Glacier National Park

Our brief stay in Libby was fun, but it was time to leave and make room for the annual auto show crowd.  It was another beautiful Montana day as we followed Highway #2 to Kalispell.  The miles passed quickly as we paralleled the Cabinet Mountains, cruised through green valleys along Libby Creek, and past beautiful Thompson and McGregor Lakes.  Traffic was very light and we saw several deer along the way.

Ron’s cousin Chris and his wife Tracy had been reading our blog and noticed that we were inching our way toward Glacier Park.  They live in Great Falls but had been camping at Glacier for several days and suggested we meet somewhere.  We told them we would be camping at Glacier Meadows, so they also checked in and were all set up when we arrived.

Our RV Park was a few miles west of the summit of Marias Pass and the Continental Divide.  It's in the middle of nowhere so there was no radio, TV, cell phone or other services that we come to expect wherever we are.  However, to make it a little easier on us urbanites, the campground provided a booster in its picnic pavilion.  If we held the booster appliance against the cell phone, stood on one leg and faced northwest, it was possible to make a call.  It was a little inconvenient but Bonnie made it work.

The solitude of Glacier Meadows was very nice, especially at night when it got totally dark and the highway traffic was nearly nonexistent.  An occasional distant train was music to Ron's ears.


It was nice to spend some time with Chris, Tracy and their lovable dogs Teddy and Cricket.  We talked about family stuff and the “good old days” over a dinner of salad and barbecued burgers.  The next morning we all drove over to East Glacier Park for breakfast.  The old 1912 railroad depot is still a prominent feature of this very small town.  Our grandfather was a Great Northern RR station agent there for many years.  Their family lived upstairs and that’s where Ron's mother and Chris’ dad grew up.  Ron also lived there for a few years when he was very young.

 





Glacier Park Lodge:  For the past 100 years, tourists have stepped off the Empire Builder at the East Glacier depot and walked through these gardens to Glacier Park Lodge.  We called it "the big hotel" when we were kids and these lawns were our playground.  It was constructed two years after Glacier National Park was created in 1910.  It’s showing its age now, but is still a magnificent structure.  Since our family history is tied so closely to the hotel and depot, East Glacier is always one of our favorite places to visit.

Glacier Park Lodge

The Blackfeet Indians had no idea what was coming when they sold a piece of their land for a hotel site.  They watched in awe as railroad cars brought huge 15 ton fir and cedar logs and a gigantic lodge was constructed.  Sixty of the 40 ft. timbers were used and most were 500 to 800 years old when they were cut.  Douglas firs were used inside the lobby and the verandas were supported by cedars from Washington.  The original bark is still intact. 

Blackfoot Nation:  When Ron’s mother was growing up in East Glacier Park, she had many Blackfoot Indian friends and taught some to play the piano.  In return for her friendship, she was made an honorary member of the Blackfoot Tribe in 1946.  A deer skin “certificate” (see photo) illustrated the event in story form.  She was given a number of other gifts, including a drum with her story painted on it.  We took photos of these items to Browning, the center of the Blackfoot Nation.  We wanted to see if we could find out more about them or to provide information that might have been lost in a fire that occurred some years ago.

We also took a few old photos of some of the Blackfoot Indians who met the trains arriving in Glacier Park.  That's how Mom got to know many of them.



The day turned out to be very frustrating.  We found several people who were interested, but none who had the authority or ability to talk to us about heritage matters.  We started at the Blackfoot Information Center.  Although the sign says “open”, the chain and lock say otherwise.  It hadn't been open for a long time.
 

A gentleman at the nearby Museum of the Plains Indian was very interested in our story and suggested that we contact Mr. Murray at the Heritage Center.  We went to the center, which is also a gift shop, and talked to a Blackfoot elder who was also very interested and knew several of the Indians in the photos.  He sent us to talk to a woman in another part of the center who listened to the story but had no interest, other than selling souvenirs to tourists.  She also told us Mr. Murray didn’t work there, but could be found at the community college.  It turned out that Murray was an employee of the tribe and it was his wife who worked at the college.  In any case, we found the community college and waited in the college library for the Murrays to finish their two-hour lunch, only to find that they had no interest in history nor heritage stuff.  Murray said the place to go would be the Enrollment Office at the tribal headquarters where they kept all the membership records.  We found that office, but the person most able to assist us was out of the office and nobody knew when she might return.  That was the last straw for us.  We had spent parts of two days on this mission to no avail.  We said “Good-bye” to Browning and went back to Glacier Park to sit by a lake.

Bonnie looks for grizzly bear or mountain goats on Rising Wolf Mountain

It was another warm day, but a few clouds and cool breeze make Two Medicine Lake a very comfortable place to spend a few hours.  We found a nice shady spot along the lake shore to place our bag chairs and enjoy the views while sipping huckleberry cream sodas and searching through binoculars for mountain goats and grizzly bear on the surrounding mountains.

Many Glacier Hike:  Another beautiful part of Glacier Park is the Many Glacier area.  It's on the shores of Swiftcurrent Lake and the site of the park's largest hotel (lodge).  We took the small boat to the end of the lake, hiked over a small hill to Josephine Lake, then took a second boat across that lake, followed by a longer hike to beautiful Grinnell Lake.  Bonnie was ready to take an even longer hike to Grinnell Glacier, but it was too late in the day and much too warm for that one.  Maybe next time.

Taking Chief Two Guns across Swiftcurrent Lake

Grinnell Lake with Grinnell Falls on the distant wall.

Glacier Park is bear country.  They estimate there are about 800 grizzlies in and around the park.  So, we were sure to read the signs, carry our "bear bell" and make plenty of noise on the trail.  Bonnie spotted a grizzly and two cubs on a mountainside . . . through binoculars.  That was close enough.

This is the trail to Grinnell Glacier.  We hiked part of it, but will have to do a little more conditioning before going all the way to the glacier.  However, by the time we're ready to go, the glacier will have melted away.  It was a beautiful hike, even for a short distance.

Grinnell Trail overlooking Lake Josephine



We never get tired of Glacier Park.  It's a beautiful place.  Only about 25 glaciers remain but there are still lots of lakes, streams, rugged mountains and hundreds of miles to hike.  Can't wait for our next visit.  We'll close with a late afternoon view of Two Medicine Lake.