Glacier National Park

The Crown Jewel of the Continent, Glacier National Park lives up to its name. Located in the northwest corner in my favorite state of Montana, my visit to this park couldn’t be overshadowed by the wildfire that started the night before we got there. For the longest time, I had been “racing” to get here, to see the glaciers in their fading glory (for a long time they were expected to melt by 2020). It was almost poetic that my visit coincided with one of the worst wildfire year’s on record, with smoke blowing in from California and Idaho. And then worsened when a lightning strike caused a wildfire in the park the night before Doug and I got there.

The wildfire in Glacier also had the effect of shutting down Going To The Sun Road, frequently rated as one of the most scenic drives in the world. We could drive up to basically the mid point and scoot around, but couldn’t go from one side of the park to the other. Although the conditions were perfectly aligned with my mission to document the national parks as they are and to capture changes over time, the photographer in me can’t help but think of all the crisp scenes that await in Glacier.

This park has it all. Massive mountains, glacial lakes, seemingly endless hiking trails, and wildlife galore! We saw black bear cubs playing in the meadow, a momma moose chasing her baby across the shores of a lake, bighorn sheep stampeding down the trail at us, a mountain goat sitting in a cliffside cave, marmots galore, pikas, and all other kinds of critters. Sadly no grizzlies, but one of our main hikes we wanted to do was closed because of grizzly activity, so they were definitely around!

I guess with my lack of clear skies and no grizzly sightings, I’ll just have to go back!