There are nightly ranger programs are presented which are always geared towards kids (but interesting for adults too).

Many Glacier Campground Evening Talk

This is from the calendar on the Glacier National Park website https://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/calendar.htm

FEE: Free. LOCATION: Many Glacier Campground Amphitheater, Many Glacier Valley

REPEATING EVENT Days: Every week on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday

Dates: June 16, 2024 to July 31, 2024

Time: 8:00 PM Duration: 45 minutes

TYPE OF EVENTCampfire/Evening Program Talk

DESCRIPTION Experience a national park tradition by joining a ranger for an engaging look at the natural and cultural history of the park. Check locally for specific topics. All are welcome.

Tuesday nights are Native America Speaks programs (see separate listing for more information).

RESERVATION OR REGISTRATION: NO

 

Tuesday 8 pm.

Joseph Carlson

Blackfeet guitar songs, story, history. He was very good and someone asked to buy a CD of his music. I didn't take any notes (becuase it was cold) but I remember some things:

He admitted the Blackfeet weren't very nice. They could be a mean agressive tribe. When they had land and guns and horses they were powerful. And they protected their hunting grounds.

He told us about the Marias Massacre.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marias_Massacre

A massacre of Piegan Blackfeet Native peoples committed on January 23, 1870 by United States Army

About 200 Native people were killed, most of whom were women, children, and older men.

Most were suffering from smallpox. The healthy men had left the camp.

It was a mistake and it almost totally wiped out the Blackfeet tribe.

The US government was trying to suppress the Blackfeet but they had previously promised their protection to this Chief Heavy Runner tribe.

Heavy Runner ran toward the soldiers, shouting and waving a piece of paper froma safe conduct from the Indian Bureau. He was immediately shot and killed.

Result was more tension between the tribes and the government and public outrage.

The tension continues today.

 

A current problem/concern/scary thing that was happening was girls being abducted/taken. There are thousands of missing and murdered Indigenous people

'The families deserve answers': inside the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people

The Guardian   https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/feb/03/murder-in-big-horn-showtime-docuseries-montana-missing-murdered-indigenous-women

Feb 3, 2023  The sobering docuseries Murder in Big Horn examines the struggle for justice for Montana's missing Native women.

 

Blackfoot or Blackfeet ?

"Blackfoot is typically applied north of the 49th parallel (Canada)

Blackfeet to those from the United States

There are mixed reports on how the tribe received the name “Blackfoot." Some think it refers to the tribe's moccasins becoming blackened from the soot on their long journeys.

 

I was so cold at the evening talk. I had long underwear and gloves in my suitcase but I did not think to put them on.

Early bed time.  I was up twice to pee that night.

 

 

Back to the top of this trip journal

 

Day 5: Wed July 31 Many Glacier at the Swiftcurrent Cabins, Hike Swiftcurrent Lake

 

 

I was thinking Damona was going to get up early this morning and go on a hike, then I was going to drive over to the Many Glacier hotel and we would have lunch. But she had the car keys. I should have gotten the keys from her last night. So I was up at 7:45 knocking on her door and she was sleeping in! Sorry. We agreed to meet later for a hike to lunch.

 

11 am we hiked around Swiftcurrent Lake to the Many Glacier hotel to the Ptarmigan Dining room. I got Elk Brat. Damona got Bison Burger.

Here is the menu.

 

Perfect temperature today. Sunny, maybe 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Our hike we mostly shady around the lake.

 

After Lunch we did this Ranger-led activity: This is from the Calendar on the Glacier National Park website https://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/calendar.htm

 

Meet Many Glacier Walk

FEE: Free.LOCATION: Meet on the shore of Swiftcurrent Lake behind the Many Glacier Hotel, Many Glacier Valley

REPEATING EVENT Days: Every week on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday

Dates: June 16, 2024 to September 02, 2024

Time: 2:30 PM Duration: 1 hour and 30 minutes

TYPE OF EVENT Guided Tour Walk

DESCRIPTION Get an overview of what makes Many Glacier special on part of the Swiftcurrent Lake Loop Trail - a gently graded hardened trail surface. Easy 1.5-mile (2.4 km) roundtrip, level trail.

Accessible parking available with an official handicapped parking permit.

As of July 1st, this program takes place within a vehicle reservation area.

RESERVATION OR REGISTRATION: NO

 

Leading our hike is Patrick Fowley. Interpretive Ranger.

In this valley you could have done hikes up to seven glaciers. But no longer.

The Gem Glacier has ice as old at 20,000 years old.  Gem is the roundish bulb glacier to the right of horozontal ice patch Salamander glacier.

 

He was doing the “Aay Ohh"  yell to warn bears that we are here.

Most glacial lakes do NOT have fish because of the way they are formed with barriers.

