Montana, Day 4 - Lakeside, Lavender and Bigfork

(Note: trying to get caught up so be sure to see both posts for today.)

Since we didn’t have a park tour today, 

and weren’t able to get a timed entry pass, 

we decided to head south to Lakeside and environs. 

Teena had spotted a brochure for a boat tour, 

which just happened to be on the way to a lavender farm we wanted to see.

It was a nice, leisurely cruise around Lakeside Lake,

 According to Captain “Awesome”, the black house top left belongs to Johnny Depp, middle one is Jelly Roll’s, bottom is the Osprey House (so pretty!). Right is the longest vertical funicular in the world (and very expensive to build.)

viewing the vacation homes of a few celebrities 

seeing the lone bald eagle,

learning about the storms - winds to 40 mph and 5-7’ waves on a lake??!? -

and the wild horses in one of the 38 lake islands.

But mostly it was an excuse to hang out and take pictures together. 

Not a bad way to spend an afternoon (or at least an hour and a half of it.)

The lavender farm was just a few miles away in Somers. 

It’s outside the growing season but the yard still smelled strongly of lavender,

which made it very tempting to take home some of the tiny plants she had for sale. They’d survive a plane trip, right??

Fortunately, the gift shop was open so we could fight the plant temptation. 

 Our trusty steed, aka the rental car

And as long as we were over that way, we might as well stop by what we were told was a cute historical town with some interesting shops, right?

We jokingly asked if Bigfork had a big fork… of course they do! So funny.

They also had some vividly gorgeous flowers (with bonus moth and spider) that I loved. Gotta get some photography practice in!

Montana, Day 3 Part 2

(Note: trying to get caught up so be sure to see both posts for today. Why the town is named Hungry Horse at the end of this one…)

From Logan Pass we headed back down the mountain, with me and my trusty camera now able to get pics of things we missed being on the “wrong” side on the way up. 

Garden Wall, my second most favorite thing on the Road

 So pretty and tranquil 

Weeping wall. Soapstone is extremely porous so it’s not unusual for water to “leak” out. It also sloughs off easily which is why there are piles of it all along the Road

 Entering West Tunnel, built through a steep cliff between 1926-27.

 One of two observation windows that show Heavens Peak and McDonald Creek

Avalanche Creek meadow

  Water in Avalanche Creek is a distinctive blue due to glacial “flour” in the water 

 “Flour” is caused by glaciers grinding the rocks beneath them to dust 

 Looking towards Birdwoman Falls (it’s up there somewhere, we never did see it)

 Our Jammer, Rachel, was great. Heading for our penultimate stop at McDonald Lodge.

 Front, but actually the back, of McDonald Lodge

I’d read that there was another train depot in West Glacier, formerly known as Belton, so we went looking. Found it… sorta. The building is still there and it’s used once a day as an Amtrak station but its main use is as a bookshop and gift store for Glacier park conservancy.

 Constructed in 1910 and enlarged in 1935. Building was donated in 1991.

We aren’t having much luck with train depots this trip. 

So, were you wondering how Hungry Horse got its name? Probably not, but the answer is…

Our last stop of the day was Hungry Horse Dam, just down the road from our rental place.

 Dam* that’s a big dam

 Water being released a loooong way down

 Glory hole with water very low in the dam

Favorite thing I learned…

Montana, Day 3 -Glacier NP! Going Up

Daily timed-entry passes for Glacier NP are required and hard to come by. 

You need to request them months in advance and, since we didn’t know we were coming here months ago, guess who missed out?

But there’s a workaround! 

If you have a ticket for a tour you don’t need a timed pass. (Or if you drive in before 7 am or after 3 pm.)

The tour guide asked for help rolling up the canvas top, so it was Pop to the rescue. Teena balanced him because I was taking pictures of him instead… 😜

So rather than doing our tours on the same, or adjacent, days we spread them out over the week so we’d have more time in the park.  

No canvas top = great picture taking opportunities 

Tuesday was our Red Bus tour (link here) of the Going To The Sun Road. 

We thought the cars were reproductions but the 32 in current use are all part of the 35 original cars ordered for the park. (New engines and upgrades, obviously.) Our car - #110 - was built in 1938.

Leaving Lake McDonald

The tour went from Apgar Village, elevation 3173’, to atop the Continental Divide at Logan Pass, elevation 6646’. 

At Avalanche Creek, looking up at the road we’ll be on shortly. Despite the twists and turns, there’s only 1 switchback on the entire road

Letting the pros do the driving on the Going To The Sun Road was a very good decision. 

Sheer soapstone rock walls at the edge of the road

That is one twisty, narrow, scary - and beautiful - road.

The only fossils in Glacier NP are stromatolites, a tiny bacteria (the wavy area on the left). Avalanche Creek area

I took over 300 pictures, culled down to around 90, so this is going to be word light, picture heavy.

Overlooking McDonald Creek, with Mt Cannon to the left

There were 126 glaciers when the park was dedicated in 1910 - only 20 remain today.

Mt Cannon, 8952’

Mt Oberlin, 8180’

Taking pictures into the sun is all click-and-hope

Following the crowd 

Triple Arches, constructed by stone masons from Europe. The arches are not structural, they did it just for the beauty. One of my favorite things on the road.

Recent avalanche just before Logan Pass. A favorite area for the big horned sheep

Logan Pass visitors center

Behind the visitor’s center

View from the front - red buses, big horned sheep, very big rock. (Sheep are some of the ‘white stones’ just above the tree line)

Teena and Lacey loading up

Part 2 - going back down the mountain - is tomorrow