Grouse Mountain Lodge breakfast was open at 7:00 am and we ALL were there. We were scheduled to depart the Lodge for Glacier National Park at 7:30 am but we moved it back to 7:45 am. At precisely 7:45 am we were crawling through Whitefish and on our way to Glacier and our Red Bus Tour. We hit a couple of snags along the way in the form of road construction but still managed to arrive at Lake McDonald Lodge at 9:00 am. Everyone was decked out in the T-shirts of the color groups they were assigned to. Red, Orange, Blue and Yellow were the colors of choice to coincide with the red bus they would be on. The busses hold 17 passengers and are normally filled to capacity for the tours. Since we chartered these busses, they took 12 passengers each. More legroom and comfort with which to see the sights. Little did we know what spectacular sights we would be seeing.
We met each of the drivers, Benny, Decker, Matt and Jimmy when we walked up to the busses. We all boarded our respective busses and were soon off on the Going o the Sun Road an extended tour of Glacier National Park. I could use up every adjective I could think of to describe the awesome beauty that we witnessed this morning. The first part of the drive was a bit chilly so the blankets laying the benches were greatly appreciated and used. Fog was covering nearly everything so there wasn't much to see early on.
As we climbed up the mountain roads and rose above the fog the incredible beauty of the mountains with the fog covering the valleys below took our breath away. We proceeded to the Logan Pass visitor center for a rest break, NPS passport book stamp and photo ops. Our drivers filled us with information on the area, the glaciers and the wildlife. A number of glaciers have all but disappeared over the past 14 years and more are expected to do so in the next 15 years. We hope not but Mother Nature has the final say on this I'm afraid.
Continuing along the Going to the Sun Road, upwards to nearly 9,000 feet in elevation, we noticed the sun was burning off the morning fog and the temperature was warming up. We passed or stopped briefly by several waterfalls which in some cases was right next to the road. Wonderful opportunities for some very scenic photographs. We stopped at an overlook on Lake St. Mary for a vista of Wild Goose Island and the surrounding mountain peaks. In the distance was a peak bearing a striking resemblance to a mountain top that many of us have seen before. Decker, our driver could not confirm nor deny that this was the peak (or a very close resemblance to) the Paramount Pictures peak logo seen before and after every movie made by that studio. Sure comes close to it, though.
We made the return drive along he same road we took this morning only this time no fog. An incredible array of beauty before us not seen earlier today. It was interesting to try and make the comparison from this morning's drive and the fog-covered valleys. Another photo op at Lunch Falls and the onward back to Lake McDonald Lodge and the end of our tour. We've been to the Tetons and Yellowstone on a few occasions but this was our first time to Glacier and I must say that this was the most impressive of the three. Each has it's own unique beauty in its own way, but I thinks the oohs and ahhs from the group were more vocal during today's tour than we've ever heard before. Glacier Nation Park truly has to be seen over and over to appreciate its majesty. We will be back!
Scatter dinner this evening in Whitefish. About a third of the group opted to return to the Lodge for dinner while the rest choose a variety of restaurants in Whitefish. About a dozen went Jersey Boys Pizza, 10 went to Craggy's Range and several went around the Farmers Market. The verdict, each had delicious meals at their respective restaurant of choice.All in all an awesome day Red Bussing through Glacier National Park.
No comments:
Post a Comment