Montana - Glacier National Park - Going to the Sun

The 50-mile Going-to-the-Sun Road traverses the park following the shores of Saint Mary Lake on the east and Lake McDonald on the west with a breathtaking climb over the continental divide at Logan Pass in the middle.  Last night we took a quick drive up to Logan Pass and back to our campsite, but today drove the entire route and back taking time to stop at scenic viewpoints.

We caught the reflection of the mountains in Saint Mary Lake.

We wondered why the cars ahead of us were stopped when we saw a bear crossing the road, but we weren’t able to get a picture.

We just loved the view of the mountains even with a bit of haze.  We heard that was caused by wildfires in Oregon and Washington.

The last two pictures show how the road is carved into the side of the mountains – a narrow road with turns and steep drop-offs.  No RVs allowed here.

We stopped for lunch along the shores of Lake McDonald.

Then we took the Trail of Cedars to Avalanche Gorge.

We continued up the Avalanche Lake Trail.  Bill made it all the way to the lake.

Montana - Glacier National Park – Arrival

We spent most of the day traveling and doing logistics in Kalispell, but when we arrived at Glacier National Park around 5pm, we decided to squeeze in a little sightseeing at the end of the day.

In our brief jaunt to Logan Pass we saw a bit of wildlife.

On our way we spotted a Hawaii license plate, so we saw license plates from all 50 states on this trip!

One thing Barbara wanted to do at Logan Pass was to be photographed at the same location where she was photographed in 1978 and in 2004.  We are not sure how much of the difference in snow cover on Clements Mountain is due to global warming or just what time of year the picture was taken, but we do know that a hundred years ago this area used to be covered by a glacier.

What we love here are the majestic mountain views.

Jackson Glacier is shrinking. Of the 150 glaciers found in 1850, only 25 remain today. All glaciers in Glacier National Park are predicted to be gone in the next 6 to 16 years.

Road construction between St Mary and Logan Pass blocks a popular view across Saint Mary Lake, but when we headed back, construction had stopped for the evening and we were able to catch the view as the sun was setting.

We weren’t the only ones who thought to stop.  So did a Korean photography group.  They all had expensive cameras on tripods with huge lenses and filters, while we just had our little cameras.

Southeast Washington - Palouse Falls

Today was mostly a driving day (528 miles), but we did visit Palouse Falls and bagged an Idaho letterbox.

The hour or so drive along I-84 through the Columbia Gorge from Troutdale to The Dalles afforded some great last views of the region and at the same time provided a stark contrast.  The west end of the gorge closer to Portland is lush and green.  The east end is dry and barren -- in fact so barren that we saw the remains of forest fires dotting the hillside above The Dalles.  A helicopter with a dangling hose flew right above us and we assume it was getting water from the river to fight the fire.  Wish we got a picture.

We continued toward the east side of Oregon and Washington and were amazed at how desolate it is – there is hardly anything growing!

                           

And we watched the temperature rise.  Our entire summer trip hardly had any temperatures that even hit the 80’s, but today it got up to 102 degrees.  Amidst this barren, hot, landscape stands Palouse Falls (about 200ft).

In one direction it reminded us of southwest canyons, but this area was carved more by glacial floods than slow erosion.

Our camping plan was to stay at a nearby KOA, but since we didn’t have a reservation and wanted to escape the heat we decided to continue on our way and see what we could find.  We stopped in beautiful Coeur D’Alene for an Idaho letterbox and wifi, and Bill scouted out potential places to camp.  We were very fortunate!  When we pulled into the 13-site national forest campground at 11:30pm there were available sites and a few were even large enough for a trailer. This picture with our trailer in the background shows how close we were to our route.

We expect limited connectivity for the next several days as we’ll be at Glacier National Park, so may not post for a few days.

Oregon - Columbia Gorge Day 2

Another beautiful day as we headed out to Wahkeena Falls (242ft). Like Multnomah Falls, there is a bridge over the falls that makes a good viewing spot.

A few falls are located close to the road but some require a hike up, up, up to get to a good view point.  Bridal Falls (100ft) required a hike down, down, down.

Horsetail Falls (176ft) is visible from the road.

Upper Horsetail Falls (also known as Ponytail Falls) required a walk up, up, up. Like some of the falls at Silver Falls, the trail went behind the falls, where we had lunch. The trail didn’t go where the picture was taken. 

We hiked up and down to get to Elowah Falls (289ft).  With just the August flow, the stream was blown in the wind.

Having already hiked 3 miles today, but Bill tagged on an extra two miles to see McCord Creek Falls. The narrow trail afforded good views of the Columbia River valley. Here’s some shipping headed upstream.

And here’s the falls.

Oregon - Columbia Gorge Day 1

We caught glimpses of Mount Hood in the distance as we headed toward the Columbia River Gorge.

Our first stop along the gorge was the Portland Women’s Forum State Scenic Viewpoint.  From this spot at Chanticleer Point one can see the gorge and the octagonal Vista House on Crown Point – our second stop.

At the Vista House we also got great views of the gorge and looked at their exhibit on the history of Historic Route 30.

Then we went to Multnomah Falls – the most visited natural attraction in the state and the second tallest waterfall in Oregon. The upper falls is 542ft and the lower falls is 69ft.

Bill hiked up, up, up a steep mile to the top of the falls, but all you see is this.

Fortunately as he continued along the trail there were several other waterfalls.

Oregon - Silver Falls

Arriving at Oregon’s Silver Falls State Park we came upon the placid south fork of Silver Creek.

Downstream had a different view.

To give you an idea of scale, Bill (who’s about 6’ tall) is standing just to the left of the falls.  This is the 177ft high South Falls, one of the waterfalls along the 8.7 mile Trail of Ten Falls.  Needless to say, Bill hiked the entire trail, while Barbara did portions. 

Here is the 90ft high Lower South Falls.

For both of these, the waterfall cascades over an overhang and the trail goes behind the waterfall. That created a pretty cool effect.

Winter Falls (as the name conveys) was only a trickle in the summer and trees obscured the view of Twin and Drake, but we enjoyed the other seven falls.

Lower North Falls (30ft) afforded a better view from the bottom of a steep bank.

Several hikers at Double Falls (the tallest falls at 178ft) cooled their feet in the pool.

Middle North Falls (106ft) had more spray, so it looked like it was raining when looking from behind it.

North Falls (136ft) was the fourth overhang with a trail behind it. The overhangs are volcanic basalt that spread over softer rock. Over time, the softer rock eroded.

Upper North Falls (65ft), lit up by end-of-day sun.

Such beauty and variety from one stream!