Glacier National Park -- Day 2

You know you are not in Ohio when you carry bear spray repellent in your bike backpack.

The lodge where we are staying is very rustic with a large fireplace and a hunting lodge décor.  We drove to Avalanche Campgrounds on the Road to the Sun to begin our day.  This is the 50 mile long road that joins the Western to the Eastern parks.  It is considered one of the most scenic drives in the world.  This road is not fully open this time of year due to snow and or avalanches.  We learned at breakfast that on weekends before the start of the main season the road is open to bicycle traffic only.  This is a unique opportunity to bike on this road without having to be concerned with car traffic.  We took advantage of this chance and road our bikes 8 miles one way up this road.  We stopped many times along the way to take pictures of the surrounding snow covered mountains, the many waterfalls, and the raging McDonald creek which runs parallel to the road.  The water in the creek was crystal clear and we could actually see the creek bottom.  We were very lucky to see a black bear crossing the road in front of us just 2 miles into our ride.  Fortunately, the bear was not very interested in us and we did not have to use the bear repellent.  We stopped at the Loop and decided to hike the Loop trail.  We left our bikes at the trail head and proceeded to hike about 30 minutes into the trail.  Once back at the trail head, we got back onto our bikes and proceeded to ride the 8 miles back to the car.  Fortunately, this mostly downhill.  We had our second bear sighting along the way.  This time we were able to get much closer which resulted in some very good pictures as the bear was crossing the road.  What a thrill!!

We lunched at the lodge and decided to hike the Avalanche Lake trail.  This 2 mile one way trail took us along the Avalanche Gorge and river which is fed by Avalanche Lake.  This hike through a heavily wooded area with many up and downhill sections cumulated at Avalanche Lake.  The lake is surrounded by several mountains which make for a very picturesque sight.  We returned to the car very tired, but pleased with our efforts.

On the way back to the lodge we stopped at McDonald Falls to once again see and hear the raging crystal clear water of this river.

We had a full day.  We will be leaving in the morning for East Glacier where we will spend the day and night.  This will give us the opportunity to visit this side of the park.

Pictures can be seen at:  https://picasaweb.google.com/tschick62/201165GlacierNationalParkDay2?authkey=Gv1sRgCLrPsPeiuIeS_wE&feat=directlink

More later. . .