Happy Place Part 9

Alright, I say it's time to finish off the Glacier National Park segment. It's sad I know, I hate to see it go but there will be new topics to write on. I've been gone the last few days taking care of business and did some hiking so I may have another interesting twist to add with photos of recent journeys here on the blog.

So where we left off last time was moving from upper Saint Mary Lake to lower Saint Mary Lake. That's where these photos were taken, then the final leaving of the park on it's east side where I crossed a bridge into the little town of St. Mary. This is the Glacier National Park Happy Place grand photo finish finale!



Rolling east and picking up the fledgling start of the prairie ecosystem with large open spaces between tree lines. Otokomi Mountain is on the left and East Flattop Mountain is on the right.

East Flattop Mountain.

Lower Saint Mary Lake.

Hiking the trail down from the road towards the lake, looking back up the trail at East Flattop Mountain.

I won't lie, I wanted to take a break and sit on the shore, rinse my hands and wash my face in the water on that hot summer's day. I found there's a steep ledge at this part of the lake and I could only stand above looking down at the water but not get to it. I'm sure if I had more time I'd find a way down to the water's edge.



The sort of ground foliage found near the US/Canadian border during the summer.

This place is like an outdoor flower shop.



I'm a far cry from being considered a "hippie" but almost anybody walking around on these trails will feel in some sense like they are in a different time, sort of like some free spirited 1960's flower child.

The view of where I just came from, looking back to the west.

Heading back up to the road, one last glance back at the lake. If I could get down to the water, it might be hard to resist drinking it. By this time of day, the bottled water in my cooler was getting warm. I'm guessing this is fresher water than what's found in most US lakes, certainly fresh glacier melt and ice cool. That being said I suppose I'd run the risk of coming down with some 50 million year old prehistoric bug that's been frozen in time as opposed to common modern water contaminates, then bring it back to civilization and cause a primordial pandemic.

I had to at least get a photo of myself standing in front of Glacier National Park scenery as proof I was here so folks back home didn't think I somehow devised a genius robotic rig contraption that automatically controlled the car and the camera; so they could not accuse me of sitting in a comfy building hundreds of miles away while remotely driving the car and snapping scenic shots (Google Street View style) all with the use of large antennas and a joystick controller. No drones! This was a manned Montana mission, even if I was that smart, I'd still have to see this place in person. So yes, here's me setting the timer on the camera and getting into the scenery as proof I was here. Admittedly this is one of the largest drawbacks of these long solo road trips, no other people to help with photography.

The visitor's center at the east entrance of Glacier National Park (Town of St. Mary). A common ground convergence spot for Americans, Blackfeet, & Canadians.

Looking back to the west from the outskirts of St. Mary. St. Mary river flows from the lake. The mountains I just travelled through are in the background. It was an epic amazing journey. My first trip to Glacier and I certainly don't plan to make it my last.

From here, I crossed the bridge into the small town of St. Mary. By small I do mean small, it's main economy is tourism, it consists of a few buildings and several houses.

Alright that wraps up the Glacier trip. Before the week is out I do plan to get some photos up here from my drive along the road to Canada, I managed to capture some spectacular scenery from the outside of Glacier National Park looking in on it's east side, plus non park scenery but other very scenic roadside views going to the US/Canadian border.

I certainly want to get back Glacier National Park. What was planned as just a simple passing through event that day turned into a life changing event for me. I'm glad I chose that route. I had destinations to be at but in seeing Glacier on the way through, it certainly enticed me enough to go back. If I do I'd plan on spending a good two weeks just hiking around into all the corners of the park and taking photos. The pass to drive through alone was $25/person but it was good for a week, so even if you don't camp in the park you could still be lodging in St. Mary, Kalispell or Whitefish and make trips into the park a week long event and it's well worth it. I'm not even sure if two weeks is enough time to explore it well, it probably takes a lifetime obsession and constant trips. It's certainly enriched my life and given me my own piece of sacred ground I favor heavily. It's in my top ten favorite places I've been to if not top five or three favorite places on Earth.

In conclusion: I was really very deeply drawn to this place, It was on many levels a spiritual journey.