They did stock this lake with fish but then stopped stocking in 1972 because the non-native fish are not good.

Lodge Pole Pine tree used to make teepees. Tall straight. 112 to 115 degree Fahrenheit required to reproduce.

Mountain Pine beetle attacked these pine trees. Ten days of minus 20 degree Celsius kills the pine beetle, but we do not get that any more.

 

A sawmill was built in 1912. They got permission to use all the lumber from this valley to build the hotel.

Trees from Grinnell floated down to Lake Josephine then to Swiftcurrent Lake to the sawmill.

A boat house was built here after the very controversial sawmill was blown up.

This is from http://www.glacierparkfoundation.org/History/mgh.html

After the hotel was built, the sawmill wasn't used.

Stephen Mather, the Director of the National Park Service, thought that the mill was an eyesore, and ordered it removed.

The Great Northern procrastinated in carrying out this order, which annoyed Mather.

In August, 1925, Mather organized a a "birthday surprise" for his daughter and guests on the hotel porch. They saw the explosion of heavy sawmill machinery spiraled high up into the air.

 

100 year old logs

 

Rocks mired in the roots

 

Because of the National Park Service we have this beautiful place to come to.

 

The hike ended at the bridge on the far side of the lake. Damona and I continued onward around the lake. The rest of the group went back to Many Glacier hotel.

 

Damona had this cool app on her phone to identify birds by their sounds.  You have to stop walking so it is quiet except for the birdie chirping. Here are some of the birds we heard.

 

 

We walked back to our cabins and got there about 4 pm. Retire, relax, rest. Perfect day. About a 5 miles hiking today.

We had a nice lunch so PB & Triscuit, string cheese for dinner. And Huckleberry flavor soft-serve ice cream from the Swiftcurrent store.

8 pm bed time.

 

Back to the top of this trip journal

 

Day 6: Thurs August 1 Many Glacier Swiftcurrent Cabins, Hike Swiftcurrent & Josephine Lakes

 

Last night we agreed that we would open our curtains when we are up. If both of us are up early, maybe do the Grinnell Lake hike. If we drive to the Many Glacier hotel, get on the boat wait list and if we get the boat, it goes across Swiftcurrent Lake and Lake Josephine and the Grinnell Lake hike is only 3 miles round trip. Otherwise, leaving from Grinnell Glacier Trail Head you have to hike by Swiftcurrent Lake and Lake Josephine so the hike is longer.

Yay, we were not up early. We ended up hiking around both Swiftcurrent Lake and Lake Josephine. Back to the Many Glacier hotel for lunch and a ranger talk about glaciers.

 

https://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/hikingmanyglacier.htm

 

You can take the boat across Swiftcurrent Lake, do a short hike to a boat on Lake Josephine that goes to the far side of the lake.

But we opted to hike it.

 

Damona saw a loon!

Pix original tree cut that never made it to the sawmill.

Lake Josephine is on our left.

Sunny on this side. From catract creek.

Pix salamander glacier

On the bridge at the south end of Lake Josephine

 

My reflection pictures.  The water was so calm. My brother-in-law calls that "footin water" because you can barefoot waterski in it!

 

My reflection picture with the tour boat. 

 

 

Another of my reflection pictures.

It is impossible to capture the true beauty of this place.

 

Damona taking a brief respite from our ongoing traipsing through the valleys of these splendent mountains.

 

About 11:30 we are back at Many Glacier hotel in the grand and glorious Ptarmigan dining room again for lunch. I got pasta this time. Damona got Arugala Salad with Salmon. Yum.

1:30 Ranger talk about glaciers. This is from the Calendar on the Glacier National Park website https://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/calendar.htm

Where Have All the Glaciers Gone?

FEE: Free. LOCATION: Meet in the Many Glacier Hotel Lobby, Many Glacier Valley

REPEATING EVENT Days: Every week on Sunday, Monday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday

Dates: June 16, 2024 to September 02, 2024

Time: 1:30 PM Duration: 30 minutes

TYPE OF EVENT Talk

DESCRIPTION Are you here specifically to visit Glacier National Park before the glaciers are gone? Join a ranger for this short talk to learn about the advance and retreat of our namesake ice over the years. Wheelchair accessible.

As of July 1st, this program takes place within a vehicle reservation area.

RESERVATION OR REGISTRATION: NO

----------------------------------------------

At 1:30 Where have all the Glacier gone talk By Kara Benson Seasonal Interpreter.

These are alpine glaciers here.

In 1910 the park had over 100 glaciers.

In 1966 there were 35 named glaciers.

And now, Kara told us that only 26 glaciers met the size and criteria to be designated active glaciers here.  This list has 25 glaciers. It is from a 2021 map of the park

 

The picture below is from a 2015 display in Glacier park.

