Today we awoke early for our “Red Jammer” tour. We walked the trail to the Apgar Transit
Center and met our guide, Matt. He was a
fascinating man. In the summer months,
he lives in staff housing in Glacier and drives bus number 97 almost daily for
a nine hour tour, chatting with passengers.
In the winter months, Matt lives in a log cabin 1 ½ hours north of
Glacier, almost at the Canadian border.
During that time he lives without: electricity, modern plumbing, phone,
computer and internet. He skis 2 miles
to retrieve his mail, and get to his truck in order to go “into town”. We really enjoyed our day with him and the
other 10 passengers. Highlights included
some grizzly bear sightings, and a warm cup of tea/hot chocolate at Many
Glacier Lodge!
One thing that we have had trouble with since we arrived is
dressing properly. You might be
scorching hot on the beach at the lower altitudes, then freezing cold in a
cloud at the higher altitudes. Well, I
had a lot of wardrobe regret today! In the rush to get out the door, and in my
haste to actually look presentable, (earrings and clean shirt today), I found
myself in an open top bus in the clouds in a skirt and freezing my tush
off! Yes, I am sure that I gave more
than a few hearty souls a great laugh as I tried to muster a smile through
clenched, chattering teeth!
Our nine hour adventure took us all the way across the Going
to the Sun Highway, from the West Entrance where we have been camping, to the
East Side. Near the East Side, we passed
out of Glacier, and onto the Black Feet Indian Reservation, then back into
Glacier near St. Mary’s. The Going to
the Sun Highway runs 50 miles and is very slow going. Many sections have steep cliffs to one side,
and traffic is slow and winding, especially if there is a wildlife
sighting! Our driver stopped at many
locations along the highway for rest stops, leg stretching, and
sightseeing. We had an hour and a half
at the Many Glacier Lodge for lunch.
From the porch, Mike and the kids were able to see a mother grizzly and
her two cubs clambering up the shore opposite us. I missed out because I was searching the gift
shop for something warm to wear. I
settled on some really tall, but very goofy, brown colored socks with a bear
and Glacier National Park embossed on them.
Got them out of the bag and onto
my feet, then back into the bus, and what do you know, the sun came out! (God has a great sense of humor!)
We all learned a lot today about geology, wildlife, plants
and glaciers. We are back at the
campfire for dinner and roasting marshmallows.
Life is good….
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