Glacier, Part 1

Glacier National Park

Glacier 101 …

Most tourists experience Glacier by traveling the “Going to the Sun” road, which cuts through the heart of the park, cresting at Logan Pass.  No matter how touristy it is – it’s worth it.  One of the finest drives I’ve ever made.  Rivaling California’s coastal route 1.  Breathtaking.

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See the little cars?  You should be in one!

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Yes, it’s narrow and the dropoff is very steep!

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And the traffic makes it worse!  Still, you have to drive it.  I drove it three times, the last time coming off Logan Pass in the dark at 1:00am after a astronomer’s star party!  Loved it every time!

The scenery is breathtaking!

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Just don’t drive off the road looking …

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Or perhaps you should take one of the Park transports…

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Or stop at every overlook…

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It’s impossible to take it all in during a single transit – about 3 to 4 hours up one side and down the other.

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And, of course, it looks completely different on the return trip.

Don’t miss the hikes …

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I like the ranger-led hikes.  I learned this is a “fen” not a lake.  The fen is filled by rain water and snow melt.  There is no feeder stream or river and no stream or river outlet.

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The ranger choose this as our rest stop

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And took us past, and over, incredible streams.

 

There are many well-traveled hikes you can take on your own.

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Be sure to listen to your fellow-hikers.  I would never have spotted the black woodpecker on this tree without a “Birder” showing it to me.  Its black-feathered back made it practically invisible on the burned bark.  My camera wouldn’t focus on it!

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Then finally, as it moved around the tree, I could see it easily.

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Here, another hiker showed me the brown spot clearly visible in the lake.  Through his binoculars I proved:  I got my moose!  (A moose is a difficult wildlife shot, so I’m happy – even if you can’t tell what it is.  I know!)

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So take hikes and enjoy

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Even recently burned areas quickly start the recovery process and are beautiful.

Attend the park’s special events

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Astronomers brought at least a dozen large telescopes to the Logan Pass parking lot – the program started at 10:00 and the viewing didn’t really superb until after 11:00. People were asked to stay until at least midnight so their car headlights wouldn’t spoil people’s dark adapted vision.

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It was wonderful.  The bright streak is Skylab!

Next:  Glacier Wildlife

 

 

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2 Comments

  1. Barry,

    These are magnificent photos. Gary and I were blown away by them – the lighting, the sense of ‘space’ you captured and the simple beauty. I’ve never been to Glacier Park, but Gary has and was really impressed with the photos you took. He said it is so magnificent it seems daunting to even take photos and he loved yours. Thanks for doing this blog. We’re loving it.

    Reply

  2. Will be adding this to our future travel list; beautiful!

    Reply

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