Glacier – Crown of the Continent

We departed Polson, Montana on July 1st and drove along Flathead Lake north to our latest base camp location in West Glacier National Park. Anna and I explored Glacier National Park for three weeks in 2017. Glacier is a nature photographer’s dream – with majestic snow capped mountains, beautiful valleys, hundreds of waterfalls, serene lakes, and a plethora of wildlife.  It is a treasure trove of delight and challenges for outdoor explorers. Glacier is definitely one of our favorite national parks. Our campsite for this trip was in the West Glacier village, only two minutes from the entrance to the park.

With the city of Kalispell and the towns of Columbia Falls and Whitefish nearby, we had no lack of modern conveniences. We managed to complete the usual shopping duties in Costco, Lowes, Cabellas, and Wally World. We even managed to have a glass of “Sweet” iced tea at the only Chick Fil’ A on this side of the world. We also discovered a nice little breakfast restaurant in Columbia Falls one morning. When we were ready to leave, the waitress told us that someone from Montana bought our breakfast for us. We looked around the restaurant before leaving and then paid it forward. What a great start to our day!

On our first evening into the park, we observed a red fox trotting along Lake McDonald carrying his freshly caught ground squirrel dinner in his mouth. When driving back to West Glacier Village, we savored our own delight, the long awaited “Huckleberry” milkshake. I hate the letters “OMG,” but OMG it was delicious. I think we ate more meals out on this leg of our journey than ever before. I was longing for a big homemade breakfast the next morning, so bacon, eggs, and blueberry pancakes with coffee and OJ were the first item of the day. 

As we started thinking about the upcoming 4th of July celebrations, we discovered the only fireworks in the area were scheduled in the town of Whitefish. No fireworks were allowed in or near Glacier due to the high fire-risk. The logistics of attending the display in Whitefish didn’t work out, but we weren’t disappointed because we soon remembered that we couldn’t leave our Golden Retriever, Camper, alone in the motorhome during any fireworks event. He is nothing short of traumatized when the explosions begin, and we have to stay with and hold him until the noise comes to an end. We celebrated the fourth at our motorhome in West Glacier with a country rib dinner.

 

We also drove to PoleBridge, Montana while here. PoleBridge is a somewhat secret little area on the west side of Glacier that we stumbled upon four years ago. I talked my brother-in-law, Wes, into driving out there around 7:00pm. After leaving paved roads, passing numerous little shacks, and passing a sign that said the Canadian border ahead was closed, Wes wanted to turn around several times because he thought he started hearing the banjos from Deliverance. I knew that there would be at least a few people in PoleBridge if the mercantile was open. We were all surprised when we made the final turn and approached dozens of cars and at least a hundred people having dinner, singing at an outdoor bar with a stage and band, and visiting the store and bakery. The place was hopping!

 

The next day we drove over the Going to the Sun road from West Glacier to St. Mary, through the Blackfeet Indian Reservation and reentered the park at Many Glacier/Swiftcurrent. We had just returned to our car after taking photos near the Swift Current Inn when a small Grizzly ran out of the woods and passed pretty close to us. By the time we grabbed the cameras he was across the street and back into the woods. Dang he was a fast little booger! We were able to catch the “Chief Two Gun” boat across Swift Current Lake where we saw the first moose of our trip. We hiked across the far shore line, and then caught the “Running Eagle” boat across Lake Josephine. From there we hiked up the mountain to the Grinnell Lake overlook. The hike was a little strenuous for an old guy, but the view from the top made it worth the effort. The worst part of the day was waiting for two hours at the boat dock for Running Eagle to pick us up for the return ride. After we finally found a place to eat a late dinner and drive back over the Going to the Sun Road to return to West Glacier, we were whooped. It was a long, long, day!

 

The Two Medicine area of Glacier National Park is located toward the southeast and has its own park entrance. We drove there on two separate days. On our first day we visited the general store and lake area as well as taking a short hike to Running Eagle Falls. We revisited the area to take a boat trip across Two Medicine Lake and hike to Twin Falls. On the return boat trip we spotted a couple Bull Moose in different areas near the lakeshore.

