Glacier National Park, Flathead and Whitefish Lakes in western Montana
Rockypoint at Lake McDonald, Glacier National Park
We loved our time in Colombia Falls and Kalispell (Cows-bell), Montana. These towns are the gateways to Flathead and Whitefish Lakes and the spectacular Glacier National Park. The secret is out about how beautiful these places are, the tourism and traffic is very heavy there. This post is a long one because of the spectacular scenery in this area, a lot of which is pictures. We took a few great hikes while in the area, a couple scenic drives and even found two Montana horse shows. We love Montana!
On our hike out to Rocky Point, we stopped for lunch on the McDonald Creek
Steve made his first prototype rock arch after lunch
Prototype, yes the rocks are suspended! yay!
Rock Arch pose.
McDonald Creek...aaahhhhhh
A couple of moments in time during our scenic drive up the Flathead River
A trio of shots from our hike on the Danny On Trail at Whitefish Lake
Fancy horses and riders at the jumping horse show
A series of random shots from our scenic drive up and around the Hungry Horse Lake area.
Gari by the Glory Hole at the Hungry Horse hydroelectric concrete dam. The Glory Hole is part of an emergency overflow system.
Gari out front at the Quarter Horse Cutting Show. These Quarter Horse folks know how to have a good time!
Poppy the Rat Terrier wiggle worm came over to visit Steve during the Cutting Horse show
Our campsite in Evergreen, MT. Just outside Kalispell - - (Cows-Bell) ;-)
The going to Avalanche Lake in Glacier National Park
Gari at the Trail of the Cedars Trail Head in Glacier National Park
A mile down Trail of the Cedars the Trail Head to Avalanche Lake ia found
Steve crossing a stream along Trail of the Cedars
Steve taking a video of a slip canyon
Looking into the slip canyon
Gari going upstream to Avalanche Lake
Sensational erosion patterns
Beauty
Dense forest hiking up to Avalanche Lake. We saw fresh Grizzly Bear scat on this trail :-0
The mountains in Glacier are spectacular.
Steve in front of scenic mountains
Who put this huge rock in the woods?
Our first glimpse of Avalanche Lake
Steve on the shore of Avalanche Lake
Gari is down by the lake
We walked along the rocky shore
A rock stack left by a previous hiker
A different kind of Rockfish
The tourquoise yet crystal clear water of Avalanche Lake; see the submerged log?
Avalanche Lake and surrounding mountains reflecting in the water
Stopping for a lunch snack at Avalanche Lake
Avalanche Lake
We drove to the center of Glacier National Park which is Logan Pass and hiked to Hidden Lake. The scenery there and on the way was magnificient. What do you think?
A small glacier in the mountains on the way.
We saw many Red Buses going back and forth from Logan pass. There goes one approching the triple arches.
Red Bus past the arches. Still going up to Logan's Pass.
The glaciers look small but the mountains are gigantic
Hidden Lake Trail Head at Logan's Pass
The trail started with a long boardwalk. We called the glacier at the bottom of that small mountain the FogHorn LegHorn Glacier. Kind of looks like the old cartoon rooster don't you think?
A larger mountain and larger glacier.
Gari on a rock in the boardwalk portion of the trail.
The sun is starting to break through the clouds and smoke from the forest fires.
Gari at the FogHorn LegHorn Glacier.
FogHorn LegHorn Glacier.
Getting closer to Hidden Lake. This is a small lake before Hidden Lake. See Bearhat Mountain with the vertical crack, Hidden Lake lies at the foot of Bearhat.
Closer to the small lake Gari gets a picture with a couple of small glaciers in the background.
Gari spotted a Big Horn Sheep. Can you see it?
Zooming in
Big Horns!
Keep going to the lake
Rounding the corner looking back, the Big Horn is still there
There's our first gllimpse of Hidden Lake in front of Bearhat Mountain.
We decided to walk a little farther and see the lake from another angle.
The smoke is clearing very well and the sun is coming out
Hidden Lake into the sun really accentuates the smoke
Mountain Goat in our path! It has a radio collar on, must be a trouble maker...
Steve doesn't want a head butting contest and goes around
It's a mama goat calling her kids.
There are the kids lagging behind
Here they come a running now
What?! Now a Hoary Marmot races past in front
More goats!
Steve considers goat herding
We loved Glacier National Park!
We gotta go, see ya next visit.
