Day 51 - Saturday, September 6, 1997San-Suz-Ed, West Glacier, Montana - This morning it was cold and rainy, so we just bummed around waiting for the weather to clear. After it did we made our first foray into Glacier Park. We drove the Going-to-the-Sun Road, which is a 50 mile road that bisects the park. We started out by McDonald Lake, a very blue and deep lake nestled among the mountains. We then stopped at McDonald Falls and played around for a while. The falls were not all that big, but they were quite scenic. The rocks along the banks were worn smooth from years of erosion. There were numerous little pools where soft parts of the rock were eaten away. Some of these little pockets were near perfect circles. Some where less than a foot across while others spanned several feet.The road then took us up a long climb along the mountains to Logan Pass. This was proably the most terrifying drive of Jim's life. The road was blasted into the edge of the mountains. It is just wide enough for two cars. In fact vehicles over eight feet wide or 21 feet long are not permitted on this road!! Jim's hands were glued to the steering wheel while Marci enjoyed some fantastic views. To look over the edge was too terrifying for Jim!! We saw Garden Ridge which is right on the continental divide. Streams to the west of the divide empty into the Pacific; streams on the other side empty into the Arctic or Atlantic. This ridge is like a razor of rock jutting high into the air. Apparently it was ground down by two glaciers, one on each side. Once at Logan Pass we took a hike even further up the mountain. We were at about 6,500 feet or maybe a little higher. The height made us a little winded, but the cold wind was more of an issue for us. It was berry berry cold!! On our hike we saw a bear. We're not sure what kind of bear it was. We didn't see any silver, so we don't think it was a grizzly. We didn't see a picnic basket, so we know it wasn't Yogi or Boo Boo. Maybe it was just a brown bear. On the way down the other side of the divide we stopped to see Jackson Glacier from the road. It's a huge hunk of ice wedged between a couple of mountains. It was quite impressive. We also got a beautiful view of the sun setting behind the tall mountains bordering St. Mary's lake. Rather than drive the 50 miles back, Jim decided we should drive 70 miles around the park, which we did. On the way back we saw a number of cattle grazing along the side of the road. Do you figure if you hit a cow with your car, it would be okay to eat the road kill?
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