3 Full Days of Fun Things to Do in Glacier National Park

July 15th, 2021

Biking, Hiking and the Going to the Sun Road-All in one day

One of the things Robert and I wanted to do as we live this full time life is have more experiences doing things that we didn't really do on a regular basis. We weren't big hikers before we started this but hiking is a way to see the surrounding area and most of the time it's pretty enjoyable. Actually most of the time it is lots of fun but I like to gripe a lot when I am doing it. Altitude was an issue and the strenuous factor was obviously something to consider too. For the most part, we pick moderate hikes...ones that might have a bit of difficulty to them but still are manageable at our age and don't put us at risk of falling. We both have excellent hiking shoes, I have a pair of Merrell's that we bought at REI and I'm not sure what kind of boots Robert has but they are perfect for climbing on rock, especially if the rocks are wet. They grip really well. I will see if I can find out the brand of my boots and put a link on the blog.

Any way, back to my story...experiences! We rented the eBikes from Glacier Guides and absolutely loved them. Robert had a bit of trouble with his seat twisting and I sometimes had a hard time throwing my leg over mine...I'm 5'1 and not quite as limber as I used to be. But other than those two things, the bikes were great. We did somewhere between 12 and 14 miles, most of it outside of the park. We did enter the park through the West Glacier entrance and spent some time on the back road and bike path but the Going to the Sun Road was closed to bike traffic after June, I believe. Up until that time, you can ride bikes up to Logan Pass if you want to. The problem after June is that the traffic picks up and they close the road to bike traffic between peak road usage times.

After riding, we went back to the rig, had lunch, spent so time with Bruce Wayne and then headed back into the park to do a hike close to McDonald Falls. It was a fairly easy hike with lots of beautiful places to stop and take pictures.

After finishing our hike, we got back in the car and drove the Going to the Sun Road up to Logan Pass. We had plans to hike other trails but some of them were closed due to bear frequenting the area.

Our day was amazing and we finally got back to the rig around 7:30pm that night. Instead of cooking, we took advantage of the KOA outdoor restaurant and had a lovely steak. The amenities at the West Glacier KOA were outstanding and we really did enjoy our time there.

July 16th, 2021

Hiking the Garden Wall, Part of the Highline Trail

The beginning of the Garden Wall hike starts close to Logan Pass. We decided that since it was so hard finding a park space at Logan Pass during the morning hours, we would wait till later in the afternoon. Since it was July we would have plenty of light in case we decided to hike further than our original plan, so starting our hike at 4:30pm was great for us. There were plenty of people on the trail, coming and going so we never felt like we would be by ourselves for any length of time. 

The Highline trail is about 15 miles. Our goal was to do the first portion of the hike that goes along what is called the Garden Wall. Literally there is a garden hose that has been bolted into the rock that you can hold onto. The trail is pretty narrow, with some pretty scary drop-offs, but if you don't have any mobility issues, it isn't that bad. That part of the trail is pretty level with some big rocks in the trail so you have to be attentive for sure. After you get past the Garden Wall, the trail goes down for a ways, then starts climbing back up the side of the mountain. We went about a mile and a half in to a nice waterfall, rested up and then hiked back out. I think we could have gone for another half a mile but I get anxious in bear country and had heard of reports of bear on the trail itself. No thank you! We made it back to the Logan Pass Visitor center by 6:20pm so all in all we hiked for 2 hours and did 3 miles. The only thing I regret is the fact that the prevailing winds were bringing in the smoke from the California fires and was really messing with the air quality. Going in July is a gamble with forest fires. May is almost too early because the Going to the Sun Road might not be open at Logan Pass due to snow. I think June or September would be an ideal time to visit Glacier National Park, when we do it again.

I almost forgot...on our way back down the GTTSR, we stopped at one of the pull outs and took pictures of a couple of waterfalls and then stopped to take pictures of the beautifully painted pickup truck in front of Huckleberry Haven. They have some of the best huckleberry products around. Check them out!

July 17th, 2021

Hiking St. Mary's Falls, Boat Ride on St. Mary's Lake and spotting a grizzly bear

With at least 2 good hikes under our belt and a revamping of plans, we decided we needed to see the eastern side or the St. Mary's side of Glacier National Park. Since we were staying on the west side of Glacier National Park, we took the Going to the Sun Road again, this time past Logan Pass and then past Jackson Glacier. We had tickets to board the boat at St. Mary's dockside at 4pm so we needed to be there about 30 minutes prior. With that in mind, I had done some research on St. Mary's Falls and Virgina Falls. Virginia Falls is another mile or so past St. Mary's Falls so unfortunately we ran out of time to get to it, but we did hike about a half a mile past St. Mary's Falls and found another waterfall that was so beautiful! 

From the trailhead to St. Mary's Falls is a very easy 1 mile trail or so. It takes you through the St. Mary's burned area that occurred in 2015. The vegetation is coming back but the burnt trees are a stark reminder of the devastation that happened. In July of 2015, a fire broke out close to Jackson Glacier and west of the town of St. Mary. Around 4000 acres of land were burned and most likely it was started by careless humans. Fires are synonymous with large parks and almost every year there is at least one fire. In fact, right after we left the area, Polebridge was endanger of being evacuated due to a fire close by.

