Sightseeing Day:
- Red Bus Tour
Up early this morning to get ready for our Red Bus Tour (see bus pictures on Day 91). We ate our breakfast of Jimmy Dean Breakfast Bowls. We were in the car at 8:45 AM and arrived at Apgar Village for our pickup location.
There were several buses that arrived and as each arrived, we rushed over to see if we were on the list. Seems there were 4 buses that were all to leave at the same time as ours. Finally, we were on our Red Bus and headed out the parking lot at 9:40. It was really cold as we were in a heavily forested area. The driver had not rolled the canvas top back yet as he said we would be a little more comfortable if he waited until we left the first stop at the lodge. We stopped at Lake McDonald Lodge for a pit stop. Dave found the greatest souvenir charm for my collection--a Red Bus replica. He's so good! After this stop, we were back in the bus and headed skyward.
Lake McDonald Lodge
No sooner had we left the lodge when I spotted a doe walking in the riverbed. She was so beautiful and serene. But, I wasn't able to snap a picture of her. I think this sighting set the tone for a day of critter sightings.
Boy, was our guide right about the temperature this morning. It has been quite warm the days before today, so we were surprised when they told us to bring a jacket.
See, we still have on our coats.
Three Arch Bridge
Our guide told us that the Glacier Bears call bicyclers Meals on Wheels; motorcyclists are Fast Food; the Red Buses are The Easy Open Variety Pack.
I think the best part of the trip was the critters--but, then, I bet you're not surprised at that! However, the scenery was incredible. It was a lot of fun seeing the same scenery that we saw in the helicopter, now at eye-level. Such a different perspective.
We saw this mountain goat and baby right next to the road climbing on the rocks. I just love the mother's look to make sure her baby is following closely behind.
We drove a little further to walk out on a boardwalk to check out the view. On the way back, we saw several totally friendly squirrels.
Red Squirrel Coming to Say HI!
Bishop's Cap Mountain
You get a sense of how big these waterfalls are when you look at the truck near the center of the picture. The haze was coming in due to some fires in Washington and Idaho. We were sure thankful we had taken our helicopter ride last Friday!
When we arrived at the visitor's center at Logan's Pass, the driver told us this was truly an international pit stop. First you're Russian, then European, and then you're Finnish. OK, you might not get it as I have presented it, but say it out loud and you'll get it! LOL
Logan's Pass is about 12 miles from the Canadian border, as the crow flies.
Logan's Pass Visitor's Center
We had lunch at a nice restaurant in Many Glaciers Lodge. It was very relaxing looking out of the window.
The temperature rose drmatically as we toured. We started out at about 61 with the wind blowing on us (I'm sure the windchill was about 40 degrees; some had to use blankets on their laps and shoulder to keep warm), and we ended up at about 97 degrees with the sun beating down on us (I'm sure it was at least 300 degrees on the Naugahyde seats when we'd slide back into the bus!). Unless there was a breeze or we had shade, we didn't stop long when we were sightseeing. If we needed a good view and we could, we got out of the bus. I had taken a little sun-visor-only-type hat, but it wasn't keeping me cool enough. So, while at Many Glaciers Lodge, I purchased a stiff cotton, cowboy-style shaped hat (almost like a safari hat) with a full brim. The area between the brim and the top of the hat is an open weave, which kept me much cooler.
Our trip back was the same road in reverse, which gives you an entirely different perspective.
Scenic Views
On the way out of the Many Glaciers area, we spotted two bears. They were so very far away. But, we could see them playing together. They were chasing each other and just seemed to be having a lot of fun. In the following group of bear pictures, I have provided an actual view so you can see how far away they were. They are hard to spot as there are several "specks" along the beach. The bears are located in the upper portion of the picture. They are on the beach area that is nearest to the main body of water. See the itty-bitty dark spot on that beach? The other two picutres are zoomed in on the actual pictures I took to get a better look. One bear is brown/blonde and the other is dark brown. I love that I captured the darker bear, probably a grizzly, standing on his hind legs. How awesome is that!
We continued on past Logan's Pass, and we spotted several goats near a parking area where we had stopped to walk the walkway earlier. So, we parked. One goat was on our side of the road. He'd walk right up to us and seemed to pose. I was amazed at how close he'd get to people. The other goats were across the street and down in a ravine. I couldn't get their pictures. :-(
There is some road construction going on and lo and behold, right in the middle of it was this deer. I can't get over how she had no fear of humans or the construction noises. This was a VERY congested construction area.
Here's a view of the hairpin turn I had shared with you on our helicopter ride (Day 89).
Here's a picture of the Going-to-the-Sun mountain, for which the road is named. This mountain is the one in the background that has the flat top with snow on it. Supposedly, the Blackfoot Indians would climb to the top of this mountain for ritual ceremonies, and they called this climb "Going to the Sun."
We got back to Apgar Village about 6 PM. We were so very glad we didn't try to drive this road ourselves. It was treacherous at times because the road is extremely narrow and winding. Dave would have been exhausted and would have missed a lot of the sights. Our guide was really good. He provided a lot of details about the park and he was entertaining.
Our final stop on this 8-hr journey was to stop at a cool, refreshing, and scenic part of McDonald River, called Dancing Waters.
This evening we just nibbled snacks for dinner as we were still full from lunch. We talked a bit about whether to go into Canada or not. We decided this was not the trip. Time is getting away from us and we need to be in Albuquerque sometime around during the last 2 weeks in September. We have a lot of territory to cover in the meantime.
Tomorrow we will head toward Spokane, Washington, to stop and see some friends. So, off to bed I go. Be blessed.
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