One of the most memorable activities found in Glacier National Park is to drive the Going to the Sun Road which is a 50 mile road that winds through the interior of the park to showcase the raw beauty of this natural wonder. You can choose to drive this picturesque road in your own vehicle or take the Glacier Park shuttle along the road. We choose to drive it ourselves, or more specifically my husband drove it since mountain driving is something I have zero experience in. The drive is filled with breathtaking views that every American should see at least once in their lifetimes. I'll be honest with you, Montana wasn't on my travel radar until 2 summers ago when T made his first trip out there to visit his uncle and instantly fell in love with Glacier. He came home convinced that I needed to experience this place myself and now 2 years later I got my chance.
We ended up camping for a night at the Apgar Campground inside the park. The camping aspect of this trip was a little nerve wracking for me. Before this trip the last time I attempted camping was back in high school and I ended up going home with several fire ant bites, so I was a camping newbie to put it lightly. Everything was fine until it was time to go to bed and I underestimated how cold it would get overnight in July in Northwestern Montana. I can't imagine how harsh the winters are up there. The next day we made it out to Logan's Pass to do some day hiking. While at Logan's Pass I got to encounter wildlife first hand in of all places a parking lot. After completing the hike in Logan's Pass I walked down to the car to check on the dogs (dogs are not allowed on any Glacier trails) while the guys went to to check out the gift shop in the visitor center. I am sitting there giving water to the dogs when I hear people gasping in the parking lot that a group of rams has entered the parking lot. I look up to see tourists snapping pictures on their phones of the rams circling the parking lot. Right as my eyes become fixated on the rams my friend's dog begins to bark uncontrollably. I start to freak out not knowing if the barking will entice the rams to come explore what was the cause of all the noise. I plead Matilda to stop her barking and now my dog has started making a whine noise himself. For the next few minutes I nervously watched the rams circle through the parking lot wondering if they would stop by our car due to the dogs inside. Luckily the rams did not appear to be interested in interacting with the dogs and made their way to explore the other side of the parking lot. That would not end up being my singular wildlife encounter on the trip but it was most definitely the scariest one.
The camping, the Rams....what an adventure. I'm not much for camping myself. I just tend to be a big chicken/wimp in general when it comes to the roughing it part, although the last time I did it (years ago) it was pretty fun.
ReplyDeleteLooks very pretty!! Sounds like a grand adventure indeed. I have not been camping since my early 20s and I've never been that into it. Is that snow that is still on the ground?
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