The St. Mary's falls are really beautiful. They have that same aqua color to them that the cascades in the lower part of Glacier have...all because of the glacial silt. While we were there, lots of young people were jumping off the high portion of the rocks into the water. I bet it was super refreshing as we had temps back up into the high 80's. The visibility was still poor if you were looking back to the West but around the falls and looking Eastward it was just beautiful.

After, getting back on the road, we headed to the pier to catch our boat ride. We had a super knowledgeable guide aboard who talked about the history of the area and gave us a geology lesson! As we were pulling back up to dock, someone noticed a young grizzly bear heading down from above the Going to the Sound Road. The bear stopped traffic for a bit and then moseyed his way down to the lake. Then he started heading over to the area where the guide shack is located. I wish I had brought the Nikon and the 200mm and I would have taken a better picture of him, but the cell phone image will have to do. I was stoked to see a grizzly and even more appreciative of the fact that he was quite a distance away from us!

Upon leaving the boat dock area, we continued over to the eastern entrance of Glacier National Park and had dinner then made the 2 hour trip back to the KOA. The views were different, not as spectacular as the Going to the Sun Road but it was a nice change. I don't think we got back to the rig until 8:30pm that night. I know Bruce Wayne was glad to see us!

July 14th, 2021

Polebridge, Bowman Lake and Hiking in the Mountains

I can not express how beautiful Montana is and how majestic the mountains are in this area. I had never envisioned going to Montana...maybe once, when the kids were younger and we could take them skiing but we never made it. I now know why it is called Big Sky Country. The mountains go on forever and the heights are dizzying. Back in May, I scored our $2 ticket for the Going to the Sun Road, not really knowing what it was all about. I mean, this Texas girl is a flatlander. But, I got the ticket and patiently waited till July so that we could use it.

I made arrangements for us to stay at West Glacier KOA for a week but I think we could have stayed for at least 10 days. There are over 700 hiking trails and we probably did about 5 of the trails while we were there. Unfortunately, the smoke from the Idaho and California fires filled the skies with smoke and visibility was reduced some days. But despite the reduced visibility, the views were amazing!

Our first day we decided to go ahead and go out to Polebridge, get a huckleberry pastry and then do a hike at Logging Creek trail. After finishing our hike, we ventured over to Bowman Lake and I am so glad that we did. It was the most beautiful place I have ever been. I almost wish we had brought our bathing suits but the water was so cold, I bet I wouldn't have gotten in to swim.

Definitely check out our video of us hiking at Logging Creek Trail. I was really on edge. It was our first hike and we were going down a trail that didn't look like it had a lot of traffic on it. We had our bear spray and knew all the things to do if we came across a bear but it wasn't on my list of things to do that day! As much as I would love to see a grizzly, I definitely didn't want to do it on a trail with just the two of us.

Im so glad my husband is so tolerant with me. I spent about 20 minutes singing old Girl Scout songs just to keep my anxiety level down.The good news is...NO BEARS! Was it my singing or just that they weren't in the area, we will never know but, I think it's because I sang them away!

After finishing our hike, we drove over to the parking area for Bowman Lake. Bowman Lake is situated on the northwestern side of Glacier National Park and is the third largest lake in the area, behind McDonald Lake and St. Mary's Lake. It is absolutely gorgeous and I am so glad we spent time at this lake. If you come over to Bowman, make sure to bring chairs or a blanket and even a paddle board. We had a little picnic lunch there and loved it so much.

July 12th, 2021

Black Wolf Ranch & Fiber, St. Ignatius, Montana

As members of Harvest Host, Robert and I have enjoyed visiting different businesses and meeting the owners. We loved that we chose Black Wolf Ranch & Fiber as we had never visited an alpaca farm before. Wendy is a lovely woman from Texas who turned her dream into a reality. She had wanted to live in a rural setting and decided that alpacas would do nicely as a source of income. She now owns the largest alpaca ranch in Montana with over 230 animals.

Her place is nicely setup with her home, two large barns and her mother's home on her property. The moms and babies are keep apart from the rest of the herd and her livestock guardian dogs help protect the alpacas. The morning that we left, we were given a farm tour and her ranch manager told us about how they run the ranch and explained about shearing and breeding of the alpacas.

Wendy's ranch is located right off Hwy 93 about 2 hours south of Glacier National Park. We didn't get over to the National Bison Range at Flathead Lake, but Wendy's place is very close to it.

May 20th-25th, 2021

Capitol Reef, Torrey, Utah

Capitol Reef was a pleasant surprise. Robert and I had never been to any of the BIG 5 (Zion NP, Bryce Canyon NP, Arches NP, Canyonlands NP, and Capitol Reef NP) until we started living full time in our RV. Bryce and Zion NP were our first two National Parks to visit and we loved both of them for different reasons. But when we got to Capitol Reef, we were blown away by the spectacular rock formations and how very different is was from the other two parks. 

