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Goodbye, Glacier!
The time has come to leave Glacier NP and head for Michigan. We will miss the park, and undoubtedly will come back here another time. There is so much more to see! Here are some final pictures of our last hike to Fish Lake:
The first part of the trail is shared with horses. Watch your step!
Ahhh, that's more like a hiking trail!
One of the many creeks we had to cross.
Mostly uphill, the trail offered som very nice views over the valley
Finally, Fish Lake
Met these two campers who rode their Appaloosas in and out
Heritage Days
Every year, Columbia Falls, MT celebrates Heritage Days, featuring a series of activities to celebrate its founding. We were fortunate to be here and catch some of the highlights.
First, we had breakfast at the Fire Dept fund raiser. Pancakes, sausage, scrambled eggs, orange juice and coffe for $4 was definitely worth it.
Columbia Falls FD hosts the Pancake Breakfast
Then, on to the parade. Lots of old timer stuff, but this was the first parade we can remember that did not have a band. Still, it was fun.
Got a chance to mix with the locals....
Some old time cars
This may be an antique, but I remember having just like this 50 years ago....
No country parade would be compete without tractors...
Some girls on horseback in old time dress
A local Princess in appropriate dress and transportation mode
Later that afternoon,there was a wild horse drive on the highway right in front of our RV site.
Lookout, here comes the wild horse drive....
Off they go, along with a herder dog
All in all, a fun day and alternative to hiking in the mountains. Last hike in Glacier tomorrow…
Glacier: Highline Trail
OK, we’ve been hiking for quite a few years but never on a trail like this! Absolutely stunning scenery, and some major drop-offs! Don’t even think of hiking this trail if you have a fear of heights. This trail is on the Continental Divide, and starts at 6,500 feet altitude. The hike itself isn’t too difficult, but as noted, don’t look down too much. Then, you will be rewarded with magnificent scenery, as well as some local wildlife up close.
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- Another little critter checking us out
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- A ground squirrel with his treasure
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- A local resident checks us out
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- One of the neighboring peaks
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- Check this view out!
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- … and the trail goes on….
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- Great scenery!
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- Time to start looking at the scenery
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- Surveying my surroundings
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- Romola checking out the scenery
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- Just watch where you put your feet
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- OK, now the trail is getting serious!
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- Romola crossing one of the glacier runoff streams
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- But first, cross some slushy snow
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- The start of the Highline Trail
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- Just think how this road was made almost 100 years ago
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- Mount Majestic, on the way up
Glacier: John Lake
Went for a short hike that started with a walk to John Lake, then along McDonald Creek, by McDonald Falls, and finally on a short boat trip in Lake McDonald. This is fabulous country, every way you look it is a scenic wonder. But do keep an eye out for the “locals”….
A warning for the hike.... make noise!
Just how does a tree grow like this? Our title: "kis your ### goodbye!"
Somewhat anti-climatic, but here's a view of John Lake
McDonald Falls
My favorite shot
America the beautiful!
Glacier – “Going to the Sun” road
One of the highlights of Glacier NP is the Going to the Sun road. About 60 miles long, it is ultrascenic, high up, and a “must visit”. But don’t drive it if you’re afraid of heights, the roads are narrow with huge dropoffs. We drove it halfway to Logan Pass, then returned. A wonderful day’s drive, even with the somewhat lengthy construction delays.
(Click on a grid picture to see a larger image. Click on the smaller pictures below to navigate backwards and forwards, or click on the large picture for a larger image)
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- The views are just incredible
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- McDonald Lake — very scenic!
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- A long view of McDonald Falls
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- McDonald Creek’s water is crystal clear (and cold!)
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- Another view from Logan Pass
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- And, here we are standing in the snow
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- Wayne and Judy on the Hidden Lake trail
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- Do you think the marmot was enjoying the view… or the sun?
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- At Logan Pass, a view across a field of flowers
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- While waiting for construction we had a visitor…
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- The scenery is unrivaled.
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- A view on the way up.
Hike up Big Mountain
Once we got to Glacier, we found that there was a Charity event for disadvantaged people at Whitefish Resort. This was a 4 mile hike from the resort base to the summit of Big Mountain, about 2,500ft elevation gain. The Charity provided pre-hike drinks and energy food, as well as several aid stations on the way up. It was a good walk, steep in places, and extremely scenic, and we got to the top in about 2 1/4 hours.
At the top there was a nice lunch for all participants, which we enjoyed prior to riding the chair lift back down. We also enjoyed a couple of rides down the Alpine Slide, shades of the Winter Olympics! All in all, a great day and for a good cause, too.
Part of the trail on the way up
A view down one of the ski runs
Oops! The last 1/4 mile was definitely the steepest!
Well, this is the last part of the trail...
On the chair lift on the way back down
This is how the cyclists get their bikes up the mountain
We ended the hike with a ride down the Alpine Slide
Go, Romola, go!
On the way to Glacier
We left Yellowstone and are on our way to Glacier. The drive itself is scenic, with the distant mountains as a destination. Here is a photo of our “home” parked in a scenic outlook, about 30 miles north of Missoula.
Yellowstone: geysers, pools, rainbows
Yellowstone is best known for its geysers. There are many on the park grounds, we visited most. Below are some final pictures of geysers.
Also shown is a picture of Upper Mesa Falls, a truly spectacular waterfall about 50 miles outside of Yellowstone.
This one is spouting all the time
Giant geyser has a unique mineral buildup around the spout. It has been known to erupt as high as 300 feet!
You can find these crystal clear hot pools all over the park
Upper Mesa Falls with rainbow
Yellowstone and Old Faithful
Made it to Yellowstone and spent the first day at the most well known sites. This includes, of course, Old Faithful (which was 13 minutes late) and the Prismatic Pond. Great photo opportunities:
Old Faithful doing its thing, although 13 minutes late
One of the original Yellowstone tour busses
Inside the all log Yellowstone Lodge, famous in its own right
Fabulous colors at the Prismatic Pond
One of the many hot ponds
Runoff from the Prismatic Pond
Another hot pond showing mineral buildup
Some plants grow anywhere, like this unique thistle
And some plants are strangely delicate
Goodbye, Dinosaur!
We’ve completed our 2 month volunteering position at Dinosaur National Monument. Although we are looking forward to getting on the road again, we will miss the beautiful scenery, the people we worked with, and the many, many visitors we interacted with. We’re hoping to find another equally interesting volunteer position in the future. Here are some closing pictures:
A last sunset, picture taken in front of our motor home, showing Split Mountain and the Green River
Even our shadows (look closely!) are waving goodbye...
A last hike takes us over the high ground....
And finally back to the start at Split Mountain.
Goodbye Dinosaur, and all the great people we met here!
Laninga's Travel Blog 