Glacier National Park -Day 5

Thursday, July 10

Yesterday evening, after we purchased our "Tour Boat" tickets  for today at Many Glacier, we drove south from St. Mary on U.S. Hwy 89 to Kiowa, Mt. and from there we took the very wiggly, squiggly, scenic Hwy. 49, past the Two Medicine Junction, to East Glacier Park to spend the night.  Our reservation was at the Dancing Bears Inn, a quaint, clean, 1950's style motel.  You know how a lot of motels serve breakfast each morning, well the Dancing Bears Inn serves coffee and snacks from 6:00 a.m.-10: p.m.!  Tom helped himself to a peanut butter and Nutella sandwich as we checked in.

The Continental Divide Trail (stretching from Mexico to Canada) is nearby so there is a Backpacker Hostel here in East Glacier Park.

 Also an Amtrak Train Station...

 ....neat metal sculptures...

...and the smallest underpass!

We were walking about the small town when something caught our eye...Brown House Pottery!  We ventured inside and came out with a beautiful serving plate to add to our collection of handmade pottery at home.

On Thursday morning we got an early start once again and headed back into the Park at the Two Medicine Entrance, which was only four miles from East Glacier Park.  We were so early there was no one at the Entry Booth yet so we continued on into the Park (We have a Senior Pass for all National Parks; in fact, since I forgot to bring my Senior Pass on this trip, I purchased another one yesterday, so now we have TWO.)  Anyway, we were driving slowly along, oohing and aahing over the splendid scenery, no one but us on the road this morning, when suddenly Tom sees red/blue strobe lights behind us!

 What's going on?  What did we do?  What!

Well, Barney Fife, I mean a Park Ranger, walked up to Tom's window and said "Sir, you crossed the center line in the roadway, have you been drinking?  are you on any medication that makes you dizzy?"  Tom politely apologized, explained that we were gawking and admiring the awesome scenery, and since no one else was around, maybe he did veer across the line while looking out at the scenery, and no he has not had anything to drink other than a Mountain Dew (he was still sipping on it), and yes he is on a couple of medications but nothing that would impair his ability to drive a car.  The gung-ho Park Ranger took our car rental info and Tom's license and went back to his patrol car.  It is so remote at this southeast corner of the Park, I guess it must have taken him a while to get a call through to check us out, make sure we were who we said we were and not some threat to society.  Finally, after awhile, he came back and told Tom he was just going to give him a verbal warning this time.  Whew, what a relief.  Not exactly how we planned to start our day today.  Nothing like a little excitement, huh?

We then parked the car (in the same parking lot where we were pulled over by the "Law") and walked along a pretty nature trail to Running Eagle Falls.

 Beauty and solitude.  No one else here but us and the chirping birds, and the rushing water.

                            Our "selfie" at Running Eagle Falls.

 This wildflower looks incredibly similar to our Texas Bluebonnets!

 A fun little footbridge to get closer to the waterfalls...

 We continued on and then arrived at the end of the Park Road at the gorgeous Two Medicine Lake.  BooBoo is awestruck!

It is such a still morning that the lake is a mirror reflecting the surrounding majestic scenery.

 And right across from the canoes are these pretty wildflowers.

Leaving Two Medicine Lake, we headed eastward to Browning where we stopped for Erma to get her second cup of coffee and we picked up some road snacks.  We then headed northward on Montana Hwy. 464.  Out across the high country plains of western Montana, we see rows and rows of these snow fences.  

 When we see those fences, we know this area gets inundated with snow and it makes us so thankful that we live in the South!  We can see for miles here, however if we look to our left (west) we can still see the snow-capped mountains of Glacier National Park.

 Once we reach Babb, Mt., we go just a short ways on U.S. Hwy. 89.  We then head northwest on the Chief Mountain International Highway.  This will take us into Canada and into the Waterton Lakes National Park. 
                       This is another great bicycling road.

 And be careful of livestock on the roadway.

 BooBoo is vigilant, ever watchful for bicycle riders and cows!

                   Sofa Mountain is tucked away in the clouds.

We are about to leave the good ole U. S. A. for a short while as we venture into the Canadian side of Glacier.

 We entered into Canada at the Chief Mountain Customs (open in Summer only).....

Entering Waterton Glacier International Peace Park...

Stopping in the Park to allow horseback riders to cross the roadway.

Our first glimpse of the Prince of Wales Hotel....

 the Prince of Wales Hotel sits high on a hill with incredible views of the surrounding Park...

 

When Tom saw these guys he said "I'm glad I don't have to dress like that where I work." 

 

 After checking out the Lobby area of the Hotel, we go for a short walk around back and down the hill on a trail, admiring the wildflowers.

 No we did not see any foxes!

 What a commanding hilltop location!

We drove around thru Waterton Village on the waterfront.

 Just past the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Station, we saw a mountain goat roaming through town!

Wow!  Another waterfall!  Cameron Falls is actually multiple falls!

                    So beautiful!

Since we are booked on the 4:30 p.m. Boat Tour at Many Glacier today, we enjoyed a sandwich at a Subway Shop in the village and then headed toward the park's exit.  Rather than backtrack (on the "cow" road) we decided to drive eastward to Cardston, Alberta, Canada. 
The terrain doesn't look any different than its neighbor to the south, Montana.

                                 Good-Bye Canada!

                                      Hello America!

We reenter the U.S. at the Piegan Customs on Can. Hwy.2/U.S. Hwy. 89, which is only about ten miles north of Babb, Mt.

 This border crossing is much larger and busier than the Chief Mountain Customs where we crossed earlier in the day.  There were two lines of vehicles but it moved along pretty smoothly and within 20 minutes we were on our way.

                        This is the old U.S. Customs building.

and just inside the U.S. is this wonderful sculpture depicting the peace with the Indian Nation, American and Canadian Indians.

We have just enough time to go to Montana's Duck Lake Lodge (our home for the night) and get checked in before our Boat Tour. 

 In a country setting, beside a small fishing pond, this Lodge has eight rooms upstairs, all sharing two powder rooms, two shower rooms, and two bathrooms, located across the hallway from our room.
                There is a large open communal room downstairs... 

 

 

...and a restaurant downstairs...with outdoor seating on the deck...

 

 

We have a corner room, overlooking the deck and the tent and RV camping area.  Our king-size bed is so high off the floor, they furnish this step stool to get into bed.

In my next post, I'll cover the rest of today, including our awesome boat tour on Swiftcurrent Lake and Lake Josephine.