<Part 1> <Part 2>
Link to just the pictures: 
Glacier National Park - July 2011
07/01/11
Our Subaru is all packed up and we're out the door around 7:30am. A quick stop
in Denver to drop off Denali at Stinger's house then we continue north with a
lunch stop in Cheyenne. A quick break in Casper (hhhmm, what's that burning oil
smell?), then dinner in Sheridan (uh oh, that smell is coming from our car). A
peek under the car reveals oil leaking. I was hoping it was a loose oil filter
or oil plug.... no such luck. A local garage says its a leaking seal between the
engine and transmission. Won't have much luck getting that fixed at 4:45pm
Friday of a holiday w/end. We continue to Billings and along the way find out
where the Subaru dealership is, their hours, a hotel nearby, and a rental car
company nearby. After ~10hrs in the car, with stops, we stay at a Holiday Inn
with a pool for Miles to splash around in. Miles was a great traveler along the
way. Bad news: the car is leaking oil, Miles DVD player doesn't work, Flyers
sign Jagr. Good news: we're on vacation, live broadcast of Phish SuperBall IX,
Android phone to search for info/location/hours.
07/02/11
I'm at the Subaru dealership service entrance right at 8am when they open with a
few different plans. I figured it would be hard for them to get to the repairs
today, let alone how long it would take to fix. They were extremely helpful and
I ended up leaving the car there telling them I'll be back in a week. Instead of
shelling out another $400 for a rental, they give me a loaner vehicle for the
week. Fortunately, its a 2011 Outback, a car we've been considering
purchasing... super cool of them, and what better way to see if we like a car
then to test drive it for the week and put a ton of miles on it?! We're on the
road again after transferring all of our stuff. Road construction, delays,
one-load roads, and going slightly out of our way through Helena instead of
taking the highway to Missoula. We stopped for a picnic lunch and we're amazed
at how flooded the Missouri River is, also pass right along the Lewis and Clark
Trail. Dinner in Missoula, gawking at the giant Flathead Lake, and then we
finally get to the West
Glacier Motel right at 8pm where Miles declares "We're at
VACATION!!!!" with his arms in the air. It far enough north that the sun is
out till almost 10pm, so we walk around the woods and drink a couple Moose Drool
beers happy
to have arrived despite some setbacks. Miles has me carry him so the "bears
in da woods don't get him". The West Glacier Motel is pretty basic with two
beds and a shower the size of a coffin, no TV/phone/internet. The motel is just
two miles from the entrance of the Glacier
National Park and on a curve of North Fork of the Flathead River.
07/03/11
Breakfast at the West Glacier Restaurant then we head into the park. We stop at
the busy visitor center in Apgar and check out the boat dock on Lake McDonald.
Its the largest lake in the park and up to 472 feet deep, carved by glaciers
with giant moraines (Howe and Snyder Ridges) on both sides. Evidence of the fast moving
2003 Roberts Fire surround the lake. 10 x 1.5 miles in size and big peaks
all around. Wow, beautiful! We drive up Going to the Sun Road and stop at Lake
McDonald Lodge to get our tickets for an afternoon boat ride, they said to just
come back shortly before the launch. So we continue up to Avalanche, which is
currently as far as you can drive from the west due to a record snow year and continued
plowing. Its pretty crowded up here and a free-for-all to park in one of the
campground loops. We start along the Trail of the Cedars and take the cutoff
trail to the popular Avalanche Lake. A pretty mellow hike at 4 miles and ~500ft,
perfect for Miles to walk part of the way and ride in the Kelty Kids part of the
way. Trail of the Cedars is through a very moist and lush area, like a rain
forest, with displays of how trees fall and become "nurse logs" for
other plants and trees. The Avalanche Lake trail continues up along Avalanche
Creek, which was really roaring, and carved out canyons. Large mossy boulders
left from glaciers dot the trail and evidence of previous avalanches from all the high
peaks around. Still a considerable amount of snow up high and the reward at the
end of the trail is a stunning alpine lake in a cirque with steep cliffs, high
peaks, and waterfalls all around. WOW! We hang out for awhile trying to prevent
Miles from jumping in every ounce of water around and check the surrounds slopes
for grizzly's with binoculars. Miles falls asleep on the hike out and we have a
picnic lunch in the campground. Since there's a chill to the breeze we go back
to our motel and get jackets, stop for coffee in Apgar, then speed up to Lake
McDonald lodge to catch the 3pm boat tour. We get there with seconds to spare
and hopped aboard the 1930 wooden DeSmet for an hour tour of the lake learning
all about the history, flora, fauna, and geology of the area. Miles was pretty
psyched to be on a boat and the views were amazing.... Stanton Mtn, Mt Vaught,
Mt Brown, etc. He quickly fell asleep on the short ride back to the motel while
Jean spotted a bear in the woods then we saw him crossing the road while we
turned around to find him. Awesome! Miles was down for the count, yet we woke him
up for some dinner and ice cream. That night I convinced him that the fan in the
bathroom was a bear growling every time the light was turned on.
