Here we are at Day 11 already! What better way to spend it than at Glacier National Park? First stop on the agenda was the famous Going to the Sun Road, a 50-mile scenic route through the park. At the road’s highest point, the elevation is over 6,600 feet. We were primed and ready to see some wildlife, something Glacier is famous for. It didn’t take long. We weren’t even in the park yet when we spotted a moose and juvenile. Bill thought it was a horse at first. They do sort of look like ugly horses 🙂

Then we were so excited to get to the road, we managed to miss it entirely. Instead of driving through the park, we ended up driving around it. I guess you could say we took the non-scenic route (that was still pretty scenic).

Bill standing next to one of several giant glacial boulders.

Avalanche Lake

Once back on track, we began to see why Glacier is considered to be “the jewel of the continent.” Aqua streams flow from high in the peaks and tumble over river stones almost every color of the rainbow. The forests of pine and cedar are covered in vibrant moss and smell like Christmas. Each lake is full of crystal water that reflects and sparkles in the sun. The mountains are impossibly tall and majestic. They tower over everything, stone guardians of the secrets they keep.

We hiked through a cedar forest to Avalanche Lake, a jewel within the jewel. Its water was a verdant green blue and reflected twin waterfalls cascading from the peaks behind it. They spilled hundreds of feet to the river below.

After our hike we made our way up the Going to the Sun Road, stopping every few hundred feet to take in the amazing scenery at every turn. We finally reached Logan Pass, one of the most popular (and highest area) of the park. It also is one of the most frequented bear areas. We headed up the Hidden Lake Trail and walked through 1.5 miles of expansive rocky mountain open wilderness, in the shadow of an enormous mountain ridge. The grasses were in their autumn colors of yellow and gold and the pines were fragrant.

The vastness of Logan Pass on the way to Hidden Lake.

We didn’t see any bears, but we did see something else. My old friends, the mountain goats. The ones here seemed a little more civilized than the ones at Olympic. One smiled at me. I swear. I have the photo to prove it!

Look at that smirk!

We decided not to take the 1.5 miles of switchbacks down to the lake. It was getting late and there were very few people on the trail. Since bears are crepuscular, the rangers advise against being out (especially alone), in late afternoon. Plus, the idea of schlepping back up at the end of the day wasn’t particularly exciting. So we took photos and left to finish driving the famous road.

The Going to the Sun Road is that tiny thread that runs across the slopes.

With that, I leave you with some photos (it was really difficult to figure out which to share) and a good night! Tomorrow we are visiting the Ghost Haunt area of the park where there is allegedly tons of goats (my favorite) and other wildlife. Thanks for the visit!

One of many sparkling mountain streams

Hidden Lake in late afternoon

The boardwalk leading to and from Hidden Lake.