Early Thursday morning, we set out to explore Glacier National Park. We opted to partake in one of the most popular activities in the park: driving the Going-to-the-Sun road. It didn’t take long for us to see why this drive is so famous as we cruised along, winding through the Rocky Mountains and marvelling at their vastness. After hours of driving in awe (and stopping at almost every lookout turnoff), we realized we had been gradually working our way to the mountain tops! (Hence the name of the road, I suppose…) Once we made it to the top at Logan’s Pass (6,646 feet elevation), we went on a short hike to Hidden Lake to stretch our legs. We were lucky enough to see an adult mountain goat and her “kid” grazing the rocky cliffs at Mount Clement.

As we wound back down from Logan’s Pass, we went through the East end of the park which had recently been ravaged by forest fires. These stripped, blackened trees provided a stark contrast to the lush vegetation throughout the rest of the park. As devastating as it seemed, we reminded ourselves that forest fires are a natural and (at times) necessary occurrence to sustain and support the ecosystems of the forests.

Just as we thought our amazing day was coming to a close, we spotted a bit of a traffic jam ahead of us. As we approached, we realized the culprit of the congestion was none other than a small black bear!! He (or she) seemed a bit startled by all the attention and was quickly trying to pass through the traffic so we weren’t able to get a clear picture but we were pleased that our encounter was from the safety of our vehicle! As we carved around another bend, we approached another line of vehicles, this time pulled over at the side of the road. When we investigated further, it seemed that our fellow tourists had spotted a moose off in the distant meadows along the side of a mountain – what an exciting way to begin our Rocky Mountain adventure!

As we said farewell to Glacier, we encountered more not-so-wildlife on our search for an operational USA-Canada border crossing. We took a wrong turn down the Chief International Highway (thinking this border crossing would be open, which it wasn’t) and found ourselves sharing the road with dozens of slow moving cows. Luckily, we found our bovine friends amusing enough that we weren’t too upset when we got to the vacant border crossing and had to double back down our 20 minute cattle highway. At last, the next border crossing would finally grant us access back to Canada through the beautiful Alberta where we get to explore the Canadian portion of the Glacier NP system: Waterton Lakes National Park.

Our first glimpse of the Rocky Mountains in the distance on our way to Glacier National Park!

On our way to Glacier National Park.

Our ride enjoying the view on our way to Glacier National Park.

We made it to Glacier National Park!

Just entering Glacier National Park.

Lake McDonald in Glacier National Park.

Lake McDonald in Glacier National Park.

Adam enjoying a sandwich with great views at Glacier National Park.

Steller’s Jay at Glacier National Park.

Beautiful scenery in Glacier National Park.

A common merganser swimming near a waterfall at Glacier National Park.

Beautiful scenery in Glacier National Park.

Beautiful scenery along Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park.

Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park.

Chipmunk in Glacier National Park.

Beautiful scenery along Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park.

Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park.

The famous Red Buses on Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park.

Mountainside tunnel on Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park.

Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park.

Fall colours starting to show along Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park.

Cars going by and above a waterfall along Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park.

Beautiful scenery along Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park.

Beautiful scenery along Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park.

Beautiful valley along Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park.

Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park.

The view at the beginning of our Logan Pass hike in Glacier National Park.

Scenery along our hike at Logan Pass in Glacier National Park.

Hidden Lake is the prize at the end of the Logan Pass hike in Glacier National Park.

Hidden Lake is the prize at the end of the Logan Pass hike in Glacier National Park.

We encountered a couple of mountain goat’s on our Logan Pass hike.

We encountered a couple of mountain goat’s on our Logan Pass hike.

We encountered a couple of mountain goats on our Logan Pass hike; this is the baby or “kid”.

Adam on the way back to the trailhead at Logan Pass in Glacier National Park.

Adam soaking in the view while enjoying a well deserved snack after our hike at Logan Pass.

Jackson Glacier is approximately the seventh largest of the remaining 25 glaciers in Glacier National Park.

Burnt trees from a recent forest fire near Saint Mary Lake in Glacier National Park.

Burnt trees from a recent forest fire near Saint Mary Lake in Glacier National Park.

The charred bark of a burnt tree from a recent forest fire near Saint Mary Lake in Glacier National Park.

A black bear along the Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park in Montana.

Saint Mary Lake is the second largest lake in Glacier National Park.

A moose in the distance at Glacier National Park in Montana.

A cow giving us a pose on Chief Mountain International Highway!

We finally made it!