TWIN FALLS, IDAHO, IN AUGUST, 2020

Quaint little Twin Falls, Idaho, Airport

Bridge over Snake River Canyon, Twin Falls, ID

Little water fall entering Shoshone Falls Park

GLACIER NATIONAL PART (AUGUST 2020)

I flew from Twin Falls to Kalispell while Kathy flew from Nashville to Kalispell. We met up about 12:30 PM and began our Glacier adventure together. We stayed at the best Bed & Breakfast in Columbia Falls called Bad Rock B&B (http://www.badrock.com). Then, we hit the park!

Thursday, we drove from West Glacier to St. Mary on the 50 mile stretch of the Going to the Sun Road. Perfect weather and lighting could not have been better. My expectations were high, but they were still exceeded!

Heading west on the Going To The Sun Road

Wildflowers are robust, despite a short growing season.

The immense and Caribbean blue St. Mary Lake.

So many different colors at play in the park.

Friday, we decided to go for a hike in the park. We chose Avalanche Lake, which with having to park a mile east of the trailhead meant about 7.5 miles. It was gorgeous, a trek through large cedar, fir, hemlocks, ash, pine, and aspen trees. The payoff was Avalanche Lake, where we missed a grizzly by about half an hour.

Along the Northside of the Going to the Sun Road, we saw this hidden gem between the Avalanche Lake trail and the pullout where we parked.

It looked like this in the waters all around the park area. I don’t recall seeing anything like it anywhere else.

After the hike, we headed back west to the Asper junction which led us north for several miles (many of which were gravel instead of hardtop) until we reached Polebridge Mercantile. Another seven miles up rocky (but passable), narrow switchback roads led us to a worthwhile gem: Bowman Lake. Serene and gorgeous! We sat and took it in for a few minutes before heading down to Kalispell for dinner.

The park sign on the southwest side of the park (not the main sign at MacDonald Lake)

On the stage road between Kalispell and Columbia Falls just a few miles from our Bed and Breakfast.

Saturday, we had a morning to spend exploring before we flew back home. We decided on Whitefish, MT, and a ride up the chairlift at Whitefish Ski Resort. It gave us some beautiful views of the whole valley and was a lot of fun. We shopped a couple of hours in Whitefish, then ate lunch near the airport. It was a fantastic trip! On a non-Covid year, we can come back and include the Blackfeet Reservation portion of the park as well as the Canadian side. So, hopefully, we’ll be back!