25 green lines indicate the glacier is on the list above. 

10 red lines indicate the glacier is gone.                    

The melt area is from 1966 to 2015.                        

Glaciers are NOT growing.  Every glacier is receding.

Some glaciers shrink faster than others - snow avalanches, ice flow dynamics, variations in ice thickness.

Glaciers may be gone this century.

 

At one time this whole Swiftcurrent the Josephines lakes were covered with ice so only the tops of the mountains were visible.

The rocks in the moving glacier are ground to a powder called “glacial flour". It gives the lake a turquoise color blue.

Glacier has three requirements:

25 acres

100 feet deep

Moving under its own weight due to gravity. It moves on it's own melt water.

Glaciers moving downhill AND they are receding.

There are lots of water falls. You can only see one glacier from here. It is football shape patch behind the garden wall.

 

There is a chain of glacier lakes: swift current, josephine, fish cap etc.

 

There are mostly east and north facing glaciers here.

NW Montana increase 3 degrees Celsius temperature on average. The rest of the country is a 1 degree Celsius increase

66 degree temperature is the maximum trout can endure before they become stresses. They are recording 67 degrees Fahrenheit.

All of this water flows downstream to irrigate the crops that feed the world.

 

The photos below are from

 

The exhibit in the lake-level of the Many Glacier hotel

The U.S. Geological Survey https://www.usgs.gov/products/multimedia-gallery/images

Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center https://www.usgs.gov/centers/norock

The Glacier Re-Photo Project https://www.hassanbasagic.com/projects/glacier-rephoto-project

Repeat Photography Project http://nrmsc.usgs.gov/repeatphoto/

 

 

https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/blackfoot-jackson-glaciers-1914-and-2009    1914 to 2009 is 95 years

 

1932 Grinnell Lake started being formed. It was a meltwater pond and it is a lake now./p>

Grinnell is moving forward 1 inch a day but it is getting smaller.

  https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/repeat-photo-grinnell-glacier-1910-2016    1910 to 2016 is 106 years

A ranger told us that the Gem glacier has ice as old as 20,000 years old.

x

https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/logan-and-red-eagle-glaciers-1914-and-2009   1914 to 2009 is 95 years

 

xx

 

 

https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/sperry-glacier-perimeter-19661998-2005-2015/a>

 

hthttps://www.usgs.gov/media/images/swiftcurrent-glacier-1910-and-2016   1910 to 2016 is 106 years

& 

 

We came back to our cabins and my cabin was very warm.  Dang, when I left this morning I forgot to turn off the heat. I opened 3 of the 4 windows and turned on the fan to get air circulating. But the temperature outside was 82 degrees Fahrenheit so it's going to take awhile to cool down. 

 

7:30 pm Thursday night evening program at the Swiftcurrent Theater.

By Kara Benson Seasonal Interpreter.  https://zionsvillemonthlymagazine.com/zionsville-couple-spends-summers-as-national-park-rangers/

The article explains how she and her husband share the one ranger position. 

If Benson is scheduled to lead a 10-mile hike one day, it OK to schedule Benson again the next day for a 10-mile hike. You can't do that with other rangers.

She has three daughters and this is her 30^th summer here!

 

Ranger Kara Benson

The subject of this evening presentation is fire.

Stage 1 fire restrictions are starting soon. No more charcoal or wood stoves.

STAGE I The following acts are prohibited until further notice: Building, maintaining, attending, or using a fire, campfire or stove fire except within a designated recreation site, or on their own land, and only within an owner-provided fire structure.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd554472.pdf  or https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/coconino/fire/?cid=fseprd891645

 

Fire is necessary for the ecosystem and for some plants and animals:

Black back woodpecker.

Beetles that lay larve in warm wood

This is fire season. There are small fires here in glacier, but it is contained.

Some plants rely on fire.

Lodgepole Pine needs fire. The cone needs 112 to 115 degree heat to open and spread seeds. No fire - no Lodgepole Pine.

The Blackfeet used the tall straight Lodge Pole Pine tree to make teepees. They knew how to set fires for the tree the reproduce.

Mountain Pine beetle attacked these pine trees. Ten days of minus 20 degree Celsius kills the pine beetle, but we do not get that any more.

 

A Lodgepole Pine and it's pine cones

 

 

In 1988 there was a fire in Yellowstone. They tracked the collared grizzly bears

1/3 left the park and came back later

1/3 left the fire perimeter but stayed in the park. They know where to go and stay safe.

1/3 of the bears never left the fire perimeter.

From 1910 to the 80s they practices total fire suppression. Then the Leopold report was published. It recommended natural processes like fire and floods be allowed to happen. So they allow some fires. But protect life and property.

