Glacier National Park, MT | Part 4 (plus videos!)

This is our final post on Glacier, basically just to show a couple quick videos and for us to write down some of the memories that didn't fit into the other posts.

We found Glacier to be the perfect-sized National Park - a lot to do and see, but in a manageable, not overwhelming way. Since we stayed at the Park for a few days, we were able to recognize people from a trail or the lodge as we were out adventuring through the park or on another trial. It was a nice sort of familiarity in the scope of our fast-paced road trip that was anything but familiar.

As I mentioned in Part 1, we stayed at Glacier longer than we had planned. It was so nice (and much needed) to stay put for a few days. We camped at Sprague Creek Camprgound, down the road from the Lake McDonald Lodge, and would sometimes have deer visitors make their way through the site. It was fun to really set up camp and enjoy it... cooking meals on the campfire, and making friends with our camping neighbors. We even met a duo from New England that were on a road trip of their own and we had them over to our campsite for fire-roasted kale chips, beers, and good conversation.

We would go hang out at Lake McDonald Lodge once a day or so, getting provisions from the general store, or just enjoying the back porch of the lodge, with its perfect lake views. One evening there was even a wedding right on a piece of land that jolts out into the lake, talk about a gorgeous wedding location (you can see the chairs set up in the photo below). We were happy to find a Sunday chapel service at the lodge on our last night. It's pretty awe-inspiring to come into a worship service when you're already feeling grateful and blessed by having spent the prior few days amongst such beauty. We definitely sang a little louder and prayed much more thankfully that evening.

On that last night, we had a mostly miserable but very dry (thanks to Taras putting up extra tarp coverage over the tent) night's sleep as it stormed through the night. Come morning, we had the pleasure of packing up camp in the rain, while all the gear was soaked and muddy. Since we had no patience to try and cook a campfire breakfast, we decided to stop for grub at Apgar Village, on the way out of the Park. It was only then, once we were warm and dry inside the restaurant, that I realized it'd been a solid five days since we showered and, wow, what was I doing in public?! That was probably the longest stretch of non-showering on the trip so, yeah, we stayed in a hotel later that night!

-Amanda

Campfire kale chips are pretty fantastic:

Our normal campfire dinner - grilled vegetables and stewed lentils:

The most beautiful wedding location:

On that last night, between rain showers, this double rainbow showed its face:

Taras making a new friend:


From our hike to Avalanche Lake:


The mountain goats:
 
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Glacier National Park, MT | Part 3

Probably our favorite time in Glacier was the hike to Hidden Lake.

We hiked across a completely snow-covered mountainside (snow hiking is a good workout, I tell ya!) and early into the hike we shed most of the extra clothing layers we were sure we needed. Soon, my vest was off and my long sleeves were rolled up, and Taras was hiking in shorts and a t-shirt - it was such a fun experience to be completely warm while hiking on snow in the beginning of July!

Skiers and snowboarders were particularly excited about this part of the Park - they would hike up with all their gear then ski on down the mountain. It was definitely a bizarre sight to see skiers and snowboarders in shorts.

We were excited to find a family of mountain goats right near Hidden Lake. They weren't at all phased by us onlookers taking photos and videos. They stuck around the area for quite a while, which was a treat for all the children and photography enthusiasts.

-Amanda

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Glacier National Park, MT | Part 2

The 50 mile long Going-to-the-Sun Road that runs all the way through Glacier National Park is a main sight-seeing attraction inside the Park. It's thrilling to drive the road while looking for wildlife and stopping at every other pull-out in an attempt to fully appreciate all the beautiful scenery. My favorite part of the drive? The farther up you drive in elevation, the more snow you find!

If the promise of wildlife and epic views are not enough to convince you, the act of driving (and being a passenger) is an adventure in its own right - driving through tunnels carved out of the mountains... the car tires splashing in the road puddles that have formed from mountainside waterfalls... holding your breath every now and then when the road has particularly sharp turns... making sure you don't veer into the cyclists peddling past you on their way downhill... and, finally, driving through some construction and lane closures for good measure. A serious adventure, friends!
 
If you don't want to attempt the drive on your own (or you just want to be able to photograph to your heart's content) the Park provides a free shuttle service. If you go, be sure to check online for vehicle restrictions - if your ride is too big, you can't drive it on Going-to-the-Sun Road.

-Amanda

We pulled over because we saw some other cars stopped and we realized everyone was trying to spot the bear. We stuck around for a while but Mr. Bear never showed us his pretty little face:

Can you see the waterfalls in the mountainside?:

I'm pretty sure this is a no-no:
 

Can you spot the waterfall in the middle?:

Outside the other entrance of the park we found Park Cafe and decided to treat ourselves to some lunch and homemade pies - a nice break from camp food:

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Glacier National Park, MT | Part 1

I'm so excited to share Glacier National Park with you guys! This was our favorite National Park out of all the ones we visited. The Park is just beautiful, with all its mountains, forests, lakes, wildlife, and glaciers - truly unbelievable.

We even stayed a day longer at Glacier than we had planned. Hilariously, that extra night/morning it did nothing but rain, haha! (I can laugh about it now... it wasn't as funny that morning when we were packing up camp to leave.) We spent a lot of time that last night reading by the fire at Lake McDonald Lodge, down the road from our campsite. Well, I spent time reading by the fire... Taras braved the rain and built us a shelter over our tent and eating areas. :)

Anyway, onto the beauty of Glacier - 

Our first hike was through the Trail of the Cedars (a handicap accessible nature trail) that we followed until it spit off and continued onto Avalanche Lake. It was a damp, forested hike with beautiful trees, mountain views, and streams. And the main attraction, Avalanche Lake, was breathtaking.

Even today, I remember so clearly how special it was to be outdoors that day. It was this perfect not too hot/not too cold temperature and the gray skies, along with the low-laying clouds that surrounded the mountaintops, gave a very peaceful vibe to the entire day.

-Amanda

 

Later that day we took a little drive and Taras tried to catch dinner:

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PS - Are you watching The Bachelor this season? They spent some time in Montana, in and around Glacier National Park. I was able to get Taras to watch that episode with me - we were thrilled to see bits and pieces of the beautiful area, and it brought back so many great memories!

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