Our scenic cruise on Lake McDonald isn’t until 1:30 but parking gets horrific at the lodge so we head that way early.  Traffic is light but it is slow going because of construction.  With the benefit of Carol’s handicap parking permit, we find a spot without much trouble.  Great.  We have time to explore in and around the Lodge and lake and even stop in for a drink.  I go for a Huckleberry Smash and Carol a local ale.  We share a charcutier board that includes bison pastrami and braised duck along with goat cheese; all this at the lounge with a view, Lucke Bar.

We board the DeSmit and even get a top deck seat for the launch.  It is an interesting ride with fair commentary and nice mountain views.  The NE lake shore is another area of recovering fire scar so a bit sad looking.  A bald eagle perches atop a blackened snag.  The tour is just one hour so we are off by 2:30 and determine we have the energy for a nearby trail, The Trail of Cedars.  It is a short 1-mile boardwalk through gigantic cedars and other moist- ground loving species. It is amazing to find these trees here.  Even the fallen trees are impressive.  Check this out.  Very cool.

We head home to BLTs for dinner and a quiet evening with another chance to watch the deer that move through camp.

We start the day with a quick breakfast, eggs and cinnamon rolls.

Oxbow lake trailhead is at the Apgar Visitor Center here near camp and the trail follows roughly along McDonald Creek.  We are joined briefly by a doe and fawn and spot a beaver lodge in the oxbow.  The walk is otherwise quiet and relaxing as it is mostly flat.

We take a bit of a break but have energy for another walk.  We go for the Fire and Forest Nature trail.  It passes through a large burn scar from a 2001 fire and provides an impressive lesson on forest succession and the story of local fire dependent species; larch, lodgepole and aspen.  Thick undergrowth with lots of berries makes for great grizzly habitat.  I have the bear spray but am relieved to not need it.  There is a bit more elevation change than we anticipated so we are both a bit tired by the end of the walk.  We total 4 ½ miles for the day.

Carol serves up delicious chicken tacos for dinner and we have our feet up for the night.  Another great day.

Up late and a lazy breakfast of waffles with blueberry compote.  Carol starts cinnamon roll dough to set it rising.  We make a pass through our phone booth, quarter turn bridge, to check in and research a couple planned stops then we are off to explore.  Carol makes the turn to leave the lot at the bridge and two black bears cross the road in front of us.  Very cool.  We swing by Apgar Village to pick up firewood (perfect dry wood and a nice selection of kindling) and cruise the souvenir shops then head on home.

Cinnamon rolls are formed, left to rise then baked.  As they come out of the oven, we sit down to burgers and potato salad for dinner.  Delicious.

Later there is campfire under a clear, dark, starlit sky.  No s’mores tonight.  We go for a fresh cinnamon roll and hot tea and enjoy a perfect ending to the day.

We are up at 5:45, make the drive east on US 2, and are parked in front of Glacier Lodge (aka Big Tree Lodge) by 8:20AM.  There is plenty of time to relax in the sun on their porch before our 9AM departure. It is a beautiful day.  The air is cool this morning but the sun brilliantly warm.  More and more folks are milling on the porch.  Looks like it’s going to be a full bus.  Before long a bus, then a second bus, show up in the lower lot.  Ah, two heading out at nine.  The drivers have lists and divide up the group.  We go with ‘Jammer Todd’ and get assigned to a comfy middle row on bus 79.  Biggest guy rides shotgun and short-legged groups get the backseat.  We are pretty happy with our deal.  Todd is a fun host for the duration.  He talks quite a bit but keeps it interesting and makes some maybe slightly off the normal plan stops – we don’t get back til 6PM vs the planned 5PM return.  We learn about the bus; originals were built by White with bodies built of oak clad with metal (doors still are originals – riders are not to open or close them). Current chassis and engines were rebuilt and sport Ford engines – originally gas or propane now all run only on gas.  There is a prototype electric one being trialed, not on the tour circuit here yet.  We learn about the Amtrak station and the lodge, Built by Great Northern Railroad using huge pines hauled in from Oregon by train.  It is cool looking – slight disappointment learning that the great columns in the lobby nowadays are some sort of posts clad in pine bark.

On to the real ride.  We circle around the south side of the park on US 2.  Todd relates stories and points out mountain vistas at stops along the way.  We pass Chief Calfcoat Mountain and hear Blackfoot stories as related by Todd.  At Goat Lick we stop to stretch our legs and look for goats (no luck today either).  Before long we make the turn onto Going to the Sun Road.  We stop near Apgar Campground to stroll among cedar trees and learn of the microclimate here that supports them and why they are frequently found growing in straight lines – it’s all about nursery logs.  We bump through the construction zone to McDonald Lodge by noon where we enjoy our picnic lunch by the lake.   There is a stop along McDonald Creek, views of the Continental Divide arête and its missing tooth, we pass the weeping rock wall of waterfalls, and take a stroll at Sun Point to overlook St Mary Lake.  Along the way we get a nice look at an impressive big horn sheep but he is there and then gone so fast we don’t get a picture.  We are back an hour late but worth every minute.  It has been a great no stress way to see the park.

