On to Glacier National Park

We got up and left the campground early as I had a doctor's appointment in Great Falls about ninety miles away.  Ted had done his homework and we parked in an IGA parking lot about two large blocks away from the Physicians Professional Building.  When it was time for me to go, I walked to the office.  They took me in almost immediately and the physicians assistant, Jim Cherewatenko, (how's that for a name) was already familiar with what had been done at the ER last week.  He asked a lot of questions and told me I met two of three conditions that would require having an endoscopy.  He also asked how long we would be in the area to which I replied, "As long as it takes".  He went to the desk with me and told the receptionist/nurse to fit me in and he would take the blame.  I have an appointment for next Friday afternoon which works out perfectly for us as we move from the west side of the park to the east side on Thursday and we will be that much closer to Great Falls (four hours instead of five).

The Sleeping Giant Up Close

No sooner did we head north out of Great Falls than we started seeing white capped mountains to the west.  I kept taking pictures as we got closer and as usual took way to many.  It took us almost four hours to reach the eastern boundary of the park with a short stop for gas and a sandwich.  As we approached the park, we could see more and more of these magnificent mountains.  Route 2 (the one that starts in Maine) follows the southern boundary of the park.

Mountains from I-15

Mountains from Montana 44

Mountains from US 87

Mountains from US 2 (Getting Close)

Snow Beside the Road

We stopped at the park at Marias Pass on the continental divide which is at an elevation of 5,216 feet and is the lowest crossing of the continental divide in Montana.  The park is dedicated to Theodore Roosevelt and there is a thirty some foot obelisk made to look like the Washington Monument there.  The memorial was introduced into Congress in 1930 by a representative with the last name of Leavitt.

Plaque on Monument

Ted, Train, Monument and Mountain

There were also memorials to John F. Stevens, the engineer who designed the road and to William H. "Slippery Bill" Morrison, the man who donated the land for the memorial and who left the remainder of his property to the National Park on his demise.

John Stevens

Slippery Bill

The railroad tracks follow the same valley as the road and sometimes was way above us and other times, way below.  We kept seeing these long lean-to type structures beside the tracks and at first couldn't imagine what they were for.  As we traveled along and saw more and more of these structures, I noticed that they were in areas where there was bare rock cliffs above the tracks.  We think they must be to protect the tracks from falling rocks.

We Kept Seeing the Same Train

Red Road, Green Trees, White Snow... Great Contrast

On the west side of the continental divide we saw a pretty rushing brook that soon drained into a larger stream and then a larger one until we had the Flathead River running along in the same valley.  We saw a couple of one man rafts on the river.  In the valley, besides the water, there were mostly aspens and evergreens, the snowcapped mountains obscured by how far down in the valley we were.  There were a few small settlements with a few camps and places to buy ice and fire wood but most of the road was hilly, winding and very beautiful.  We passed one area that had obviously had a recent avalanche. When looking up from the side of the road, I could see what looked like piles of matchsticks.  Another gouge in the side had over a dozen mountain goats but we were by before Ted had a chance to slow down and stop.  We will probably drive back and try again.  There were quite a few cars parked beside the road there with people taking photos.

Flathead River

We arrived at the Glacier Campground around five.  It is just beyond the west entrance to Glacier National Park on the opposite side of the road.  We registered and unhooked the car before driving to our campsite which is up the side of the mountain.  Our site is fairly flat and is a drive in so we are looking out into the woods and there are no other campers in site.  It is nice and peaceful and here's hoping we don't get eaten by bears.