They have some controlled burns.

There are at least 13 lightening direct hits per year. 99 percent are suppressed.

WWe do have wildland use prescription fires and they are allowed to burn but the fire is managed by building fire lines.

There is a safety zone the fire fighters can get to.

AA fire shelter is a cover for one person to lay on the ground , pull it over you and hold it down with hands and feet.

 

 To bed at 9 pm.

 

Back to the top of this trip journal

 

Day 7: Fri August 2 Many Glacier Swiftcurrent Cabins, Hike Grinnell Lake

 

This really is a great vacation. I feel very rested, getting good sleep, lots of exercise that is arrange by Damona or else I would not be doing all these activities. Thanks Damona!

Last night I slept great, except when I got up, put shoes on, grab flashlight, walk to the bathroom at 11 and again at 1 am.

Oh yeah, I also realized I should not have an open window by the food that is on the table so I closed the windows at 1 am. 

 I did need a blanket by 5 am when I was awakened because of lots of noise around here. Banging doors, people walking on the gravel, cars driving by.

 

For breakfast I had my 20g protein Kodiak Peak Oatmeal Berries and Cream.

 

So todays plan is a long hike to see Grinnell Lake and Hidden Waterfall.  https://hike734.com/hiking/grinnell-lake/

We'll drive a mile to the Grinnell Glacier Trail Head, hike the North shore of Swiftcurrent Lake and Lake Josephine, then continue on to Grinnell Lake trail.

7 miles round trip (3.5 miles one way) plus a little more to the waterfall.

 

 I am using my Camelback, and bringing Gatoraide and another water bottle. Nuts, energy bar, chocolate. Expect about a 5 hour hike today.

I am loving my Columbia high top hiking boots. I hope I love them after 8 miles today.

 

Tip for this hike: There is a pit toilet so bring toilet paper!

It is 6:40 am now and it is 59 degrees. Forecast high of 90 today. 0% rain chance.  Be a prepared hiker with lots of hydration.

 

7:30 and we drove a mile to Grinnell Glacier Trailhead. Park the car then start hiking.

 

Stunning views on the trail.

 

Lake Josephine.  

The rocks in the moving glaciera are ground to a powder called glacial flour. It gives the lake a turquoise color blue.

 

It is 9 am at 3.17 miles and we are at the Pit toilet stop.

Cross this bridge, then .3 miles to Grinnell Lake.

 

At 3.71 miles we arrive at Grinnell Lake. Beautiful.

The mountains, double waterfall and teeny Grinnell glacier is reflected in the Grinnell Lake water in my photo below. 

 

There were people that took their boots off to walk around in the lake.

The sun shining on the colored rocks in the water are pretty.

I sat there ahile watching the twin water falls tumble down the mountain into the lake.

Squirrell/chipmunk comes right up to you. Do NOT feed it.

There are Mosquitos here and biting flies are a niusance. I used Damona's used insect wipe. That helped.

 

On the hike up to Hidden Falls the sound of rushing water gets louder and you see this crack in the rock mountain and a pool of swirling water where the waterfall ends.

Hike up to the falls to see this.  The picture doesn't even come close to how really beautiful this place is.

 

 

The trails are well marked with sign posts.  They show directions and distance in miles and kilometers.

 

Note that the distance and elevation may be different depending on the literature.

The colorful information below is the handout at the park and below that is the map information from the website https://www.glacierparkcollection.com/plan-your-trip/maps/

For the trail map see https://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/hikingmanyglacier.htm

 

                       Trail Sign   Handout   Website

Grinnell Lake      1.6 mi        1.4 mi.     0.9

Grinnell Glacier    3.8 mi       3.7 mi.     3.8

 

And Also note the difference in how the elevation is presented.

Our Grinnell Lake hike with Hidden Falls was hike 8.5 miles ! This is my Google Fit record:

It is 10 am and we are at the falls. Rest 10 minutes

 

Hiking next to the lake and the tour boat is on the lake. I can bearly hear the sound of the tour guide on the microphone on the boat on Josephine lake. It sounds like Charlie Browns mother. Waaaa waaaaa waa.

8.5 miles today. It is Miller time!

 

Lunch at Nell's. I got a bison burger and fries and a stout beer. That put me out for the afternoon. Got in a good nap and read. I am on page 1400 in a 2000 page book.

 

I am so glad we got out early this morning because it is really HOT this afternoon.  I was sitting in the lobby and there were many hikers coming and going.

An older man rushes in, sets his back pack down on the floor. Gets money out of his wallet. His very over-heated wife comes in with a young guy. Man gives money to the young guy. After 7 miles on the trail, they ran out of water and he wife had passed out on the trail and guy carries her pack all the way down. They are 74 years old and did this hike 5 years ago. They were trying to get to the chalet for overnight. She was worried about losing that money since they were not doing the overnight. I'm just glad they were OK.

