Saturday, July 12, 2014

Welcome to Glacier National Park!

Okay, so you can stop snoozing now; we've arrived at the good part:  Glacier National Park!!!
Glacier is about a 4-day drive from Houston, in Montana on the border with Canada.   I discovered it last year; it's gorgeous and soul-reviving.  
 After displaying my "Senior Park Pass" which gets me into any national park in the U.S. at no cost, I proceeded to my (duplex) cabin in the Sunrise campground.   But first, along the Going To The Sun Road some encouraging vistas: very deep glacial snow!   
 
  Due to heavy snowfall this past winter, this roadway was only opened for passage 2 weeks ago.   That's encouraging b/c many folks were worried that global warming may soon melt the glaciers by 2030.

As you can see, the glacial snows are still very deep.   Global warming may yet eliminate these glaciers, but this year we're fortunate to have them still around.




 The park is filled with one awe-inspiring
vista after another.   If I stopped to take a photo of every incredible vista, I'd still be
there snapping shots.   So...onward to my cabin and some exercise, reading and relaxing!





The Sunrise Campground offers a full-service restaurant with huge windows overlooking the park, a general store for food and souvenirs, a tent-and-RV campground and then a separate section for the cabins.    Here's my cabin and a view from the cabin toward the general store and restaurant buildings:                

The cabin is one room with a small bath-
room.  A twin bed and a double-bed with a desk in between.   
Screened windows on either side of the beds allow for cross-ventilation, and it got really cold during the nighttime.  I was in heaven.  Very quiet except for the peaceful noise of a stream about 15 yards away.
 
In the morning I'd have breakfast in my cabin (Raisin Bran and an apple) then go for an hour's hike.  In the afternoon I'd read.   No internet connection.   In the evening, another short hike and then dinner at the restaurant.   Fresh trout with lots of veggies on the first night (healthy choice); turkey meatloaf and veggies on the second night (less-than-healthy, but perhaps not death-inducing).

On my second afternoon at the cabin, Mr. Bigfoot and his wife (Bonnie Beehive Hairdo) moved into the cabin abutting mine.   They were an elderly couple from Montana, and OMG they were loud!   They kept bumping into the furniture or crashing their luggage around; pounding on the floor (heavy footed) and yakking loudly.  At 2:30 in the morning they woke me up yelling out their window and slamming it shut.   Turns out they thought they heard an animal outside, several yards away and they were afraid it would come closer.   Duh!   You're in the wilderness, folks!   Oh, well.   None of us are perfect, huh?

With regret, I left my hiking trail and cabin in Glacier early yesterday morning (photo, left) and headed into Canada.  So long, Glacier...but only for now:
AND...NEXT POST?    ALBERTA, CANADA....

     







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