They Closed Wally World Dad

Didya miss me?

They don't have wifi or cell access in Glacier National Park. That was worse than not having T.V. (they don't have that either). I know, I am supposed to be enjoying nature. Anyhow, I'm baaaack!!!

We left Billings, MT bright and early Sunday morning to head on north to Glacier. The countryside is very pretty and somewhat hilly. One thing is for sure, it's pretty much the same all the way north. The neatest thing I saw was a wind farm with beautiful wind turbines stretching across the prairie. I really don't think they detract from the scenery. They are tall, stately and look like modern day windmills. I had been missing Sonic and my afternoon drink stop so when we saw a Sonic in Great Falls right at lunch time I of course asked to stop there. One thing that is usually consistent at Sonic, besides Happy Hour, is a bad order taker. On the Value Menu it said they had a Jr Deluxe Cheeseburger so I had Ken order a Jr Deluxe Cheeseburger for me. The order taker actually said that the Jr Deluxe Cheeseburger doesn't come with cheese and would he like to add it? Duh! That's my Sonic.

We arrived in Glacier at the St. Mary entrance late Sunday afternoon. You are still in the flat lands at the entry gate but quickly move into the mountains as you proceed into the park. Our reservations were at the Rising Sun Motel which I knew from the website and Trip Advisor would be rustic. The room really wasn't that bad. It had a beautiful hard wood floor, two small double beds and a very basic bathroom. Rising Sun was built in 1940 and renovated in the 1950's so it doesn't have a lot of the sound insulation that newer hotels have but that's part of the charm. It is about a quarter mile from St. Mary Lake although you cannot see the lake from the motel. Another interesting thing about all of the park concessions is that the people working for them are kids from all over the United States and all over the world. What a great job to have.

Let me back up a few steps now. As I told you in my first blog of this trip, our sole purpose for coming to Glacier was to drive the Going to the Sun Road. Going to the Sun Road started as a horse trail through GNP. The land for GNP was obtained through a treaty with the Blackfeet Indian Tribe to be used as a national park. The Blackfeet were the last tribe to secede their land to the United States government. The treaty was made in 1895. In 1910, President Taft signed legislation creating Glacier National Park. The legislation was pushed along by a man named Grinell and JJ Hill, owner of the Great Northern Railroad. Hill saw GNP as a way to encourage train travel. His son, Louis, envisioned a chain of chalets or small hotels anchored by majestic lodges at the north and south ends of the park. Louis shared his idea with dad and JJ said it was all his to do. The south portal became known as Midvale (now East Glacier) and wouldn't you know it, a train station for the Great Northern was just across the road from the Midvale Lodge (now East Glacier Lodge). The chalets were exactly a day's horse ride apart. Guests flocked to GNP to see the wild west and the wonders of the United States. With the advent of car travel it became a necessity to have a way for cars to travel through the park from east to west. The Going to the Sun Road was designed and built in only 11 years. It officially opened in 1932 and was visited by FDR in 1933. Many consider it to be the most scenic highway in the world. And now, in 2011, 101 years after the park opened, Ken McLemore wanted to drive the Going to the Sun Road.

About a week and half prior to our leaving Wichita, Ken discovered the GTSR was still closed due to record snow fall. It was scheduled to open on June 17 but on that date, they still had 50 feet of snow at the top of Logan Pass. They had a handy little map showing where the plows were working and it looked like just a few miles were left. Not to worry I told Ken, we still had a week and half before we got there. We checked the map just about every day and it seemed that they weren't making any progress. Not to worry, I said, I bet the website hasn't been updated. Well, guess what? GNP had 386% more snow than normal this year. The spring has been cool and wet. The plows are working hard and the sun is beginning to melt the snow but, when we arrived, the ranger at the gate informed us that GTSR was still CLOSED! Poor Ken. The moose at the gate owes him an explanation. I wouldn't let him punch the sign.

If I gave every detail about what we did and what we saw, you'd still be reading this tomorrow so I'll just give you the highlights. First thing Monday morning, after an awful night's sleep, we took a boat tour of St. Mary Lake on a boat called the Little Chief. Little Chief is one of two original boats dating back to the 1920's that are still on the GNP lakes today. Here is what we saw:

Isn't that gorgeous? Ken took that from the boat. After lunch we drove up to Many Glacier and took a nature tour with a Ranger and saw the tiniest bird's nest in existence, that of a Calliope Hummingbird. Then we went to the Many Glacier Lodge and took a tour with a Ranger of that historic hotel. Monday night we decided to each sleep in our own bed as the double beds were quite tiny and we're not. We slept much better. Tuesday we tried to walk up GTSR to Siyeh Point. I am a wimp and didn't get very far as the road is a constant upward grade at 6000 feet altitude and up. Ken would've made it but he wouldn't go on without me. I felt bad. We stopped at a beautiful waterfall on our way down the mountain. After lunch we went drove south to Two Medicine on a road called Looking Glass Road. It was a beautiful drive and ended at a beautiful lake. That evening we took a tour on one of the Red Bus cars. It was supposed to be an evening glacier tour and it was supposed to be two and a half hours long. First, we were the last ones to be picked up and the tour guide tried to leave without us. We practically had to run after the bus. Then, we basically saw everything we'd already seen and only one glacier. The driver told great stories and it was fun to ride the red bus but it wasn't the highlight of the trip. Oh, and he dropped us off only two hours after we were picked up. Dinner on Monday and Tuesday was at a little restaurant called The Park. Everything was fresh and homemade including my favorite...pie!

Today we wanted to see the west side of the park and since GTSR is closed, the only way to get there is a three hour drive around the south end of the park. Then, tomorrow we would have to make the drive again on our way to West Yellowstone. We really didn't want to drive 6 hours extra so we got a text to our daughter asking her to find a motel for us in Kalispell, MT and she did a good job. We are staying at another Super 8 and are enjoying a little rest, a little t.v. and wifi/cell service.

I just heard Ken tell Meghan that we had a great time, even if the road was closed and indeed we did. If you want to know more history of the park or the red bus go to the GNP website. Tomorrow it's on to Yellowstone.