No Regrets!

Another early start, leaving Glacier National Park before dawn. On the snowy road just outside the park, we came across two horses that had been hit by a car or truck. Bloody and mangled, one obstructed a lane, another was on the side of the road. It was gently snowing, and the horses were not covered in snow, so it must have just happened. A grisly, sad sight.

Heading south through Montana, the landscapes were beautiful and varied. Black cows dotting grassy, featureless hills. Slopes covered with red and green bushes. Giant, rocky mountains in the distance. Large, circular fields with center pivot irrigation. A blanket of dark gray clouds loomed overhead for most of the ride.

The roads between Glacier and Yellowstone are mostly narrow, two-lane highways. I can’t imagine how much traffic there is in the high season between these parks. But there was nobody on road today, so it was a breeze.

I did the driving. Stef hit the radio scan button repeatedly and entertained me with Mad Libs. She says I suck at Mad Libs.

It was just before Helena that a cop pulled me over for speeding. Stef had been doubling the speed limit all over Montana, and this guy stops me for going 86 in a 75. After telling him that we were on vacation and driving a rental, he cracked a half-smile, said he’d lower it to 85 in 75, and told me all I’d have to do is pay a $20 fine on the spot and that would be the end of it. Montana is cool!

We stopped in Helena for lunch. Seems like a fun, little college town.

As we neared Yellowstone National Park, Stef worked on a finely tuned itinerary for the next two days. We were a bit disappointed with the lack of wildlife we had seen up north, and we were very anxious to see bison and moose and bears in Yellowstone.

After passing through gateway town of Gardiner, we finally reached the Roosevelt Arch, marking the historical northern entrance to Yellowstone.

We checked in at the visitor center at Mammoth Springs and learned that almost all of the campgrounds were filled up or closed for the season (a strange combination). Our plans for the next couple of days in Yellowstone counted on getting strategic places inside the park to sleep each night, so now our plans were shot to hell.

Tempers flared. Stef and I eventually agreed to make the most of our last few days, sticking to our itinerary as closely as possible and promising to be flexible when things didn’t go perfectly.

We took a quick walk around Mammoth Springs. Surprisingly unimpressive. The little pools of water are sort of colorful, but the most of it looks like a white, chalky mess.

Hit the road in search of a place to stay for the night and saw our first bison. Such cool-looking animals!

I pulled into one of the nearby campgrounds, but my charm wasn’t enough to secure a space. Stef got on her Verizon phone (Yellowstone is not AT&T friendly) and desperately called every motel in nearby Gardiner. We made our way past a bunch of neon “No Vacancy” signs to a Travelodge, where Stef got what might have been the last available room in the area.

There’s a lot to see in Yellowstone. Since we’re not staying in the park, we’re going to lose a lot of time driving. We’re going to have to pretty much wing it tomorrow.

It was still dark when we left Great Falls. It was cold and drizzling, which was not a good sign, because we knew all of that would turn to ice as we made our way north.

The dimly lit highway made things even more ominous. Sulfur lamps every few hundred yards illuminated the roadway ahead, but the absence of cars and pitch-blackness all around made us feel like we were on another planet. Oncoming headlights every thirty minutes reminded us that we were, indeed, still on Earth.

Things started getting hairy when we got low on gas. There wasn’t much around, and a few of the gas stations were closed because it was either too snowy or too early. We finally found an automatic pump station in the tiny town of Valier that saved us.

On these open stretches of road, radio stations come in and out, and there are never more than three or four on at a time. Stef impatiently tapped the scan button, hoping to find something to keep us interested. One station featured a woman enthusiastically describing what every local school and nursing home would be having for lunch that day. On September 17, in case you were wondering, Shelby Senior Center had Sloppy Joe’s.

Rain turned into snow. As the sun slowly came up, we could see that the empty fields on either side of us were covered with eerie, white stillness.

