Trip Out West Part 3: Day 6 at Glacier NP

Part Three: In which we enjoy drinks on the shores of Lake McDonald, drive along the Going-to-the-Sun-Road from west to east, play with our camera a lot, and see a multitude of waterfalls.

Day 6 - Tuesday, August 2:

We awoke to a beautiful morning and view of mountains in Glacier from our lodge room. After getting ready, and packing our stuff up, we met my parents down in their room and made our way to the lobby. There we found various breakfast items - a roll for my dad, a Danish for Adam, and huckleberry flavored soft serve ice cream for Christine and I. It was rather unhealthy but delicious!

The lodge in the morning

We finally met up with everyone and left the hotel at 11 to drive to West Glacier. Last time we were at Glacier in 2005, we took the Going-to-the-Sun Road from east to west, so this time we took it west to east. We stopped in West Glacier for a while before beginning our journey.

Our first stop was Lake McDonald Lodge on Lake McDonald.

Lake McDonald Lodge - Built 1913

Inside the lodge

Cool lanterns inside the lodge
Photo by Adam

At Lake McDonald, Adam and I had fun taking photos and also enjoyed some cold beverages (a beer for Adam and huckleberry margarita for Stef). The view was beautiful.

Lake McDonald

Enjoying cold beverages on the shores of Lake McDonald

Photo by Adam

 We made quite a few stops on our journey along the Going-to-the-Sun Road at any thing that looked interesting. We saw lots and lots of waterfalls and had a lot of fun playing with our new ND filter that allowed us to take the motion blur photos we've been longing to take.

McDonald Falls    This photo is for comparison - normal/fast shutter speed

Same scene with an extra long shutter speed

Same photo with a little different angle
Photo by Adam

A waterfall right along Going-to-the-Sun Road

Adam at one of our stops on Going-to-the-Sun Road

Here you can see how precarious the road is

The Weeping Wall right along the road

By Logan Pass

At the Logan Pass Visitor's Center

Our little friend. We kept hearing a chirping that was coming from this little guy.

There's still a lot of snow up there!

Enjoying the view
Photo by Adam

Sunrift Gorge

Sunrift Gorge
Photo by Adam

We got really lucky on the road construction a few times. They're working on the Going-to-the-Sun Road so there are a lot of delays and one lane areas. Quite a few times we were the last car allowed through before a long delay.

Our scenic drive ended at the Wild Goose Island Overlook at St. Mary's Lake. This is one of my favorite spots in the whole park. It's a gorgeous view.

Wild Goose Island at St. Mary Lake

The fam at St. Mary Lake

We then made the long and windy way to Two Medicine Campground where we met up with everyone, quickly set up our tent, and left for dinner. We went to Serrano's Mexican Restaurant in East Glacier to celebrate Coreen's birthday. I was pleasantly surprised as my meal was excellent!

Happy Birthday!