John Muir considered Glacier the best scenery on the continent. Robin Williams once said “If this isn’t God’s backyard, he must live nearby.” We met some travelers from Sweden who said this is as beautiful as the Alps. The landscape was formed by the movement of massive glaciers that trenched out valleys (many filled with lakes) and carved sharp ridges along mountain peaks. The park is home of one of the most spectacular mountain drives, the fifty mile long “Going to the Sun Road” that was constructed in the 30s. The three hour drive bisects the park, climbing from lake basins to the summit of the Continental Divide at Logan Pass (6,646’). You see alpine meadows and a thousand seasonal waterfalls. The road hugs the cliffs and is narrow, steep, and winding with many pullouts for viewing the scenery.
Many of the roadsides were lined with purple, white, orange, and yellow flowers. The Great Northern Railway built massive log and stone lodges here in the early 1900’s to lure vacationers. We took several hikes and a boat ride.
One day we decided to hike the Hidden Lake Overlook Trail at Logan Pass which we enjoyed on July 31, 2006. We remembered that the beautiful boardwalk trail was surrounded by many vibrant wildflowers in bloom. Then there were mountain goats and sheep walking right by you and drinking from the many waterfalls. Not today – since they had so much snowfall this winter, 93% of the trail was snow covered. We ventured out anyway and after about a mile the going got rough. It was getting very treacherous. The snow was getting slick and the gradient was getting steeper. Needless to say we turned back.
On our return trip we saw mountain goats which was fun. The next day we saw Big Horn Sheep grazing on the mountainside as we passed by.
It’s really hard to show you all of the park’s beauty with pictures. They really don’t capture the true splendor of the park.
Here are a couple of our favorite video clips.
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