Thursday, October 22, 2015

The Great National Park Adventure Day 6: Glacier National Park - A Gem of a Park!

Day 6 of our Great National Parks Adventure started very early!  This was the day that we had been waiting for….the day that we had planned this entire trip around….the day we got to see Glacier National Park!

Sunrise over Lake McDonald - Glacier National Park
Sunrise

Sunrise over Lake McDonald - Glacier National Park


We had planned about a day and a half for seeing Glacier.  That would give us two mornings but we decided to take advantage of the first morning there and head out early for sunrise.  We figured that way if it was a bad morning we always had the following day to try again.  As it turned out it was a good thing that we did as you will see later!

The Hampton Inn in Kalispell was about 40 minutes from Glacier National Park.  The staff was very nice and grabbed us a “To Go” breakfast on our way out the door.  We arrived at the park about an hour before sunrise so we navigated a bit in the dark.  Having read some reviews, it seems as though sunrise from the East Gate of the park is perhaps a little better.  We entered from the West and decided to stop at Lake McDonald which was only a few miles inside the gate to try to catch sunrise over the water with the mountains in the background.

Sunrise over Lake McDonald - Glacier National Park
Lake McDonald Lodge - Glacier National Park
We were able to find a path leading right to the water’s edge and staked out a spot facing the East.  As the sun started to rise the lake was peaceful and serene and the pink hue from the sun started to rise behind the mountains.  It was a very pretty sunrise but not as stunning as we had hoped as we found it to be slightly hazy.  Again, little did we know that this would only worsen during the day.


Sunrise over Lake McDonald - Lake McDonald Lodge - Glacier National Park

Walkway to Lake McDonald - Lake McDonald Lodge - Glacier National Park


Breakfast at the Lake McDonald Lodge
After sunrise, we headed to the Lake McDonald Lodge for breakfast.  They had a wonderful view of the sunrise there in the back of the lodge so we walked down there first and then headed into the lodge.  The breakfast buffet was very good.  The ambiance of the lodge was very nice….rustic and warm feeling.  This was definitely a good place to stop for breakfast.  It fills up rather quickly so get here early!



Going to the Sun Road

Our First Glimpse of Scenery on The Going to the Sun Road - Glacier National Park


Glacier National Park
After breakfast we were ready to head further into the park.  As soon as we left the lodge the grandeur began.  The mountains were large and the rays of the sun were coming over the tops making it feel like you just had a glimpse into heaven.  The further we went into the park the more magnificent the scenery!  It’s hard to describe in words the beauty that we saw so I am going to include several photos to give you an idea of the grandeur.


As we headed along the Going to the Sun Road, the road opened up and wound around a bit.  You can definitely see why it is a seasonal road.  You can also see why it’s important to go when you can drive the entire length of it because each turn brings a new wonder!
"Heavenly Glow" Creeping over the Mountains

Going to the Sun Road has many twists and turns along the way










Evidence of the recent fire in Glacier National Park


The Going to the Sun Road is about 50 miles in length and takes at least 2-3 hours to drive and see things along the way.  If you plan to do any hiking, please add time to this estimate. 
One of my favorite views along The Going to the Sun Road - Glacier National Park

Many Glacier Road



This is where the mountains meet the water! - Many Glacier road - Glacier National Park
Beautiful Scenery along Many Glacier Road


View Along Many Glacier Road

View along Many Glacier Road 

Many Glacier Road

Views Along Many Glacier Road

Many Glacier Road

Amazing views - Many Glacier Road

The restaurant/grocery store/gift shop - Many Glacier Road - Glacier National Park

We started at the West Entrance  and took the road to the East Entrance.  Once we got to the East  entrance we took the roadway north a few miles to the entrance of Many Glaciers Road.  You may not have heard as much about this roadway as you have Going to the Sun Road but it's definitely a worthwhile trip.  This is a shorter roadway.  There is a lodge along the way as well as a stop with food, a gift store and a grocery store.  The lake is beautiful with the mountains in the background.  There are some short hikes from this area also.  There were lots of warnings for bears and bear bells were at a premium in the store so I would say be careful if you are hiking...a bear bell and bear spray is a must!

After a short stop at the gift store we headed back down to the East Entrance of the Going to the Sun Road.

