headed back on the Going to the Sun Road.  Because the road literally clings to the edge of mountain, there are many pull-outs to stop and enjoy the view.  We noticed on the first day that there were pull-outs that didn’t seem to show anything different than the view at the previous pull-out and we wondered about that.  So today as we were driving I said let’s just pull over and see what’s what.  I got out of the car, turned around, and discovered why there were pull-outs in certain places.  Looking back, there’s a waterfall that starts at the top and goes all the way down.  I literally gasped and this picture just doesn’t do it justice because it was so TALL!  I stood transfixed for several moments just tracing the water with my eyes and wondering again at all the water in this park. So we made looking back a habit and when we got to Logan Pass we took this shot of the canyon looking back west.  The line along the mountain is the Road.Now we started on the eastern side of the park over the Continental Divide.  All along the road were waterfalls just coming down the rock face.  It was totally freakin’ awesome!  We stopped at this one because it was huge and beautiful.  There were some people standing in it getting drenched but we chose to just feel it and get a little wet.  Um, yes, the water was icy. Our next adventure was a hike to St. Mary Falls.  It was down from the road into a fern-covered wooded area that was just beautiful, warmer, and more humid.  The trailhead had a bear warning sign.  Scott took photographic evidence that rangers are concerned about bears in this park, but he was pretty disgruntled at this point at not having seen any bears.  At the sight of the sign, he asked brightly, “Do you think this will be it?”  I privately hoped not, but put on a cheery face and assured him that this looked like great bear country.  Never mind that the trail was heavily used and no bear in his right mind would go anywhere near it with all the noisy human traffic.  So, no, we did not see any bears.  What we did see was absolutely gorgeous, however. This picture was taken as the water from the falls entered the river and it’s a pale imitation of the beautiful turquoise color of the water which was simply amazing. The falls came thundering out of this little gorge, went under the bridge and emptied into the river above.  Because it was a sheltered spot with cliffs on each side, it was so loud!  People had to almost shout to be heard over the sound of the crashing water.  It was marvelous!

 Scott hiked to Sunrift Gorge while I waited in the car because my new hiking shoes were giving me a blister on my little piggy.  He said it was really cool how the water came through the tiny gap.

Then we hiked up a large rock that looked over St. Mary Lake.  I was astounded at how absolutely huge the lake is and how we could see for miles in every direction and it was all water surrounded by huge mountains.  The beauty of the lake was amazing.  We drank it all in and then headed down and back to the car.  We drove down the east side of the park and the terrain changed rather abruptly into a grassy plains area.  It was almost disorienting after two days of massive mountains.  After a final stop at the St. Mary Visitor Center to see the classic building and get a last-minute souvenir, we said goodbye to Glacier.  It was magnificent.

Scott has been talking about taking me to Glacier ever since we were married 28 years ago.  He went as a teenager and has raved about it ever after.  So the stars aligned last month that we could spend two glorious days in the park.  It’s in northern Montana on the border with Canada and we didn’t get to see near enough of it, but what we did see was awe-inspiring and amazing.  Just like he said.  I think he would editorialize something here along the lines of “I’m always right” or “You should always listen to me”.  In this case, a big yes!  I was totally awestruck as we drove the Going to the Sun Road which clings to side of the mountain over a VERY LARGE valley.  I was amazed at how deep it was from the top to the bottom.  We stopped at various pull-outs to gape and take photos.
At Logan Pass we found a parking place and got out to do some hiking. Scott especially wanted to do the Garden Wall hike because he remembered that from his earlier trip.  We started off on the trail and look who we met?  He was fairly unconcerned at our presence and posed for some photos with us. The Garden Wall is a rather precarious trail in some places that is narrow and has a hand-hold.  When other hikers were passing us going the other way, we plastered ourselves to the wall so they didn’t fall off the edge as they passed. Since I’m a total klutz, I watched my footing at all times and stopped when I wanted to gaze up at the amazing wall of plants.  There are seeps and waterfalls throughout the rock that allow an astonishing amount of plant life where in most places the cliffs are just bare rock.

We got to the top of the very tall ridge and discovered that out of sight there was a more challenging trail ahead.  Mostly because it was covered with……snow and ice. That only mountain goats could navigate without slipping and sliding. Unfortunately, my tenny runners have zero traction, so every time we came to an ice patch, I got Scott’s hand in a death grip and he kept me mostly vertical as I slid all over the place.  Exhausting!  But eventually, we made it to the overlook and saw a beautiful lake hidden in a small valley surrounding by towering peaks.  Hence the name, Hidden Lake!

It was getting dusk by the time we got back down, so we headed to Kalispell and a night in a motel that time forgot.  It was like walking into a 1960’s movie set.  Amazing!  Sometimes booking rooms via the Internet gets you adventures you don’t anticipate….

Scott and I traveled to Washington to visit with Grandpa Carey for a few days and were able to celebrate his 97th birthday with him.  We had a great time talking with him and got some stories about his life as well as identifying where his uncle’s homestead was in Grafton, Utah.  The next time we visit the ghost town in Southern Utah we promised to take a picture of the site for him.  Scott took him to play Wii Bowling on his birthday and he opened up presents that had arrived in the mail.  He loves to read so we gave him some books we found at the local thrift store plus some honey roasted peanuts.

We also had fun visiting with Aunt Diane and Uncle Wally and ate fresh corn and blackberries from their garden.  We also attended their ward in Omak and had a great weekend.