We arrived at Glacier National Park yesterday afternoon. The drive from Lake Louise was a bit cloudy and a little rainy, but still gorgeous. We got settled in our campsite and then headed out for a little exploring.
First stop: Glacier Distilling (because it was 5:30pm and we thought they closed at 6pm). We passed it on the way to our campground and decided we should check out the local whiskey.
We tasted a few things and bought a few things, and then decided to dip into the park for a bit before grabbing dinner. We ended up driving the Going to the Sun Road up just past The Loop before turning around. The light was nice and we weren't quite ready for dinner yet…perfect way to kill some time:
Heavens Peak, 8987ft:
After our evening drive we went to have dinner at the Belton Chalet in West Glacier (recommendation of our park host). It was fantastic. We got on the waiting list for the dining room with about a 25 minute wait, so we headed into the tap room to have a beer while we waited. Our waitress there was fantastic (Hi Andrea!), and we ended up staying in the Tap Room side for dinner instead. We sat out on the balcony/porch and had a delicious meal.
Today we'd planned to do the Highline Loop Hike, but the weather was crap. We drove the Going to the Sun Rain Road up to Logan Pass (where we'd start the hike) to see if the weather was different up there. It was not. Rainy, but beautiful, and sometimes SUPER foggy. We drove the whole road to the east entrance in St. Mary, and then back. Photos from the drive:
Look at those tiny tiny cars across the valley:
So foggy!
We stopped at the Sunrift Gorge and did a short hike to St. Mary falls and out to St. Mary Lake (still lightly raining).
Sunrift Gorge:
We stopped at Red Rock something-or-other and did a quick walk out to the viewpoint (still raining):
Further west we stopped and walked around Apgar Village and the south end of Lake McDonald (gift shops, etc.) and I took a quick shot of the lake before we headed back to our campsite (still raining):
We decided to come back to the Airstream and work for the rest of the day, then do the Highline Loop hike tomorrow (when the weather is supposed to improve) and stay another night before meeting up with Kyle on Tuesday (before heading back to Portland).
We're thinking we'll roast some sausages on the fire tonight and make a big salad, but we'll see how the weather is. I think the fact that we bought some firewood means that it's going to keep raining. Oh well. It's gorgeous and green and our Airstream is cozy and warm.
