The Wild Montana Sky and Hot Canadian Guy

Now joining my favorite National Parks list along with Yosemite and Grand Teton is Glacier National Park, Montana. The Going to the Sun Road that rises high in the park along the mountainous ridges and then above the clouds was incredible. The views were of deep, blue glacial lakes, snow fields, sharp and rugged mountains, and of course the park’s namesake, quickly retreating glaciers. The road provides the opportunity to travel through different climate zones as you begin in the green valley driving along trees and rushing blue waters and rise up into rugged, rocky mountains dotted with melting glaciers and snow.

I heard that Glacier has the densest bear population in all the country, minus Alaska. I didn’t see a bear or even a moose there, but I had my first look at the unique shaggy animal known as the mountain goat! I even had the opportunity to share the trail with one. This was an exciting thing for me, as one of my top hiking goals is to see and photograph the wildlife.

Best Friend and I had such a great time that day. And what a long day it was! I could not believe that 11:00 p.m. there is still light in the sky! The nickname “Big Sky Country” didn’t come from nowhere! Unless you were under the thick canopy of forest, the big sky could trick you into thinking it is two hours earlier than you think. Maybe this is what John Denver meant when he sang about the “Wild Montana Skies”.
My words could flow as long as the rivers the glaciers are melting to form and I would still not find it enough to describe the beauty and uniqueness of this place. Hopefully my photos will do it better justice.

After exploring the Montana side of the park for a day, Best Friend and I headed for the Canadian border to explore the other side of the park’s boundary in Alberta. After crossing the border into Canada, the park is known as Waterton Lakes National Park. While waiting our turn in customs, I noticed that there is an actual cleared, cut line separating the US from Canada with a marker labeled International Boundary. Why I found this amusing and downright funny, I have no idea. Maybe it was because when I looked at maps as a kid I wondered if there would actually be a line when I crossed into another country. I was disappointed when I took my first trip to Ontario, Canada and only got the Niagara River. Now, I chuckled to myself at this visible line separating one country from another. All laughing quickly subsided when we pulled up to the customs stop and my eyes fell on the most beautiful, perfect, hotter-than-Orlando Bloom man I have ever seen. He was so gorgeous and I had to agree with Best Friend as she muttered, “I like Canada already.” The national anthem should be changed from "O Canada" to "Ohhhhh Canada" in his honor. I think I want to marry a Canadian now.

When we finally arrived into the park and started noticing the things around us (rather than talking about how hot and perfect the Canadian Customs guy was), I found it a very beautiful place, though not quite what I expected. What I mean by that is Waterton Lakes is actually a town. In the US, a National Park is a wildlife and wilderness sanctuary. Of course, we do have our little stores and such in the parks, but people do not live in a US National Park (except in rare cases where a family had owned the land prior to the establishment of park status.) There were even signs in the town/park warning you to not approach any deer because they were dangerous and could attack your dog. I giggled again, because even though I know this is what happens to wild animals exposed to people, it was still preposterous to imagine a deer madly attacking as you and your pooch on a leash casually walk down the sidewalk. I did see many deer walking around the streets but luckily no dog attacks occurred. The park was still laid out very well and we checked out the sites...Cameron Falls, the Prince of Wales Hotel, and Red Rock Canyon. Red Rock Canyon was my favorite scenic area. The crystal clear water flowing through the glowing red canyon looked more like it belonged in southern Utah than in Alberta. It was unique and so pretty.

While visiting the park, Best Friend and I took the boat ride along Waterton Lake that begins in the Waterton village and crosses over the international boundary into the Glacier/Montana side of the park. This part of the Montana park, Goat Haunt, is not accessible by any roads. The ride across the beautiful lake was nice and relaxing, not to mention incredibly pretty. We scanned the shoreline for animals, but didn’t see much other than birds.

As our car fell into line for US Customs as we left Alberta for Montana, both Best Friend and I craned our necks hoping for another glimpse (and photo opportunity) of the incredibly perfect, gorgeous Canadian Customs Guy, but with no luck. My broken heart lifted a bit as we were greeted by two cute US Customs men (though nowhere on the same page as Canadian Customs Guy). I loved my day trip into Canada and found it very friendly but I felt a patriotic moment for my own beloved country as the cute American Customs guy smiled at me and said, “Welcome home ladies.” Though I do not live in the state of Montana, it is my home. This whole beautiful country is my home and I am proud to live in it. (Though I still think I want to marry a Canadian).


Early morning in Glacier.








Hidden Lake.











Enjoying some scenery along the trail to Hidden Lake.







Red Rock Canyon in Waterton Lakes National Park. This looks more like a southwestern scene than one in Canada.






You can see the international boundary line in this pic that I took out the car window.









The boat that took us across Waterton Lake to Goat Haunt, Montana.