Glacier National Park, 2017 - The American Road Tripper #9

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This fall break we are heading to Seattle where Mark got a new job assignment; we are to take a look at the area we will be moving to in the Spring of 2018. This is our great American road trip #9. We have had many road trips in the past 7 years, and I still marvel at the amazing road network in the United States. You probably are wondering why that is a marvel, but you really should look at it from my point of view. I have seen a lot of the world and there is nowhere else in the world where you can get on the road and go endlessly around an entire continent. That aside, I grew up in Africa where the roads leave a lot to the imagination; like I, mention in my previous blogs, the roads in Africa are an adventure in themselves. Having said that, our journey started in Tucson - Phoenix - Salt Lake City, then Glacier National Park next. Points of interest on this Fall Break road trip were Glacier National Park and any thing else, however, things did not pen out as planned.

I didn't know what to expect from the park except the excitement I, had from the blogs and photos of some of my travel friends I, had pinned to my bucket list. After Yosemite and the Grand Tetons, Glacier was next on my list, but it took me over 3 years of having it on my list to actually get there. The drive from Tucson to the park is something that I will remember always, partly because I had my entire family with me, partly because I knew it will possibly be the last time I, have my teenage daughter on such a long road trip again. We left Tucson at noon and decided to spend the night in Flagstaff. The following morning, we decided to take Arches National Park off my Bucket List. We made it to Arches mid morning and spent time touring it and make the usual touristy stops. Due to time constraints and a man who is a destinations person rather than one who enjoys the journey, we wrap up arches and head on to Salt Lake City for the night. I had reserved a room at the Hampton Inn & Suites SLC University, using booking.com the day before, so we had a destination. The children were doing amazingly well, even with the long hours in the car. We arrived at 8:45 pm and get checked in. Overnight in Salt Lake City, then back on the road the following morning.

The drive to the park was long and uneventful, driving through Idaho was really dull, but luckily we had some audio books to listen to. The teen daughter had her own books, and the boy had his YouTube kids shows to go through. Some dead spots a long the way had the kids engaging in some conversations with us, but other than that, it was a long drive until we crossed in to Montana. Our ETA to our accommodation at the Glacier Outdoor Center is past 7:00 pm. We arrived in Dillon, Montana at about 2:15 pm. We stopped for a bathroom break at the DQ, and had some ice cream and coffee to go. We still had 4 hours to our destination, so we went on, driving through the scenic Flathead Lake. Our next stop was in Missoula; what a journey! Driving across Montana with the scenes of undulating hills, valleys, rivers, large farm lands and the Rocky Mountains in the distance. Dinner at the Panda Express.

I must make mention that we have the greatest driver in the world, I know I tease my husband much about being safe when the kids are in the car, but he is a great driver. He can drive 16 hours with no complaints as long as he has his coffee and bathroom breaks. He is a destinations guy after all. I on the other side like to make random stops a long the way, and allow the kids to see and explore, which always gets to him. Through the years, he has loosened up a lot and will, on occasion ask me if I want to stop somewhere he thinks I should, but I have not asked him to stop. Our older daughter is getting more closed up in her teen years, while our son is increasingly getting curious, interesting tide.

We finally arrive at the Glacier Outdoor Center Cabins; so far our best accommodation on this trip. What a beautiful, earthy, yet warm surprise! We arrived 3 hours later than our initial ETA and found the front desk had written us a welcome note, and put our room key in an envelope and addressed it to us. The photographs here do not do the room the justice it deserves.

Day 2 @ Glacier National Park:

We woke up early to start our tour of the park, keep in mind much of the west side is closed due to the fires, but we are optimistic we will have a good portion to hike. After an hour, we are feeling hopeless as the trails are all closed, and heading to the East side is a losing battle seeing as we should be heading out of Montana for Washington. A forest fire had been raging within the park for weeks and was just now dying down as we arrived. Having been unable to hike to our hearts content at Glacier National Park, it was nice coursing through miles of Montana on our way to Washington.

Lolo National Forest Park.

East of here, the Silver Bow creek runs west from the continental divide above Butte. It gives way to Clark Fork River which runs over 22, 000 square miles before draining in to Idaho. You are probably wondering why I'm writing all these statistics, but I'm a nature person and I, find I'm drawn to nature and landscapes as I travel. As you can see from my photographs, the sights can not adequately be described in writing so I, do endeavor to take as many photographs.These waters all drain in to the Columbia River that runs through most of Pacific North West. The Clark Fork River has been harnessed by 4 dams to generate electricity at the Thompson Falls Power plant.

This is another Park taken off my Bucket List. One of over 50 renowned National Parks in the United States that I want to see and hike at. It was disappointing that much of the West Glacier where I traveled to was closed following the devastating fires. Even though the rains have put out the fires, the park is still closed for care.

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Comments

[Dancing Dave]

Glacier National Park
Stunning colours Harriet. But for us from Oz...our dream would be to visit these parts in Winter. That's how we did Utah and Arizona in a Polar Vortex...different colours...massive contrasts...a tad cooler...brilliant.

[Africancrab]

Absolutely
Indeed, winter is best for states like AZ, otherwise the summer heat is unforgiving.