It was finally time for our 2011 summer vacation!
After a few weeks of preparation, my lady, her brother from St. Louis and I headed up north for a few days to explore Glacier, Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. We had planned to do some camping, hiking, kayaking and river rafting.
DAY 1
The first leg of our trip was scheduled for a 15 hour drive north to St. Mary, Montana just outside the East entrance of Glacier National Park. On the way up we decided to stop at the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, site of Custer’s Last Stand. We watched one of the Park Speakers give a very dramatic lecture about the event for about an hour then took a self guided walking tour of the area.
A view overlooking the meadow where the battle took place.
Refreshed from the stop we drove onward and finally reached our destination around 10:00 pm shortly after sunset which seems to last for hours up in northern Montana.
DAY 2
After a good nights sleep we woke up to this amazing view from the rear deck off our room.
We decided to do some exploring on the first day to get our bearings straight. As if the 15 hour drive the day before was not long enough we took another 4 hour drive into the park and over Going to the Sun Road. It is Montana’s version of Trail Ridge Road here in Rocky Mountain National Park.
Red Bus “Jammers†give tours of the park for a small fee.
On the way over to the West side of the park we stopped at the river and dipped our feet in to check the temperature and the amazing turquoise color…yup…perfect for a leisurely plunge. Hell no! These kids were frickin crazy!
Lake McDonald
Driving into the Logan Pass Visitors Center on the way back up we spotted a deer meandering through the area…
…and a few Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep on the way back down to St. Mary.
DAY 3
Feeling well rested we checked out of the Lodge and took a short 5 mile hike around the end of St. Mary Lake and to St. Mary Falls and Virginia Falls.
St. Mary Falls
Virginia Falls
After our first hike we drove back down and set up camp for the next two nights at the St. Mary Camp ground. Camp grounds and hiking trails in the park are littered with warning signs due to the large bear population. They also provide Bear proof storage boxes at all of the camp sites.
Once camp was set up we drive up to the Many Glacier area to see what activities were available for the next day. We looked into Horse Back Riding but at $160 for a day trip we decided to do some hiking instead.
On the way back to camp we spotted a small Grizzly Bear about 40 yards into the trees. Mama had to be somewhere close so we did not stick around too long.
DAY 4
On our last day in Glacier we decided to take a 10 mile day hike up to Iceberg Lake back up in the Many Glacier area.
View of Lake Sherburne on the way up to the trail head. We knew it was going to be a great day!
There were a few closed trails in the area due to “bear activityâ€. A man was attacked and killed just a few days before we got there. We had a can of Bear Spray on hand prepared for a sudden confrontation. At first we were a bit nervous about walking through the thick brush lining the trail but as time passed we relaxed a bit and focused on the 5 mile ascent to the lake.
Bear Grass is a typical sight around the park. I though it looked like a school of Jellyfish hovering over the meadows. It is actually from the same family as the lily.
Final destination...Iceberg Lake, where we took a lunch break.
Come to find out after our hike that the trail was closed down that afternoon while we were out hiking due to numerous sightings of a sow and her two cubs in the area. It is typical to close an entire area of the park to hikers from time to time in order to let the bears have some “quiet timeâ€.
On our drive back to camp we spotted a mama and baby moose in the river bed.
DAY 5
We packed up camp and drove down to Gardiner some for a much needed shower and a night in a hotel. After a couple pitchers of beer and some pizza we were out like a light.
DAY 6
Our next adventure was to begin by entering the north entrance of Yellowstone National Park and heading south exploring the areas of Mammoth Hot Springs, Tower Falls, Hayden Valley, Mud Volcano’s and Old Faithful…oh and setting up camp at Bridge Bay at some point along the way.
Mammoth Hot Spring Terraces
Lower Tower Falls
Pika in the weeds
Bison in Hayden Valley
Mud Volcano
Dragons Mouth
Mud Geyser
Old Faithful Geyser
Our camp for two nights in Bridge Bay Campground...
DAY 7
Our last day in Yellowstone consisted of a boat tour of Yellowstone Lake and a long walk on the boardwalk around the Old Faithful Geyser Basin. We wanted to rent some Kayaks but they were not available.
Remains of an old 1800’s steam boat
The lake is a 450 feet deep cauldron that was formed by a volcanic blowout about 700 thousand years ago.
Pools and Geysers around the Old Faithful area
Elk feeding next to the trail
DAY 8
Jackson Hole, Wyoming. We broke camp and drove down passing through the Grand Teton National Park and on to Mad River Boat Tours for an 8 mile white water river rafting trip down the Snake River. Due to the massive snow levels over the winter river levels were running twice the normal flow for this time of year. The rapids on our trip reached class 3 level. Sorry…no photos of this as I did not feel like loosing my camera in the river.
A large herd of Elk had just crossed the road in front of us on our way to Jackson.
We spent the last night of our trip at the Rustic Inn Resort in Jackson and went out to the Mangy Moose for dinner and beer…Moose Drool, a locally brewed beverage. Our river guide suggested it as a great local place for some live entertainment and food. Come to find out he is a singer, songwriter, guitar player and was on stage performing an acoustic set that night.
DAY 9
Completely drained of all mental and physical energy from our adventure we drove back to Denver and proceeded to sleep for the next two days.
