Day 7: Going to the Sun Road

 The day did not dawn clear and beautiful. In fact I woke up to the sound of rain, and knew right then that our plans for hiking that day were not going to manifest. That's ok. When faced with challenges, we just pivot and do something else.

Breakfast was pecan pancakes and little smokies, again with the obligatory coffee and juice. I did not post a picture of breakfast this time because...well, the pancakes turned out a little odd. I make my pancake batter from scratch and apparently the altitude causes the leavening agents to act a little bit differently. They weren't bad pancakes. They tasted just fine, but the texture was something just a bit odd.

It was about 55 degrees this morning, so not particularly chilly, and it was expected to warm up as the day progressed. We both decided on shorts, t-shirts and flannel tops along with some rain gear just in case we decided to get out to take pictures. We packed a small cooler with some drinks and snacks and set off for the park. The drive was blessedly quick - I guess the rain scared off some of the crowd? We had our park ticket and GTSR reservation pass ready and made it into the park in less than 5 minutes.

You can't really get lost on the GTSR. As you drive into the park you pretty much dead end into Apgar Village and have to go left or right.  Going left will take you along Camas road to the junction where it meats the Outer North Fork Road. The Inner North Fork Road is under construction this season and closed to vehicle traffic, although intrepid mountain bikers can dare it. We turned right to take the traditional GTSR route that goes from West Glacier to East Glacier through St. Mary. It's a 50 mile stretch of road that has speed limits as fast as 45, and as slow as 15 miles per hour, depending on where you are. 

There are lots of turn outs for slower traffic or for stopping to take photos. There is some parking at the more popular photo destinations and trailheads. Go early! That's something that we heard from everyone that had already been in the park, and we saw that for ourselves.  As we were coming around one of the curves in the road, we saw lots of cars stopped and people kind of just hanging out on the roadside. We assumed there was some sort of animal. Sure enough there was. I had to snap a quick picture as we drove by, but we actually got to see a cow moose and her calf!

We were able to snag a spot (which was already pretty full) at the very popular Trail of the Cedars. The rain had let off just enough that we felt that it would be ok to walk the accessible boardwalk trail. And I'm so glad we did.  I'm hoping to come back tomorrow and pick up the Avalanche Lake hike that starts there at the Cedars trailhead.

We continued along the GTSR for the remainder of the day, going all the way to St. Mary for lunch. The morning was a little nail biting, as the higher the road rose, the more misty and foggy it got as well. The temperatures dropped down to 41 degrees up around The Loop.  After a little bit of a break over a burger, salad and soup, we started the return journey back to West Glacier along the GTSR, but was treated to a better view as the worst of the mist burned off.  Below are pictures of that journey.

On the way back to West Glacier we stopped at the Redrocks overlook. This was one of the prettiest spots that we've seen so far.

We headed out of the park around 3:30 pm and called it a day since the sky was again darkening with rain clouds.  We returned to our home-away-from-home to the yummy smell of the roast, carrots and potatoes that I put in the slow cooker before we left that morning. There is nothing like coming home to a delicious meal already cooked.

The rest of the evening was spent looking at the weather, and planning out which of the many potential hikes we will try and tackle tomorrow. Fingers crossed that the weather will cooperate. Stay tuned for more!