 

I did not get ice cream.

 

5:30 meet Damona in lobby to go to Nell's and split a pizza. That sounds perfect.

 

Back to the top of this trip journal

Day 8: Saturday August 3 Drive to Canada, Hike Goat Haunt, Check into Prince of Wales Hotel

 

Drive from Swiftcurrent Motor Inn, Many Glacier, Glacier National Park to Prince Of Wales Hotel, AB-5, Waterton Park, AB T0K 2M0, Canada. 1 hr 16 min (50.3 miles) via MT-17 N and AB-6 N. This route crosses a country border.

We left at 7:30 this morning.

Damona drove into Many Glacier and she also drove out. There was about 6 miles of really really bumpy pot holes road. Do not take an RV on that road!

We passed Chief Mountain to get to the Chief Mountain port of entry where it was 19 Canadian to enter the park (20 Canadian is about $15 USD).

Chief Mountain

We are here!

 

Drive to the town of Waterton, park the car. Find the place to buy boat tickets. https://www.watertoncruise.com/2024.php The ticket office did not take AmEx. I had to use Visa. Damona used MasterCard.

The cost for the roundtrip boat ride was 100 Canadian (50 each way) 75 USD was charged to my Visa. Each time I used my credit card in Canada I got an email.

Credit card transaction outside the 50 U.S. states

BankAmericard Power Rewards Visa Signature ending in 9999

Amount: $75.92

Date: August 03, 2024

Where: WATERTON INTER-NATION

Country: Canada

When we were buying the boat tickets we were told that we would need to use CBP Roam to clear customs to cross the border. Damona downloaded the app on her phone she entered all the requested information.

I I needed WiFi, so we went to the Tamarack store where there was a kiosk. I tried the kiosk but needed WiFi to verify the email.

I ran to the Visitor Center. No WiFi. They sent me to Community Center where I found free WiFi.

The email said there was already an account for that user ID on CBP login.gov. I did not know my login.gov password.

I ran back to the boat dock where everyone was lined up to get on the boat.. I just said I would stay within the allowed area and Damona could do the hike. But I ended up doing the hike after all.

So,

• Make sure you have your password for login.gov: Go to https://secure.login.gov/ and login or create an account. Note that www.cbp.gov uses the same password.

• Make sure you know your Known Traveler number.

When we started the hike Damona's application was still pending approval. She finally got an email that her clearance was approved.

This is view from the boat dock in Waterton

 

 

 

 

10 am and we are on the boat. We departing from the Canadian side of the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park and we are going to the American side. 

 

This is from the very informative guide on the boat:

Upper Waterton Lake is 7 miles long.

We are passing the 97 year old Prince of Wales hotel.

We are passing the Trail head for the famous Crypt Lake Hike

Newsweek rated it the best hike in Canada. You go through an natural tunnel in the cliff.

220 feet is the average depth of the lake. This is the deepest natural lake in the Canadian Rockies. I think I remember he said it was over 400 feet deep at one point.

In the winter, this lake freezes a couple of feet deep .

There are 4000 foot high mountains all around this lake.

At one time this entire area was solid ice so only the tippy tops of the mountains were visible.

There are ten mountains that touch this shoreline.

One mountain is a "triple divide". Water goes to three places

Hudson Bay to Arctic Ocean

Columbia to the Pacific Ocean

Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean

Map is from https://www.nps.gov/npgallery/GetAsset/18419343-bca0-4def-95a6-51e234a6b1b9/ProxyHiRes

 

 

Wind gusts more then 100 mph through here.

A 52-pound lake trout came from this lake!

The cut line marks the country border between Canada and United States.  The cut line must be clearly marked so they need to maintain this path every year.

This is on the left side of boat

This on the right side of the boat

In 1911 Waterton became a National Park. Unesco site. And a Dark Sky Preserve is a place to see the night sky.

The Northern lights were here 2 days ago!

 

10:45 and we arrived at the dock at the Goat Haunt Peace Pavillion. We are now on the United States and the American portion of the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park.

 

The boat stays here for 30 minutes. If you are not doing a hike in the United States, the boat goes back to Canada 11:15. You have time to walk to the ranger station and listen to the talk.

 

In the Peace Pavillion, there is nice display for the Peace Park.  

The Goat Haunt sign says:

Welcome to the United States and the American portion of the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park.

The opportunity to travel so easily across the international boundary speaks powerfully about the values of peace and trust between our nations.

We celebrate our ongoing friendship with Canada through cooperative management of our shared park resources and through our commitment to the future of this land.

An exploration of the Goat Haunt Peace Pavillion will help you learn more about this friendship and the meanings of peace in our world.

