Grandma Su's Great Adventure: Waterton_Glacier

Sept 7, Wed

Once again we were blessed with great weather for our last day in this area. We began at sunrise

And watched how the sun lit up the mountains as we drove south to the East Glacier entrance.

The Great Northern Railroad, already successful at Yellowstone, took a large interest in this beautiful mountainous area. John Grinell hired Native consultants to advise his engineers on a usable route for his railroad out there. He began building lodges and chalets to house the guests he brought out on the trains. One of those guests was a journalist from New York who began writing the paperwork to make this area a National Park. In 1902, Glacier National park became the tenth such park in the US.

This lodge had been built using giant logs of redwood and cedar, was called the “Big Tree House” by the Indians.

Buildings have been connected by these wonderful lounge areas.

As we have been doing, we ate breakfast in the dining room.

This lodge is directly across the lawn from the train station. Amtrak still makes stops here, and has tour packages available.

If a big lodge isn’t for you, how about a lovely cabin in the woods?

A group of Ford Model T owners have gathered at this lodge, and we followed one to a gathering at Two Medicine Lakes

Now we head north to the Canadian portion of the International Peace Park.

The Waterton Lakes National Park was established in 1895, and in 1932, in honor of the peace and friendship established between Canada and the US, this area became the first International Park, Water-Glacier International Peace Park. Though managed by the individual nations, there is a co-operation on all levels.

After finding our campsite near the shore of Waterton Lake, we took a ride through Waterton Village, where 100 year round residents manage the summer tourists.

We found a lovely log home that would suit us for retirement (smile)

The mountains of Glacier were formed when million year old earth crusts, in “tectonic plates”, collided near what is now the Continental Divide. The collision was so violent, that layers which were on the bottom level folded over onto themselves. Then ice, water and wind took over, eroding these new mountains into sharp peaks. Evidence of this lifting of layers shows strongly in a water falls here in Waterton and along mountain paths.