Glacier National Park, Here We Come!

Fri. August 23: I woke early, packed up the car, and headed out by 9 a.m. With the Grand Tetons in my rearview mirror, I made my way back along the eastern side of Yellowstone National Park to the northeast corner. There, I would access the Beartooth Highway (Route 212), which would take me to my next night’s stay just outside of Red Lodge, MT. Along the route, I would leave Wyoming and enter Montana. The drive along the Beartooth Highway was absolutely breathtaking! It had switchbacks and scenic overlooks with views of mountains that still had snow on them and mountain lakes far below. It took about two hours to traverse. Shortly after I reached the bottom of the mountain range, still on Route 212, I came to my cute Airbnb just before the town of Red Lodge, MT.

I settled in to my place for the night. It was cute and comfortable, and was situated along a rushing stream. I spent a few minutes admiring the view, and then carried my bags in and changed clothes before heading into the town of Red Lodge, only a couple miles away.

Red Lodge, incidentally, recently was selected by Travel + Leisure magazine as the most charming small town in America. I didn’t know this at the time, but I’m not surprised by its selection. When I walked along the streets on my way to dinner, I found it beautiful and adorable. Flags flew on every corner, and large pots overflowed with flowers at most businesses. I had so many restaurants to choose from, and if it had been earlier in the day, I would have browsed the cute shops.

My host had recommended a restaurant called Prerogative Kitchen, so I picked that one. I’m so glad I did! After ordering my food at a counter, I grabbed a table number and a carafe of water and found a little table along the wall. I ordered a delicious summer salad that even had tiny edible flowers in it and a huckleberry (they are big in Montana) dressing, as well as a Brussels sprouts dish with house buffalo sauce and gorgonzola cheese. Oh my. I couldn’t stop there, and got dessert to complete the meal: a trio of stacked caramelized date cakes sitting on a bed of homemade caramel sauce and cream. After that delicious meal, I strolled to my car, drove back to my little apartment, and called it a night!

Sat. August 24: I checked out around 8 a.m. to get on the road to Great Falls Airport to pick up my friend, also named Linda, who was exploring Glacier with me as well as Seattle for a couple days. It was great to have her join me! Shortly after I heard from her that she had landed, I arrived and we continued on to Heart Butte, MT, near East Glacier, where our Airbnb was located. Casinos are everywhere in the area, and when I stopped to get gas, Linda put some money in a slot machine and won $50! We grabbed a bite for dinner at Serrano’s Mexican Restaurant in East Glacier before heading back to our tiny house to call it a night.

Sun. August 25: We started the day early by catching a Red Bus at St. Mary’s Lodge for an Eastern Alpine Tour with Curtis, our tour guide. He took us along the Going-to-the-Sun Road (Route 1) from the eastern side at St. Mary’s to the middle, at Logan Pass. This was the highest point on the tour. The scenery was breathtaking. He talked about the history and geology of the area, and stopped at different spots for us to take photos. The temperature when we started was in the low 60s, and by the time we got to the higher elevation of Logan Pass, it was 10 degrees cooler, in the 50s. Curtis had given us blankets since our bus had no roof. After our tour, we stopped for a quick lunch at Kyiyo Mercantile, which we were passing, and got hot sandwiches and a huckleberry pastry for later. Fortified, Linda and I did a two-mile round trip hike to Aster Falls, in the Two Medicine area. It was a lovely hike; on our return, we had to step off the trail as we heard the sound of galloping hooves approaching, and soon a herd of long-horned sheep rushed past us! (I managed to snap some quick pictures.) After our hike, we drove over to the west side of Glacier to our Airbnb at Columbia Falls.

Mon. August 26: Since I hadn’t been able to reserve a Red Bus tour for the entire Going-to-the-Sun Road, I had reserved the eastern side for Sunday and the western side for Monday. So we headed out before 8 a.m. to the Apgar Visitor Center in West Glacier to catch the Red Bus for the Western Alpine Tour. This tour was just as beautiful, with new mountains, lakes, and landmarks to view. We were glad that we had toured both sides. Following our tour, we were dropped off back at Apgar. We then got on a park shuttle, since I hadn’t been able to get a vehicle pass to enter the park from the west side. Linda got off the shuttle at the Lake McDonald Lodge to hang out while I continued on to the stop for the Trail of the Cedars, and the trail to Avalanche Lake.