Peace Park Partners sign:

Parks Canada and the National Park Service have joined together in a spirit of friendship and cooperation to jointly manage Waterton-Glacier, the world's first international peace park.

Working together to solve common problems and address issues along a shared border has enlightened park management around the world.

Today, this idea has spread to over 170 other jointly managed parks.

 

 

Before we started the hike it started to rain so we put on our ponchos. Damona has good, thick, big black poncho. Mine was not as good -a thin clear plastic and I need to write and not get my book wet. On the hike the rain drizzled to a sprinkle, then nothing, then a sprinkle again.

Ranger Frank John  (the ranger with two first names) led our hike to the waterfalls in Goat Haunt in Glacier Park.  He stopped to tell us about many of the plant, animals, landscape. He was very good. 

A "haunt" is a place frequented by something so "Goat Haunt" is where there is (should be) allota of goats.

There are not very many goats here now. Not sure why.

Biggest bird is the Golden Eagle and they prey on mountain goats. Second biggest is the  bald eagle.

There are lots of grizzly bears - there is self-sustaining population of bears.

The Army cutworm moth has similar nutrition as venison.

A bear can move a rock half the size of a volkswagon to get to the moths.

One bear can eat 40,000 moths in one day to get 20,000 calories (or 40 Big Macs).

The formation of the mountain range and landscape can be explained in four words:

Silt

Tilt

Slide

Glide - Ice moves and carves the landscape.

Three land formations:

Cirque - A glacier carved-out basin. There is snow in the basin, then water, then a cirque lake.

Arete - A narrow ridge of rock formed by two glaciers on opposite sides of the mountain. Castle-like knife edged ridge like the Garden Wall.

Horn - Sharp pointed mountain peak formed by three of more glaciers. Matterhorn is Switzerland is the most famous.

Biting flies and mosquitoes are a nuisance on this hike. Thank you Tracy for the bug spray!

Another precarious swinging bridge to cross over the turquise clear water.

 

We finally got to these beautiful water falls 

 

Very fun ladies Mona, Stephanie and Tracy were on the Goat Haunt hike: 

 

About 2 pm when we were lining up to get on the 2:30 boat There was a young couple asking directions to get from Goat Haunt to St. Marys.

That is long way! Did they hike all the way from St Marys? And now they needed to get back there? They did not seem to have a plan or know the options on how to get there. I hope they made it.

 

We got on the 2:30 boat dock back to Waterton in Canada.

On the boat I am on the lower level below deck since it is sprinkling again and  I need to write and not get my book wet. Very full boat.

They recommended Trapper Mountain Grill restaurant in town.

After the boat ride back to Waterton, we gave up our precious parking space to drive up to the hotel to check into the Prince of Wales.

https://www.glacierparkcollection.com/lodging/prince-of-wales-hotel/location/

 

There was a long, slow line to get into the parking lot of the Prince of wales. People go there to see the hotel and take pictures.

Hotel parking space is limited and is charged at a nightly rate of $12/day for overnight guests and $10/day for day guests.

 

 

 

You walk into the lobby and you see this view:

Lobby has three 12 foot by 18 foot high windows.

 

 

We had 2 rooms. 1 queen bed in each room. Damona in 410. I am on the fifth floor in 509.

 

The amazing view from my room. 

The window was shut but the wind was blowing into the room!  The wind was so strong it blew through the cracks on each side of the window.

Damona had a door to a balcony and she had to put towels down on the floor to stop the draft.

 

 

 

The view behind the hotel

The same view but 770 feet higher after hiking 1.5 miles up to Bear's Hump

 

Imagine this entire valley covered in ice so deep that only the tippy tops of the mountains are visible.

 

The mountain view behind the hotel is quite spectacular! The mountains from left to right:

Sofa         8270 feet    2520m

Vimy        7834 feet    2388m

Boswell    8018 feet    2444m

Cleveland  10,232 feet 3190 m

Citadel      8110 feet    2474m

Richards    7965 feet    2428m

Bertha       8038 feet    2450m

Crandell     7493 feet    2384m

 

It was a about 4 and the Royal Stewart Dining Room doesn't open until 5 pm. We did NOT want to drive back into town.  The Windsor Lounge was just right.

I had soup and a mushroom tart. Damona got a salad and Shepherd's Pie ant it looked really good!

 

Evening Historical Talk at 7 pm in the Prince of Wales lobby. This information is from bellman Cotter and the displays set up in each corner of all the floors.

There are seven bellman.

1913 Mr Louis Hill got the idea to build this to rival what Northern Pacific Rail Road was doing in the Yellowstone park.

Mr. Hill wanted to attract the American middle class.

This hotel was built in 1 year from August 1926 to 1927 as a resort link to the Great Northern Railway.

