Glacier National Park

I was looking forward to Glacier National Park - I heard great things about it from my parents.  So I drove through.  Lucky me my car battery died in the town just before entering the park!  So another slight delay while I got a new battery, but at least it didn't happen in the middle of the park far away from service stations! 

I drove Going to the Sun Highway, but it was an overcast day, so it wasn't very spectacular.  Maybe because I had just driven through Mt Rainier that this park didn't seem as majestic as I was led to believe.  I was excited to see the hanging valley - textbook geology right there.  But the park just didn't impress me.

  Maybe because it was the end of my trip and I knew I had a super long drive ahead of me.  Most of Montana and North Dakota are long, flat, empty, boring drives.  And I had already added a couple of days onto my schedule - I wasn't sure I was going to make it home in time.  (A word of advice - please check the link above about road conditions.  This road opens at a different date each year depending on snow pack.  It opened July 2, 2008 - two weeks later than it did in 2004.  I just got lucky on that end.)

So I sort of hit this park pretty fast - no hiking, just driving.  I stopped at the continental divide and got a cute picture of a mountain goat losing its winter fur (he blinked!).  The road passed through a huge snow drift - the smallest portion of the drift was still taller than my jeep!  I bet the other side was at least 3 times as tall.  That's a lot of snow! 

I thought Glacier would have more glaciers - but it didn't.  Maybe only one?  It had just been carved by glaciers.  But I did get a picture of the glacier.  I'm sure the scenery is much more enjoyable once you get off the road, but I just didn't have time.  Why do vacations have to end?