Two Medicine and more, July 4

The view out our cabin window

I woke very early this morning to the sound of howling wind. Since Ray was on the side of the bed adjacent to the window opener, and the window was open, I nudged him awake to get him to shut the window. That cued us in for the weather for the rest of the day--windy. We got up late, ate breakfast, and then set out for the Two Medicine area on the southeastern side of Glacier. We were fortunate to

from the boat towards Mount Sinopah

be able to get tickets for the boat ride on Two Medicine Lake that would take us across the lake to a
trail that leads to Twin Falls. A park ranger led the hike that took us along a forested path, heavy with wildflowers, and interspersed with mountain views. On the trail, we came upon a large pile of fresh bear scat. Apparently, this is a favorite bear habitat. We enjoyed the leisurely walk back to the boat launch for the

Twin Falls

trip back.

From Two Medicine, we went south to East Glacier, the site of the first lodge in the area, constructed in 1913. The lobby area is 100 feet x 200 feet, and is lined with Douglas fir columns that are 40 feet tall and between 36 and 42 inches in diameter. Each column was brought in from the Pacific northwest, because trees in Montana rarely grow so large. A total of 60 trees were used. Very cool.

By then, we decided to head west toward West Glacier, with the intent to drive from west to east on the Going to the Sun road. We stopped at Lake McDonald for dinner.

Bird Woman Falls on the GTTS Road

My god, how incredibly beautiful Glacier is. It was great going on the road at this time of day, seeing the light fade from the day, with the sun illuminating the mountains. An added bonus was the lack of other traffic. We almost had the road to ourselves. At one place we stopped and were struck by the incredible beauty of the way the sun reflected off the river in the valley. The river looked like a silver ribbon thrown on the valley floor. I got goosebumps and couldn't tear my eyes away from it. At each turn of the road (and there are many), the sheer cliffs and green forested slopes appeared in a different light- sometimes in shade, sometimes in the warm light of the fading day. As we finished our drive, after having exited the park at the east terminus, we saw a number of cars clumped by the side of the road. Sure enough--bear sighting. A golden colored black bear (they come in all colors, we learned), was foraging in a field. We continued on to our cabin, where our day ended with a fireworks display that we enjoyed while sitting on the swing on our porch. What a country!