We traveled from Yellowstone to Glacier NP in Montana on Sunday 6/1. The weather continued to be difficult. We had rain the last part of the trip and set up in the rain. What we found out is that Glacier is very much a hikers park; and because of the massive amounts of snow they received this past winter, the main road through the park is still closed. Because of this, you are unable to go to the other side of the park or reach Logans Pass which is the highest point in the park.
From the west side, we are able to go past a beautiful glacial lake into the western part of the park. We dodged the rain and were able to do a short hike called, The Trail of the Cedars, which is as far up the "Going to the Sun Road" that we could go on the west side. The rivers are totally swollen from the glacier and snow melt. We were told that this area of the mountains had so much snow, it was 200% of normal. A good sign for the global warming folks.
On Tuesday 6/3 we moved to the East side of the park to a KOA campground near Saint Mary, Montana. From here we were able to go into the park at two different locations. We also were able to cross the Canadian border and visit the Canadian NP that borders Glacier NP. We have hiked all but one day and have seen a wide variety of wildlife. Yesterday we saw our first black bear in Waterton Lakes NP (The Canadian Park). There is a little town in this park that is very serene and a giant hotel called the Prince of Wales Hotel. There is wildlife all around this town, as well as, out on the roads. We saw mule deer, mountain goats, ground squirrels, birds, and of course the black bear.
Today we hiked about 5 miles to a place called Red Rock Falls. There was a beautiful lake there with water as clear as I've ever seen. We saw Mule deer and sheep on the trail; and on the way out of the park we saw our first ever Grizzly. He was just a little guy but still a very exciting moment. Eileen is becoming quit the wildlife finder. She spotted this guy back in the woods. We were the first to stop but in a short period of time we had quite a road block as everyone stopped. The Rangers finally came and got everyone back into their cars. It is a beautiful animal.
We have had two pretty good weather days and we are hoping that the next week stays the same. Tomorrow we head for Banff, Alberta Canada. We probably won't have Internet for the next 8-10 days so I will have to catch up once we are back in the states.
Glacier has been another very interesting and different experience. We didn't see Glaciers because they are still covered with snow pact but we did get to hike a lot and the wildlife viewing was marvelous.
Enjoy the pictures. If you are ever planning to come to Glacier I would suggest that you come mid July to the end of August.
Off to Canada.
Life is Great!!!!
Bill and Eileen
Thursday, June 5, 2008
New Friends, Yellowstone Grizzly RV Park
Yellowstone Grizzly RV Park
Mel and Rebecca------ Len and Marianne----- Chip and Barbara
Yellowstone NP (5/27 - 6/1)
It's time to catch up on what we have been doing the past ten days. We left Jackson, Wyoming on Tuesday 5/27 and drove through Teton NP and into the southern part of Yellowstone NP. We continued to see buffalo and other wildlife as we drove north. We were really surprised at the amount of snow we encountered as we entered the southern part of Yellowstone (See pics). Our campground was in a town on the western side of the park, just over the Wyoming line in Montana, West Yellowstone. It is a very nice town and the campground (Yellowstone Grizzly RV Park) is the nicest one we have been in yet.
The weather during our five days in Yellowstone was not the best but we did get to see a lot of wildlife and experience the very unique geothermal aspects of America's first National Park. There are buffalo and elk everywhere ,and many of the people we met saw grizzly bears. We were not that lucky. We were in the park almost every day and still only had the opportunity to explore about 35% of the park.
We had met a couple from Florida when we were in Salt Lake; and by some quirk of fate they were in the site beside us at three different campgrounds. Chip and Barbara were heading our way until they decided they had had enough of the cold, rainy weather. After Yellowstone, they headed west to explore the Pacific Northwest.
Chip and I did get a chance to hire a guide to teach us fly fishing. He took us into the park along the Firehole River. We were taught the basics of fly fishing, step by step, and then we fished while he helped us with all the snags and tangles we had as neophytes. It is really a cool way to fish and the guide, Andrew, was a very good teacher. Since he had grown up in this area, he knew a lot about the park, the wildlife, the woods, and of course the fishing. We had a great time and I can definitely see myself getting into this sport.
We really enjoyed our time with Chip and Barbara and hope to cross paths with them again. We also met two other couples, Mel and Rebecca and Len and Marianne. They were both on their way to Alaska and were really enjoying their time on the road.
Yellowstone NP covers 2.2 million acres. Even though we only got to see about 35%, we did get to see many beautiful and interesting places. The park is above an active volcano and someday it will blow again. The geothermal features of the park are a result of the volcano. We saw geysers, mud pots, hot springs, fumaroles and all kinds of weird stuff. Our wait for Old Faithful was in the rain and really not a great view as a result of the clouds.
Our favorite place was in what is called The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. It is near the Canyon Village section of the park and has a beautiful waterfall and multicolor canyon that takes your breath away. I only wish we could capture the beauty we have seen on the pictures. It just isn't possible. I will post as many pictures as I can. Be sure to click on them to enlarge them.
We left Yellowstone on 6/1 and drove through much of western Montana to the western side of Glacier NP. More on that in the next written post. Yellowstone was rainy and cold for us, but a fantastic spot. A definite must on the NP tour.
Life is Great!!
Bill and Eileen
The weather during our five days in Yellowstone was not the best but we did get to see a lot of wildlife and experience the very unique geothermal aspects of America's first National Park. There are buffalo and elk everywhere ,and many of the people we met saw grizzly bears. We were not that lucky. We were in the park almost every day and still only had the opportunity to explore about 35% of the park.
We had met a couple from Florida when we were in Salt Lake; and by some quirk of fate they were in the site beside us at three different campgrounds. Chip and Barbara were heading our way until they decided they had had enough of the cold, rainy weather. After Yellowstone, they headed west to explore the Pacific Northwest.
Chip and I did get a chance to hire a guide to teach us fly fishing. He took us into the park along the Firehole River. We were taught the basics of fly fishing, step by step, and then we fished while he helped us with all the snags and tangles we had as neophytes. It is really a cool way to fish and the guide, Andrew, was a very good teacher. Since he had grown up in this area, he knew a lot about the park, the wildlife, the woods, and of course the fishing. We had a great time and I can definitely see myself getting into this sport.
We really enjoyed our time with Chip and Barbara and hope to cross paths with them again. We also met two other couples, Mel and Rebecca and Len and Marianne. They were both on their way to Alaska and were really enjoying their time on the road.
Yellowstone NP covers 2.2 million acres. Even though we only got to see about 35%, we did get to see many beautiful and interesting places. The park is above an active volcano and someday it will blow again. The geothermal features of the park are a result of the volcano. We saw geysers, mud pots, hot springs, fumaroles and all kinds of weird stuff. Our wait for Old Faithful was in the rain and really not a great view as a result of the clouds.
Our favorite place was in what is called The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. It is near the Canyon Village section of the park and has a beautiful waterfall and multicolor canyon that takes your breath away. I only wish we could capture the beauty we have seen on the pictures. It just isn't possible. I will post as many pictures as I can. Be sure to click on them to enlarge them.
We left Yellowstone on 6/1 and drove through much of western Montana to the western side of Glacier NP. More on that in the next written post. Yellowstone was rainy and cold for us, but a fantastic spot. A definite must on the NP tour.
Life is Great!!
Bill and Eileen
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