East side

As we talked to several rangers on the west side of Glacier NP they all said that it was very much worth it to make the long drive around to see the east side of the park.  Of course, there are a few months of the year you can get there in 50 miles on Going to the Sun road, but that was closed so we had to go around.  While it was a long way to drive around we figured since we’ve come this far we might as well check out the other side.  We packed a lunch, piled in the truck (even Sheba got to come along) and we headed off.

We reached Two Medicine pretty close to lunch time and I saw a picnic area so we pulled off the road.  There were plenty of picnic spots right on the lake and only two cars…perfect!  I do not like crowds and in a national park crowds are usually crowds inevitable.  So to find this quiet area in such an accessible area was a treat.  We got out of the truck and the wind was pretty strong and cold.  But this did not deter the boys from running to the lake shore and skipping rocks on the white caps the wind was whipping up.  Brielle, Steph and I found a picnic table nestled in some trees that blocked the wind but not the views where we all had lunch.  After lunch the boys did more rock skipping, Brielle and I went to a different part of the shore and Steph took lunch stuff back to the truck.  Then I heard Steph yell, “Huck!!!”.  This means I either did something really dumb or she needs my help so Brielle, the dog and I ran to find Steph who was in the road looking at the truck which had a bunch of big horn sheep hanging around it….even a couple baby sheep.  I thought Sheba was going to break the leash she was so excited to see these “big dogs” to play with.  It was pretty cool to see these sheep up close…they seem very comfortable around this picnic area and we later found out that they hang out there a lot.

Just 100 yards further up the road from the picnic area we found all of the tourists.  A big parking lot full of cars and people many of which were there to take a scenic boat tour across the lake probably for a chance to see some wildlife up close.  I liked our encounter better!  On the drive down from Two Medicine a moose nearly jumped in front of the truck.  I hit the brakes and the moose turned back in to the woods…but we caught a glimpse.  The sheep and moose turned out to be our only big wildlife sightings in Glacier.

The drive to St. Mary was a bit longer than I expected.  The views of the mountains were great but it was very different from the dense forests on the west side.  This is due in part to the fire that raged through the park in 2003.  But it was cool to see how nature is coming back so quickly…and the bear grass in these burn areas was intense….it was everywhere!  Turns out that bear grass is an important part of fire ecology and is usually one of the first things to grow back after a fire.

We made it to St. Mary and drove along the lake.  It was SUPER windy with white caps on the lake that looked like you could nearly surf on them.  I am definitely glad we checked out the east side but it was a pretty long time to be in the car.  I like the west side of the park better.  It feels more tranquil and different style forest than I’m used to back home.

Back at the campground we had dinner, played some frisbee and then had a little fire for some s’mores.