Glacier National Park

"We're here! Yippee!"

   We've been told this is exceptionally good weather for this area. Also we find the skies are clear of smoke we've seen for the last few days further south from lightning caused fires. What more could we ask for? At the end of the day we can say Glacier National Park was wonderful...all 15 miles of it. I'll explain.
   After stopping for espressos and lemon poppy seed muffins just outside the park entrance, we fell in line to a ten car or so back-up to the kiosk booth. A ranger lady met us half way and said "Welcome to Glacier National Park. Now you know you are to big to drive all the way through the park over Logan Pass."
   "Huh?!"
   Of all the reading I did beforehand, I sure do not recall seeing any size restrictions regarding driving the Going-to-the-Sun Road. 21 feet long (we're 25) and 10 feet high (we're 6 inches over that) is the vehicle size limits due to narrow rock walls on one side and straight off on the other, and some areas have rock jutting out and over, thus the 10 feet height limit. She tells us we are able to drive 15 miles in along Lake McDonald to the last turn-around for over-sized vehicles at Avalanche creek.
   I entertained the thought of driving around the park the next day and come in through the East Entrance. We stopped at the Visitor Center for more information.
   Ranger Cathy said that 4 miles of the road to the East Entrance is too narrow for us and we would have to take a detour of 24 miles. Then after we reconnect to the main road, a 20 mile stretch is under construction and reports of long waits up to an hour have been reported. She advised another detour of indeterminable length. Finally we would be at the East Entrance where we could drive in for 18 miles before faced with a sign stating not to proceed any further if you are of a certain length. "But I have seen tour buses continue on as far as Logan Pass so you should be fine...[then she uttered those fateful words]...I think." We really did not need all this added adventure.
   But don't feel sorry for us. We enjoyed what we saw. Plus, had this not happened we would have been denied a wonderful wildlife experience few ever get... an up close bear encounter. More about that later once we return home. I'll say this much, my wife has waited all her life for that and for that alone Glacier National Park did not disappoint.
   So we came, we saw, and as I told my wife "We've had the main course, the rest from now on is dessert."

Normally I would include a picture but something is goofy with this connection and I've had to re-write the above again after losing it all so I don't want to risk it with pictures that won't load. Sorry.

Also some may say "Why didn't you take one of those tour buses through the park?" It really didn't appeal to us to be herded like cattle, looking out the window at all the places we would have otherwised stopped at to take pictures for the length of time that we normally do. We have no regrets.