One day as we entered a tiny overlook high on the Going to the Sun Road. As we turned into the pull-over spot we noticed two couples in front of us trying to work on their pickup truck after striking a rock wall and ripping the tire to shreds. Before I could even blink, Wes was on his back under the truck getting the spare and changing the tire. You would have thought he was a NASCAR pit crew member! Later when we stopped near Logan Pass we noticed several of the mountain goats. There is a metal grate in the area so visitors can walk through the area without destroying sensitive vegetation. As we walked on the grate a baby goat and then one of the adults jumped on the grate near us. On one occasion, one of the larger goats dropped its head and headed directly toward me and Wes. We backed up at a pretty hefty pace. I just tried to keep Wes between me and the goat. I mean, what would you do? Wes is younger and faster. All I could do was strategize!

 

After a day of R&R, we were up at 4:00am the next morning to drive over the mountains once again. We decided to get an early start to hike to St. Mary Falls and Virginia Falls for a little cool exercise and photography. We also knew we would not have been able to find a parking spot if we waited a couple of hours. When we arrived, we had a happenstance meet up with Christy and Donna, two young girls from Minnesota who we asked to hike with us. There is safety in numbers when hiking in Grizzly country, and we figured they would be a much more desirable meal for the bears than the old aged meat I could offer. Very few people were in the area when we arrived, but by the time we finished people were everywhere.

 

There is a little town called Hungry Horse a few miles from West Glacier with one of the largest dams in the country. The town claims to be the friendliest dam town in Montana. We met one of the nicest public information guides at the dam named Amy. Amy lives in Georgia most of the year where she works as a coach and teacher in the local elementary school. Amy told us about a nearby osprey nest at the reservoir. We were able to locate the nest. There were two adults and a chick, but I was not able to get any in-flight photos of the osprey.

 

One of the most fascinating places I have visited on all of our travel outings is located in Hungry Horse. It is the studio of artist Michael G. Booth. I was able to meet Mr. Booth and his wife and speak to him about his hundreds, if not thousands of works. Mr. Booth’s art features paintings, ceramics, bronze carvings, and much more. Even his studio/home is a piece of art. His work was absolutely amazing and captivating. If you would like to see some his offerings, go to his website at www.michaelgbooth.com. Better yet, come to Glacier and visit his studio.

 

Overall, my personal photo experience at Glacier was very satisfying, but not spectacular as I was hoping. I did have one photo opportunity arise that I will always remember. I am always looking and calculating where I might be able to create a photo that will be personally satisfying. On one of our day trips near the crest of Going to the Sun Road, I found two locations that I thought would make a great Milky Way picture if the atmospheric and astronomical conditions aligned. One location was at Heaven’s Peak, and the other was .2 miles west looking toward Clements Mountain and Mt. Cannon. My brother-in-law, Wes, and I decided to leave the comfort of our motorhomes at midnight to make the drive up through the mountains in hope of reaching our destinations prior to 1:30am. We passed several deer and are pretty sure we passed a wolverine cornered against a sheer rock wall in one of the curves on the winding mountain road. From 2:00am until 4:00am we covered the two locations where we wanted to shoot, as well as Wes watching our backs for unexpected wildlife while I fidgeted with my gear. Wes and I were both amazed at the clarity of the Milky Way in the night sky. Often there is so much light pollution that the Milky Way appears as a cloud in the night sky. In the dark northern mountains our view of the Milky Way was crystal clear. Both locations provided us with decent photos. While the shot toward Heaven’s Peak offered a golden glow from nearby lights in West Glacier, my favorite is the photo shown below looking toward the valley between the snow packed slopes on Clements Mountain and Mt. Cannon.

 

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As you travel down the road of life, keep it between the mustard and the mayonnaise. Our prayer is that the Lord watches over you and your loved ones and keeps you safe.

As always, we hope to see you down the road!