After our season ended at Farragut State Park, Museum at the Brig, we left our fifth wheel behind and took off in our car. We spent the week at a condo in Columbia Falls, just outside of Glacier National Park. We had a very large two bedroom/two bath condo at Meadow Lake Golf Club overlooking the 10th fairway.
Our unit, 622, was on the second floor with an upper
story master bedroom suite.
View of the 10th fairway from our 2nd floor balcony.
The balcony was equipped with a grill, table and chairs.
Well appointed kitchen, fire place with wood
and two living areas.
The upper loft off the master bedroom even
had a third LCD television.
We spent four full days in the National Park exploring many areas we had never visited before. This is our third visit to Glacier National Park. The Going to the Sun Road from Apgar Visitor Center (West Gate) to Logan Pass was closed to private vehicles because of the Howe Ridge Fire. This fire has consumed over 14,000 acres, however, this is only about one percent of the over 1.2 million acres of the National Park.
West Entrance to Apgar Visitor Center
CAMAS ROAD TO POLEBRIDGE
View from Camas Road along the west
side of Glacier NP, north of Apgar VC.
The fire was being contained about a
half of a mile east of Camas Road.
The Park Service will allow it to burn itself
out as long as it is not threatening
any structures.
Continuing north on Camas Road, we
proceeded to Outside North Fork Road and on to the
very small town of Polebridge.
The Polebridge Mercantile had a bakery.
We enjoyed a huckleberry bearclaw and
a cinnamon roll.
EAST GLACIER AND TWO MEDICINE
Tuesday we drove US 2 along the south border of Glacier National Park to East Glacier and the Two Medicine area. We had a nice lunch at the East Glacier Lodge waiting for the morning clouds to break into a beautiful afternoon for hiking in Two Medicine.
East Glacier Park Lodge
We ate lunch at the Lobby Café.
Running Eagle Falls
This double waterfall is caused by a cave
that opens in the creek bed prior to the brink
of the falls.
Only one falls was running on this
early September day.
This butterfly posed for the camera.
Two Medicine Lake
This boat crosses the lake to the Twin Falls Trail head.
We took this hike/boat trip in 1999.
Interesting tree damage along the
Paradise Point Trail.
View of Two Medicine Lake from
Paradise Point.
Appistoki Falls Trail
The view from the top of Appistoki Falls.
IZAAK WALTON HOTEL IN ESSEX, MONTANA
The Izaak Walton Inn, a historic Glacier National Park hotel, was built next to the railroad yard in 1939 for the use of railroad service personnel. It was also intended to serve as an entrance to Glacier National Park between East Glacier and West Glacier, but this plan never materialized. The lodge itself has 29 guest rooms. If you want a different experience, there are a number of cabooses and rail cars converted into luxury guest quarters.
Izaak Walton Hotel
This diesel engine is now a luxury suite.
WHITEFISH, MONTANA
The Whitefish Railroad Station,
built in 1927, contains a small museum.
We found many elegant homes while driving
around Whitefish Lake.
HUNGRY HORSE DAM AND RESERVOIR
This 564 foot tall dam was completed in 1953. We were wondering why the name, Hungry Horse. The Legend goes that during the severe winter of 1900, two draft horses owned by some Montana logging pioneers wandered away from their logging sled. Almost a month after their disappearance both horses were found alive. Some loggers nicknamed the gaunt survivors, the "Mighty Hungry Horses." The name stuck and was eventually given to this dam, the town, the creek and the reservoir.
Hungry Horse Dam
Hungry Horse Reservoir
GOING TO THE SUN ROAD TO LOGAN PASS VIA ST. MARY ENTRANCE
Thursday we drove to Logan Pass. Since the west side of Sun Road was closed, we had to drive US 2 around the south boundary to reach the St. Mary, East Entrance. This was a 250 miles round trip.
Picnic lunch at Sun Point
Sun Point Trail
overlook St. Mary Lake.
Sun Point
Logan Pass Visitor Center
Highest Point (6646') on Going to the Sun Road
Hidden Lake Overlook Trail at Logan Pass
This is the most popular hike in the park. The trail begins as a boardwalk to protect the fragile alpine meadow. Plants at this altitude do not recover easily if they are stepped on.
June 28, 1999, we started this trail with our children. Because of deep snow and strong winds we were forced to turn back before the halfway point. It was very special that the two of us finally got to complete this hike. It was a sunny warm day, too.
The boardwalk seems to go on forever.
Beautiful waterfalls and flowers along the way.
Spotted a mountain goat at the overlook.
Hidden Lake Overlook
Returning via Hidden Lake Pass
on the Continental Divide.
Alberta Visitor Center in West Glacier, Montana.
This sled placed 9th in the 1988 Calgary Olympics.
POLEBRIDGE RANGER STATION/HIDDEN MEADOWS TRAIL
Fall colors were on display along the
Hidden Meadows Trail.
We hiked through a thick
regrowth forest after a fire in 1988.
The trail ended in a meadow and small lake
complete with two tundra swans.
LONE PINE MONTANA STATE PARK
The Visitor Center had some nice displays.
A trail leads upward to this viewpoint.
From there is a breathtaking view of
Kalispell and the Flathead River Valley.
3 comments:
Wow! You guys covered a lot of ground! We were last in Glacier in 2019 and covered much of the same ground. We really need to get back...
Since time travel is not (yet) possible, I probably meant 2010!!!
We knew you were Superman and woman, so we didn't question it. LOL
Post a Comment