Above photo: McDonald Lodge at Glacier National Park.Photos beginning right and below: Evening hike on a Glacier National Park trail, vehicles for the Red Bus Tours (these are not the free park buses), Glacier National Mountain, and upper glacier meadow from the visitor's center on "Road to the Sun."
Last summer, a sad, unfortunate work incident left me wanting to escape to a peaceful retreat. John and I had always talked about a road trip to Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks. This seemed the perfect time, and the perfect place to go for a brief respite.
John had never been to either of the parks—I had been to Yellowstone and was excited to share a new adventure with him. I felt certain that the beauty of the parks and the serene settings could help heal a wounded heart.
Since we decided to take this trip "at the last minute", we were unable to secure any reservations within Glacier which turned out to be a bit inconvenient. Instead, we stayed at Meadow Lake Resort in Columbia Falls; a city that professes to be the "Gateway to Glacier National Park." It might be the gateway, but this "gate" is about a 30 minute drive to the park entrance.
Meadow Lake Resort was quiet and well-maintained. Activities included golfing (which we did not attempt), walking trails (which we used, but were actually roads used by vehicles throughout the complex), outdoor pool, video rentals and a spa. The restaurant overlooked the greens. The best part of staying at this resort was the day it poured. We began the day with adventure in mind. But it was so unpleasant outside, John chose to watch sports on television and I decided to schedule a hot stone massage and facial at The Spa At Meadow Lake Resort. http://www.spameadowlake.com/. Both the massage and facial were relaxing and pleasant. The atmosphere peaceful. Overall, the experience was worth it...even though the final bill was much higher than I would have paid back home in Silverton, Oregon. Yet I rationalized...."I'm on a rejuvenation vacation," and thought "life is short," and splurged.
The first day in Glacier National Park, the sun was shining brightly while we explored. We tried to drive the Road to the Sun...but there were steep cliffs--dropping off to no where--on one side of the road and steep cliffs rising to no where on the other. The road really did seem to be "going to the sun." My reaction was the same kind experienced while chugging up the zip-line hill in Costa Rica and the bus ride on the Island of Capri (blogs from March). I was terrified and tried to lay down so I couldn't see. There was huge a problem with this...I was driving. John firmly advised, "Linda, turn the car around." Then he coaxed, "we'll take the park bus tomorrow." Generally, I don't like to admit defeat, but I was not enjoying this excursion at all and agreed, "John knows best. " We drove back toward McDonald Lodge and found a peaceful, fairly flat trail to hike before sunset, hoping to see bears. (Clarification: me hoping to see bears--John did not want to see bears). Our only sightings of wildlife that evening were chipmunks and birds.
The following day, we boarded the free (included in the park admission) bus. (Please note that the free park bus is not as regular as the posted schedule would suggest. In fact the schedule was so irregular, we saw only half of what we hoped to see that day. For that reason alone, I might recommend taking the more expensive "Red Bus Tour.") At first, I thought the free bus to be an excellent choice for our day adventure. Mainly because I would not have to drive. It became an even better choice once the road steepened. Soon I found myself on the soft lap of a lady with a five-year-old in the seat right next to me. The five-year-old didn't seem to enjoy sharing a lap with a fifty-plus year-old woman. My husband ignored me as I encroached on this youngster's mother's space. From my prone vantage point, John appeared to have no problem sitting...and even taking pleasure in the views from his window seat. Upon arrival at the upper meadow, I apologized profusely to the woman for laying on her during the ride up. She seemed genuinely accepting of my apology as she hurriedly scooted her son off the bus and away from me. Hmmmm.
At the upper meadow, we were greeted with mostly blue-skies sprinkled with scattered white, fluffy clouds. The soft colorful flowers seemed to dance in the meadow in sync with the chilly breeze. We stood and enjoyed the views for awhile. This....yes, this simple beauty was worth the ride to the top.
John had never been to either of the parks—I had been to Yellowstone and was excited to share a new adventure with him. I felt certain that the beauty of the parks and the serene settings could help heal a wounded heart.Since we decided to take this trip "at the last minute", we were unable to secure any reservations within Glacier which turned out to be a bit inconvenient. Instead, we stayed at Meadow Lake Resort in Columbia Falls; a city that professes to be the "Gateway to Glacier National Park." It might be the gateway, but this "gate" is about a 30 minute drive to the park entrance.