East to West on Going to the Sun Road

Visitor's Center at the East Entrance to Going to the Sun Road - Glacier National Park
The entire time that we traveled from West to East on the roadway, we kept thinking how exciting it would be to travel on the way back and see how different things looked from that direction.  Unfortunately by the time we headed back through we started to notice a definite haze descending on the mountains.  We stopped at a very nice Visitor's Center just inside the gate.  It has various displays and very nice restroom facilities.  Once we got into the main part of the roadway, the haze had really settled in.  Turns out that the smoke from the western wild fires that were in Washington State had moved into the area.  We were very happy that we had gotten up early and made the trip through in the one direction already because it was very hard to see anything at times!

The trip back was a little faster than the trip from West to East since the views from the pullouts were mostly obscured.  Unfortunately the next day's weather wasn't looking any better with the smoke in the area.  We were very fortunate to see what we did in the morning!  This just means that we have to make a trip back some day!!

Tips for Viewing Glacier National Park

From our observations  I have compiled a list of tips for visiting the park.  These of course are subjective as I can only speak from my own experience but hopefully they will be helpful for someone who is traveling to Glacier National Park for the first time.

1.  Get to the park early.  Ideally you should arrive before the shuttles start their regular runs for the day if you plan on driving through yourself.  The road is much less crowded at this time and there is no problem with parking at the many overlooks or at the various Visitor's Centers.

2.  Try to time your visit for when both the Going to the Sun Road and the Many Glacier Roads are open.  

3.  Waterton Lake National Park is a short drive North of the border in Alberta, Canada.  If you would like to visit, be sure to pack your passport with you and take with you when you visit Glacier. I had mine, my husband packed his passport but left it in the hotel room the day we visited Glacier.  The road to Waterton is out the East Gate of Glacier so by the time we had traveled the road and thought about it, we would have had to drive all the way across and back after getting the passport!  That didn't happen....so yet another reason to head back to the park someday!

4.  Travel West to East on the Road if you only have time to go one direction. The scenery is more striking that way.  At least this was the case on the day we visited.  Part of that may have been due to the smokiness but just the order of the scenery and the angles seemed to be better from that direction.

5.  Just because you've seen something from one pullout don't skip the next one.  Each pullout offered a different perspective.

6.  Take your time and just soak this park in....it is amazing!!

Montana Club




Dinner this night was at the Montana Club.  We had high hopes for a good meal here but unfortunately our expectations weren't met.  Both my husband and I had a steak.  The steaks were very fatty and very tough to cut let alone eat.  We ordered their specialty steak and it was like that so not sure what the regular steaks would have been like.  I will say that the steak did have some flavor but it was just not great.  The prices were high to start with let alone for the quality of the food.  If you are familiar with the Texas Roadhouse chain, we have had much better quality steaks there for a lot more reasonable price!  The service was good and the ambiance was nice.  

Back to the Hampton Inn

We spent a second night at the Hampton Inn in Kalispell.  The plan was to get up early again and head back to Glacier for a second time to see anything we may have missed.  However, with the building smoke we changed our plans and decided to head to Yellowstone National Park a little early.  So it was off to bed early to get ready for still another action packed day!

Coming Next:  The Great National Park Adventure Day 7: A Whole New Look at Yellowstone National Park


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Monday, October 12, 2015

The Great National Park Adventure Day 5: Custer's Last Stand and Beautiful Western Montana

On Day 5 of our adventure we got up and had breakfast at the Hampton Inn in Billings before heading to our first stop which was Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument.  It was about an hour drive from our hotel to the battlefield and a little bit of backtracking but we found that it was worth the effort to get there!


Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument ($15.00/vehicle)

After our short morning drive from the hotel, we headed into the Battlefield Area.  We arrived a little before 9:00 AM. Summer hours were 8:00 AM - 8:00 PM.  The entry fee was $15.00/vehicle. However, our National Park Pass came in handy here as it was accepted so the fee was included as part of the cost of the Pass.  

Visitor's Center 
We parked in the parking area, took a quick look around the national cemetery which is near the parking area and headed into the Visitor's Center.  There is small museum area inside the Visitor's Center with some interesting and educational displays.  We arrived in the Visitor's Center close to 9:00 AM.  The movie was playing already so we decided to wait for it to end for the next showing.  Well.......it ended and we entered the room and saw a sign that said that the movie was only shown every two hours beginning at 8:30 AM.  So much for that idea!  We then checked to see when the Ranger's Talk was as we had heard that this was a very worthwhile thing to do to help get oriented to the battlefield.  Well....turns out that we missed that also and another one wasn't scheduled for quite awhile.  So.....we were on our own to figure out the battlefield.  

