Glacier National Park

I had been looking to visit another National Park, go to another state and spend some time with my dad. My uncle once told me that Glacier National Park was his favorite place to visit. I didn't know much about it, but was getting anxious to strike out and pay the old Park a visit. After doing some quick research, I invited my dad out for a quick three day trip. He booked a couple nights in Glacier Park Lodge, which was built way back in the early 1900s to impress the East Coast elite when they arrived at the park's edge and stepped off the train into the Montana wilderness. I booked the rental car and the flights and we hopped on a flight headed north early one morning. We were landing in Kalispell, Montana just after noon. Green fields and tall mountains surrounded the descending plane. We were soon on the road and entering the park within 30 minutes of leaving the airport. National Parks are a bargain price to visit anyway, but since my dad is over 62, he gets the lifetime pass for only $10.
It was a cool and cloudy afternoon and we were soon on the Going-To-The-Sun highway which winds through the park, up over the continental divide and is often described as one of the best highways in the world. We passed Lake McDonald, with its shimmering blue waters and gorgeous lakeshore surrounded by tall aspens and wildflowers. We stopped at the lodge for lunch and were quickly seated next to an open window with a view of a small gurgling creek with a fireplace nearby. Surprisingly the food was good and not very expensive, dad had a salad and I had a hummus and olive sandwich with dried tomatoes. Our server was from Germany and was very pleasant. Her name was Yvette and she asked what we were doing. Dad asked her for any recommendations and she suggested a two hour hike to Avalanche Lake. So after lunch, we drove further down the highway and quickly found ourselves on the trail. It was cool and dark. Clouds still obscured the sun and it rained off and on throughout the hike. It was up and down with not much elevation gain overall and most of the time we followed a great swift moving creek. The water was a brilliant dazzling blue that you see from glacial runoff and despite its alluring color, it was bone-chillingly cold. We didn't see much in the way of wildlife on the hike to the lake other than hyperactive squirrels and gobs of tourists. But everyone was friendly and often exchanged greetings. I was taking photos of everything. There were fallen trees, small meadows, ferns and moss all over. We even came across rangers and volunteers with shovels, chainsaws and oversized backpacks; they were repairing the trail in certain sections, they told us. Further down, you could see the results of their hard work which added to the clean path of the trail and reinforced its beauty. After an hour or so we were at the Lake and it sure was a sight to see. It was a calm pool with fallen logs resting just below the surface that stretched about a mile in every direction. But the most arresting scenery was across to the other side where four waterfalls trickled down the mountainside. Banks of snow rested on the tops of the mountain that I could see while other areas were hidden behind lounging clouds. A large U was formed by the mountains and they appeared to encircle the lake and give it a secluded and intimate feeling. Along the shallow shoreline were many other hikers and those same happy squirrels. I snapped some photos and we headed back. It was late afternoon and the raindrops had begun to increase in size and frequency. The path back seemed to go much faster and about half way through we came upon a quiet deer off on the left. It was tall and didn't seem bothered by us. A small crowd gathered and we pressed on. Back at the trailhead was a small ravine carved by the swift moving water, which created a pretty, albeit small chain of waterfalls. A handsome wood bridge stretched across to form the Trail of the Cedars. It was all an elevated walkway, suitable for wheelchairs. Many of the cedars have shallow roots because there is so much precipitation and they often are knocked over by strong winds that often stir through area.
Back in the car we headed up the mountains on the windy road. Nearing the top, the temperature began to drop and we ran into a group of mountain goats. There were cars parked nearby to visit the short path to an overlook and so we pulled over. Fluffy, thick fur all over their bodies with thick, muscled legs and calves, the goats stumbled around the parked cars. A relative newborn followed its mother around the parked cars and seemed determined to mimic her veer move and couldn't be bothered with all the new fans that were surrounding mom and baby. They stood below my waist, but they had thick and sharp grey horns protruding from their heads. That didn't seem to deter folks from getting close and taking as many photos as possible and indeed I found myself getting closer than I should have, but only because they were loitering near my car door.
Then it was down the eastern side of the mountains and we had passed the divide. It was sunnier on the east side and the temperature was milder. Valleys and peaks were everywhere. Scores of waterfalls off in the distance flowing down from jagged, snowy peaks. We weren't even 15 minutes from the goats when I spotted a brown bear off on the left. He was sniffing around in the grass and walking about slowly. I immediately stopped the car and my dad and I gazed out, marvelling at how close he was and he didn't seem bothered by our presence. We weren't a concern for him and I thought that best since there was no way we would want to leave the car with a brown bear that close. I snapped some photos and moved on. Another five minutes or so down the road, we saw another brown bear near the road. This one was more golden in color and bigger, but just as disinterested in us as the other bear. Holy cow, I couldn't believe we had seen two bears so close to each other and so close to us! I had only seen one other bear, and that was last Summer in Sequoia National Park when it decided to visit our campsite and forage for food. This Park was beginning to feel like a safari of sorts. It was near 7 in the evening and because of the tall mountains behind us, a twilight glow was surrounding the area. This was what I thought in my head as to why the animals were so active at this hour.
But we still had a while to go to get to the lodge. Once we exited the park, we still had another 40 miles or so miles to drive. While everything was big and open and spectacular, the roads were smaller than I had imagined and there were more turns and hills, which precluded me from driving as fast I would have liked. So we weren't pulling into the lodge until near 8. But it was worth the wait with the lobby full of large fir tree trunks holding up the massive roof. There were three large glass panels on the top and the lobby was open and inviting. Our room had a wide wooden balcony with views of the mountains and a nearby stream. We quickly changed and headed to the hotel's restaurant for dinner. I ordered the fish and my dad had chicken. When we couldn't wait to order a beer or glass of wine, we were politely informed that the lodge was situated on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation and during the Native Days, no alcohol was permitted. It was a shock and then I looked around and saw people drinking hot tea or soda or water. (This reminded me of the time I was visiting Poland and Pope John Paul II was in town; and no alcohol was permitted then either. I had tried to convince them to serve me because I wasn't Catholic, but they just smiled and politely declined.) So we ate our yummy dinner and drank our water. They had a great bread pudding with huckleberries for dessert. After I walked around the grounds and took some photos of the area with the glow of twilight in the background. The lodge was large and imposing, but with lots of places to wander and relax. The lobby had a very large fireplace with several people gathered around it. But I was tired at this point and ready to nod off. We had a full day planned for tomorrow.