Since returning from Glacier, several folks have asked “so which park do you like better?”.  There’s no comparison.  Yellowstone and Glacier are two different views into the wilderness, each with their own unique qualities….so I’ll just talk about Glacier.

Since Glacier is almost 475 miles north of Yellowstone, it’s almost a month behind in season.  They’ve had a very wet season and the flowers are still in full bloom.  I felt like Maria Von Trapp on the hillside in the sound of music—or like Heidi (especially when we saw the mountain goats).

We spent the first day in the Canadian side of the park  (officially known as Waterton).  Took the boat to a terribly remote spot called “goat haunt” and got our passports stamped at the tiny little US customs office that takes care of hikers coming from the US side into Canada.    We also made our first new friend of the trip.  Three adorable bears cubs crossed right in front of us.  Tim made me stay in the car  (probably a good thing) as we both knew that mom was around even though we couldn’t see her.  When I closed the car door, the bear suddenly stood up to check out the sound.  At that point I got my one decent shot.

Glacier’s premier feature is the “Going to the Sun Road”   50 miles of narrow road; in some sections you feel like you have 3 choices 1) drive off the road, 2) crash into the rock wall on the other side or 3) crash into the car coming towards you.  It’s stunningly beautiful and I counted at least 24 waterfalls that came down to the road; some small, some 100s of feet high.  I’ve driven many different park roads and the only one that was more pulse-pounding to drive was one in Nova Scotia.

We made our 2^nd friend right on the road—I could have reached out and petted this little guy from the car.  Again, mom was nowhere in sight—but we know she couldn’t have been far away.

The other thing that surprised me is that the elevation at Logan Pass, at the top of the road, is almost 1,000 feet lower than the elevation here at Old Faithful.  In Yellowstone you typically hike up or down; in Glacier you stay in campsites or hotels at the bottom of the mountains and almost always hike up.  A very different feel. Even though the elevation is lower, the terrain borders on sub-alpine and the mountain goats and big horn sheep love it.  We saw lots of goats and sheep, and even listened to this little one search for his mother  (a very quiet, but increasingly panicky “maaa—maaa” until mom came back.)

A big  difference between Yellowstone and Glacier is the Glacier is much more of a “hiker’s park”.  If you don’t hike, Yellowstone has lots for you to do.  To really appreciate Glacier you have to get off the road.   We hiked every day; not super long hike, and almost always to waterfalls (those pix will come in the days ahead).  It felt so good to finally be pain-free and walking normally.  I no longer need to use my walking sticks for everyday walking but there’s going to be a long period of regaining strength in my left leg….since for two months I needed my walking sticks to go anywhere.

We’re back at work after a magnificent break…and it’s hard to believe it’s almost the first of September.  On Thursday we will have only 1 month left here—time is really beginning to fly.  If you want anything special from the park, please let me know.  The rest of our Glacier photos are  here with many more coming  as we try to figure out how to fit in image processing with work and the little time we have left to explore the park.