We relax in the lounge at Glacier Inn for a few then make our way back to Apgar after a full day.  We are just putting our feet up when a low rumble starts.  The Going to the Sun paving crew is just outside of the campground and the equipment literally makes the ground vibrate.  As we head off to bed the rumble is becoming fainter as they move on down the road away from us.

First, quarter turn bridge; an actual curved bridge over McDonald creek just at the confluence with the Middle Fork of the Flathead River.  The structure is amazing and the location completely quiet, just one fisherman a bit down river.  I notice he’s on his phone, we have four bars.  This will likely be one of the prettiest cell phone booths we’ll visit this trip!  We move on to recommendation 2, Rocky Point Trail just above Fishing Creek Campground.  We twist through the heavily wooded NW shoreline of Lake McDonald and pop out on the namesake rocky point above the lakeshore.  It is a bit overcast but the view is still lovely.  The return hike brings us to just over 4 miles for the day so far.  One more stop, The Polebridge Mercantile, highly recommended for its bakery.  We bump our way out Outside North Fork Road about 7 miles paved and 10 miles minimally maintained gravel.  A collection of small businesses includes outfitters and guides and our targeted stop, The Mercantile.  We get a bonus, the Northern Lights Saloon, they have cocktails and local drafts plus an interesting lunch menu.  We know we’ll be back but check out the bakery first where we emerge with a huckleberry rollie, fruit fritter, and a poppyseed and chocolate rollie.  Then it’s back to the Saloon and lunch: Me-Glacier Lily cocktail of gin, elderberry and lemon.  Carol-Montana Mama featuring huckleberry and vodka.  The drinks are followed by shared plates of smoked elk quesadilla and a smoked elk huckleberry BBQ sandwich.  I just have to swing back by the mercantile for a huckleberry macaroon.  Ok, heading home.  Bumpity bump. What a great day so far.

Back at camp we check out the evening ranger program which chronicles the role and impact of people in the Glacier Park area through the years.  Interesting and nicely presented.  A cheeseboard and wine close out the day.

It was after 1AM when we got to bed last night and fog was thick when we woke.  Nope, not getting up.  We slept in and had a lazy breakfast, actually a pretty much lazy whole day.  Carol was running ahead of her scheduled Sunday arrival so she came in a day early.  From here at Chewing Blackbones we have easy access to the Many Glacier unit of Glacier National Park. Kent and I have a hike set for tomorrow (Kent scored an entry pass so we can go in just early not O dark thirty/before 6AM).  We are all going in on Sunday to check it out.

It is still high season so park entry between 6AM and 3 PM is by daily permit only.  We can’t get one so, we will spend the middle of the day outside the permit gate in the St. Mary’s area.   We start with Beaver Pond loop trail.  There are lots of grizzly bear warning signs at the trailhead.  Kent is dutifully carrying bear spray but they all must to be off exploring other areas today.  We do see a mule deer and Ruddy duck.  It is a nice wooded walk with lake and mountain views.  Clouds are building as we head back to camp.  We make a quick stop enroute at Two Sister’s Café: huckleberry pie and a cinnamon roll.  We enjoy them both but not sure if the huckleberry pie/any huckleberry pie is worth $9.95 a slice!  Of course, I didn’t have to compete with the bears to pick those huckleberries.

It is Star Party night at Logan Pass

We picked up a ticket yesterday but have our doubts, it clouded over mid-day and has rained off and on all afternoon.  We make the call.  We are heading up to the pass and hoping for clear skies by 10PM.

It is still pretty grey when we get there but its only 7PM and we are off on a hike to Hidden Lake overlook.  Weather is just fine for this.  Wow, there are a lot of steps on this boardwalk that takes us up and across a wide rolling alpine meadow.  We have beautiful views of the surrounding mountains and hope to make it to the lake for sunset.  The boardwalk gives way to a more gently sloping path and ultimately to a perfect viewing platform high above Hidden Lake.  The shadows of lingering clouds move across the lake and mountain slopes that encircle it.  We wait, us and another 10+ photographers, for what all hope is a spectacular sunset.  Turns out it is just beautiful, not spectacular, still well worth the climb up here.  Bonus, on the way back down the trail we spot a mountain goat. He isn’t at all shy.  Kent gets a pile of pictures.

We make it back to the trailhead just above the visitor center (the star party is in that completely unlighted parking lot) and spend a few in the truck warming up.  It is 51F and we want to be well warmed before the program starts.  Soon it is 10PM and a crowd of somewhere around 200, gathers.  First there is a brief Glacier Dark Sky Park commercial then a wonderfully run Dark Sky Program.  Four astronomers split the group into smaller groups to walk us through constellations, the spectacular milky way and each their own personal take on why night sky is significant to humans and wildlife.  My spokesperson is a young astrophysicist turn geologist and astronomer turned park ranger.   Her’s is a fun, informative talk.  Next, there are seven telescopes set up each trained on a different object in the sky.  Lines are pretty long as we wait for our look at a binary star, one red one blue, in constellation Cygna.  We then opt to find a quiet dark spot to just soak in the big picture of what has turned out to be one of the most magnificent night skies we have experienced.   We duck into the truck to warm up again, it is in the 40s heading for 37 by the time we head back down the mountain.  Very well done, Glacier National Park/Waterton-Glacier International Night Sky Park.