Glacier National Park: The Eastern Escapades

"If this isn't God's backyard, then He certainly lives nearby."

Robin Williams

In the fall of 2020, when traveling seemed to be at a standstill due to the pandemic, we decided to head west to visit Glacier National Park. Doug had done a bike tour there a few years earlier, and he wanted to show me some of the beauty found in this national treasure.

As we soon realized, we caught only a "glimpse" of Glacier in 2020 as the eastern side of the park was closed to visitors. But what we did experience made us realize that we wanted to see more ... more of Glacier and any other national park that may be on our future travel path. After visiting Grand Teton National Park at the end of July, we decided that the east entrance of Glacier could easily be on our travel route, and thus, I am grateful to be able to present the sequel four years in the making ...

Glacier National Park: The Eastern Escapades

In order to enter Glacier National Park from the St Mary entrance from the east, one has to travel through the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. My first impression was that it seemed to be less busy than the western entrance, although there were also less lodging and restaurant options. A benefit of coming in from the east is that we didn't need a vehicle reservation in order to drive on the popular Going to the Sun Road (GTTSR) like travelers need when they enter from West Glacier. Doug secured campground reservations ... four nights at St Mary Campground and one night at the "almost-impossible-to-obtain" Many Glacier Campground with the help of the Wandering Labs app. From there we had easy access to a magical part of the park that we missed out on during our first visit here.

Highlights From the St Mary Entrance 

From St Mary Campground, we were able to drive 17 miles west on the GTTSR in order to reach one of the park's most popular destinations, Logan Pass. Along the way, we enjoyed many scenic areas that were unobtainable for us during our 2020 visit.

Beautiful Views Along the Going to the Sun Road East of Logan Pass

As we found out, no advance reservation is needed to drive on the GTTSR from the eastern entrance of the park, which meant that no advance planning was necessary on our part ... Super, because advance planning is not our strong suit! While driving that section numerous times, we also found that the road was "slightly" less curvy, narrow, and busy than on the western section,

... yet still had some amazing scenery to behold.

St Marys and Virginia Falls Hiking Trail

With limited parking at this popular trailhead, we decided to try out the park's free shuttle bus that took us from the St Mary Visitor Center near our campground to the St Mary Falls trailhead. The shuttle worked quite well for us with minimal wait time, but as I heard from other visitors, that is not always the case during the peak vacation season. We started our hike in a scarred area where a forest fire occurred in 2015. The flames changed the landscape on the first half of the hike, but the serene beauty of the waterfalls still rewarded and refreshed everyone who journeyed up this hot, hilly two mile trail. 

The Highline Trail

With a lot more people visiting this summer than back in 2020, we quickly realized that finding parking at Logan Pass was nearly impossible unless we planned to arrive before 7 am or after 6 pm. Needless to say, we chose the evening hours to attempt to snag one of the coveted parking spots. And we were successful twice. From there we were able to enjoy some breath-taking "canyon meets mountain" views as we hiked along the narrow crest of the Highline Trail. 

An added "bonus" for doing an evening hike ... higher chances of being greeted by curious mountain goats using the same trail as they returned to their nightly resting spot. 

Hidden Lake Trail

Adjacent to Logan Pass Visitor Center is the very popular hike to the Hidden Lake Lookout. This three mile round trip journey leads hikers on a boardwalk trail that meanders past wildflowers, waterfalls, and streams to a viewpoint overlooking Hidden Lake and the surrounding mountains.

Once again, curious mountain goats shared the path and viewing platform with us. This fellow was more interested in licking off the salt left on the rails from the hands of hundreds of daily visitors.

Scenic Dining Views

We once again enjoyed having primo dining spots along the numerous scenic pull-offs that line the GTTSR,

 ... and we were occasionally joined by an entertaining dinner partner. 

Highlights From the Many Glacier Entrance 

Possibly one of the most popular destinations in Glacier National Park is the Many Glacier area located in the northeast section of the park. Many popular hikes originate from that area, and Doug had one or two of them in mind. Unfortunately, Iceberg Lake Trail was closed when we were there due to increased bear activity, but we were happy to be able to check off an equally "classic" hike ...

The Grinnell Glacier Trail 

I was not originally thinking that we would do this 11.8 mile (round trip) hike, but Doug had other plans. After we arrived at our campsite at Many Glacier Campground, he suggested that we bike over to check out the Grinnell Glacier Trail which begins on the shores of Swiftcurrent Lake near the historic Many Glacier Hotel.

As is our usual "modus operandi", we hadn't made advance reservations for the ferry that takes passengers across two lakes, Swiftcurrent and Josephine, to a more distant part of the Grinnell Glacier Trail. The ferry ride is popular (and often very helpful) as it cuts a few miles off of a very long hike. But since it was lightly raining, we decided to just walk a couple of miles around the lake and maybe mosey a little ways up the trail. Maybe someday we'll make life a bit easier for us by doing some advanced planning.  I figured that, for now, Grinnell Glacier would just remain that distant dot on the mountain far ahead of us.

But as we climbed the rain stopped and the weather began to clear. Doug encouraged me on, and challenging sections like this narrow passage under a waterfall added to the thrill and beauty of this hike. Onward and upward we climbed.

