This morning we got up and I fixed a large breakfast of omelets, sausage patties and toast. We are planning on skipping lunch and having an early dinner. I put a beef stew in the crockpot so that it would be ready whenever we want it.
Today we are going to complete the last 19 miles of the Going-to-the-Sun Road by entering the park via the St Mary's entrance. This entrance is not nearly as crowded as the West entrance of the park. Over there we always had a line we had to wait in to enter the park. At St Mary we pulled right up to the booth.
The first stop we made was alongside St Mary Lake to check out Wild Goose Island. It is one of the most frequently photographed spots in the park. You can take a boat tour that will take you closer but we decided not to do that.
After enjoying the island we drove a bit down the road to Sunrift Gorge. We were going to walk to Baring Falls which was suppose to be not too far down the trail. Well, after a little bit of a walk the trail started heading up, up, up. We turned around and walked back. I did take some picture of the river that has carved the gorge.
Next on the tour was a stop at the Jackson Glacier Overlook for the best view of the glacier in the park. This glacier has gotten dramatically smaller over the years. They think that by 2030 it will be gone.
From this point forward we started running into road construction. We would have to wait for the "follow-me" car to lead the parade. Of course the way our luck runs the car was always on the other side when we pulled into line. There are a number of waterfalls, named and unnamed, in the park.
The view when we were waiting for the traffic was fabulous. We were able to stand and take it all in. Just a little bit further up the road to get to the Logan Pass Visitor's Center. This is where we turned around the last time and where we will turn around again. It was still early enough in the day that we were able to get a parking space with no problem. Good thing too as the park rangers were giving tickets to people who parked wrong when we left.
We took a short walk on the walkway behind the center. There is still snow on the ground and in spots it actually covers the walkway so you get to walk on snow. You can walk further up than we did and even snowboard a bit.
Here is where we saw some wildlife. Our first animal was a Hoary Marmot. At first we saw one running across the meadow. When it reached the rocks we realized there were two little ones too. A fourth marmot came right up to the walkway.
The next thing we saw was some deer. They were on the opposite side of the walkway from the Marmot. I think they are Mule Deer.
We came off the walkway and were talking to some people on the sidewalk around the center when we heard a shout. We walked quickly (what, you thought I ran?) to the area and there they were - a group of Bighorn sheep running across the meadow no more than 75 feet away! I took pictures as fast as I could, changing from regular to zoom as fast as I could! I caught them!
We believe these were the rams. Someone said there were more on the other side of some bushes. This group stopped and were enjoying some of the greenery for lunch. We think these were the ewes and young ones. We were hoping they would follow the big guys so we stood around for a bit. They seemed content to stay where they were so we left after a bit.
We headed back down the GTTS road and our last stop was at Sun Point. From here you get a great view of St Mary Lake and the surrounding area.
We stopped at a cafe just outside the park that is famous for their pies. I hoped to get a piece of Huckleberry pie but they didn't have any. We decided to take two slices of blackberry pie home for dessert after dinner. When we got back I realized that the power had gone out sometime during the day. I don't know how long it had been out but the stew hadn't cooked enough to be tender. We let it cook for another hour or so then ate. It looks like we made it home just in time as there was some thunder and then the rain started. It came down pretty good for awhile. After a couple of hours it has finally stopped. And so will I now. I hope you had a good day. Enjoy the slideshow.
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