Day two saw us leaving Bozeman Monday morning and heading west and north towards Glacier National Park. We could have taken I-15 north the whole way and gotten to the park area faster, but that wouldn't have been much fun. Instead, we took I-15 as far north as Helena, then we got off on some smaller highways for the trip north to the west side of the park. Our first night in the park area was actually on the east side, but driving the way we did was the more scenic of the routes. Even though that meant a little back-tracking the following day, we were cool with that. This route took us up the west side of Flathead National Forest, east of Flathead Lake, and finally into Columbia Falls. From there, we turned east on US 2, the road that borders Glacier Park to the south. Our final destination that evening was Glacier Park Lodge in East Glacier.
We did have to make a stop in Columbia Falls, though. We knew the places we'd be staying would have beer, but we knew it was likely to be on the expensive side, and there was a chance they wouldn't have what we wanted to drink. So we stopped there to pick up a little bit of beer. Well, it turned out we bought a case of beer. We picked out a six pack of each of the following wonderful beers, all from Big Sky Brewery: Moose Drool Brown Ale, Scape Goat Pale Ale, Trout Slayer Ale, and Big Sky IPA.
As we drove east on US 2, we came across a place called Goat Lick. Apparently, the herd of mountain goats have an affinity for a mineral in some rocks that line a creek canyon that goes under the highway. Mountain goats come down out of the mountains to the north and east to climb on these rocks and lick the mineral. Mountain goats are typically pretty shy and tend to stay high in the mountain country. It was a real treat to see them so close. Here are a few shots of the goats we saw. Some of them are a little fuzzy because I was using the digital zoom feature on the camera (and sometimes those shots are a little fuzzy).
Day three saw us departing Glacier Park Lodge and heading north along the eastern border of the park. We went as far north as Babb, which is where the northernmost road into the park on the east side is. Well, that isn't exactly true - there is another road over there farther to the north, but is actually crosses the Canadian border into Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park. Derek didn't have a passport at the time, and I didn't have mine with me, so that ruled out that road, or any side trips into Canada. Anyway, this "northernmost" road we took brought us to the Many Glacier Hotel. We really wanted to stay here that first night, but we were so early in the season, the hotel wasn't open yet. It was scheduled to open the following Friday. Nuts. However, the trip to Many Glacier Hotel, both outside the park as well as inside, was phenominal. Here are a few shots along that route.
After finish up in "the north country" section of the park, we headed south from Babb down to Saint Mary. Along in there somewhere, we stopped for lunch at a cafe (it might've been in Babb - just can't remember at the moment). We knew it was good because there were a lot of local vehicles out front - not a bunch of tourists. I have to say, that was the best Reuben sandwich I've had in years, and the rhubarb pie was absolutely to die for! Anyway, Saint Mary is the eastern gateway of the Going to the Sun Road. I was so glad to see the outer two sections of the road, but I have to go back at some point. Again, because we were so early in the season, the middle third of the Sun Road was closed. Winter avalanches had damaged parts of the road, and repairs were underway at the time. Also, there were still sections in the middle that weren't fully clear of snow, and other sections of the middle were undergoing upgrades before opening the road for the summer busy season. That was disappointing, as some of the most spectacular views along the Sun Road are in the middle section that was still closed. However, we still saw some amazing, breathtaking scenery on the sections we could access. Day 2's trip on the east side was far more spectacular than the west side on day 3. Here are some shots on the east side of the Going to the Sun Road.
We went in as far as we could on the Sun Road, got to the road block, and then turned around to drive out the way we had driven in. That took us back to Saint Mary, then south to the Two Medicine entrance. During this trek back southward, we were on Montana HW 49, and parts of that road are pretty scary. Derek was using the exhaust brake on most of it - and in some parts of it, there is no guard rail along the road. But the views are great! As we were getting close to the Two Medicine entrance, we were rounding a corner and almost greased a black bear that was making his way across the road! Needless to say, the encounter caught us off guard as well as the bear. He sort of stood there for a second as we caught our breath and fumbled around for our cameras. Unfortunately, the two shots below are the only two we were able to catch of him. Mine, on the left, was taken through the windshield. Derek managed to get his window rolled down and take the second shot as he was trundling off. Definitely not great shots, but proof that we did see a bear.
After going to the dead end of Two Medicine road, we turned around and exited the park. We then went back through East Glacier and headed west on US 2 back to West Glacier. Our destination for night three was Lake McDonald Lodge. Glacier Park Lodge was OK. It was a nice facility (HUGE!), but I wasn't terribly impressed with the restaurant or room accomodations there. They were sufficient, but you expect a smidge more for the rate these places charge. Lake McDonald lodge, on the other hand, was an outstanding experience all around. The property was smaller and more quaint, and being right on Lake McDonald didn't hurt, either. There was even a creek that empties into Lake McDonald flowing right next to the hotel. The room and bathroom facilities here were much better than at Glacier Park Lodge as well. We ate in the restaurant there that evening, and I have to say that was one of the best meals I'd had in a while. Great food and fabulous service. And our waitress that evening was, ummm...., smokin' hot to boot. After dinner, Derek and I retired to the lounge for a nightcap - well, several to be exact - and to start reviewing some of the pictures we'd taken.
Here are a few more shots from the Lake McDonald Lodge area. There was a doe munching on some leaves in the median between a couple of parking lots when we parked the truck, so I couldn't resist taking a couple of shots.