The Trail of the Cedars was a short, 0.8 mi. loop that led to the Avalanche Lake Trail. The total distance to the lake was about 2.3 miles, making for a round trip of 4.6 miles. It was a gorgeous, scenic hike through the cedar trees and along a stream before ending at a lovely mountain lake called Avalanche Lake. I hiked on my own to the lake, with two bear sprays hanging off my camelback, one on each side. As I reached the lake, I took in the varied blues and greens of the water, sky, and trees. A loon was diving near the shore. Small groups of people were taking photos. I saw a couple sitting on a log near the lake, and asked if they minded if I sat on the other end. They said no, and as we chatted we realized we had been on the same Red Bus tour the day before. We decided to hike back together since I had two bear sprays and they had none, plus I was a lone hiker and together we made three. We made our way along the narrow dirt path away from the lake, chatting as we walked. We had gone about a third of the way back and were in an area with bushes along the trail. The couple, Dave and Teri, were in front and I was close behind. We heard a loud snort, and I immediately looked to my right and saw a large golden brown bear, which we later decided was a grizzly. He started rearing up, and I said, “keep walking, keep walking,” as I reached to my left to try to grab my bear spray. I knew we shouldn’t run or panic. We went into race-walk mode, and thankfully he was too busy eating berries to go after us. He could have reached out and grabbed me if he had wanted to. After that, I moved a bear spray to the front of my backpack strap for more ease of accessibility, and gave Teri my other one. Whew! We walked briskly after that, warning people we passed that there was a bear along the trail.

I took the shuttle back to my car and picked up Linda at Apgar Village. We stopped for dinner at a restaurant named Three Forks in Columbia Falls that our host recommended, We enjoyed our delicious trout and buffalo burger meals, and made it back to our apartment for the rest of the evening.

Tues. August 27: We packed up our things, loaded them in the car, and drove back over to East Glacier, where we fit in a short hike on the Running Eagle Falls trail at Two Medicine. After our hike, we headed up to Johnson of St. Mary, a restaurant recommended by our tour guide, Curtis. If you are ever at Glacier, this is a must-stop, and you need to be hungry. The decor was so cool, with Indian items and bearskins, along with a buffalo head adorning the walls. The food was amazing! I got one of the buffalo burgers with spicy toppings, along with a cup of the buffalo barley soup. We even chatted with the chef/one of the owners, Nathan, who had hunted the buffalo that we ate, as well as cooked it. He is a Blackfoot Indian, and according to a treaty is permitted to hunt several buffalo a year (after the buffalo leave the national park).

After lunch, we drove up to the Many Glacier Hotel in the Many Glacier area. We had purchased tickets ahead for a boat ride, thankfully, because the boat was sold out. We rode across the Swiftcurrent Lake, a short and scenic ride. On the other side, we had a little hike to the next lake, Josephine Lake, which we crossed on another boat. At that point, we had the choice of hiking on one of the trails or staying on the boat to return to the lodge. Our time was limited, so we took the boats back to the lodge.

We left Many Glacier shortly after 4 in the afternoon to drive back west of Glacier National Park, where we were spending the night at Quinn’s Hot Springs Resort in Paradise, MT. We arrived there just as the sun was setting. After a drink and some chicken wings at the bar, we crashed for the night in our little cabin.

Wed. August 28: The next morning, we enjoyed a soak in one of the hot springs before getting back on the road to Seattle. We picked the hottest one, and enjoyed a sulfurous 106-degree soak. We stopped for lunch at Moon Time pub in Coeur d’ Alene, ID. The food was great, as was the service. We ordered sloppy joes over cornbread, and I got a cup of carrot ginger bisque. Fortified, we continued on our way. We stopped briefly at an overlook in the Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park in Washington. We made good time and pulled in to my daughter’s home in Ballard, a busy neighborhood north of downtown Seattle, around 6:30 in the evening. We were glad to be in one place for a while and to spend time with our lovely hosts. To be continued…