We left Coeur d’ Alene knowing we had a long drive ahead of us. We typically drive around 100 miles every 3 to 7 days. But the wildfires in Washington changed our timetable and itinerary and we had to move faster than we like to get to our reservation in Coram, Montana. Bill knows the importance of taking a break every hour or so when driving a large vehicle, so with a couple breaks and a nice lunch break, it took us 6 hours to reach Coram. As we drove through the northern tip of Idaho and western Montana we were amazed at all the large, beautiful lakes and magnificent views. We saw mile after mile of farmland with crops and freshly cut hay in the fields. As we traveled farther and farther east, the temperature also continued to climb.
We reached the private campground in Coram, Montana about 5 miles from the entrance to Glacier National Park. Since the temperature was in the nineties, we were really hoping for a site with some shade. While the park has very few trees, they did assign us a spot with a small tree that afforded us a little shade. Since many campsites were in the blazing sun, we were grateful for even a little shade. During much of our week in Coram the daytime highs were in the low 90’s but in the 50’s at night. We would start the day with the heat on and then by lunchtime we were turning on the AC.
Our first day we awoke eager to begin exploring the park. Glacier National Park was established in 1910 and encompasses over a million acres, includes parts of two mountain ranges, has over 130 named lakes, over 700 miles of hiking trails, more than 1,000 species of plants and hundreds of species of animals. Glacier National Park borders Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada and together the two parks are known as the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, established in 1932 as the world’s first International Peace Park. Both parks are designated by the United Nations as World Heritage sites and Biosphere Reserves.
The best way to view the park is by driving along the Going-To-The-Sun Road. This 50 mile road, which bisects the park from the east to west, is one of the world’s most spectacular roads and an engineering marvel. The road follows the shores of the park’s two largest lakes, hugging cliffs below the Continental Divide until it reaches Logan’s Pass at an elevation of over 6,600 feet. The views as you climb up into the sky are truly stunning with views of mountains, lakes and waterfalls. It is hard to imagine how they put in this road alongside the cliffs. As you look at the pictures try to pick out the Going-To-The-Sun Road in the middle of the pictures. It is a small line in the middle of the picture. That is the road we
drove! Two of our favorite waterfalls was Haystack Falls and Bird Woman Falls. Bird Woman Falls is just west of the Continental Divide which means the water here will eventually make its way to the Pacific Ocean. Amazing! This falls was named for Sacajawea, the Native American guide who led Lewis and Clark through the wilderness. The word Sacajawea means “Bird Woman”.
Haystack waterfall
Bird Woman Falls, nearly 500 feet tall fed by snowmelt
On our first day we intended to drive as far as Logan’s Pass and turn around and drive back to our campground on the western side of the park, saving the eastern side of the Going-To-The-Sun Road for another day. It took us quite awhile to get to Logan’s Pass because at every turn we wanted to stop at an overlook and take pictures and marvel at the views before us. Near Logan’s Pass we saw mountain goats grazing alongside the mountains. 
When we reached Logan’s Pass the parking lot was full and the Ranger was waving everyone on to the next parking area a quarter of a mile away. When we reached that area it too was full. We decided to skip the Visitor’s Center and return another day. We turned around but at that moment a helicopter landed in the middle of the road, blocking traffic in both directions. We heard that someone had suffered an asthma attack and it appeared that it would be awhile before the road was open again. We decided to turn around again and head east which meant we would have a much longer way home but at least we would end up seeing the eastern side of the park which was better than waiting in the hot sun for the road to eventually re-open. The eastern area of the Going-To-The-Sun Road is undergoing some extensive road repair as they replace the stone retaining walls, drainage pipes, asphalt and everything else that deteriorates with age, traffic and winter weather since the road first opened in 1933. This meant we drove through three areas of one lane roads with some minor delays. It was while waiting at one of these delays that we saw a baby cub lumbering across the road right in front of our car. We looked for the mama bear but didn’t see her.
Can you find the bear cub?
Saint Mary Lake
Once we left the park boundary on the east we drove through the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. It was quite a long way home and while the Road-To-The-Sun is amazing, it is
Tepees come in many sizes
the only road through the park, which can be pretty inconvenient. If you are on the west and want to do something on the east side of the park, you either have to drive the 50 miles on the Road-To-The Sun which is very crowded and slow going with cars and tour buses pulling
in and out of overlooks or drive south outside the park around to the east and go in that entrance. Either way it is over a two hour drive each way to get from one side to the other. We also found if you want to get a parking place at Logan’s Pass or at one of the popular trailheads, you better get an early start in the morning. The park has a marvelous free shuttle bus system that you can catch at various places throughout the park which takes you to different locations if you don’t want to drive or worry about parking. We didn’t ride the bus but one of our neighbors at our campground and his wife are spending their summer working for Glacier National Park driving the shuttle buses.
Our first day at Glacier National Park was pretty amazing!
Mountain reflection on Lake McDonald
McDonald Lake
