We arrived at Glacier National Park a few minutes past 6:00, and I had my Golden Age Pass ready, but there was no one at the gates, so we drove straight in. I was still dark out, but there was a hint of daylight beginning to peek over the mountains. By the time we got up to Haystack Turn, it was finally getting light out. We didn’t stop much to get photos because B wanted to be at Logan Pass when the sun came up, to get some shots of the sun hitting the very tops of the peaks. We almost made it.
Autumn is the absolute best time to see Glacier! Most of the tourists are gone, there are no loud, obnoxious kids running around and scaring off whatever wildlife there might be, the weather is cool and comfortable, and traffic is almost nil, which means ample parking at both McDonald Lodge and Logan Pass.
I got some great shots, and we walked up the Hidden Lake Trail just a little ways. There were actually quite a few people up there, I think mostly locals, enjoying “our” park without the crowds. The air was cold and crisp when it filled my lungs, and it felt so good!
On the way back down the trail we met an elderly Japanese gentleman, who was asking how to get to Many Glacier. He spoke very broken English, but we gave him the best directions we could, and he thanked us and bowed. We bowed back and he smiled from ear to ear. What a sweet old man; very old school and I really wanted to take my picture with him. I’m sure he would have obliged, and maybe would have wanted to take one too, but I decided to just move on.
On the way back down we stopped at a number of the scenic turnouts and I got some great photos. I really wanted to stop at the Dancing Waters, but the water level was so low that in places the river was nothing more than a very thin trickle.
We did walk the Trail of the Cedars however, which has expanded some since the last time I was there. They’ve lengthened the trail, added little turnouts with benches, and a few interpretive signs. I like it!
Stopped at the “new” visitors center on the way out (I say
new, because it might have been there for a long time, but new since I’ve been
there, which has been a long time).
One more stop in Hungry horse for a huckleberry milkshake
and some onion rings (nice combo, huh?), to hold us over until we got back to
Kalispell, where our plan was to have steaks at the Montana Club. That however,
did not pan out because we were both still full from the milkshake and onion
rings! We could have gotten something to go, and saved it for the next day, but
there was plenty to eat at her house so we didn’t stop.
Another trip out to see the cranes this evening. When we got there, about 40 of them were feeding in the grain field just beyond the parking area, and I got some decent shots, but nothing to be excited about. I did manage a few shots of four or five of them flying over us, with the sun on them.
We decided to go to the other ponds just the next road over, where it was now too dark to take photos, but where close to 300 cranes were settling in for the night!
There are two ranches bordering this second location, and between the two have donated 400 acres as a conservation easement “in perpetuity”. How awesome is that?? Saving the ponds from being filled in, keeping construction and subdivisions out, and protecting the entire area for the cranes. I love it.
This is an area where the birds gather in very large flocks (as we saw), before migrating south for the winter. I have to wonder if they gather here in the spring as well.
Heading home tomorrow. It felt good to get out of town for a few days, the trip to Glacier was so good for my soul.
No comments:
Post a Comment