Meadow Lake Resort was quiet and well-maintained. Activities included golfing (which we did not attempt), walking trails (which we used, but were actually roads used by vehicles throughout the complex), outdoor pool, video rentals and a spa. The restaurant overlooked the greens. The best part of staying at this resort was the day it poured. We began the day with adventure in mind. But it was so unpleasant outside, John chose to watch sports on television and I decided to schedule a hot stone massage and facial at The Spa At Meadow Lake Resort. http://www.spameadowlake.com/. Both the massage and facial were relaxing and pleasant. The atmosphere peaceful. Overall, the experience was worth it...even though the final bill was much higher than I would have paid back home in Silverton, Oregon. Yet I rationalized...."I'm on a rejuvenation vacation," and thought "life is short," and splurged.
The first day in Glacier National Park, the sun was shining brightly while we explored. We tried to drive the Road to the Sun...but there were steep cliffs--dropping off to no where--on one side of the road and steep cliffs rising to no where on the other. The road really did seem to be "going to the sun." My reaction was the same kind experienced while chugging up the zip-line hill in Costa Rica and the bus ride on the Island of Capri (blogs from March). I was terrified and tried to lay down so I couldn't see. There was huge a problem with this...I was driving. John firmly advised, "Linda, turn the car around." Then he coaxed, "we'll take the park bus tomorrow." Generally, I don't like to admit defeat, but I was not enjoying this excursion at all and agreed, "John knows best. " We drove back toward McDonald Lodge and found a peaceful, fairly flat trail to hike before sunset, hoping to see bears. (Clarification: me hoping to see bears--John did not want to see bears). Our only sightings of wildlife that evening were chipmunks and birds.
The following day, we boarded the free (included in the park admission) bus. (Please note that the free park bus is not as regular as the posted schedule would suggest. In fact the schedule was so irregular, we saw only half of what we hoped to see that day. For that reason alone, I might recommend taking the more expensive "Red Bus Tour.") At first, I thought the free bus to be an excellent choice for our day adventure. Mainly because I would not have to drive. It became an even better choice once the road steepened. Soon I found myself on the soft lap of a lady with a five-year-old in the seat right next to me. The five-year-old didn't seem to enjoy sharing a lap with a fifty-plus year-old woman. My husband ignored me as I encroached on this youngster's mother's space. From my prone vantage point, John appeared to have no problem sitting...and even taking pleasure in the views from his window seat. Upon arrival at the upper meadow, I apologized profusely to the woman for laying on her during the ride up. She seemed genuinely accepting of my apology as she hurriedly scooted her son off the bus and away from me. Hmmmm.
At the upper meadow, we were greeted with mostly blue-skies sprinkled with scattered white, fluffy clouds. The soft colorful flowers seemed to dance in the meadow in sync with the chilly breeze. We stood and enjoyed the views for awhile. This....yes, this simple beauty was worth the ride to the top.
Even though it was a perfect day to see and photograph the scenery, there wasn't enough time to hike any of the upper trails due to the poor park bus schedule....resulting in a huge disappointment for me. I love the mountains and felt that walking/hiking amongst this beauty would have been a highlight of our trip. I told John, "I guess this just means another future trip to Glacier," and he agreed. Upon our return to the lower park, we were fortunate to witness several mountain goats climbing the rocky terrain. They were too far away to capture a great photo...but what a treat to see!
Photo to above: The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
Photos below: One of the many bison we saw during our drive through Yellowstone National Park, The Grand Canyon Of The Yellowstone; John and Linda near Yellowstone River; and closer view of the Yellowstone River.
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After several days at Glacier, we drove to Yellowstone where we felt like we had won a huge Las Vegas Jackpot when we secured a cabin for one night in the national park near the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.
In a whirlwind tour of the park, we visited Old Faithful, Old Faithful Lodge, Fountain Paint Pot, mud volcanoes, and weaved along the roads shadowing Yellowstone River. It was exciting to happen upon herds of bison. Even more exciting to watch the buffalo for extended periods of time, lazily cross the road, eat grass, drink water....all the while trying not to block those who weren't so excited about these park inhabitants.
We both agreed that more time was needed at both of these National Parks. There is so much to see...so much I'm sure we missed....and yet, this last-minute nature adventure certainly seemed worthwhile.
I'm glad you were able to find a relaxing spot. You deserved it.
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