Fish Creek Campground, Glacier National Park
The sky was brilliant blue, the mercury was rising above 80 and the waters of Lake MacDonald were still as a sheet of ice. The only thing planned today was pulling on the shorts and slipping on the flip flops. After a very leisurely morning at the campground we went for a beautiful bike ride along a paved path that took us through the Village of Apgar, through the woods and into West Glacier. We had the trail pretty much to ourselves except for the occasional hiker and a group of trail riders. Once in West Glacier we poked our heads into the Alberta Visitors Center and were impressed with their very professional displays, including a 2 story dinosaur in the lobby. By early afternoon the lake was looking so inviting that we thought a trip to Lake MacDonald lodge would be fun. After a yummy lunch in the Russell Fireside Dining Room, we took a lovely hour long cruise on the lake in an historic wooden tour boat from the 1920's named the DeSmet. By this time it was so hot and the cool breeze off the lake was much appreciated. Ned and I secured the bench section in the front and just sat back and let the summer day roll over us. It was breathtaking to take in the snow capped mountains on one side of the lake and the mountains thick with evergreen trees on the other. The highlight was seeing a bald eagle fly majestically overhead before landing in a nearby tree. Once we disembarked Ned had his heart set on taking out a row boat. We had hoped to row up to the inlet stream and perhaps get a chance to while the day away floating on the lake. Both the row boats were out so we just wandered about the grounds and continued to soak up the hot sunny day.
Last night at the ranger's talk, there were some pictures shown of the cavernous East Glacier Lodge with its massive tree trunks. Over the last couple of days we had seen the other lodges in the park and decided why not drive through a new section and take a peek at this famous lodge. Back in the early 1900's, this was the lodge where the Great Northern Railroad first stopped in the park. The railroad wanted to make a huge impression on the guests with the grand lodge. Well, after seeing it I can tell you that the massive cathedral room and huge supporting columns made of 30" diameter cedar are quite impressive. But, it doesn't overlook a lake like the other lodges and it's really not situated IN the park.
Originally, a hundred years ago, after disembarking at this lodge the guests would still have a bit of traveling to do to get into the park and to Lake MacDonald Lodge. They would need to continue on the train to another station, be rowed across the middle fork of Flathead River, take a very bumpy carriage ride to a steamer, and then sail 9 miles up Lake MacDonald to the lodge. An interesting architectural note - the front of Lake MacDonald faces towards the lake, where the guests originally arrived, and not toward the parking lot where they arrive today. Once you figure that out the hotel makes so much more sense.
We had an hour or so drive back to the campground and decided to stop at a roadside chalet for a rather elegant meal. (I had stir fry elk with kale and broccoli - Ned had a buffalo meat loaf wrapped in bacon.) Bike ride through the woods, lazy day on the water, wandering around elegant turn of the century lodges and ending up with a very Montana style meal - I'd call that a perfect summer day.