The snow was a little discouraging. I worried that parts of Going-to-the-Sun Road, the main thoroughfare through Glacier National Park, would be closed, throwing our finely tuned itinerary out of whack. I knew we were cutting it close, as the Going-to-the-Sun Road was scheduled to close for the season in three days.

As we got closer to the park, the uphill roads became more slippery and more curvy, but we had enough daylight that things weren’t so scary anymore. The surrounding mountains were massive and picturesque, and all the trees looked like they were covered with powdered sugar. A veritable winter wonderland.

We finally arrived at the eastern entrance to the park, a town called St. Mary. After breakfast, we found a gift shop filled with a variety of huckleberry products. They’re marketed quite aggressively because they are indigenous to the region. Wine, cream soda, salad dressing, ice cream, chocolate. I bought a chocolate bar that oozed huckleberry filling when you bit into it. Tastes like a mix of raspberry and blueberry.

A quick stop at the visitor center revealed that they had closed the Going-to-the-Sun Road about 30 minutes before we arrived. The snowstorm hit the park quite hard at the higher altitudes, making part of the road impassable. Consulting the map, we quickly came up with a new itinerary that would take us on the Going-to-the-Sun Road as far as we could go, then back out and up to Many Glacier for a hike.

Inside Glacier National Park, the scenery is amazing. The massive mountains are dusted with snow, highlighting layers of folded rock. The sides of the mountains are covered with flecks of orange and yellow and green. Snow-covered alpine trees make the whole scene look like a Bob Ross painting.

Ironically, there aren’t many glaciers in Glacier National Park. There may have been when the park was first founded in 1910, but most have melted away. Some blame global warming.

We pulled off the road for a quick hike to a waterfall down below. All of the guides and signs posted around the park warned us that there are bears around and that it’s best to be somewhat noisy to announce your presence. Stef and I wanted to see a bear, but we didn’t want to get mauled in the process, so I made stupid clicking noises with my mouth as we walked.

We finally got to where they blocked off Going-to-the-Sun Road. It’s a shame, because the snow was letting up and it looked like we could have gone quite a ways further. But I guess the park rangers know what they’re doing.

At one of the viewpoints, we ran into a guy who had completed the entire Going-to-the-Sun Road the day before, he said the half we had seen was definitely the better half. That made us feel a bit better.

Aside from a couple of mountain goats wandering the road, we didn’t see much wildlife. Stef and I were a little discouraged, but I’m sure we’ll see more down in Yellowstone National Park.

We turned north and headed up to Many Glacier. More of the same scenery. After we stopped at Many Glacier Hotel for a tremendous view of Grinnell Point across Swiftcurrent Lake.

Stef and I parked the car and spent a few hours hiking through the mud and slush along Swiftcurrent Lake and Lake Josephine. The views are simply breathtaking.

We finally got to the end of the trail, a muddy embankment on the shore of Grinnell Lake. The view was simply breathtaking. Again, the whole scene looked like a painting. Standing on the water’s edge, Stef said that it looked I was in front of a backdrop.

We soaked in the scene as the sun began to set. Stef and I had to head back before it got dark. I didn’t want to know how cold and scary it would be after it got dark.

Instead of hitting the road and driving through the snow all night, Stef and I decided to splurge and stay a night at the Many Glacier Hotel. It’s a charming snow lodge with a lot of local history. The lobby is dimly lit, with paintings and historical documents adorning the walls. High ceilings, a giant fireplace, guests sitting around and relaxing on warm, comfortable couches, staff prancing around in their lederhosen, and a violinist filling the room with catchy tunes.

We had dinner in the restaurant, which featured huge windows and a beautiful view across the lake. After having huckleberry ice cream and a huckleberry martini for dessert, we called it a night.

Glacier National Park is truly magnificent. I struggle to think of a more magical place in the US, and not even the Grand Canyon can match it’s grandeur. While the snow made driving a bit treacherous, it helped to make the views even more impressive. I could definitely see myself coming back and spending more time here.

In the morning, we head south to Yellowstone National Park.