View from the top of the world

Waking up to bird song and crisp mountain air is always a perfect start to the day in my opinion. Bagels toasted over a woodfire for breakfast, watched by squirrels having their own feast at the top of a spruce tree.

Lining the highway leading into Glacier National Park we passed "fur trading posts" peddling overpriced souvenirs and last chance saloons where we probably would have had a good chance of drinking with all the Harley Davidson rider we've been seeing (do they know that they ALL dress the same!). Everyone has trucks here and our little CRV doesnt even rate compared to the size of most of them.

The road through Glacier is called the "Going to the Sun Road" which I think is one of the prettiest names around. Happily RVs are banned in summer and the park runs regular shuttles in cute little red vintage open air busses which keeps the, shall we say more cautious drivers, off the road, freeing it up for us to cruise and photograph at will.

Starting off with a crystal clear blue lake and thick lush forests of spruce and cedar, the journey just improved with every turn of the road as more and more towering granite peaks were revealed. There really aren't words to adequately convey the awe inspiring majesty and drama of these solid, jagged walls and graceful sweeping green valleys streaked with white ribbons and swirls of melting glaciers and streams.

Montana's slogan is the 'Big Sky Country' and it's not just marketing propaganda. Even when ringed by mountainous peaks there's still more sky than you can point a camera at.

The next day we hiked up to Iceberg Lake. It was the first time I've hiked at any kind of significant altitude and I defintely felt it. Fortunately the view kept us inspired the whole way up, and then all the way back down again as it all looked new again in the afternoon light.

Once again words fail me, so I'll just add some images. Saw a moose with a fabulous head of antlers wallowing in a pond but was too far away to get a great photo of him.