[a/s] Glacier National Park - Thursday July 13, 2000

[HHamp5246@xxxxxxx]

What can I say?  You already know Glacier is beautiful.....

I'll start with yesterday ... we drove here in the morning from Great 
Falls...here being St Mary Montana.... the east entrance into Glacier NP.  We 
are just a bit south of the Canadian border.... I brought sweatshirts.... it 
was 97 today )c:  I mean this is northern Montana... we are in the Rockies!

We had a reservation here at the KOA as Johnson's Campground is booked solid. 
 They are hosting an Airstream caravan.... another caravan was in Great 
Falls... they were heading to Glacier today, but possibly West Glacier as I 
don't see them.  The KOA is okay.... Johnson's has a better view, but the are 
packed in like sardines up there. I did see some campgrounds in the park, but 
they are primitive and very small.. I thought of you Sherry... your Bambi 
would fit fine.

We dropped the trailers and explored St Mary's.... not much to explore but 
there is a huge log lodge... "The Resort at Glacier" St Mary Lodge.  It's big 
and very well decorated... I liked it (c:  Don bought a great leather chair 
and ottoman for his trailer... it has a Grizzley Bear embroidered on the 
back.... I got some t shirts...

When we returned to the KOA my next door neighbors were out so we spent the 
afternoon with the two couples... they are from Illinois.. then we ventured 
back into town for dinner.   The KOA actually has a nightly cookout on the 
back deck... their specialty is ribs so that let me out.  

Dinner at the funky little cafe on the corner was wonderful.  The Park 
Cafe...remember it...This whole area is owned by the Blackfeet Tribe so no 
non indians can own land.... the proprieters of the restaurant lives behind 
it in a tipi (teepee to us New Yorkers)... they lease the restuarant and have 
since the early 80s.  They are world famous for their pies.... their food is 
great... 

Then a walk along the river with the dogs, who waited patiently in the truck 
watching us sitting on the deck scarfing down the food. 

I went to bed apprehensive about this morning... I have heard that "Going to 
the Sun" road is pretty hairy.  No vehicles over 21 feet (Bruiser is 21 feet 
long) and sheer drops off cliff... narrow narrow roads... why drive it?  
Because it's billed as one of the most magnificent strips of road in the 
world.  

We started the day with breakfast at the Snowgoose Grill at the log lodge.  
The view was nice, the ambience excellent, the food expensive and the soft 
boiled eggs were hard boiled. Don told me he heard that a tourist was killed 
by a bear yesterday... oh goody. 

The "Sun" drive is 50 miles long... at the half way point you reach Logan 
Pass.... the parking lot of the lodge was so packed we cruised in and right 
back out... and kept going... then we went on 12 miles and turned around and 
drove back.... many people said that's all to see to that point. From there 
it's just trees. 

Was it scary?  No.  Was it beautiful?  Yes.... the most beautiful?  No.  I 
had people from Colorado write me and say even they were impressed.... well, 
they need to go where I've gone in Colorado... (c:  I think the drive to 
Ouray from Durango was scarier and more beautiful... the drive through the 
Independence Pass from Denver to Aspen was much scarier... Maybe I've gotten 
jaded from all the gorgeous mountain ranges I've seen lately, but I just 
wasn't dazzled by the drive. 
Maybe if I hadn't recently been to Teton National Park.... Now, I did have to 
spend a lot of time paying attention to the road... it was narrow and you 
could go over the edge.... but I did see plenty.  The only animals we saw 
were some Mountian Goats.... a mama and twins and a mama and a single.

When we came back out of the park we went to "Many Glacier" which is another 
park entrance.... through Babb, MT.  It's about 10 miles from here.  What can 
I say?  WOW.... this is a 12 mile drive and it's breathtaking all the way.  
You pass a mountain lake with water the color of the Caribbean.... you know 
that turquoise color?   The mountains soar up behind the lake.... the drive 
has Alpine meadows full of wild flowers, then a roaring white water river, 
then pine trees, then the Rockys...... I thought Many Glacier was much more 
beautiful than Glacier... not as dramatic maybe, but more scenic.

There is a huge lodge at the end of the road on Swiftcurrent Lake, a lake 
full of azure blue water. The lodge looks like it's in Switzerland...inside 
and out.  We had lunch there.  

The drive back on the same road was thrilling all over again.  If I could 
only do one park or the other.. well, they are actually the same park, one 
road or the other I would choose Many Glacier.

Tonight we will eat at Two Sisters.... a little restaurant up the road.  It 
got high points from the gal who works here.

Tomorrow... Whitefish and Kalispell.....

Headed for Libby.

Hunter