Travels with Walter: Glacier Park

Last week my sister came to visit me from Illinois and we went to Glacier Park for five wonderful days of freezing weather, spitting snow, cold winds, and occasional sun beams. Bummer that I had to leave Walter at home. Evidently he sat by the door for about 5 hours after I left and when I got back he actually climbed on top of me and started verbally telling me off for leaving him.

It took us about five hours to drive from Spokane to West Glacier. We stayed at the Apgar campground, our old favorite. I did not realize it unti this trip but my sister is a wee bit afraid of bears and that is why she always wants to stay at Apgar. It is a bigger campground in a more populated area of the park and it makes her feel more secure.

It really was cold while we were there. Daytimes were in the 70s but it got down into the 30s at night. I am normally not a cold kind of person but I guess my hypothalamus was a bit delayed in adjusting to a change in environmental temp. On the last night we were there I went to bed wearing wool blend long underwear, polar fleece pants, thermal socks, a wool shirt, polar fleece vest, stocking hat and gloves and I was all zipped up in my sleeping bag with the hood tight over my head. Darn cold.

We hung out a lot at the lake. I took one of my tiny kayaks along and paddled on Lake McDonald during one of the weather reprieves. I went for a hike up along the Garden Wall, saw some mountain goats, drove up to Polebridge for some absolutely wonderful carbs from the bakery, and hung out at Bowman Lake for several hours. I have decided that next time I go to Glacier I am going to camp at Bowman (unless my sister is with me) because there is NOTHING there but mountain and lake. The road is shit so no big trailers and motor homes are there. Mostly just small trailers and folks in tents in a campground that has only about 20 spots. And the lake is amazing with the mountains in the background.

We also went into Whitefish one day when the weather was just too horrible and goofed around. It is sort of a ritual to go on the rainy day. I read a good book called Peace Like a River by Leif Enger. Pretty good.

I will post some photos now that I took but I hope my sister sends me some that she took as well. Most of my pictures are of different scenes of Lake McDonald which always enchants me.

Lake McDonald Pics