GLACIER NATIONAL PARK
Categories: National Parks and Western US Trip
Sorry this update has taken so long. We have been "snowed in" for a couple of days....the connection to outside world from over here has been down!
Ok......we finally made it to Glacier National Park. Words cannot describe how beautiful this place is: Awesome, Magnificent, Majestic, are just a few words that come to mind.
We are now staying at St. Mary National Park Campground. We have no electricity or water, but the campsite view is incredible! It’s worth a little inconvenience. When we woke up this morning it was about 35. I talked to my son David who said it was 95 and miserable in Baton Rouge. It’s hard to believe because it has been in the 40s and 50s for the most part up here.
Yesterday we drove the "Going to the Sun Road". It is not open all the way yet and we hope it will be open before we leave and Saturday. It was a beautiful drive.
We hiked to St. Mary Falls and Virginia Falls which was about a 3mile round trip hike. We are starting to get adjusted to the altitude and the hike did not bother us as much as we thought. It was so beautiful. Lake Mary is a pristine mountain lake about 9.9 miles in length. It is crystal clear and bluish green . The hike through the woods was also so very beautiful. It was so awesome wherever we looked (majestic snow covered mountains, cascading waterfalls, yellow, blue, white wildflowers, huge pine trees and glistening aspens). We saw a herd of elk grazing late in the evening, but have not seen much other wildlife.
The weather around here is starting to turn bad. They are expecting 1 to 1 ½ foot of snow by this evening. We decided to drive to Many Glacier area (35 mi north) and see how the weather was there. The Many Glacier area is even prettier than St. Mary. It started snowing there so we decided we would go back and spend more time towards the end of the week when the weather is supposed to be better.
We decided to drive to Waterton, Canada because the skies looked a little clearer there, but the weather seemed to be following us. We did however, make it to Canada but decided to turn around because of the weather. The drive there was really beautiful. There were meadows full of yellow, purple and white wildflowers. David stopped to take some pictures. On the way back we saw a huge grizzly bear about 50 yards from the roadside. He saw us and stood up on his hind legs and then ran off into the woods. We were excited to see the grizzly.
Back to our camper we spent the rest of the evening watching it snow. It was coming down hard, and was beautiful. It was in the 30s and I was a little worried because we don’t have any hookups, but our little stove kept us warm.
We woke up to rain and it has been raining most of the day here.
We will do another update in a day or two.
Hope all is well with everyone.
A few facts about Montana: It is the 4th largest state in the nation in area, but the 6th least populated state. There are fewer people living in the entire state of Montana than in the city of Phoenix, Arizona.
Trivia question of the day: What is Montana’s Nickname? There are two correct answers.
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Gas has become so expensive, we are looking at a new purchase, now if we can find a mule to pull it!
It even comes with an open air skylight.
What happened to the beautiful sky?
Wildflowers overlooking St. Mary Lake
View at upper St. Mary Lake looking at Goose Island
View looking South from our Campsite
Virginia Falls
St. Mary River down from St. Mary Falls
Pronghorn Antelope accross the Prairie
Hopefully will get another update tomorrow!
Love ya, David and Jeanie
Jeanie & David, We sure have been missing yall. I know your having a great time because the pics so it. We can also hear it in your voice!! Sure wish we were with yall. I know yall miss us too. Happy Fathers Day David! All is well hear. All the test seem to rule out Susan having MS. She has 2 more next week. Keep her in your prayers. Brandon is in Wyoming. Rawlins - He said he will keep his eyes open for yall. Feed him if you see him. HaHa!!! Yall stat away from the grizzles. Logan will be Baptisted Sunday. Take care- we really enjoy hearing from yall. Love You both, Johnny & Joyce
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So good to hear from you. We had no idea Susan was being tested for MS. So glad the tests have come back negative so far. We will keep her in our prayers. We talked about you yesterday on the road up to Two Medicine area. The mountain road had no guard rail and was really scary. However, we are having a great time and the scenery is beyond description. Miss ya'll.
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All I can say is "Wow"- you could sell those postcards; incredible, take your time and enjoy every moment!
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We are indeed enjoying every minute of our trip and love sharing with all of you. Stay tuned for much more to come.
Love ya'll.....
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HI Dave & Jeannie: Sounds great, and that snow, it is hard to believe. Same old same old here. Bob and I went to see "Three Dog Night" last night. It was very loud but I used to love them so we stayed for most of it. Can't hear today, but~~~~~~ continue to have a great time! Love, P
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We can't handle that loud music either...but have good memories of Three Dog Night. Keep dancing to you can't walk any more. Love ya.
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beautiful country up there. God's glory is shining all over it. know you are having a blast but don't chase the grizzly bears, they bite. to answer your question concerning my health, I'm feeling much better and my strenght is returning, while my incision is healing. thanks for your prayers. we love you both, happy aniversary for tuesday if we don't communicate before then. chuck and christy
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Hi Chuck, there is no doubt that God's awesomeness is around every corner, He has indeed done a masterpiece in this place. I am so in awe of what we are seeing, words and the pic's do not come close to what we are seeing. Glad you are doing better and healing ok. We are looking forward to some time with you all (and the coates) soon!
God Bless
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The nickname for Montana is "The Treasure State" because of its rich mineral reserves. There is one of the answers.
What awesome glorious photos!! Thanks for sharing this journey with everyone. Love, Nancy
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You are really good at beating everyone to the punch. Do you have a Montana Tourist Brochure at home? You now have 2 souvenirs coming to you when we get home. We love hearing from you...
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