So fun, just go do it! ...
A lot of people, a lot of mountains:
So the tour "bus" is called either a "red" or a "white." Confused, red is the color and white is the name of the company that built these buses, a long, long time ago. To be fair, Ford Motor Company sort of rebuilt these buses so they are a bit better than the originals, but each has their original WOODEN frame placed back onto a Ford truck chassis. Blah, blah blah, this is GOOD KITCH. Do it.
If you tour Glacier National Park, then the best way to go through the park is on a red. This is good stuff, peeps. Our driver was driving his wife's bus because his was in the shop. They have been working as bus drivers at Glacier for 19 years. Our bus number was 87 and at one point he said, "hey I'm younger than the bus number!" You know what, he was fantastic! I was a bit concerned about trusting our lives to someone far senior to me on narrow, steep, winding roads in a bus. Russ did the trick, and we enjoyed every minute with him.
So if you are keeping up with our intergalactic National Park trip you know that we already walked on a glacier in Canada. Now, back in the States I was expecting the 'merican version of the same at Glacier National Park. Nope, nada. What you will see is spectacularly beautiful mountains and valleys, carved a gazillion years ago by glaciers. Oh, now I get it. And yes, there are still very few patches of the icy white stuff in a few places up there on the mountains, they count! To understand the spectacle of this park, try to picture ice filling this entire picture all the way from the bottom of the valley to the tops of the mountains. THAT is why they call this place "Glacier!"
To see the park (during the summer when the road is open) you wind your way along a NARROW, sheer drop road with no guard rails, up thousands of feet to the continental divide. Our driver/guide stated that the road was the only one in the world to have two awards, one for civil engineering magic and the other for (inset your own accolade here, I was too busy cleaning out my pants from the drive.). But do it. What beauty!
All national parks are full of people. You cannot find any solitude. But just hunker down sweetheart. Take a look at the lobby of a Glacier lodge... kitch to the max... just ignore the hoards of hoards of hoards of loud Karens. (I cropped out the Karens, you're welcome.)
The plain and simple promise:
- Wide open spaces
- Natural beauty
- LOTS, LOTS, and LOTS of tourists
The surprise:
- Go be a tourist and enjoy the reds!.
If you go:
- Glacier National Park is in Montana. It is remote. The staff you will encounter are wonderful and seasonal. They want to be there during the summer and it shows. The population is only about 100 during the harsh winters.
- The west entrance is about 19 1/2 hours from downtown Palm Springs or 3 hours from Calgary. (I do NOT reference anywhere in Montana as the peeps in Great Falls, Butte, and other locales don't want to be there. We were there. Don't go.)
- Open 7 days a week, 24 hours a day weather permitting
