Glacier National Park: Part One
Across the 1st and 2nd of June, it was
just me and my sister, and we wanted to have an adventure. If we are being very
very honest, I am not very outdoorsy.
But I am a biologist! I should love the outdoors. One of my goals for this
summer is to put more effort into spending time outside. I feel like I’m
increasingly stuck inside doing work, especially because I am now working full
time during the week, as well as picking up a couple of classes in the summer.
I really should make time to get out there. I really wanted to see some
wildlife. In Nova Scotia, the animals are small and overly friendly to people.
In contrast, here we have an abundance of megafauna that are really amazing. We
have bighorn sheep, mountain goats, elk, deer, bears, wolves, mountain lions,
and they are free and untamed. Part of what really draws me in out here is the
untamed nature of the land. A major part of this untamed wilderness is Glacier
National Park in northern Montana. It also reaches into Canada under a
different name.
Glacier National Park is what I love about Montana in a
nutshell. Rushing rivers, towering mountains, vast untouched areas. It’s so
magnificent. There is one road that
goes all the way across the park from east to west, and it is currently snowed
in. Yes, it is June. Yes, the road really is closed because of snow.
On Saturday, we decided to tackle the eastern end of the
park, so we packed up the car and drove the hour and a half, or so. On the way,
we stopped at the Hungry Horse Dam and Reservoir in Hungry Horse, Montana. I
saw some of the prettiest views off of the dam. You can see the mountains that
are inside of Glacier National Park off in the distance. The water was so still
that it reflected the sky back like a mirror. It was breathtaking.
On the way to the park, we did see some deer, and a black
bear, as well as a very sad looking moose. Also, here the farm animals roam
free. There are signs everywhere that say to watch out for the cows on the
road. We didn’t see any cows, but we did see a large number of horses a little
too close to the road. It’s still really cool.
As we drove to the park, you could see the devastation of
the forest fires that run through the forest every few years. Some of the
damage is from fires that happened before I was born, but are still quite
evident. Once we got to the park, we had a bit of lunch, and then went for a
hike, where we climbed a very steep hill that turned out to be a mountain. Yay
for us! Mountaineers. Montana also has a large collection of entertaining
signs.
We were really after some critters. I wanted to see some
wildlife, but for the most part they were hiding. Oh well. It was a really good
time.
