Jammin' on the Jammer

Location: West Side Glacier National Park, Montana

Ned here again. Debi wants me to write the blog tonight because our main event today was the Red Bus Tour up to the summit and back. She took this tour with her cousin Lisa last year, so she thought I should give my impressions since I was a newbie. I know that my parents and two sisters camped in Glacier sometime in the mid-60's since I have a strong memory of us getting completely drenched in our tent and my dad frantically trenching around the tent perimeter to save us from disaster. My sister Polly reminded me of us, on that same trip, propping both of our canoes up over the campfire so that we could get dinner cooked without having the fire doused out by the torrential rain. On a subsequent trip, just my dad and I visited Glacier when I was about 14. My strongest memory of that trip is a moonlight canoe ride we made on Lake MacDonald and couldn't see our way back to our landing point. We were proud that we used our noses to navigate back, since we had launched next to the horse stables.
Today's bus tour (historically called Jammers for their double clutch gear grinding) was great for several reasons. First and foremost was that we were blessed with wonderful sunny weather. Second, the 1930's vintage buses are extremely cool. Third, our driver, Decker, was very enthusiastic, and really funny. Oh yes, and then there's the fact that when you're up on the higher parts of the road, basically any direction you look is just amazing scenery. We saw lots of beautiful waterfalls and cascades, lush green vistas of forest, and majestic glacial peaks and valleys against brilliant blue sky and billowing clouds . We did well on our wildlife viewing also. Not only was there a very photogenic mountain goat along the way, but Debi spotted a wolverine. Decker, our driver, was extremely excited with this since he had never seen one, and his boss, who has worked in the park for 16 years has only seen one once. On our return trip from the summit, everyone in the bus got to see the wolverine quickly bounding up to the same snowy ridge where Debi had first spotted him.
After the tour we got some lunch and ice cream at Apgar Village, and just enjoyed the sunshine near the lake and back at our campsite. Tonight we attended an evening ranger's talk about biodiversity in the park, and then headed back to the van for a good nights sleep.

Going to the Sun

Location: Glacier National Park, West side

Today was all about "Going to the Sun" in more than one way. Yep, we were looking forward to driving from the east side of the park to the west side via the "Going to the Sun" road and we were definitely hoping for sun on the other side. While we woke to intermittent blue skies the wind was gusting around 50 mph. All night poor Winnie shook as the wind threw everything she had at us. Even though the temperature was in the 50's the bitter wind made it feel so much colder.
The terrain on the east side of the park is a mix of open prairie, clusters of aspen trees and lots of scrub bushes. As we began the climb to the top, the terrain changed to deep lush green, there were lots of creeks and waterfalls running off the side of the mountain and onto the road and by the time we reached the summit we were driving through tunnels (8 to 10 feet) of snow. We went from a cool spring day to dead winter in less than 20 miles. At the top, at Logan's Pass, we started to watch a couple of ambitious snowboarders who walked up the mountainside, but by the time they were headed downhill a fog bank completely encircled us. It was so thick you couldn't see 100 feet in front of you. Check out the snowy picture below. Even tho the temperature at the Visitor's Center said it was 43 deg, with the bitter cold and rain it felt below freezing.
We couldn't see very much at all going over the road. Heck, we could barely see the road! However, as we descended and eventually made it to the valley on the western side, the fog cleared, the sun peaked out and there was no wind!! This side of the park is deep thick forest with lots of ferns and moss. The weather was so lovely on this side that we even had a picnic near Lake MacDonald and then spent the rest of the afternoon checking out Lake MacDonald Lodge and the falls. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a black cloud arose and the skies just down poured. It's very fickle weather!
Tonight we're camped at Fish Creek campground, which is heavily wooded that hasn't changed in 60 years. It brings back the feeling of camping as a kid. (Lisa, I'm remembering what a great time the two of us had here a year ago.) Tomorrow the weather is supposed to change dramatically and bring in clear skies and hot weather. Hard to believe they are predicting 90 degrees by the weekend. Be still my heart! We signed up for taking the famous red touring cars circa 1930's up to the pass tomorrow. Hope it's hot, the top is down, we can see forever and can enjoy the hot summer again. Check out the photo looking across the lake tonight at sunset.