Glacier National Park

I realize that it has been a very long time since I published a trip under the Big Cashew moniker.  I have written four, more poorly than my usual drivel, but there has been no release to the masses or, more likely, the minimals.  I've been wondering why I have not had that motivation, but I guess it actually is rather simple to understand.  My wife passed away in 2019 and since then life has not been the same.  She had brought happiness, fun and companionship that had been missing.  She filled a tremendous void in my life that had occurred when my first wife passed away14 years earlier.  I don't think I have recovered from this second trip through hell and I have to wonder if I every will.  Don't get me wrong.  I continue to travel and see all the sites and sounds in this country and the memories are as vivid and inspiring as ever.  But I have not had the desire to put it down in words.  I am trying to get back to that state of mind.  It is difficult but I have a few aces in the hole that are helping me climb out of these dark places.  I have a grandson who came along just two months after my second wife passed on and he has been a godsend.  And before him, there is a granddaughter who was born at a time that allowed her to help the family get through the trying times before that fateful day in 2019.  I spend as much time as I can with both, although distance makes it a little more difficult for the granddaughter.  In addition to these  grandkids, I have a couple of friends who have provided so much support, and helped me through these trying times.  They were with me for this trip and it was one of the most enjoyable experiences that I have had in a very long time.  So I will pick up the old keyboard again and attempt to provide you the reader with what you have come to expect from me. Dull, boring, grammatical mistake filled writing.  I am at your service.

Well, here I am, on another trip.  It seems only 4 weeks ago I was in Acadia NP.  I guess that's because I was there at the noted time.  But this is a new trip and one that I have been looking forward to for some time.  The park itself promising to have some magnificent views and maybe possibly some enjoyable or at east tolerable short hikes to see nature up close and personal.  There is also, if the weather cooperates, spectacular stargazing, so we hope for the best.  One other reason I have looked forward to this trip is that I am not alone this time.  I am traveling with a couple of great friends who have been incredibly supportive of me through some of the most recent difficult times in my life.  They would be the Godspeed's,

 whom I have spent more time with over the last 26 years, than some of my own family.  Now I'm not saying they have been ecstatic with my constant presence, but they have yet to throw me out the car window, so I take it as a positive sign of begrudged indifference.  So the story begins.

For this trip, I first flew from Philly to Seattle to hook u with Pat and Tony.  We then proceeded to get in the car and start the 9+ hours of driving to get to the park.  This drive was spelled as we stopped in Spokane for the night and then proceeded to the park the next day.  Along the way we were presented with some very stunning vistas of the mountains in the eastern part of Washington and some rather desolate stretches of Idaho and Montana.  To live out here one is truly accepting the singular, self sufficient style.  One can drive many miles and still not see homesteads or civilization.  Well, anyway, we finally arrived late afternoon Wednesday, checked into the hotel and then proceeded to the visitor center in the park.  

The GPS provided directions and noted that the center was closing at 5:30 so we had to hurry just a bit.  As it turned out, the closing time was 5 PM, and they actually closed a few minutes earlier.  No access was provided so we decided to take a short hike to Apgar Village which has a couple of restaurants, businesses for renting kyacks, and a couple hotels.  There was also a spectacular view of Lake McDonald.  The walk was only about a half mile round trip, so I avoided doing a actual hike.  Thank heavens! Still the short stint was interesting and it was a great place to just sit and watch the surroundings.  The next day promised to be most interesting as we will be taking the Red Bus tour into the park along the "Going to the Sun Road".  More to follow.

Glacier NP 2nd Day

Today we were up and at'em and ready to go by 8 AM.  Of course we had to be up earlier to get in breakfast, shower and dress for the day.  We met in the lobby at the designated time and off we went.  Our schedule today was to arrive at the park at about 8:45 and check in with the driver of the Red Bus we had made reservations with earlier.  

Here is the happy couple:

     

Tony had done some research on things to do in Glacier NP and a Red Bus tour was highly rated so we all agreed to give it a go.  Here is what they looked like.

These busses (there are 35 of them, I believe) are from the long lost past.  They were originally built in the late 1930's and had lasted until 1996.  At that time it was clear that they were past their prime and that new buses were probably the better way to go.  Glacier wasn't the only park where they had been used.  Yellowstone had 100 of these buses manufactured back in the thirty's and over the later years was pulling them from service and disposing of them as they become too costly to maintain.  The management at Glacier wanted to try a different route that would save the buses and they eventually found a savior in the Ford motor company, who provided a donation in the millions of dollars to recondition and restore them to their former glory.  And that is what was done.  They are 1930's autos with modern engineering.  It is a good story, and the trip was great decision for us and I would recommend it to everyone.  But one side note: There are 4 rows of bench seats and they normally need to fit 4 people per row.  It can get a bit tight and even slightly claustrophobic the further back you sit.  The roof is actually a tied down canvas sheet that can be removed in good weather.  The driver decides whether to remove the canvas if the weather is passable, and today it was. 

Here are a couple of the views through the window:  

The drive is on the main road, which is known as the Going to the Sun Road.   It winds from the Eastern entrance near St Mary, Montana to West Glacier, Montana.  It is approximatelyapproximatley 50 miles long and incredibly picturesque.  The road, for the most part, was built into the side of the mountains.  When you reach the higher altitudes, you notice that there are no guardrails but stones (see picture above) to keep the Red Bus on the straight and narrow.  I can personally advise you that in many instances, those stones are the only thing preventing one from plunging hundreds and hundreds of feet down the mountain side.  If you aren't afraid of heights, when you look down you are rewarded with more spectacular views as you see below:

The bus ride takes you to the summit which provides 360 degree viewing of the mountain tops.  There is a store at the summit but it was closed for the winter.  Still the sun was out and semi warming on a barley 50 degree day.  I should also mention what it was a little windy but we managed.  As I noted earlier, the driver can decide to open and pull back the canvas roof to the bus.  This is what he did after we passed beyond the summit heading down the eastern side a few miles to show us one of the glaciers.  There are about 2 dozen glaciers in the park, although there used be multiples of this number years ago.  They are slowly melting and there is concern that they will just disappear in the future.  Anyway, the driver decided to take the cover off when we stopped to look at one the glaciers.  

It was left open for most of the trip back to the West Glacier visitor center.  This allowed us even better viewing and we could stand up though the opening as he drove along.  It was not until we got back to the park floor that it started to rain and the canvas top was redeployed.  It was a most enjoyable day.

3rd Day

This is the day I remember the most as it was filled with muscle aches and the like.  We hiked about 3-4 miles round trip, to one of the smaller lakes that is nestled in the mountains.  I think it was Hidden Lake but I am not sure.  I can tell you that it was hard to keep up with the Goodspeeds, and my feet where hurting, but I managed to not be left behind.  

When you reach the lake (you cannot see it until you do reach it) you find yourself in a quiet bowl where the lake is surrounded by the mountains and you can see numerous small waterfalls on the mountain sides.  The change in elevation is not overwhelming but there is a lot of up and down sections of the trail and it will test you. Well, it tested me.  We were passed by a number of school groups of teenagers and younger kids.  They started well after us and got there well ahead of us.  But it was not a race.  We knew we had to make the entire hike to the lake and back, which we did, and it was good to reach the end point and sit down, rub out feet, put heat on our backs and take high levels of aspirin.  Here are a few pictures for your perusal.  

As I noted, the trip was well worth the effort, including the never ending hike.  I would recommend it be on anyone "bucket list", as I would rate it in the top 10 of all National Parks (disclaimer: I have not been to all National Parks but I have been to over 30 of them).  Even the 9 1/2 hour drive home was pleasant.