Our Trip to Montana - Day 4

Day 4
Today we headed to Glacier National Park.  We first met up with Dave’s sister Charissa, her son Michael, Amber, and their son RJ.  We offered to take RJ with us for the day and he was happy to have a reprieve from wedding planning appointments.  Ryan was happy to have a friend (actually a second cousin).  RJ and Ryan were born one day apart.  Ryan is one day older, even though RJ is about 8 inches taller.  With everyone fed and loaded up it was time to head to the Park.
We stopped at the visitor center in West Glacier to pick up the Junior Ranger Programs and then headed up the Going-to-the-Sun Road.  We first passed the clear, blue-green water of Lake McDonald.  Our first stop was at McDonald Falls.  Everyone piled out and headed down the steep path to the bridge overlooking the falls. 

Dave and the boys walked down towards the creek (it looked more like a river) and threw some rocks in.


As we meandered up the road we were met by breath taking views. 



Since they have had so much snow, the glaciers are still covered by snow and look similar to the snow pack that remains.  The kids Junior Ranger books said that the glaciers will be gone by 2030, but the ranger told us that they are melting even faster, so they are predicted to be gone by 2020.  So if you want to see the glaciers, I highly recommend a trip before then!
Jackson Glacier is in the background.


At Logan Pass, the lodge was surrounded by snow, instead of the normal wild flowers that grow this time of year.  The boys were much happier to see snow than flowers and they enjoyed playing in the snow for a while. 



They even had a snowball fight in August, while wearing shorts!

We saw a deer up at the pass.


Saint Mary Lake

The boys received their Junior Ranger Badges at the Saint Mary Visitor Center. 
We decided to drive back on Hwy 2.  We stopped for dinner at East Glacier Park and the boys enjoyed playing with magnetic rocks while we waited for our food.  Dave enjoyed some huckleberry pie!
On our return trip we stopped at Goat Lick Overlook.  The boys enjoyed seeing the Mountain Goats standing on the sheer cliffs.  The goats are almost the color of the rocks, so you had to look carefully to see them.  They like the salt that is in the rocks and lick the rocks to get the salt and minerals they need.  Isn’t it amazing how God made his creation?

Finally, we stopped at West Glacier for a little shopping and then headed home again. 


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