I went out for my usual early morning walk and there was a beautiful sunrise in Big Sky Country.
I discovered the eastern end of the riverwalk near downtown and learned a little bit about the Kootenai natives that lived here before European settlers arrived.
Much like Stowe, VT, Whitefish has built a multi-use trail along the river that passes through town.
Our first plan today was to drive to West Glacier and visit the Alberta, Canada, visitors center that we had seen Sunday. It is excellent and gave us some very info and handouts for our upcoming time in Canada.
One of the hikes suggested by the park rangers was Logan Pass. So following Plan A we set off to drive there, knowing that the "Road to the Sun" is a long, narrow and winding road to the pass. Traffic was heavy plus there is construction going on, so at points traffic is only one way, slowing things even more. Needless to say, the scenery is gorgeous and the planners of the road included many places for visitors to stop and enjoy the part.
We learned about the big fire in 2003.
We saw Heavens Peak.
We stopped further up the mountainside.
After the long drive to Logan Pass Visitor Center, we were among a crowd of hundreds (maybe even thousands) - so many that we could not even get a parking spot and the lot was closed just after we arrived. We decided that was probably for the best, as the number of hikers was overwhelming - not only those in private cars like us but also hordes of people in tour vans and in the park's shuttle service. So we headed back down the mountain with Plan B of having lunch at Avalanche Picnic Area where we ate Sunday and then to hike the Avalanche trail. It was not to be - totally full, no parking spaces, multitudes of people, so we drove further down the mountainside and found a quiet pullout and ate lunch near the upper McDonald River Waterfalls. There was never more than a handful of people there while we had our lunch. With our new Plan C, we drove on to the south end of Lake McDonald and around to the west side where Fish Creek Campground and the Rocky Point Nature Trail was.
We had been told that the Rocky Point trail takes us through land where the big fire of 2003 had been. There we not only saw where the fire had been, but we learned more about the five methinds they now use in management of forest fires.
On the way back from Rocky Point, we detoured through Fish Creek Campground and encountered a deer that was not at all afraid of people - this is not a good thing.
Plan C ended up being a nice four mile hike and well worth the time.
I discovered the eastern end of the riverwalk near downtown and learned a little bit about the Kootenai natives that lived here before European settlers arrived.
Much like Stowe, VT, Whitefish has built a multi-use trail along the river that passes through town.
Our first plan today was to drive to West Glacier and visit the Alberta, Canada, visitors center that we had seen Sunday. It is excellent and gave us some very info and handouts for our upcoming time in Canada.
One of the hikes suggested by the park rangers was Logan Pass. So following Plan A we set off to drive there, knowing that the "Road to the Sun" is a long, narrow and winding road to the pass. Traffic was heavy plus there is construction going on, so at points traffic is only one way, slowing things even more. Needless to say, the scenery is gorgeous and the planners of the road included many places for visitors to stop and enjoy the part.
We learned about the big fire in 2003.
We saw Heavens Peak.
We stopped further up the mountainside.
After the long drive to Logan Pass Visitor Center, we were among a crowd of hundreds (maybe even thousands) - so many that we could not even get a parking spot and the lot was closed just after we arrived. We decided that was probably for the best, as the number of hikers was overwhelming - not only those in private cars like us but also hordes of people in tour vans and in the park's shuttle service. So we headed back down the mountain with Plan B of having lunch at Avalanche Picnic Area where we ate Sunday and then to hike the Avalanche trail. It was not to be - totally full, no parking spaces, multitudes of people, so we drove further down the mountainside and found a quiet pullout and ate lunch near the upper McDonald River Waterfalls. There was never more than a handful of people there while we had our lunch. With our new Plan C, we drove on to the south end of Lake McDonald and around to the west side where Fish Creek Campground and the Rocky Point Nature Trail was.
We had been told that the Rocky Point trail takes us through land where the big fire of 2003 had been. There we not only saw where the fire had been, but we learned more about the five methinds they now use in management of forest fires.
On the way back from Rocky Point, we detoured through Fish Creek Campground and encountered a deer that was not at all afraid of people - this is not a good thing.
Plan C ended up being a nice four mile hike and well worth the time.
Pretty sunrise! ...The benefits of fire always feels like an oxymoron; but it is essential for many species - including Red Cockaded Woodpeckers. Agreed - about animals habituated to humans. ...What a fun adventure this trip sounds like for you two!
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