Am I in Switzerland?

Road Trip ~ To Bend and Beyond

 
Glacier National Park. By U.S. standards, it’s sort of a loner park, tucked up in the far northwestern corner of Montana, sharing a border with Canada.  Being so out of the way, I bet more Canadians visit than Americans.  Canada’s portion of the park has been blended with ours to form the world’s first “peace park,” a symbol of two nations working together to preserve the beauty of our planet. 

 

Dramatic is the word I would use to describe Glacier. Home to dozens of glaciers, the sweeping alpine vistas made me feel like I had been transported to a small corner of Switzerland. The geniuses who designed and built the Going-to-the-Sun road that transverses the park should be forever remembered and appreciated. This technical marvel was built in the early 1930’s, and the plan that was chosen was the more difficult and costly one, but it gave the world a view and experience of Glacier National Park like none other. Don’t go if you have a fear of heights or sheer drop-offs. Oh heck, go, just sit on the floorboards of the car until you reach the top. It’s totally worth it. 

 

So much snow fell this past winter that summer came late the these highlands, so late that the roads didn’t open ‘til mid-July or so. The streams, rivers and waterfalls are filled to capacity with still-melting snows, and the abundance of flowers in the meadows and on the hillsides makes it feel more like spring than almost autumn. We hiked to Lost Lake at Logan Pass and every step was a gift of splendor. We even met up with white-haired goats who ignored us to feast on the over-abundant, fresh and oh-so tasty grasses.

We entered from the western side of the park which becomes overwhelming almost immediately.  The eastern side is more gentle, quietly luring you in for unexpected visual treasures.  But enough of my paltry words. It’s said that a picture is worth a thousand words, but my humble shots of the Logan Pass areas barely capture the magnificence that is Glacier National Park.