Day 13 – Montana

Day 13 – Montana

All. The. Wow.

Montana earns its moniker of “Big Sky Country.” We have seen the blue, sunny summer heavens, but I would imagine the grey wintry days are just as splendid.

We arrived a little early to our hotel in Columbia Falls, so we decided to kill time before check-in. Unfortunately, Going-to-the-Sun Road was partially closed due to snow, cutting off the most scenic and interesting drive. But we found a parking spot at the road closure and decided to walk along a well-developed hiking loop that took us by creeks and rivers, through the forest, and back again. It was a beautiful way to be introduced Glacier.

Up early on the second day, we drove around the park to the east side since we couldn’t go through it. A long highway drive, but still, the scenery didn’t disappoint: a roadside waterfall and a moose in the road kept it interesting!

What was forecast to be a balmy and partly cloudy day turned dreary. The rain, wind, and cold was a disappointment because we wanted to hike to Iceberg Lake on the east side of the park. We didn’t get to do that either, but the drive itself was worth the journey.

First, we passed through Browning, home of the Blackfeet Indian. Their heritage is felt strongly throughout the Glacier area, but the reservation land and homesteads are a study in poverty and insufficiency. It breaks my heart to continue to see this throughout many Indian-owned lands. I only have guesses as to why, and wish it didn’t have to be that way.

The contrast between that socioeconomic struggle and the abundance of natural resources and raw beauty is stark. As we made our way toward the Many Glacier waypoint, there was no shortage of swift moving streams, transparent lakes, granite mountaintops, and canopies of aspen trees. Even the bare branches that remain of a once-burned forest that added fascinating texture to the landscape.

The final day sightseeing may have been a bust, but thankfully we will live close enough that we plan to come back another summer when the roads are open and we can plan better for more hiking!

We ended the day only 48 hours out from our destination. The last push west begins today (Friday) and tomorrow night, we go to sleep… at home.