Two-in-Da-Woods: Snowstorms and mountains and glaciers, oh my!

We left the flatlands of central Montana on May 13 in rain, straining our eyes to see mountains on the western horizon.

Nope, completely hidden by clouds. But then our altimeter climbed to 5260 feet and….suddenly….the rain turned to SNOW and out of the mist we see steep MOUNTAINS all around us, covered with glaciers! Breathtaking!

We stopped briefly at a memorial on Marias pass to tip our hats to John Stevens who discovered this route thru the mountains for the Great Northern Railroad long ago. Attaboy, John!

In no time then we were at the entrance to Glacier National Park! Very exciting! We learned, however, that the park is essentially closed this time of year, with no visitors centers open or rangers about. The vast majority of roads are closed due to 20+ feet snow which they hope to clear by about mid-June! On the plus side, we have the place to ourselves, and there are swollen rivers flowing with glacial blue water and spring flowers everywhere. We camped in West Glacier for two nights and enjoyed some lovely hikes and views of Lake McDonald in sunshine.

Lily sits all alone in the visitor center parking lot!

Lake McDonald

Flathead River

We take to our feet hiking...

..and view Lake McDonald from above!

Today it is raining. We returned to East Glacier and toured the Glacier Park Lodge, built 102 years ago, with splendor intended to lure the wealthy away from vacations in Europe, to travel by train on The Empire Builder instead. Bernie who has “sawdust in his blood” was enchanted by the enormous Douglas Firs from which the lodge was built, and the craftsmanship in construction. The place isn’t open yet, but they let us poke around as the employees rushed about, getting it ready to open for the season. It reminded us of work….which we don’t miss at all!