Westward!

At the beginning of September, we headed westward for the trip we had been waiting for all year: Glacier, Banff, and Jasper with our friends Quentin & Christina!

Pat & I decided to make it a road trip since the airline tickets for the trip between Minnesota and Montana were significantly more expensive than just getting a rental car and driving. Plus, we got to see some of North Dakota, which I had never been to and Pat had only been to Fargo. Contrary to the stereo-typical North Dakota scenery that comes to mind, the golden fields of the fall season were actually pretty.

When we got near Dickinson, ND we thought we would make a quick detour to an overlook in Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

I had previously been to the Badlands in South Dakota, but didn't know that North Dakota also has their own version of the Badlands. The sand/silt formations were beautiful. Someday when we have more time, we'll have to go hiking through here!

My proficiency in drive-by photography seems to be improving, or more likely I just got lucky this one turned out well considering we were going 75mph. It was neat to see these buffalo wandering near the creek on the edge of Theodore National Park.

Not surprisingly, there was not a lack of haybales in North Dakota or eastern Montana.

A little further west of the border into Montana we were happy to see the big sky we remembered from previous trips to the state.

The golden fields continued in eastern Montana. It was exciting to see the mountains again!

This was a neat rock formation along Highway 200 near Jordan.

The mountains got closer and closer as we drove westward on U.S. 2. This stretch of U.S. 2 sure looked different than driving on U.S. 2 in Duluth!

We continued to enjoy views of the mountains until reaching Kalispell, where we picked up Quentin and Christina from the airport then turned in for the night.

Glacier Part I

The next day, we were ready to do some sightseeing. Early bird Pat took a photo of the hotel and rental car (yes, the Toyota actually made it to Montana) while everyone else finished packing up.

We headed towards Polebridge, a small town nothwest of West Glacier and just outside the western park boundary. We figured it would be an interesting town considering the sign that greeted us.

Downtown Polebridge. And uptown. And just plain all of town. This mercantile building is about it.

For such a small place, there sure were a lot of signs.

Next, we headed for a remote campground on Kintla Lake, northeast of Polebridge on the west side of the park. The gravel road on the way to the campground had a large section of trees that looked suspiciously like they may have been subjected to a wildfire.

For being a remote group campground, our campsite was nice.

Beautiful Kintla Lake. The lake was not actually too cold - I would say it was warmer than Lake Superior!

The Kintla Lake ranger station has a scenic view from its location nestled in the woods on the edge of the lake.

The water was very clear, making it easy to see all kinds of colorful rocks.......

.....that were perfect for skipping.

Too bad we weren't taking this photo in our backyard.

Pat thought it would be neat to get a birds-eye view of us standing on the edge of the lake. This looks more like a mosquito's view, I think.

After setting up camp, we headed back south on our way to Going to the Sun Road. The mountains of the Livingston Range to the east of the roadway to Polebridge were just beautiful. The cloud formations added to the scenery.

We couldn't stand to continue driving with out stopping to take a few more photos.

Someone had started their property boundary fence where we stopped. I don't think Pat would mind a front porch view like this!

Quent & Christina also amused themselves with a battle of the cameras :-)

Our first stop on the Going to the Sun Road was Lake McDonald. It was even more beautiful that I had remembered from the last time I had visited back in 1995.

Photo-op.

If you are not nice, me and my camera gang will shoot you. Shoot a photo of you, that is :o)

Pat & Quent couldn't pass up on the game of trying to hit each other's rocks in the air.

Our last look of Lake McDonald prior to heading onto the next sight.

We stopped at an overlook of a creek just northeast of Lake McDonald.

The water was an amazingly clear green-blue color.

There were several small rapids up and down the creek.

The lookout deck was right near a little canyon the creek had carved out.

Some rapids in the creek.

The view from the overlook parking lot was even nice.

Evidence of glaciation was apparent on this rock outcropping I snapped a photo of as we continued along the Going to the Sun Road.

We stopped at the Heavenly Peak lookout for another scenic view.

The blue sky really make the clouds and rocks stand out.

The cloud formations added some 'drama' to the scenic views from Logan Pass.

Logan Pass is along the Continental Divide and is 6,646 feet above sea level. Just east of here is apparently called the 'Big Drift' since snow drifts can be 100 feet deep.

The pass area provided some beautiful evening views of the mountains.

We enjoyed the sunset prior to heading back to our campsite to hit the sack.

