Glacier, Grand Teton, and Yellowstone National Parks ~ August 21-22, 2004

August 21, 2004

A little after 6 PM, JoAnn and I took a flight from Allentown to Cincinnati, switched planes, and then flew to Billings, Montana. We got there late at night, got our rental car, and stayed in a Billings motel.


August 22, 2004

We started the 6+ hours drive to Glacier National Park by taking Route 3 up to Route 12 west, where we saw Black-billed Magpies along the road. This was a sightseeing trip, not a birding trip, but the magpies were really obvious. We took Route 191 up to Route 87 and headed west towards Great Falls and I-15. Between the towns of Stanford and Geyser, I stopped to take a photo of the vast, open terrain.

We picked up I-15 and exited onto Route 2, where we went through Cut Bank and picked up Route 89. After passing through Kiowa, I took this photo of the highway winding its way towards St. Mary, which is located on the eastern edge of Glacier National Park.

We checked into our St. Mary motel and found out that there had been a landslide across the Going-to-the-Sun Road, so the road was only open up to Logan Pass. That would put a major kink in our plans.

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Glacier, Grand Teton, and Yellowstone National Parks ~ August 23, 2004

We headed into Glacier National Park on the Going-to-the-Sun Road. The road followed Saint Mary Lake and then continued its climb up into the mountains. The clouds hid many of the taller peaks and there were occasional showers. Eventually, we reached Logan Pass. We hiked up the Hidden Lake Nature Trail.

Despite the dreary conditions, there still were amazing views as we worked our way out the trail.

The Hidden Lake Overlook did not disappoint, revealing a superb view of Hidden Lake itself.

Just below the overlook was this Mountain Goat.

When we got back to the Visitor Center, we found a few Bighorn Sheep behind it.

Since we couldn't continue down the western side of the road due to the landslide, we slowly worked our way back down the eastern side, stopping for photos along the way.

The tunnel (just left of the red tour car) between Siyeh Bend and Logan Pass in Glacier National Park, Montana.

Siyeh Bend below Logan Pass in Glacier National Park, Montana.

We parked and hiked up the St. Mary Falls Trail to Saint Mary Falls.

The Saint Mary Falls Trail in Glacier National Park, Montana.

About halfway down to the town of St. Mary, we checked out Saint Mary Lake.

Saint Mary Lake in Glacier National Park, Montana. To get a perspective on the size of the mountains, note the fairly large, white boat in the lake coming out of "The Narrows" in the bottom two photos.

We left the park and headed north for nearby Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta, Canada. The drizzly weather continued as we crossed into the province of Alberta.

Waterton Lakes National Park also contains an impressive display of mountains, although sections of them were obscured by the low cloud ceiling.

The Prince of Wales Hotel at Upper Waterton Lake in Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta, Canada.

We returned to the U.S. and spent our second night in St. Mary, Montana.

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Glacier, Grand Teton, and Yellowstone National Parks ~ August 24, 2004

Due to the landslide, we had to make a 2-hour detour around to the town of West Glacier by way of Routes 89 and 2 to get us to the western end of the Going-to-the-Sun Road. Our early start allowed me to get these sunrise photos.

We eventually got to the western edge of the park and headed up the Going-to-the-Sun Road.

After a stop at the Lake McDonald Lodge, we continued on up to the "Trail of the Cedars" Nature Trail. Because of the humidity in this area, the cedars grow to heights of 100 feet and diameters of up to 7 feet. Some of the trees in this area are more than 500 years old.

JoAnn standing next to one of the large Red Cedars along the Trail of the Cedars Nature Trail in Glacier National Park, Montana.

Going-to-the-Sun Road above the Trail of the Cedars in Glacier National Park, Montana.

We followed the road to "The Loop" at Crystal Point, where it was blocked off beyond that point. By now, we were once again getting up into the low clouds, so the views were short-ranged. Adding the fact that we couldn't access the rest of the area between Crystal Point and Logan Pass was even more of a bummer. We left the park impressed, but also depressed, since we didn't get to take in the whole experience.

We left the park and started the 8-hour drive south to Driggs, Idaho. We passed by Flathead Lake, stopped to eat in Missoula, and took I-90 to I-15, west of Butte. We followed I-15 south into Idaho and down to Sage Junction, then went east on Route 33 to Driggs where we spent the night.

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Glacier, Grand Teton, and Yellowstone National Parks ~ August 25, 2004

From the town of Driggs, Idaho, we headed south and east into Wyoming, traveling up and over the mountains and down into Jackson. We then turned north and stopped at Grand Teton National Park. Unfortunately, it was another dismal day and the low rain clouds blocked almost all of the Tetons. We checked out the Visitor Center and then continued north to Yellowstone National Park. It was too early to check into our room near Old Faithful, so we headed up the Grand Loop Road towards Mammoth Hot Springs.

The Lower Geyser Basin was the first area we visited. We saw Elk and Bison along Firehole Lake Drive.

White Dome Geyser, also along the drive, was the first geyser we stopped at.

White Dome Geyser along Firehole Lake Drive in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.

We visited the nearby Fountain Paint Pots and Leather Pool.

Leather Pool in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.

South of Mammoth Hot Springs, the Grand Loop Road meandered through Golden Gate Canyon.

At Mammoth Hot Springs, we walked the boardwalks to check out all of the travertine formations.

We also drove the Upper Terrace Loop Drive there.

After getting some lunch in Mammoth, we retraced our route back towards Old Faithful Lodge. The skies were not looking good in our direction of travel.

A turn onto Firehole Canyon Road took us over to Firehole Falls.

Farther down the Grand Loop Road, we found the road partly-covered with hail after a departing storm.

The skies continued to look unfavorable as we approached the Lower Geyser Basin.

We checked into our bungalow near the Old Faithful Lodge and then waited until "Old Faithful" erupted.

We then took the boardwalk out through most of the Upper Geyser Basin and spent the rest of the day checking out the many different geysers found there.

Beehive Geyser with the Old Faithful Inn in the background in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.

Daisy Geyser in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.

Grand Geyser in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.

Grotto Geyser in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.

Giant Geyser in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.

Morning Glory Pool in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.

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Glacier, Grand Teton, and Yellowstone National Parks ~ August 26, 2004

We set out for the "Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone" by way of Norris Canyon Road. The first stop was Inspiration Point. There were fantastic views of the 20-mile-long canyon. The canyon is up to 1,200-feet deep in spots and about 3/4-of-a-mile wide.

Looking northeast from Inspiration Point into the "Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone" in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.

Looking southwest from Inspiration Point into the "Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone" in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.

Lookout Point gave us our first views of the "Lower Falls of the Yellowstone", a drop of 308 feet.

The Lower Falls of the Yellowstone from Lookout Point at the "Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone" in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.

The Upper Falls of the Yellowstone from Uncle Tom's Point at the "Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone" in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. For perspective, note the people at the top right edge of the falls.
We spent the second night in our bungalow near the Old Faithful Lodge.

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