2020 "Snaps" Around Glacier National Park

Glacier presents some great photographic opportunities, talk about it here.

Moderators: teapot57, Tara

TamandKev
Posts: 14
Joined: Sun Sep 06, 2020 5:55 pm
Gender?: Female
Please add the numbers(11): 11

Re: 2020 "Snaps" Around Glacier National Park

Post by TamandKev »

Pete,
I’m so glad you are okay after sliding on icy roads looking for a property. I hope the next time you scope it out it will be better conditions.
We were able to get a room at Many Glacier for my mom. I think she will love it! We booked rooms some time back and it’s a good thing we did. They are very hard to find now. She was wanting to go into Canada and possibly up to Banff but I’m not sure that will be possible this year. So we have reservations all around the park to give her a great overview of GNP and surroundings. She is excited!!!

Craig,
You will love the East side of the park. It has some of our very favorite hikes and the wildlife is amazing. I can’t wait to hear about your trip. It looks we will be returning home a few days before you arrive.

Dreaming of warmer weather, bluebird skies and my favorite place GNP.

Take care!
Tammy and Kevin
PeteE
Posts: 3346
Joined: Tue Apr 08, 2014 12:20 pm
Gender?: Male
Please add the numbers(11): 11
Location: Winter hHaven Florida
Has thanked: 3 times
Been thanked: 1 time
Contact:

Re: 2020 "Snaps" Around Glacier National Park

Post by PeteE »

crh24 wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 6:52 am Hello Pete, Tammy, and Kevin.

I am glad you are all doing well. Pete, glad your eye procedures are done and went as planned. Yeah, driving in snow/icy conditions isn't fun, which I can attest to, as well...although, the drop-offs around here (WI) aren't as bad, clearly... Spring is here. :D

Yes, I do plan on visiting summer 2021. I will be arriving in GNP sometime on 7/30 and departing 8/13 or 8/14. All of my reservations are on the East Side: MG/SwiftCurrent, East Glacier, and Rising Sun. Looks like there's a fair amount of road construction in the area this year. I also see there are rumblings of instituting ticketed access to the GTTSR this year. Being early folk, (prior to 6:00AM gate staffing), shouldn't be an issue for us, if timed ticketing is implemented...

Pete, thanks for sharing all of your photos. I enjoy looking at them and reading about them. I tend to be quiet and don't say much, but understand people do enjoy them and appreciate your time and effort sharing with others.

Hey Craig:
Glad to know all is well in Wisconsin. You're dates are normally good weather for hiking.
I had forgotten you haven't seen the East side. There are some very good hikes over there.
I'm not sure what will be going on during your stay. I have a number of backpacking permits submitted.
Hopefully we can do a hike together...assuming you can tolerate my slow pace 8)
I'll stay in touch.
cheers
pete


Best,
-Craig
TamandKev wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 8:09 pm

Pete,
I’m so glad you are okay after sliding on icy roads looking for a property. I hope the next time you scope it out it will be better conditions.
We were able to get a room at Many Glacier for my mom. I think she will love it! We booked rooms some time back and it’s a good thing we did. They are very hard to find now. She was wanting to go into Canada and possibly up to Banff but I’m not sure that will be possible this year. So we have reservations all around the park to give her a great overview of GNP and surroundings. She is excited!!!

Craig,
You will love the East side of the park. It has some of our very favorite hikes and the wildlife is amazing. I can’t wait to hear about your trip. It looks we will be returning home a few days before you arrive.

Dreaming of warmer weather, bluebird skies and my favorite place GNP.

Take care!
Tammy and Kevin

Hi Tam and Kev:
I'm replacing front drive shaft tomorrow AM with help from my work mate. So 4x4 should be good.
Then I'll head back up to check out that property for my friend.
I know where it is now so I won't need to drive that sketchy stretch of road again. 8)

I'm glad you got your Mom a room at Many Glacier Hotel. She will love that place.
It'll be the perfect spot for her to relax while y'all are out hiking.
Bummer about Canada because she would love seeing the Prince of Wales Hotel.
Fingers crossed for no fires and good weather!
Cheers

pete

"If you are not curious, you will learn nothing" -Goethe-

"When you're born in this world, you're given a ticket to the freak show.
And when you're born in America, you're given a front row seat."

