West Glacier, Apgar Village & Going to the Sun
Road:
Today was our day to visit Glacier National Park. Our pre-trip research
had us anticipating a beautiful ride along the "Going-to-the-Sun
Road",
a 50 mile bi-way that bisects the park, providing the traveler with
stunning, panoramic views of the glaciers. Unfortunately, fate was
not on our side. At the entrance of the park was a sign stating that
Logan Road was closed due to a rock slide. We were quick to learn that
Logan Road = Going-to-the-Sun Road. From this entrance we could only
drive less than a quarter of the way along the road; if we wanted to
see the rest of the park we would have to take the perimeter drive
to the east side.
Not to be deterred, we stopped at the historic Apgar Village for
a chance to sit by Lake McDonald while enjoying our morning coffee/tea
and wonder at the serene sight before us. As always, Lily, draws
lot of attention of many visitors; Lacey and her father were some
of those. Lacey was a charming little 18 mo old girl that was
simply facinated by dogs. Her father takes advantage of this facination
to provide Lacey with learning opportunities on how to greet new
dogs. On this morning, Lily was the magnet that drew Lacey's attention.
Greeting Lily is nothing new, she welcomes the attention of the people
we meet in our travels....she's very much the tourist. what is most
interesting about this little greeting is that Lily has a very limited
exposure to children -- any children....almost none in fact. As you
can see by the pictures, Lacey & Lily became fast friends.
Time to get back in the truck and follow the road up as far as it
will take us. Some wonderful river overlooks for Tyree to drool at
kayaking opportunities. Lily is once again in the scrapbooks of other
people's vacations...LOL...we met up with a couple from Austrailia
and Lily just tugged at their memories of the long-gone shepherd
of their past that held a special place in their heart. They asked
to video her so they could show their friends and family back home.
Long before we were ready it was time for us to turn around
to make the perimeter ride to the other side.
From Glacier.National-Park.com: "Going-to-the-Sun
Road History- After the creation of the park, the growing staff of
park rangers needed housing and offices to help protect the new park.
The increasing number of park visitors made the need for roads, trails,
and hotels urgent. The Great Northern Railway built a series of hotels
and small backcountry lodges, called chalets, throughout the park.
A typical visit to Glacier involved a train ride to the park, followed
by a multi-day journey on horseback. Each day after a long ride in
the mountains, guests would stay at a different hotel or chalet.
The lack of roads meant that, to see the interior of the park, visitors
had to hike or ride a horse. Eventually, the demand for a road across
the mountains led to the building of the Going-to-the-Sun Road.
The
construction of the Going-to-the-Sun Road was a huge undertaking.
Even today, visitors to the park marvel at how such a road could
have been built. The final section of the Going-to-the-Sun Road,
over Logan Pass, was completed in 1932 after 11 years of work.
The road is considered an engineering feat and is a National Historic
Landmark. It is one of the most scenic roads in North America.
The construction of the road forever changed the way visitors would
experience Glacier National Park. Future visitors would drive over
sections of the park that previously had taken days of horseback
riding to see."
The Going-to-the-Sun road is the only route in the
Park that leads to the Continental Divide. Although it is free of
snow and open to vehicles just 3-4 months a year, it is the most
popular route through the park. |