When we arrived at Sand Creek RV Park, we weren't terribly impressed by the rv park itself, but it did offer a place close to Capitol Reef for us to drive into every day. Torrey is a rather small town and not a lot of places to eat but we did find a great food truck that serves burgers and had breakfast at one of the Mexican food restaurants in town. We also had a meal in Hanksville with our friends, Laura and Doug Bennett.

Capitol Reef National Park is located in the south central part of the state of Utah and became a monument under President F. D. Roosevelt in 1937 but didn't become open to the public until 1950 and it wasn't until 1971 that it would be named a national park. The Navajo sandstone cliffs with the whitish dome formations is how it got its name.

The Fremont River runs through Capitol Reef and sustained several generations of Native Americans up until the 13th century when a drought occurred and they moved on. In the late 1880's, an expedition of Mormons arrived and settled the area and started several towns around the Fremont. Fruita being one of them. The town possibly got it's name from the large fruit trees in the area and the bartering that the Mormons did with fruit as a staple.

Enough of the historical stuff...let's get to the good stuff. When we discovered our friends, the Bennett's were going to be in Hanksville, they suggested that we meet up and do some photography together. They introduced us to Cathedral Valley which is on the Bureau of Land Management. There are some spectacular buttes in the area and some incredibly vistas so we just couldn't refuse. We spent two separate occasions photographing the area with them and had lots of fun.

The days we weren't photographing things we were exploring and photographing! Seriously, what an incredible area to visit if you are into photography. We got some images of dirt bike riders at Swing Arm west of Capitol Reef and flew the drone around the area of Factory Butte. We even did a hike at Hickman Natural Bridge which was incredible.

If you were to ask us if we would go back, I would say in a heartbeat! I don't think I could ever get tired of the area. I hope that you enjoy the images and make sure to check out our YouTube video about the area.

Safe travels and "keep the blue side up"!

May 18th, 2021

Hiking the Navajo Loop and the Queen's Garden Trail

It all sounds great when you are reading the description on AllTrails but man, was I in for a surprise. I could not have been more challenged as a 62 year old woman. This hike is rated as a moderate hike with elevation gains of 643'. I had done some research on the hike and what I found out was this...start at Sunset Point so that you are walking down the steepest part of the hike first. But before you start out, check out the views from the lookout point. It offers some of the best views of the canyons hoodoos. Hoodoos are are tall skinny shafts of rock that protrude from the bottom of arid basins. As the name suggests, it is also a great place to watch sunset from this point. Now start your way down the trail. Along the way you will meet people coming back up the trail. Everyone is so friendly and encouraging.

As you get deeper into the canyon, you will hike past Thor's Hammer and Two Bridges. Thor's Hammer is a stand alone hoodoo in the canyon and looks like it is about to fall over at any time. I truly was so overwhelmed, I'm not sure I got an image of it.I do remember getting a picture of Two Bridges though. Continue on until you get to the intersection where Navajo Loop makes a loop around or continue onto the Queen's Garden trail. We chose not to complete the Navajo Loop though many other people did it, so we paused a moment at the Navajo Loop Benchmark and then began our hike again. I can't emphasize enough about having plenty of water, good hiking shoes or boots, hiking poles if you like them and a good attitude! The hike meanders through the floor of the canyon until you reach the Queen Victoria's benchmark. It's a nice place to stop and rest or have a snack if you packed anything. It's also a great photo opportunity.

Once you are in Queen's Garden you will see Queen Victoria and her court of hoodoos standing above you. It's a pretty impressive sight. Continue on through the Hole in the Wall, seeing so many hoodoos now. Hoodoos were formed when the sandstone in this region was compressed and then twisted by movement of the earth. The twisting and compression cracked the stone into an array of tall blocks. Water, ice and wind then eroded the cracks leaving tall spires call hoodoos in the thousands all throughout Bryce Canyon. After you continue on the trail, you will come to the horse trail and you might be kicking yourself and wondering why you didn't chose to do the horseback riding instead of walking it yourself. But have no fear, it's all going to be worth it when you get finished. You will have such a feeling of accomplishment and be so proud of yourself. You will also be exhausted and telling your husband to quit counting your steps out. You know it's freaking hard and you can't spend the night on the trail so put on your big girl hiking boots and get moving!

After some more switchbacks, which you will generally hate because it's all uphill (in fact, it's been uphill since you left the Queen's Garden area, you will get to a point where you can look back to the left and see the Queen's Garden. This is a great place to rest for a minute or two. And then it's right back at it. You are so close to being finished. Just about a half of a mile to go. Once you get to the top, give yourself a pat on the back. You've done it! We actually wound up parking our car at Sunrise Point so we didn't have to walk as far and there are restrooms at the top close to the parking lot. 

This is an awesome hike to do even though it challenged me more than I thought it would. We went in the morning and stayed pretty cool throughout the hike. Wear lots of sunscreen and have a great time. #gohike