Wednesday 12 June 2013

Day 16 St Mary to Glacier Natl Park to St Mary

June 4
 
St Mary to Glacier National Park to St Mary

Down to about 3 degrees over night!  Furnace ran steady.  Totally fogged in the morning but by 8:30 am the fog was lifting and the blue skies appearing along with the mountains.  John unhooked and we drove to the “Going to the Sun Road” but could only go 13 miles in from the east.  Road blocked by snow.  What a gorgeous day!  Stopped at Wild Goose Island at St Mary Lake.  Magnificent!  Lake like glass, beautiful reflections.  Warming up as we came back to the info centre at St Mary. 
 

 To get to the other side of the park we had to drive an extra 100 miles.  We stopped at East Glacier to have lunch at Lena’s for her World Famous Huckleberry Pie.  Just a little way down the road we crossed the Continental Divide at Marias Pass, 5216 feet.  The east and west side of the park are quite different in landscape.  We drove thru West Glacier up past Lake McDonald about 15 miles on “Going to the Sun Road”  That was as far as we could go due to snow farther down the road.    At Avalanche Creek we walked the Trail of the Cedars about a mile loop but due to falling cedars the trail was blocked ½ way so had to back track again.

How long is the Going to the Sun Road? 
 
We decided to have dinner at the World Famous Johnson Cafe for their family style supper.  Bread just out of the oven with our home made beef vegetable soup.  After dinner we drove to Many Glacier about 30 km north then west of Babb.  We were told to come here at dusk to see goats.  We saw goats but they were a little ways up the mountain.  Binoculars would have been a good idea to carry with us, left them in the RV.  Campsite at the end of the lake very nice but the hotel looked even more impressive.


Daily Stats: 
Today's distance:   km 
Weather: Fogged in, sunshine by 8:30 am; High: 21 degrees; Lo: 3 degrees
Wildlife:  deer, rabbits, goats and an eagle
Campsite:  Johnsons of St Mary
Walking:  10 km
Answer:  50 miles


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