Glacier National Park... We finally made it!

Thursday, July 9^th

Rattle snake along the highway that wanted to bite Beth

Our morning ride took us from Valier to Cut Bank for a total of 61 miles round-trip.  The Montana drivers on this stretch of road, what few there were, were not only courteous but friendly.   Traffic was not an issue but who knew we would have to watch out for rattlesnakes.   Because last night was very cool, they must have been crawling onto the roads to warm up.   As we passed one climbing a big hill (going slow), we scared it and it curled up and started rattling!  Needless to say the stoker added a little extra energy to the pedals.   Ted had not seen it so he went back to take a picture.  All the others we saw were road kill including this one on our return trip.

Cut Bank is the location where Lewis and Clark and some Blackfeet were involved in an argument over guns and horses.  The story varies as to whom was at fault based on which side tells the story.   Both sides agree that it resulted in the death of two young Blackfeet. 

We continued our visit of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives with a stop at Big Sky Café  (the #1 restaurant for Cut Bank per Trip Advisor) for a mid-morning brunch before returning to Valier.  The staff were friendly and asked about our ride.  They made us feel like real slackers when they said a group of 6 cyclists pulling canoes with their bikes had been in the day before.  They are pedaling and paddling all the way to the Gulf of Mexico.

July 10^th – Glacier National Park

Today we drove to the East Entrance of Glacier National Park. This park has been on our "Must Visit" list for quite a while and we have finally made here. We stopped at Two Medicine Lake for a 4 mile hike.   We originally planned to hike further, but the flies were really bad and Beth was unwilling to cross the swinging bridge over the river. The sign indicating weight load was one person only and the missing slats did not do anything to alay the anxiety.  If we were on “Amazing Race”, she claims she could have done it.  We did hike up to Astoria Falls.  Then it was time to head to our campsite at St Mary’s.

July 11^th – Going to the Sun

We were off to an early start to ride to Logan Pass on the Going to the Sun Road.  Scenery was spectacular despite the clouds and cool weather.   Unfortunately the road on the east side of the pass is under construction and we had to wait both ways for access to the two mile stretch of one-lane road while dodging cars and semi's with asphalt.  This seriously impacted our “wheee” coming down the 2000’ descent.

July 12^th – Many Glaciers

Many Glaciers Hotel on Swiftcurrent Lake

We had serious winds all night and into this morning with cloudy skies and threats of rain.   We started off with breakfast at a real “Dive” Johnson’s café.  We would not recommend anyone eating here – the food was awful and expensive.  However, the rest of the day was absolutely fabulous.   We started with a visit to the Many Glaciers Hotel which is celebrating it’s 100^th birthday.  The deck overlooks Swiftcurrent Lake and the views were great.  Then we set of on a 7 mile round trip hike up the southern side of Lake Josephine.  The trail took us  past small waterfalls and on to Grinnell lake.  We also visited Hidden Falls which feeds Grinnell lake.   The weather improved throughout the hike but stayed cool enough for us to enjoy being outdoors and with enough wind to keep the flies and mosquitoes at bay. 

 Grinnell Lake being fed by glacier melt

On the way back we were fortunate enough to see a mother moose and her calf.  They actually appeared to be posing for our pictures.  We finished up with a late lunch at Many Glaciers Hotel before heading back to Saint Mary’s Campground for our final night on the east side of Glacier National Park.

Moose with her calf in Lake Josephine