Glacier National Park

Day 1 at Glacier National Park - "Going-to-the-Sun Road"

Today was our first day visiting Glacier National Park. Luckily for us it was a beautiful sunny day and we decided to take the "Going-to-the-Sun Road" that we had heard so much about. First we stopped at the visitors center at the east entrance to the park. There are multiple exhibits there and of course the stamping of our passports. We didn't stay for too many of the exhibits because we wanted to catch the best of the day. And that we did!

The best way to describe our ride on the "Going-to-the-Sun Road" was that it was a feast for our eyes. In any direction there were panoramic views of the mountains dotted with beautiful pine trees or the lake (St. Mary's) below us. The Rocky Mountains which make up this park were formed between 72-58 million years ago when the Lewis Overthrust occurred. This is when two plates of the earth collide pushing one plate up over the other. Then later glaciers carved the valleys between the mountains and left behind the beautiful glacial lakes we see today.

There are two entrances to the park. The east entrance which is in the town of St. Mary and the west entrance in the town of Kalispell. We camped near the east entrance which was fortunate because we could enter the park without having to make a timed reservation. We actually had the pleasure of riding the "Going-to-the-Sun Road" twice.

We did two activities while staying at Glacier National Park. We rode the entire length of the "Going-to-the-Sun Road" and we took a boat ride on Lake McDonald. The views along the drive on the "Going-to-the-Sun Road" were stunning. It winds in and out of the mountains that form the park and provides stunning views of the mountains, valleys and lakes. Along the drive there are areas where the water runs off from the mountains and cascades down in cool waterfalls that even spatter onto the roadway. There are scenic overlook areas on the drive where visitors can pull over and look down into the valleys and see beautiful lakes that dot the landscape. The ride is a series of stunningly beautiful scenes one after another.

We also took a sightseeing boat ride on Lake McDonald. I enjoy taking short tours because I learn interesting facts about the park I am visiting. Our tour guide told us two interesting facts about the lake that I found memorable. First, the lakes in the park are all a beautiful hue of blue. This is because of the glaciers rubbing against the rocks of the mountains producing a mud-like substance called "glacial flour." This is a suspension of minerals and gravel and even small rocks that are carried into the lakes after the glaciers melt. As sunlight hits these particles it reflects a beautiful blue or turquoise color.

Second, he told us about how Lake McDonald was named. Apparently in the late 1800's a man named Joshua McDonald came into the area to hunt the beaver, deer and other animals that were plentiful in the region. He became friendly with some of the Native American tribes who lived there and they told him of the horrors that the English loyalists were doing to the land and their people. McDonald was horrified and he wrote letters to reporters on the east coast.

These reporters published articles about the misdeeds of the English loyalists and how they were plundering the land and the Native American people. This made McDonald unpopular with the English settlers and they hunted him down to punish him. He fled the area he was staying at and found a beautiful lake and shelter in the trees. He carved his name in a tree to mark it. Later he escaped into Canada to live far away from those who hunted him. Years afterward the tree was found and the lake was named for him. It is not known if he ever found out!

Our time at Glacier National Park was wonderful. It is a beautiful gift our country has to offer and it is worth the trip to see it!