Half of Going to the Sun Road, but hopefully the good half

Our day started early today, as we said goodbye to the Kabin around 7am so we could drive to the east side of Glacier.

The plan had been to drive from west to east across the park on Going to the Sun Road, the iconic road built in 1932 that stretches across the mid-section of the park.  Unfortunately, the west half of the road was still closed due to the wildfire, so instead we had to drive on Highway 2 along the southern edge of the park, then turn back up north and enter the park from the east end of Going to the Sun Road.

We were able to drive west as far as Logan Pass, which was convenient since it was our main hiking destination for the day.  Logan Pass is located on the Continental Divide at an elevation of 6646 feet. The national park Visitor Center has a bathroom but- it should be noted- no sinks, only hand sanitizer dispensing stations*.

Though it was sunny elsewhere, here on the Pass it was cold, cloudy and windy, and the smoke smell was noticeable in the air.  Mom parked the car and got comfortable; she wisely declared that she wasn't going anywhere.

So Emily and I bravely struck out on the Hidden Lake Overlook trail.  I was hoping to hike to the overlook, then down toward the lake itself, but Mother Nature and the park rangers had other plans for us.

Emily could bearly contain her excitement- the hike's length was just cut in half!

See, clearly thrilled about hiking.

Even with the clouds**, we got to see some cool views along the way.

Alpine stream. Stopped solely to take the beautiful picture and not at all because we needed a few minutes to catch our breaths.

Wildlife! Hoary Marmot

More wildlife! Columbian Ground Squirrel

Then we got to see some more clouds.

Where did the other mountains go?

We finally got to the end of the trail, the aforementioned Hidden Lake Overlook.  And as advertised, the lake was indeed hidden:

Across the lake is Bearhat Mountain, which was massive but only briefly visible behind the clouds.

Since the bear activity had closed down the remainder of the trail, we turned around and headed back to the Visitor Center, where we wolfed down lunch and caught up with Mom.

Why do I even bother?

We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring Going to the Sun Road and the St. Mary entrance area of the park.

Along the Sun Point Nature Trail.

Wild Goose Island viewpoint.

Brief hike to St. Mary Lake.

St. Mary Lake shoreline.

By this time we had worked up quite an appetite, so we were thankful that our dinner destination, Johnson's Cafe of St. Mary, was nearby.  Johnson's is a family-owned restaurant that's been in business since the late 1940s.  They are known for their eclectic decor (think rifles and animal heads), their homemade bread and complimentary soup, and best of all, their Huckleberry Ice Cream Pie.

Those beauties to the right of the pie are Ruth and Lester Johnson, the original Johnsons.

It was a long day, and now that are tummies were full we made our way to the Glacier Park Lodge, our accommodations for the next two nights.  I logged 15,954 steps today... think I can beat that tomorrow?




*Which I assume is because of running water limitations at the elevation, but then riddle me this... how did the toilets flush???

**And wind. And cold. And smoke. And elevation. And...