In Dec 1926 the wings of the hotel were done. There was no lobby and they had 95 mph winds.

 

 

More than 400 people, most of them earning about 30 cents an hour worked on the hotel through the winter.

1927 building was at a 75 degree angle. Installed steel rope to hold it up.

Opened in July 1927

 

It has 90 rooms.

The doors are all original. The guest room doors are painted with The Cross of Helvetia, white on a scarlet shield, is Many's coat of arms. I thought it meant that was a first aid room

The 7-story lobby is 83 feet high. 5-story wings are 68 feet high.

Upper Waterton Lake is 4185 feet above sea level, and the hotel is another 150 above that.

 

100 railway car loads required for the lumber and up to 24 horses to transport materials.

Douglas Fir with cedar accents. Lemon oil to maintain wood.

Pillars and support trusses are fitted and pegged. There are no nails anywhere.

 

Closed to Sept 24 to May.

Board up the windows. There is no heat no running water. Minus 40 degree Celsius

The population of the town goes from 2000 to 58 in the winter.

 

Lobby has three 12 foot by 18 foot high windows.

 

 

$371,000 cost to build hotel (11 million in todays dollars).

and $300,000 for furnishings, water tower, road, staff dormitories.

6.9 million to get new roof.

Electricity after WWII.

Why called Prince of Wales? Because they hoped that naming it that would get King Edward 8^th  (VIII) to come visit.

As Prince of Wales, Edward VIII (reigned January-December 1936) was doing regional visits and was on the railway but did not come to visit.

 

Oh no!  The 100 year old elevator isn't working. "Currently out of order for maintenance. Thank you for you understanding."

That is allota extra work for the staff to haul the laundry up and down the stairs.  There are six floors in this hotel!

And the bellboy that carried my suitcase up to the fifth floor got a nice tip!

 

 

 

There were lots of doggies hiking!

 

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Day 9: Sun August 4 Canada Prince of Wales, Hike Bear Hump

 

Sunday wake up at 5 am with noise above me. I can hear shower running and when they flush the toilet I heard a long period of drizzling water sound. I did not notice it the first night. I guess I was too tired.

I texted Damona at 5 that I was going to sleep in. I managed to sleep to 7:30 am.

There is no coffee maker in the rooms but the front desk can loan you a kettle for hot water. I used the kettle to make hot water for my instant Kodiak 20g protien oatmeal.

Bring your room key to gift shop to get a cup of coffee.

It is a ery nice day today!  Short sleeve weather and no jacket necessary.

So I wear long sleeves because I don't want the sun.

 

I walked from the hotel to Linnet Lake Trail and the trail was closed due to Bear Activity!

They had a station with brushes to wipe your feet to remove these seeds and plants:

• Spotted Knapweed - It's biology allows it to out-compete many native plants for sunlight, nutrients and moisture. Originally from Eurasia. It lacks "natural contols" like insects or deisease that would keep it in check.

• Orange Hawkweek - Forms a thick mat of vegetation and chokes out other plants in the area.

• Oxeye daisy.  Oh no!  Not the daisy!   Introduced from Eurasia, it now grows in ditches and disturbed areas.

 

So the same day that I am writing this journal I see this fake post on the Facebook Glacier National Park group. 

The "place of his dreams" has all three of the invasive plants that are pictured on the "wipe your feet" station: Spotted Knapweed, Orange Hawkweek and Oxeye daisy.

Some comments call the picture a fake.  There are numerous posts that are AI-generated FAKES and the admins for these sites should remove the photo.

Thanks to the comment people who call out the person posting. You should block that person.

 

 

I walked across the steet the Bear's Hump Trail.  It is 1.5 miles long and goes up 700 feet (from 4280 feet up to 5050 feet high).

When I was going up the trail I heard some music. There was a manu two switchbacks above me. 

He was wearing nothing except small swim suit. When he passed me I kept looking down at the ground. Some things you cannot unsee.

When I was at the top, and there was girl RUNNING up. She said it had taken her 21 minutes to run up to get the backpack that someone had left.

 

 

This is my picture from the top of Bear's Hump

 

 

After the hike, I walked to town. It is very close!

 

 

Damona drove the car to town to go to Our Lady of Mount Carmet Catholic Church.

I found the church at 211 Fountain Ave. I got there at noon and the service was supposed to start at 12:15.

But ..... the Priest was locked out. They did not have a key to the church so there was a lot of scrambling trying to find a key from the local person here in Waterton.

 

Its a perfect temperature today about 75 so Damona and I stood outside awhile, then sat in the car and read our books. I took an Advil cuz I know I will be feeling it after that hike this morning.

The service finally started at 1:45.  It was very nice!  The priest was so apologetic about the late start. He is a new priest and this was his first time doing mass in this church.

