We made it into Glacier National Park today, and it didn’t disappoint! This is how you do a national park—Cuyahoga Valley, I’m looking at you. No bear sightings today (we did see a couple moose though!), though rangers are warning visitors that encounters are “very likely” so hopefully we’ll see some tomorrow.

We got a relatively early start, intending to drive the length of the famous Going-to-the-Sun Road, but somehow managed to drive around the perimeter of the southern park instead of heading through it. This is what happens when we don’t use GPS. So we ended up on the other side of the park, and drove the Sun Road in the opposite direction. After finding some gas, of course.

The drive itself is incredibly scenic, and we found ourselves stopping to take photos every few minutes. Driving toward the interior of the park, the road turns narrow and climbs sharply. We were driving on the outside lane, and at the highest points of the road, looking over the steep edge of the pavement toward the valley below was enough to induce vertigo. At least it was for me, but I’m kind of a wuss when it comes to heights.

We did the 5-6 mile hike to Avalanche Lake in the morning, which was amazing, although it’s apparently better in the afternoon. Then later in the afternoon, we did the 4-5 mile Hidden Lake hike, which is apparently better in the morning. Go us!

We saw a lot of wildlife, some waterfalls, and lots of spectacular vistas. But I think the most amazing thing that I saw today was a tourist lugging a full-sized laptop around, using the built-in webcam to take photos. He was proudly holding the whole thing up high over his head, keyboard hanging limply from the straining hinge, all while wearing an expression that pronounced this as the most normal thing in the world. That guy was incredible.

Seriously though, this place is amazing. Looking forward to seeing more of it tomorrow! Some pics from today (click for larger images with descriptions):