The views of Swiftcurrent Lake and Lake Josephine were getting smaller in the distance, and that gave me an encouraging reminder of how high we had climbed ...

and what beauty awaited us when we reached the Grinnell Glacier viewpoint.

A perfect place for an "I can't believe that you talked me into doing this, and I'm so glad that you did" selfie ...

as we celebrated the additional beauty that we discovered during our eastern escapades in Glacier National Park which we like to refer to as ...

God's backyard.

Grand Tetons National Park: The Grandest Peaks Rising Above Jackson Hole

"The Teton Mountains are, to my way of thinking, quite the grandest and most spectacular mountains I have ever seen ..."

John D. Rockefeller, Jr

From the moment we caught our first glimpse of the majestic peaks, we had to agree! With no foothills, the Teton Range seems to just spring up 6000 feet directly from the valley floor of Jackson Hole. The peaks of this beautiful mountain range first appear just south of Yellowstone National Park and stretch to the town of Jackson, Wyoming ... 40 miles down the road. 

John D Rockefeller, an early 20th century conservationist and philanthropist, played an important role in preserving the area surrounding the Grand Teton mountain range for all to enjoy today. In 1929, the original national park included just the mountains and glacial lakes. But Mr Rockefeller felt strongly that the surrounding valley known as Jackson Hole also needed to be preserved as it served as an important winter habitat for the herds of elk, bighorn sheep, and other wildlife that spent their summers high in the mountains. Under the guise of "The Snake River Land Company", he anonymously purchased acres of homesteaded land when it came up for sale. In 1943, he donated these 32,000 acres of land to the federal government in order to expand the protected area of the national park.

And as we began our 50th national park visit, we are grateful for these conservation efforts that preserve these "Grandest Peaks" for all to enjoy today.

I have to admit, I would have been very content to just gaze up at the majestic peaks the whole time we were there as their beauty just mesmerized me.

But there was so much more beauty to discover on the hiking and biking trails and in the surrounding area.

The Grandest of Hiking

Grand Teton is blessed with an abundance of scenic hiking trails. One of the most popular hikes lies in the middle of the park starting at the Jenny Lake Visitors Center. From there you can take a boat across the lake ($12 one way or $20 round trip), or you can walk the relatively flat lakeside trail 2.5 miles to a trail that leads up to Hidden Falls,

... which is really only hidden only if you don't want to make the half mile uphill climb. From there, it's even more of an uphill climb to Inspiration Point.

And if that viewpoint inspires you to seek out even more amazing sights, a further uphill rock scramble will reward you with breath-taking sights when you reach Cascade Canyon.

And of course, there are "bonus" sights along the way like lounging moose wondering why you are working so hard on such a lovely and hot day.

And if you really don't want to wait in the LONG line to catch the boat ride back, you can complete the circle around Jenny Lake. Prophylactic Tylenol is very helpful for aching feet,

... but your hiking partner may still wonder how his "Energizer bunny" can be so slow!

And be warned, the up-close views of those "Grandest Peaks" will provide the incentive to take on another trail.

We highly recommend the Taggart and Bradley Lake trails,

... but there really isn't a bad view on any of the Grand Teton trails. 

The Grandest of Bike Trails

Grand Teton National Park has a bike path that runs from the Jenny Lake Visitor Center south to the city of Jackson, Wyoming. Our electric bikes handled the headwinds and occasional hills and allowed us to visit the bustling town of Jackson.

We learned about the continuing wildlife conservation efforts with a visit to the National Elk Center,

... and Doug was rewarded for his extreme patience in hiking with another craft brewery coaster to add to his collection. 

The "Grandest" of Roadside Dining

Taking your kitchen along with you is one of the best ways to dine in any national park, and the rays of the setting sun behind the mountains made for a perfect ending of our day. As the crowds cleared out, we enjoyed the tranquil views at various pull-offs in the park.

The Grandest of Accommodations

Alright, maybe that is stretching the truth a little, but we were able to enjoy some spectacular views from our various "backyards" at Colter Bay and Gros Ventre Campgrounds. Using the app "Wandering Labs", Doug was able to snatch some last-minute openings at these popular national park campgrounds. 

From our campsite along Jackson Lake, we were able to take a two mile hike around the bay. And if Doug happened to forget to bring the bear spray, we were positive to run into this fellow who liked to frequent the area.

The Grandest of Ski Resorts ... Even in the Summer

Jackson Hole Ski Resort, a popular winter ski destination, is located in the mountains just south of the national park.

With summer hiking and mountain biking trails, the resort's gondolas are busy year-round transporting tourists up for spectacular views

and nightly entertainment.

The Greatest of History

Jackson Hole was originally settled by ranchers and farmers who put up with extreme weather conditions and isolation. The buildings that still remain on "Mormon Row" reflect one of the last areas of the lower 48 states to be settled.

Permanent homesteaders first arrived around 1884 but soon discovered the many hardships caused by harsh winters and short growing seasons. Thanks to the foresight of people like John D Rockefeller, this desolate farmland was transformed back into ...

The Grandest of Natural Beauty

... for all to enjoy!