George Carlin
MarxMN
2.1 Donator
2.1 Donator
Posts: 595
Joined: Wed Aug 30, 2006 9:38 pm
Gender?: Male
Please add the numbers(11): 11
Location: Mazeppa, MN
Has thanked: 22 times
Been thanked: 37 times

Re: 2020 "Snaps" Around Glacier National Park

Post by MarxMN »

Pete,

We have been on Grave Creek Road near Eureka. We did some exploring in that area in November 2017. We did not go high enough to hit snow and ice but I remember thinking that road itself could be challenging in bad weather. and you were on a driveway off Grave Creek Road. I am glad you were able to get out of there and I hope your tip back went better.

Bill
PeteE
Posts: 3346
Joined: Tue Apr 08, 2014 12:20 pm
Gender?: Male
Please add the numbers(11): 11
Location: Winter hHaven Florida
Has thanked: 3 times
Been thanked: 1 time
Contact:

Re: 2020 "Snaps" Around Glacier National Park

Post by PeteE »

MarxMN wrote: Sat Mar 27, 2021 8:44 pm Pete,

We have been on Grave Creek Road near Eureka. We did some exploring in that area in November 2017. We did not go high enough to hit snow and ice but I remember thinking that road itself could be challenging in bad weather. and you were on a driveway off Grave Creek Road. I am glad you were able to get out of there and I hope your tip back went better.

Bill
Hey Bill!

Yeah, I've been across the Whitefish range on Grave Creek Rd(FR114) 4-5 times but not recently. It comes out at Trail Creek on the North Fork Rd.
It gets really rough up around the Whitefish Divide where it goes through bedrock. It's not a road for the feint of heart. I wouldn't advise taking a rental car, even some SUV's.
If you breakdown out there, good luck. There's not a lot of traffic that goes as far as the divide--from either direction.
It's a beautiful drive though with a couple nice day hikes off FR114. I liked the Mt Hefty hike to the fire lookout and then on to the CA border. Great views.

The area I was going was a on FR756 (Therriault Pass Rd) It intersects Grave Creek Rd. roughly five miles in from US93. Grave Creek is still paved at that point and pretty flat. Then 756 is a good dirt/gravel road pretty much the next 11 miles all the way over to where it eventually intersects Glen Lake Rd. The property my friend is looking at is only about 3 miles in on 756 from Grave Creek Rd. I believe I missed the gate and sign for the property last week because the sign was under snow and I was looking at the valley view when I drove past the gate. The gate is about 50ft off of the road up hill.

No problem finding it this time. No snow and nice day. :D

I sent my friend the videos and pics and he is driving out here as I type. We'll probably go up Thursday or Friday. He's going to be talking to some people from the county about septic tank issues as well as solar array contractors, well drillers, and excavation contractors.
He does like the property based on my pics and video. :)

I talked for a couple hours to a guy who lives about 1/4 mile away from the property. He turned out to be a really interesting, and nice guy who's my age. He served in the USN just before me. We both were ETs and went to same electronics schools! :shock: We had a great time telling our "sea stories" His wife wasn't around. 8)
He and his wife have lived full time out there since 2012. So he was ,and will be, a great resource for my friend.

later

pete :wink:
"If you are not curious, you will learn nothing" -Goethe-

"When you're born in this world, you're given a ticket to the freak show.
And when you're born in America, you're given a front row seat."

George Carlin
PeteE
Posts: 3346
Joined: Tue Apr 08, 2014 12:20 pm
Gender?: Male
Please add the numbers(11): 11
Location: Winter hHaven Florida
Has thanked: 3 times
Been thanked: 1 time
Contact:

Re: 2020 "Snaps" Around Glacier National Park

Post by PeteE »

This was Friday evening around 8:10PM at the Rising Sun boat dock. No wind and so nice reflection of Red Eagle Mt.
Just a tiny highlight from setting sun on the right side of the mountain.
Notice the lack of ice other than a few small patches out from shore.
When I went back to the boat dock this morning there was ice everywhere. It was windy so I left.
4 image pano

Image

Taken from the US89 roadside above St Mary this morning when I was leaving. This is another 4 image pano--full size.
Image

I added this new crop Sunday night.
This probably a better crop to print. It's 9000x2623pixels.
Aspect ratio is about 3.5 to 1. It should print well any size up to 36" wide

Image

This is a small crop from the image above. You can see all the ice in the area around the boat dock.
You can see part of Gunsight mountain to the left of Fusillade which left center. Dead center is the big cirque between the Dragon's Tail and Fusillade.
Reynolds Mt with its large SE "spur ridge" is in front of the Dragon's Tail which lies right behind that spur ridge in this view.
Still a lot of snow up in the higher terrain and more coming tonight.

