Glacier NP - East Side

Glacier NP is located in northwest Montana and offers some spectacular lake and mountains country. The centerpiece of the park is the Going-to-the-Sun Road, which unfortunately at the time of our early June visit was still closed because of snow. The photos on this page are from the eastern side of the park, near Saint Mary. Pictures from the west side.

Over on the east side of the park, on a rather dreary day, we drove up along Saint Mary Lake.

Many of the peaks were obscured by the clouds and there was a mix of rain and snow.

Wild Goose Island is said to be one of the most photgraphed spots in the park. We could only try to imagine what it might be like on a sunny day with bright blue sky to contrast with the snow-covered peaks.

We parked and enjoyed lunch just around the corner ahead. It could have been a little warmer, though - it was only 38 degrees with snow mixed in with the rain.

The next day the sun still hadn't quite made it out when we got to the Wild Goose Island overlook, but it was a little brighter than yesterday (see above).

Now we're talking! Some blue sky and sunlight.

We spent the afternoon beside Saint Mary Lake.

While we were parked by the lake, one of the red Glacier tour buses came by. These vehicles were originally built by the White Company in the 1930's, but safety considerations forced them out of service in 1999. In 2000, Ford Motor Company began a total restoration of the 33 buses. Their original chassis were scrapped and they were placed onto E-450 chassis. All systems and appurtenances were brought up to modern standards, and they were converted to LPG fuel. The buses were placed back in service in the summer of 2002.

Much improved from the cloud-enshrouded peaks of yesterday.

This is my favorite picture from our time in Glacier NP.

Here are some photos from the west side of the park.