Glacier National Park

National Parks Week is coming to an end and my park posts have slowed down as I've tried to find some of my photos. A few years ago I had my purchased a Groupon to have my physical photos scanned and put on CD so I just had to located them amongst the 2000+ photos I had scanned. Toay I will tell you about Huckleberry and Glacier National Park.

Back in 2004 or 2005 my mom wanted to take my brother and I back out west with our Aunt Jan. We would revisit a couple of national parks from our childhood, Yellowstone and the Tetons, and then explore some new parks. I was excited and nervous to go.

You can see why I was nervous to go.

Blackfoot

One of our stops was Glacier National Park. I was able to see the park from both the US side and the Canadian side. It is a spectacular place with great natural beauty. We stayed in a cabin not far from one of the US entrances. The visitor’s center was having dancers from the local Blackfoot tribe come in and my brother and I made the walk over to watch. They were amazing! They explained the traditions behind their dances and costumes and we heard them play instruments. National Parks put on some great programs so always check their event schedule when you visit one. I highly recommend them!

Trails and scenic drives are plentiful through Glacier. I would hate to be the driver because I would have to concentrate on the road and not the scenery. Driving the Going to the Sun Road is a must. There are pull over spots and I remember a center that we pulled over at and we caught a trail going up the mountainside and we saw snow! For a girl who spent 18 years growing up in South Florida that's a big deal.

We took a day trip to the Canadian side of the park. It is called the Waterton-Glacier National Peace Park on that side. It is where we saw our first bear. It was dubbed the “catch of the trip”. I admit I sometimes had my face in a book as I rode in the back of the minivan but I just happened to look up and I swore I saw a tuft of brown fur. I hollered for my mom to stop and we pulled over and backed up. Sure enough there was a bear! He was eating berries as he made his way down the hillside. As we observed him from the safety of our car we could hear voices and we realized we were not far from a popular tourist spot in town with a waterfall. We realized that the bear was making his way down the trail to this spot so we quickly drove down and parked. A couple happened to be making their way up the trail and we told them to reconsider. By then we had spotted the bear so we pointed him out and they made the right decision to turn around. Word quickly spread and people were gathering around to see the bear. We ended up watching him for over an hour as he made his way down to the waterfall spot, down through the creek, and though people’s yards. We named him “Huckleberry” after the food he was eating.

"Huckleberry" next to the trail.

Glacier National Park is a one that should go on your “must see” list. To plan you visit you can go to https://www.nps.gov/glac/index.htm