Image

They have done a lot of work on US 89 between Browning and St Mary.
The road is in great condition from mile 0 in Browning to mile 21 at the South Fork of the Milk River. They took out a lot of the bad curves and widened the road and put in bike lanes.
They also did extensive excavation on the shoulders. The road will be much safer to drive. The last 11 miles from Mile 21 to St Mary is still the same.
No sign of any construction equipment anywhere. So don't know when the last 11 miles will be done.


Pics taken with one hand through the windshield is why they aren't too sharp.
See how they have graded the shoulder area to a much shallower slope and put in soil erosion control measures and roadside drainage ditches.

Image
Image

You still have to watch for the horses. 8)
Image
Last edited by PeteE on Sun Apr 18, 2021 9:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"If you are not curious, you will learn nothing" -Goethe-

"When you're born in this world, you're given a ticket to the freak show.
And when you're born in America, you're given a front row seat."

George Carlin
teapot57
Moderator & 2.1 Donator
Moderator & 2.1 Donator
Posts: 940
Joined: Mon May 20, 2013 3:59 pm
Gender?: Female
Please add the numbers(11): 11
Location: Calgary, AB
Has thanked: 89 times
Been thanked: 77 times

Re: 2020 "Snaps" Around Glacier National Park

Post by teapot57 »

Great photos, Pete! So nice to see the east side. Did you camp over there? The improvements to US89 look great and like you said, much safer. Were there many people out?

Friday and Saturday were gorgeous days in Calgary with temps in the high 60’s low 70’s, but today we got 4-6 inches of wet snow. That’s ok- we need the moisture. I hope our yard starts greening up.

Thanks for sharing.
MarxMN
2.1 Donator
2.1 Donator
Posts: 595
Joined: Wed Aug 30, 2006 9:38 pm
Gender?: Male
Please add the numbers(11): 11
Location: Mazeppa, MN
Has thanked: 22 times
Been thanked: 37 times

Re: 2020 "Snaps" Around Glacier National Park

Post by MarxMN »

Thanks for the eastside pictures. It has been along time since anyone has been able to post pictures of the park from Highway 89.
PeteE
Posts: 3346
Joined: Tue Apr 08, 2014 12:20 pm
Gender?: Male
Please add the numbers(11): 11
Location: Winter hHaven Florida
Has thanked: 3 times
Been thanked: 1 time
Contact:

Re: 2020 "Snaps" Around Glacier National Park

Post by PeteE »

teapot57 wrote: Sun Apr 18, 2021 7:50 pm Great photos, Pete! So nice to see the east side. Did you camp over there? The improvements to US89 look great and like you said, much safer. Were there many people out?

Yes, I camped Friday night at a tiny little campground, The Leaning Tree, on Duck Road just off US 89. Pics later and yeah it was cold. Ice on tent Sat AM 8)

Friday and Saturday were gorgeous days in Calgary with temps in the high 60’s low 70’s, but today we got 4-6 inches of wet snow. That’s ok- we need the moisture. I hope our yard starts greening up.

We got about 1" last night here in Kalispell from same storm. St Mary looks like it got several inches.



Thanks for sharing.
:D :D :arrow:
MarxMN wrote: Sun Apr 18, 2021 7:52 pm Thanks for the eastside pictures. It has been along time since anyone has been able to post pictures of the park from Highway 89.
You're welcome! It has been a while hasn't it? They really did a nice job on US89. I like the view from up on the hill above St Mary.
I have some pretty lame video from Friday and Saturday I'll put up later today. Gotta get to work.
pete :wink:
"If you are not curious, you will learn nothing" -Goethe-

"When you're born in this world, you're given a ticket to the freak show.
And when you're born in America, you're given a front row seat."