We left the Visitor's Center and took the short (but steep) pathway up to the monument itself.  This is at the top of the hill where Custer's Last Stand occurred.  Luckily there are
The Site of Custer's Last Stand.  Markers show where soldiers fell that day.
lots of informational signs around We found that the grave markers were placed on the spots where the soldiers/indians fell.  The gray markers were for the soldiers and the red markers were for the indians.  This placement gives you a very good idea of how the battle happened.  There is also a special marker for General George Custer. 


From Custer's Last Stand, we took a short walk across the street to the newer Indian Memorial.  This is a memorial to the indian warriors who were killed that day and to their push for freedom.  The battlefield prides itself on a very balanced presentation of the facts and I believe that they do accomplish this.  The visitor is left to interpret the facts as they will.
Indian Memorial - Little Bighorn Battlefield

Indian Memorial - Little Bighorn Battlefield

After visiting the two memorials we headed back to the parking area, took another quick look around the national cemetery.  It's always so stunning to see the simple white graves in straight lines against the backdrop of the flag and the blue sky.



We got into our car and continued the trip around the battlefield itself.  Again, there are many informational signs around so make sure you give yourselves enough time to read and take in the surroundings.  The grave markers continue to show where the soldiers/indians fell during the battle.  

By the time we got back to the Visitor's Center (It's a loop road.) there were quite a few tour buses parked in the parking area.  There are restrooms located in a separate building outside of the Visitor's Center near the parking area.  Lines were rather long with the tour buses arriving at one time but the restrooms were clean.  

If I could offer a couple of tips on your visit here they would be:  1.  Arrive early before the tour buses really start arriving.  2.  Make sure that you plan to arrive when you can watch the movie or take in the Ranger talk so you have a better idea of what you are seeing.  Again, the movies start at 8:30 AM and are run every two hours.  3.  Plan on spending a minimum of a couple hours here to see everything.  

Feral Horses on the Battlefield

This was a place that initially we thought, "Well we are in the area, we might as well go and see it.  Maybe it will be interesting."  By the time we left, we felt that we had learned something and it was a place that we really enjoyed seeing.  I would definitely put it on your list if you are in the area!

Let the Driving Resume

We didn't have time to stay for the second showing of the movie because we had a long drive ahead of us and we had to get on our way!  The good thing about having time and a smartphone is that you can google anything along the way.  The story of the Battle of Little Bighorn kept us entertained and promoted a lot of discussion for the next hour or so of our drive!

Drive to Kalispell
Our final destination for Day 5 was to make it clear across the state of Montana (It's a HUGE state by the way!) and up to the northwestern corner to the small town of Kalispell which is about 40 miles outside of Glacier National Park.  This is was about an 8 - 8.5 hour drive with very few stops so most of our day was taken up with the drive.  We knew this would be one of our harder driving days so we prepared ourselves to get on with it!


Drive to Kalispell


After about 7 hours of the drive, we arrived in western Montana.  The eastern half of the state was pretty similar to North/South Dakota.  There were a few more rolling hills but lots of hay and wide open lands.  The central part of the state had a few more mountainous areas thrown into the plains look.  Western Montana however was what I pictured when I thought of Montana.  All of a sudden we looked around and there were beautiful lakes and mountains.  The colors were stunning and the scenery amazing!  The payoff for a long drive was definitely worth it!

Drive to Kalispell

Hampton Inn Kalispell, MT

We arrived at our destination on the evening of day 5.  We were tired and ready to stop by the time got there.  With Kalispell being a small town and close to Glacier National Park, we weren't sure what to expect.  What we found was a very nice Hampton Inn.  The staff was very friendly and helpful.  




Coffee is available 24 hours a day and iced tea and cookies awaited us in the lobby.  Our room was pretty typical of a Hampton Inn but the bathroom seemed larger than most.  Our room was clean and comfortable.  We ordered pizza in our room that night and hit the hay early so we could be up very early the next day to catch sunrise at Glacier National Park!




Coming Next:  The Great National Park Adventure Day 6: Glacier National Park - A Gem of a Park!


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