May 17, 2008 - Glacier National Park, WA

Today is a beautiful day in MT. It is crystal clear and the temp is suppose to get into the high 80’s. We got started a bit later than we planned, but that is ok - this is retirement. We turned right out of the RV park onto US93 headed for Glacier National Park . Mike would probably like me to say that I was not too keen on making the trip to Glacier today. I saw that there is a local arts and craft fair in downtown Missoula each Sat starting mid-May till the fall. I said something about going there today and going to Glacier tomorrow. He did not show a lot of interest in the craft show, so being the good wife that I am, I agreed to go to Glacier today. Now, I am really glad that we did.

Today has been a day of a lot of WOWs and OH MY GOSHes. This country is absolutely beyond words. I saw a sign that said “God’s Country” and I believe it. My first WOW was just up the road from our RV place. We came around a curve and I saw the tall, rocky, snow covered peaks of the Mission Mountain Range. I wish I was better at describing the scenery. I am just so in awe that I want to convey to you the beauty of this country. Close your eyes and imagine a beautiful lush green valley, dotted with fences and houses. On the right side of the valley, see high foothills rolling along the valley. There are not trees on these foothills, just sage colored grass. And then see the tall, rocky snow covered peaks topped off by the deep blue sky. Sorry, this is the best I can do with words. I hope the pictures I am going to post will help bring this to life for you.

As we continued along US 93, we saw ranches and some businesses far off in the distance. Farther along, tall pine forests line the far edge of the valley next to the mountains. Soon we started to see more and more businesses as we neared the town of Polson. I saw signs for Flathead Lake, but I was not prepared for the sight that awaited me around the corner. This was a double “OH MY GOSH” sight. The lake is the most beautiful turquoise blue with islands covered in tall, deep green pines against the backdrop of the snow covered peaks. I think I just died and went to heaven. The lake goes on for miles and each new sight of it so magnificent. I could move here and look at this countryside every day till I get to the real heaven. Of course, I guess I might want to spend a winter here before I make up my mind that I want to live here. I do know that I could spend a couple of weeks here without any problem.

The drive to Glacier takes you at least half way around Flathead Lake. This is a BIG lake. We drove about 56 miles. There are several small village towns along the banks of the lake and an Indian Reservation too. The housing is a mix of what are probably expensive, vacation homes and smaller homes for the people who live here year round. There are a lot of RV parks that I would love to stay in someday.

Beyond the lake, the highway took us into another valley and the town of Kalispell. It is a pretty nice size town - it even has a Wally World and a Harley dealership. The town looks very new - new homes, new businesses, etc. It must be a growing area. I can see why. It is so pretty here and there are ski slopes nearby and, of course, the lake only a few miles out of town. The older part of town is very well maintained and very much alive. I love to see older downtowns that are still alive.

Driving out of Kalispell, we followed the signs for Glacier National Park. We saw some of the ski runs off in the distance high up in the mountains. I believe the mountains here are the Rocky Mountains. They sure look like the Rockies based on what I have seen in CO. We were only able to travel in as far as 16 miles on the Road to the Sun, which is the main road through the park. We got a handout from the ranger at the gate and in it they talk about how much snow they get up on the pass and that it takes them two months to clear the road. So they hardly get it cleared before it is time for the snow to start falling once again. The handout said that they had several avalanches last year pile up snow over 60ft deep on part of the road. That, my friends, is a lot of snow.

We only drove maybe a mile into the park when we came to a beautiful lake. The water in this lake was crystal clear and the prettiest shade of green. We pulled off at an overlook and there was a marker there showing that several mountains across the lake had burnt several years ago in a forest fire. They had a picture of how it looked from the place we were standing. The whole expanse across the lake was in flames. I can’t imagine what it would have been like to have been there and seen that fire. I believe the fire happened in 2003. The ridges are covered with burnt trees. If there is new growth, it is too small to see with the naked eye from across the lake where we stood.

We drove along the lake for several miles and then the road started running in the forest alongside the mountain. There were numerous places where water was flowing out of the mountain with a lot of force. We soon came to a place where I believe there was a natural creek, but now it was a raging creek that was up in the forest floor. It was pretty amazing. We stopped and took some pictures. Then, not to much farther, we came to the “real” river. From the color of the water, I believe this river is made up of melt off the glaciers. We learned about glacier rivers on our trip to Alaska last year. The water from glaciers has finely ground rock and sediment in it so that it has a sort of brownish-gray cast to it. That is exactly how this water looked. And, this water was raging down the gorge. There were several places for us to pull off and get close to the river. One place had a path down to a very nice bridge over the river and another had a big, multi-level deck built out on the edge of the river. We got some great pictures in both places.

As I said, we could only drive up 16 miles, so we did not get to see a lot of this park. If we had been able to have driven across the pass and if we had our passports with us, we could have crossed into Canada. Glacier National Park is right on the Canadian border.
Leaving the park, we decided to take the road along the other side of Flathead Lake. It was a pretty drive, but not nearly as pretty as the drive up. Most of the drive back on Hwy 35 was up higher on the ridge along the lake and there were trees that blocked the view much of the way. The road brought us back into Polson and from there we followed US93 back to our RV park. It was a wonderful day, filled with new and beautiful scenery. I wish everyone had an opportunity to see as much of the US as we have. It really makes you appreciate what a wonderful country we have. Back when we were in Yosemite, we met a lady from England who was visiting the states. She said to me, “You have it all here in America”. She is right! We do have it all - how blessed are we to live in such a place. We should give thanks every day for our country.