Glacier Part II

The morning of our second day in Glacier was nice and sunny.

Kintla Lake was beautiful.

The ranger's truck looked like it was trying to hide behind a tree. They must not put any salt on the roads in Glacier, because the truck body panels looked brand new.

Since it was warm, we thought it would be a good day to go whitewater rafting. On the way out from the campsite, we spotted a couple grouse. Unfortunately, we did not have a shotgun to get dinner.

I told Pat that this house would be fine for me!

The deer showed us their 'best' side just before reaching Polebridge. We spent the rest of the day whitewater rafting. To prevent the inevitable dunking, the camera had to stay in the car.

Glacier Part III

After our whitewater rafting trip, we moved camp to the Avalanche Creek Campground within the park boundaries just northeast of Lake McDonald.


Being the earlybirds they are, Pat & Quent woke up early on our third day in Glacier to get a glimpse of Avalanche Lake at sunrise. Of course this required a 2 mile hike uphill one-way. I think the hike was worth it, though.

As the sun continued to rise, the lake view remained beautiful.

Typical of the other glacial lakes in the area, Avalanche lake had a bright blue color.

Once Pat & Quent returned to camp, we headed out for a trailhead at Logan Pass for a day hike. On the way, we passed the classic red Glacier park busses that drive tourists around.

Pat & Quent ready to roll on the Highline trail towards the Granite Park Chalet.

The beginning of the trail offered beautiful views of the valley near Logan's pass. I was surprised how green the grass was - almost like Ireland!

A view of the valley looking towards Logan's Pass. It didn't seem that we were very high up until we took a look at traffic below.

Model Quent posing along the trail for Christina's photos.

The mountain views were spectacular.

After a few miles, the trail skirted along the base of the Garden Wall arête. For those of you who don't speak geology or French, an arête is a rock ridge typically created between two U valleys formed by glacial action. In French, arête means 'fishbone.'

The boulders littered all over toe area of the Garden Wall looked small until you stood next to them.

A happy hiker!

Pat had to practice his snow ball throwing in preparation for soon-to-be winter in Minnesota once we got up above the snow line.

A rare chance to wear shorts in the snow without freezing to death.

When we took a break for lunch, this little ground squirrel became very interested in us.

Not too shabby of a view during lunch. We thought we would setup the tripod and get some pics of us enjoying the view. The guys were a little confused as to when to put their arms around the girls ;-)

As we continued along the trail after our lunch break, we came upon a few bighorn sheep. We switched to our telephoto lens to get some close-ups.

Do you see the three sheep?

Further down the trail, we were treated to a view of Lake McDonald to the south.

The trail was a little rocky in this stretch.

The trail continued to offer sweeping views of the Garden Wall arête.

Another view of Lake McDonald.

Although Indian paintbrush flowers were prevalent along the trail, I think we only took one photo of them!

We arrived at the Granite Park Chalet, 7 1/2 miles from the trailhead, in mid-afternoon.

We had tried to get a reservation to stay at the chalet or campground, but unfortunately both were full. Apparently you have to make reservations at a minimum 6 months in advance, and we weren't quite sure when we would be making the hike. We could see why the reservations filled up fast.

The Granite Park Chalet was built in 1914 and 1915 by the Great Northern Railway to provide comfortable backcountry accomodations in the park. It is apparently one of only two backcountry lodges built by the railroad to survive.

Pat, Quent, & Christina infront of the main chalet building.

In addition to relatively rustic accomodations, the chalet offers a little convenience store with snacks for hikers. The Starburst were tasty!

Instead of turning back the direction we had come, we headed towards the Loop trailhead 4.2 miles away to try and catch a park bus back to Logan Pass. Along the way, we saw another slab of shale with ripples. The ocean originally covered Glacier NP, depositing sediment that eventually cemented together and formed rock which held the ripple shapes that had formed from wave action. When subduction caused the formation of the Rocky Mountains, it pushed up the lithified ocean bed, leaving these remnants.

Not long after this, we realized all three of us probably weren't going to make it to the last bus of the day. Mountain goat Quent offered to run ahead to try and catch it.

As we got closer to the Loop trailhead, there were signs of the 2003 forest fire. It was at this point we were hoping Quentin had made it before the last bus of the day since we were pretty tired.

Just before reaching the Loop trailhead, we crossed a creek filled with huge boulders and got a nice view of a little waterfall. At the end of the trail, we were happy to see Quent come pick us up in the rental car!