Great Canadian Loop 4 - Glacier National Park and Other Points of Interest in Montana

We finally had to head south and did so through beautiful Kootenay National Park.  Hours later, we arrived in Bigfork, Montana, on the west side of Glacier National Park where we stayed in a wonderful Bed & Breakfast.  We had found out shortly before we left on our journey that the main road that trasverses this lovely park was closed for road repair. This meant that we would not have access to many of the landscapes that we had hoped to view.  So we decided that we would see what we could see from the periphery of the park, and enter into the park as far as we could.

After spending 2 1/2 days great days there, we headed further south to the town of Butte, Montana where we spent the night before taking the next leg of our southward journey to Salt Lake City.  On our way south, we stopped in Blackfoot, Idaho to visit the Elisons.  We had gotten to know them when they lived in So Cal, and with whom we had tried to keep in contact the many years since.

In Salt Lake City, we were able to spend time with my brother and sister and their spouses and with my niece Leslie.  My wife and I were able to spend time while in SLC at the family cabin in Emigration Canyon, and even traveled to Park City to have dinner and look around at the town which was central to much that occurred in the Winter Olympics of 2002.

It was time to continue on our expedition and we decided not to drive straight through to the LA area but to spend the night in the town of Mesquite, Nevada, just inside of Nevada and nearly an hour northeast of Las Vegas.  The next morning, we got into our car and left for home, and when we arrived, we realized that we had traveled some 4700 miles.

People have asked me about this incredible trip.  All I can say was that it was exceptional! I would do it again.  I saw vistas that will be indelibly imprinted on my memory for the rest of my life.  I am grateful that we were kept safe, that we were blessed with good health while traveling, that we saw loved ones at varying points of our journey, and that God did a masterful job at creating this beautiful world!

 

1 to 3 - Views from the east side of Glacier National Park and Lake Sherburne
4 - View on a hike to Red Rock Lake and Falls
5 to 7 - View of Red Rock Lake from a distance, and Red Rock Falls
8 - A mountain on the way back from the Lake
9 - A beautiful flower
10 - A gathering of butterflies at a lake shore
11 & 12 - Falls and river flowing into Lake McDonald on the west side of the Park
13 - River flowing forcefully from Avalanche Lake, an awesome view after a tiring hike
14 - Beautiful Avalanche Lake with three visible 150 foot plus waterfalls (there were more)

15 to 19 - On the way to Butte, we stopped at a National Bison Reserve and were treated to some wildlife in their habitat ("Oh give me a home, where the buffalo(es) roam, where the deer and the antelope (and elk) play!)
20 - Berkeley Pit, a open copper pit in Butte, Montana, until 1982.  While it was mined, there were pumps that diverted the ground water.  When the mine was shut down and pumps turned off, the water starting filling up the pit.
21 - My hiking companion, and also, my eternal companion!