Business and Pleasure–Days Five and Six: More Glacier
The forecast on Tuesday morning was, if anything, more ominous than the one from the night before. But even if I hadn’t been checking the forecast, I could see that darker clouds already beginning to form in the distance. My GPS routed me through a back road rather than the main roads between my hotel and the park. It was not crowded, so I could take my time and enjoyed the scenery. I went by the Apgar Visitor Center to get my usual walking stick medallion and magnet, as well as to talk to a ranger to get information about the best use of the time I had available. Even though I had looked at information on the website, the ranger’s info is always up-to-date, and they can answer specific questions I have. I learned that, not only was the middle portion of the Going-to-the-Sun Road completely closed due…
Business and Pleasure–Days Three and Four: Glacier at Long Last
And thus began two days of marathon driving, over 1100 miles from Minneapolis to the eastern entrance to Glacier National Park. I’ve driven distances like this before, but I was trying to beat a strong winter storm that was forecast to approach from the west by Wednesday. If I met my schedule of arriving by Monday afternoon, I would have about a day and a half to enjoy the park. Interstates took me from Minneapolis into Montana, primarily via I94 through North Dakota. The interstate actually cuts through the south portion of another national park, Theodore Roosevelt NP. I didn’t stop since I had already visited the park less than a year before (see http://singin1.com/a-quick-trip-theodore-roosevelt-np-day-two/). This was also not my first visit to Montana, having driving through initially ten years earlier during my first Goin’ West trip. The scenery was glorious, and I hadn’t even reached the park yet. I…
The Singin’ Tourist in the SW USA (Afterthoughts)
It’s hard to believe that it has been a month since I finally made this trip that has been on my wish list for a decade. And what a difference a decade makes! I still don’t feel like I’ve fully recovered from the trip. Yet, I’m already contemplating one more venture while I’m still in Iowa. This time, I want to visit Glacier National Park in northwestern Montana. I was close to visiting it in the summer of 2018, but from Missoula I had to decide to go 250 miles due north to Glacier or continue on my originally planned route towards Seattle. Time and budget–and just finishing an incredible visit to Yellowstone NP–were the deciding factors. Now, though, I’ve got the option of taking Amtrak there or driving the Silver Bullet. It will be hard to leave the car and the freedom to change plans, but I admit that…