He was truly amazed that the number of people that wait to attend the service.

Deer in Waterton town!

 

3:30 and we are at Trapper's Mountain Grill. On the menu was "Patine". It is french fries with gravy. It's a Canadian thing.

I got a 10 oz Bison ribeye and fries. It was perfect and yummy. I think the ribeye on the river cruise was 6 oz and thinner. I've had enough protein for two days now.

If you don't hike, there is plenty to see around the town. 

 

It was a very short walk to Cameron Falls at 3:50 pm.

 

Rain was supposed to start around 2.  It is now 4:30 pm and it is NOT raining but we are getting an occasional sprinkle.

This is a screenshot of the doppler radar green blob all over then entire area. 

It is 66 degrees Fahrenheit.

 

It is 6:40 Sunday night and I am in the lobby of Prince of Wales hotel. What an outstanding day.  I had that ribeye for lunch so Triscuit and peanut butter is fine for dinner.

 

 

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Day 10: Monday August 5 Great Falls Holiday Inn

 

I tried to sleep in again this morning. I am feeling very rested and relaxed on this vacation.

About 9 I was going down to get my coffee and Damona was coming up the stairs. She had hike Bears Hump this morning and she was already showered, packed and her suitcase in the car.

At the front desk a guest asked for a can of bear spray at the front desk and they gave it to him. Free! She said guests leave it with them when they check out and the hotel gives it to other guests. I will try to give to an arrival person at Great Falls airport.

 

10:30 I got bellhop to carry my bag down 5 floors of stairs and to the car. Tipped him.

Check out about 10:45. Damona is in the lobby reading, waiting for 12:30 high tea.

We were seated for High Tea at 12:15.

Indulge in a selection of high quality teas, sandwich squares, pastries and desserts.

 

Soon after sitting down we got the first plate of goodies and first cup of tea. Put tea bag in cup and pur the water over it. After one hour and 15 minutes we finally got the three level goodies (see the list of pastries, desserts, and sandwiches below).

The Chocolate Profiterole was the best with coffee caramel and chantilly cream. Then the Haskap Cheesecake, yummy.

 

Damona paid for mine! Thank you Damona! She said cuz she invited me to the tea she was paying. It lasted over 2 hours which was OK since we had the time to kill.

Tea with a view

 

 

After tea, get on the road. I drove us to Great Falls about 3 hours. I used cruise control most of the way until it cut itself off.

We had a long wait at temporary red light..There was a long one-lane section to drive. Maybe they were doing surveying. Not sure why we had to do that.

 

When we went through the border, the first question he asked is "How do you know each other?"  We explained we met in 1981 at Iowa State University graduate school.  We traveled together before to Poland in 2013.

 

We had a good dinner at Jakers 1500 10^th Ave S. I had grilled chicken with tater tots.

Check into the same Holiday Inn where we stayed at the first night of this wonderful vacation.

To bed at 8:30.

 

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Day 11: Tuesday August 6 Fly "Home"

 

Up at 4:40 am. That is 4:40 in the MORNING!

Damona drove us to the Great Falls airport, drop off rental car keys. Her plane left at 7 am. Mine is boarding at 11 am.

I had a really good breakfast at the restaurant in the airport.

I flew to Salt Lake City. I wrote:

1:50 pm Tues in Salt Lake City airport. OMG Life is good. Except when I was walking to my gate I paused at the gate for the plane going to Altanta. I wish I was flying home to Atlanta, but I instead I flew to Oklahoma. Since I retired, my new job is in Oklahoma taking care of my mom&pop.

 Oh Well. Kept walking to the gate for the plane going to Oklahoma City. Did I mention life is good.

I had a cup of black coffee on the first plane and another on the second plane and some red wine.

First class passengers get constant attention. And its not just beer and wine that you get for free...Perfect perfect perfect.

The best flight experience in many many years. This is my vacation and I'm loving it.

No problem finding the shuttle to Stillwater.

Airport Express www.airportexpressokc.com Outside lower level of OKC airport

Dispatch/reservations 405-681-3311

Toll free 877-688-3311 OKC action line 405-297-2535 lost&found 405-219-3639 toll-free

I will get there about 9:30 pm. Then it is life in the slow lane enduring 100+ degree temperatures. Oh joy. 

 

 

NEWSFLASH! 

Paul and Stefanie traveled to Glacier in their RV a week after I was there! The week after they were there, the Going To The Sun Road closed at Logan's Pass becuase of snow !! The last week in August, 2024 Closed!

 

After Glacier, they had reservations in the North Cascades National Park in Washington, but the park closed the park because it was on FIRE!

 

Paul and Stefanie in Glacier National Park

 

 

 

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