07/04/11
Breakfast at West Glacier Restaurant right at 7am again, and today was Miles day
to eat alot. All the staff was smitten by him and thought it was hysterical that
he shouted "DINNER!" when they brought out his pancakes. Since Going
to the Sun Road is closed, we took highway 2 around the south end of the park
over Marias Pass and to East Glacier, with a stop at "Goat Lick" to
see the mtn goats licking the rocks to get some minerals. Our destination was
the Two Medicine section of the park and we got there in just over an hour with
views that just kept getting better. More WOW!!!! Rising Wolf Mtn and Sinopah
Mtn are a beautiful backdrop to Two Medicine lake. After gawking for a bit we
start the hike to Aster Park, ~3.8 miles and 670ft. We let Miles hike for awhile
then got him in the Kelty Kids since its a known bear area around the south end
of the lake. Wild flowers line the trail and its hard to keep our eyes down.
Cool meadows, beaver ponds, mosquitoes, Jean talking/singing loudly with bear
spray in hand, etc. A few switchbacks later we stop near the top, while I'm
taking a leak I hear a rustle in the bushes and see several sets of eyes coming
my way. "Bear" was my first thought, but I was happy to see it was a
group of big horn sheep passing through within 20ft from us. We all checked each
other out and went along our merry ways. Fantastic views down to the lake and
the snow-covered peaks all around. On our way down we just missed a bear that
was eating flowers in a meadow, darn! We had lunch in front of the former chalet
(now a snack shop and gift shop) where a group of young Japanese girls kept
ooohhh'ing and aaaahhhh'ing at Miles while he giggled and made faces at them,
then we tried to find a shady spot so Miles could take a nap in the back seat.
We parked at the trail head for Running Eagle Falls and had Miles fall asleep on
the back seat while Jean and I snoozed up front. The heat woke me up so I walked
the 1/4mile trail to the falls. It was really coming down fast from all the snow
melt! Very cool. After naps we got tickets for the 3pm boat ride and hike back
to Twin Falls. This was on the 1927 45ft Sinopah that has been cruising the lake
since it was built. More stories and info along the ride including how the peaks
got their names, and Miles was thrilled to be sitting in front watching how the
captain drove the boat. After it docked on the west end of the lake we hiked the
1 mile back to Twin Falls as a group. Several bridges, some mud and snow, and
lots more flowers and views galore to take in. Miles walked and ran most of the
way while I carried him over the puddles and mud. Interesting that some trees
have rings of barbed wire around them so they can get DNA from the bears after
the rub against them while other groups of trees suffered from "winter
kill" as the warm chinook winds blast down in the winter causing the cells
to literally explode. Twin Falls was a double flume of cascades that was really
flowing as well, and Miles insisted on having his shoes off to "dip his
piggy toes into the water", this ended up being a theme for him. Since he
wouldn't let us put his shoes back on him, I got to carry him the mile back to
the dock where he proceeded to put his feet in the water until they were too
cold, then take them out, the back in, over and over. We stopped for dinner at
Luna's cafe and had some awesome huckleberry pie before the drive back to West
Glacier. There are Swiss chalets all over the park that were built
by the Great Northern Railway back in the 1920's to encourage visitors. The
are each "one day's horseback ride apart" and it cost a whopping $40
to tour the park back then after you arrived via railway and boat. On
to Part 2....
<Part 1> <Part 2>
