Glacier National Park: The Red Bus Tour

Our first full day at Glacier we took a Red Bus Tour which left from our hotel.  I knew it was going to be a good day when we instantly made friends with many of our fellow travelers and our driver, Jammer Joe, was 80-something with a handlebar mustache curled to perfection at the ends.  His stories proved to be as interesting as his facial hair.

We did a tour in Yellowstone and decided this was the way to go--the Going to the Sun Road is a little hairy at times and this way we could both enjoy the scenery and no one would be white-knuckled driving.  It might be noted that the road is under construction so there are waits and one-lane sections.  Great for mountain driving.  Plus, we could actually learn about our surroundings instead of guessing what we were looking at.  It was a very pleasurable day--8 hours of scenery with the top down!

 One of our first stops was near the south of the park at an art sculpture.  There was a Native American artist who was tasked with creating a sculpture from some resource found abundantly on the reservation.  He found many abandoned vehicles and decided to re-purpose them into sculptures.  There are several, but they're pretty neat.

 This was our trusty bus for the day.  Built in the 1930s and recently refurbished, these buses hold 13 passengers plus a driver, and the canvas top rolls back--perfect for sight-seeing and taking some amazing photos.

 An early stop was at Goat Lick, a place on the side of a relatively sheer cliff where mountain goats come to lick the rock and get a certain nutrient they need.  It was weird and neat all at the same time.  The environment provides for the goats, and they know where to go to get this nutrient.

 The next stop was at Lake McDonald, the largest lake in the park.  The picture above is taken from one end of the 10-mile lake to the other end.  Yes, my zoom is pretty impressive, but more impressive is how clear the view is.  Love that mountain air!

 Not only is the air clean and clear, but so is the water.  The rocks were fun colors and the water was so still I took a few pictures of the rocks.  The water is crazy clear!

 We stopped at Lake McDonald Lodge for lunch which was very tasty, and shared a table with a couple on our bus tour.  It was nice conversation.  The lodge was much smaller than ours and was originally a hunting lodge so there were plenty of dead heads around the lobby.

 Above and below are shots of the river that feed into Lake McDonald.

 I don't remember the name of this river, but it was gorgeous!

 The Going to the Sun Road wound up and around the mountains, and the higher we got the narrower the road seemed to get.  The valley was amazing below!

 This mountain didn't classify as a glacier, but it was our first glimpse of substantial snow.  To be a glacier, there are 3 requirements: 1) The snow and ice has to be at least 100 feet deep, 2) the snowfield has to cover at least 25 acres, and 3) the snowfield has to be moving.  We saw a few, but there are fewer than there used to be and by 2020 they predict that none will be classified as glaciers anymore.  This was part of the reason we wanted to go now--so we could see some glaciers!

 The road started down near the middle of the picture in the valley, and in the upper left is Logan Pass where  the road reaches 6,640 feet.

Another snowfield, but not a glacier

 A few pictures from the top--that explains the difference in the topography.  It was mostly flat at Logan Pass with peaks around and a big visitor's center.  I was hoping to catch some glimpses of mountain goats, but we only saw one marmot.  Oh well, I guess.  We hopped back in the bus and started the winding road down.

 This is Jackson Glacier--a real live glacier!  It was the only one visible from the Going to the Sun Road, so the only one we saw that day, but it was exciting none the less.

 One of the last stops of the day was Saint Mary Lake, the second largest lake in the park.  The shot below is of Wild Goose Island, apparently one of the most photographed areas of the park.

It was a perfect day, lots of things to see and lots of things learned.  It was beautiful, and it got us excited for the second day at the park!