Glacier National Park: Day 2
6/26
It was time to hit the trails so I drove a bit down the road and took the Rocky Point Trail on the other side of Lake Mcdonald. It was a great stroll through the pines and a wonderful view of the Lake. On the return trip to the car I wondered through the Fish Creek Campground. Fish Creek is a reserve only campground that looked really chill if you planning a visit I’d recommend checking it out. I then crossed the road to another trail shown on the All Trails app and came across my first “Warning: you are entering Grizzly Territory” sign. It was a stark reminder that while the park has 1000’s of people in it, this is also the home of a mighty hunter and that should be respected.
Next up was a quick shower and a quick trip out of the park to check out the town on the westside and grab a bite of none camp food with Kimberly. Options are as limited in the area as the cell reception is, but we decided on the restaurant at the Belton Chalet. The Belton Chalet was the first hotel built by the Great Northern Railroad in 1910 to welcome and offer rest for Train Travelers coming to see what people considered the US Alps. This restaurant is pricey, but it is also phenomenal. Their creative dishes combining American favorites with the local livestock of bison, beef and elk is a welcome change of pace when you are living on MREs. We also had a great conversation with the Bartender, who’s name I regretfully forget (I really have to get back to taking better notes), who had been working seasonally at the national parks around the country for 25 years. I’ve known many people who have worked a summer or two at a park, but this was the first realization about the number of people who live their lives doing this. I have to admit that this lifestyle has some real appeal for me.
When we got back to the campground, Kim and Chuck drove by following a full day of hikes and paddle boarding. Got to love the active retired folks. They invited Kimberly and I to join them at their fire and told me to bring my guitar. They were so kind and complimentary even taking and sending a video of me playing. When it hit 9pm I told them that I had planned on driving through the park at night to see what the views were like and they asked to join. So I rearranged the car a bit more and we loaded in and headed out. Have I mentioned that I don’t have rear seats in my car? I took them out to make room for gear before I left, but Kim and Chuck were up for the adventure and just grateful to be able to take the pass drive.
I was hoping that with it being so close to a full moon we might get some really cool light out there, but we left a bit to late and the moon was behind the mountains. This does not mean that the drive was bad. It was amazing. Everyone on the road was on their way back from Logan Pass so their was no one heading the same direction as us. The sound of the waterfalls in the darkness was beautifully eerie and when we got to Logan Pass it was not full of people milling about. We got a gorgeous view as the final rays of the sun cast a orange glow on the top of the mountains and a group of big horn sheep. I’ve never seen a big horn sheep in real life. They are big! Like the size of a buck deer and those curved horns are no joke. I seriously was worried that one was going to charge the car. We found a parking spot at Logan Pass a respectful distance from our Majestic animal neighbors and just starred up at the stars for a bit. It is impossible to describe the beauty of a pitch black cloudless Montana sky at 6’500 feet of elevation. The stars fill the sky with and feel close enough to touch. It was Amazing.
I was so glad to have met such wonderful people in this absolutely beautiful place.
One day left…
