Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park_Part 1

Glacier National Park

West Glacier, Mon, Sept 5

We began by driving from our campsite in Kalispell early in the morning, to the West Glacier Park Entrance.

Having some time to explore before our scheduled bus ride, we first drove to the Going to the Sun Road entrance to Lake MacDonald. This beautiful 10 mile long, 472 foot deep is called Sacred Dancing Lake by Native American Indians. It’s deep blue green color comes from the glacier silt that flows into it as glaciers move along, scraping stone walls of the moutains, then melting into streams.

Continuing along, we stopped at many vantage points, and enjoyed picturesque views, on our way to the first of the several lodges.

When built in the early 1900’s, this lodge was originally only accessible by boat, so the “front door” of the inn faces the lake. It’s wide veranda is a wonderful spot to sit, relax, and view the Lake.

  Today, visitors drive up to this beautifully gardened Swiss Chalet styled edifice.

The lobby is a rustic hunting lodge atmosphere, with a huge walk-in fireplace, great Western art and mounted trophies everywhere.

After a delicious lunch, we had no problem enjoying the scenery, the visitors or the flowers while waiting for our Red Jammer bus to arrive.

Between 1936 and 1939, over 300 Red  Buses were manufactured in Ohio at White Motor Company for use in the National Parks. They got the name, Jammers, because they had manual shifting transmissions, and drivers were often heard jamming the gears up and down the steep mountains. In 1996 they were deemed “unsafe” and taken off the road. Because they had achieved National Historical Designation, Ford took in the remaining 37 Red Jammers from Glacier Park and rebuilt them, with modified RV frames, new propane fueled engines, automatic transmissions, fresh paint, restored interiors and new safety features. Each rebuild cost about $250,000!! But staff and visitors alike are delighted to have the old favorite touring cars again!

Bernie scored the front seat next to the driver, and got some incredible shots!

We learned that, while there is still a lot of snow on these mountains….there was 400% more than usual last winter here…there are only 25 of the original 150 glaciers that were found here in 1900. A glacier must be 100 feet deep, 100 acres large, and moving. Snowdrifts may be large, but are melting, not moving down a slope, carving the mountains. Scientists estimate that, at the current rate of global warming, all the glaciers may be gone by 2030.

Many Glacier Area

Tues, Sept 6

We drove to St. Mary’s Lake on the east side of Glacier Park and found our campground. From there we took the car north to the Many Glacier area, following another Red Jammer.

The road curls around Lake Shelbourne, where we saw an artist painting one of the favorite sights in the park.

At Swiftwater Lake, we stopped to see the Many Glaciers Lodge. George Grinnell, owner of the Great Northern Railroad, was instrumental in developing Glacier Park. He built the lodges and chalets, each one days horse ride apart, throughout the park, to attract the first tourists who rode out on his trains.

We stopped along the road on our way back to St Mary’s for lunch and the famous huckleberry pie. I was not overly impressed with the pie, made from berries that are similar to but larger than blueberries and are a bit more tart, but I had to follow tradition and try the local specialty.

Our Red Jammer tour this time took us up the western side of Going-to-the-Sun Road, planned late afternoon for more chances to see wildlife. This driver had a lot of information about the flora and fauna of Glacier. In 1995, Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, which John Grinnell aptly called the “Crown of the Continent”, was awarded the distinction of a World Heritage Site. The park’s scenic values, significant climate, landforms and ecosystems make it a World Treasure because of this distinction.

Robin Williams once quipped this was “God’s backyard” but I believe, seeing these rocky meadows of wildflowers, that it is certainly His favorite Rock Garden!

Again we heard about snow drifts versus glaciers. This is what’s left of a 100 foot snow drift near Logan Pass, at 6,646 feet above sea level.  

 The snow melts create waterfalls and cascades where none had been before, and setting sunlight provides a rainbow.  

Across from Logan Pass, bighorn sheep like to graze, but we saw a small herd of mountain goats above the Continental Divide.

At Goose Island, we heard a Native story that tells about two lovers who the gods changed to geese to save them from warring tribes, thus explaining why geese pairs mate for life and return to this island to nest.

 The spectacular scenery, the history and the incredibly clear weather have inspired us to add another day in this area, see Part 2.