George Carlin
User avatar
calicotraveler
Posts: 1140
Joined: Sat Apr 14, 2007 2:56 pm
Gender?: Female
Please add the numbers(11): 11
Location: South Carolina
Contact:

Re: 2020 "Snaps" Around Glacier National Park

Post by calicotraveler »

Appreciate the eastside photos! Also good to get an update on the roads on that side of the Park.
Thanks!
The mountains are calling and I must go.
JayAndersen
Posts: 20
Joined: Sat Apr 14, 2018 11:31 pm
Gender?: Male
Please add the numbers(11): 11
Location: Wisconsin

Re: 2020 "Snaps" Around Glacier National Park

Post by JayAndersen »

Thanks for the East side update and photos Pete! Love the shot off the Rising Sun dock. The improvements to US89 are nice. Pretty much all new from Choteau through Browning to mile 21 now, or close enough to it?

5 more weeks of waiting and I'll be out there :arrow:
crh24
Posts: 18
Joined: Sat Sep 19, 2020 1:44 am
Gender?: Male
Please add the numbers(11): 11
Location: Wisconsin

Re: 2020 "Snaps" Around Glacier National Park

Post by crh24 »

Like everybody else, thanks for sharing the photos Pete. We are all excited to visit again - especially after you share your photos.
-Craig
PeteE
Posts: 3346
Joined: Tue Apr 08, 2014 12:20 pm
Gender?: Male
Please add the numbers(11): 11
Location: Winter hHaven Florida
Has thanked: 3 times
Been thanked: 1 time
Contact:

Re: 2020 "Snaps" Around Glacier National Park

Post by PeteE »

Thanks Michelle, Jay and Craig! :)
It was nice to get out and go somewhere other than Lake McDonald.

Here's a little "lame video" from Friday at Leaning Tree Camp Ground.
They were not really open for the season yet but let me stay anyway.
Leaning Tree is a very small CG> However, they do have a small store and all the basic amenities.
The cabins are new, not on the website, and look very nice to me. They are building a laundromat which will be great.
While I found it fine for me, Leaning Tree won't appeal to everyone.
Since it's located right on Duck Lake Rd, the highway traffic noise will bother some people.
There is a cow pasture across the road. Lots of cows mooing 8). Maybe they move the cattle in the summer.
The convenient location worked for me. $25/night for tent spots.
https://www.leaningtreecampgroundandcabins.com/#home

Lame videos
https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-b6F ... m-1920.mp4
https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-fcK ... 8-1920.mp4

Dinner
Image
Image
Image
"If you are not curious, you will learn nothing" -Goethe-

"When you're born in this world, you're given a ticket to the freak show.
And when you're born in America, you're given a front row seat."

George Carlin
al_in_al
Posts: 295
Joined: Tue Oct 21, 2014 7:13 am
Gender?: Female
Please add the numbers(11): 11
Has thanked: 4 times
Been thanked: 109 times

Re: 2020 "Snaps" Around Glacier National Park

Post by al_in_al »

Chiming in a little late to say thanks for the east side pictures! Great shots, even the windshield ones.
User avatar
calicotraveler
Posts: 1140
Joined: Sat Apr 14, 2007 2:56 pm
Gender?: Female
Please add the numbers(11): 11
Location: South Carolina
Contact:

Re: 2020 "Snaps" Around Glacier National Park

Post by calicotraveler »

Nice to see there is another option for camping and nice little cabins in that area. I'm going to send this info off to a friend who is looking for just that sort of thing. You eat well when you camp!
The mountains are calling and I must go.
PeteE
Posts: 3346
Joined: Tue Apr 08, 2014 12:20 pm
Gender?: Male
Please add the numbers(11): 11
Location: Winter hHaven Florida
Has thanked: 3 times
Been thanked: 1 time
Contact:

Re: 2020 "Snaps" Around Glacier National Park

Post by PeteE »

calicotraveler wrote: Tue Apr 20, 2021 8:31 am Nice to see there is another option for camping and nice little cabins in that area. I'm going to send this info off to a friend who is looking for just that sort of thing. You eat well when you camp!
I didn't think to ask about the price of cabins. They're new and don't appear on the website.
I think one of the cabins would be the best option for most people.
The Ladies RR/shower was pretty nice. I was the only guest.
They let me use it since the Men's room was being used for storage of construction materials.
Tell your friend to ask for "Kristin" if they call. They're busy with construction and remodeling so Kristin may have to call back.
She was quite nice imo. If you look at the overhead photo, you can see it's a quite small campground.

I like to try and cook a decent evening meal when I can. It's not a big deal to bring "real/fresh food" car camping.
That steak from Perfect Cuts in CFalls was a bit of a luxury for me($12.99/lb) That's actually about same price as the same cut at Super1.
and a much better piece of meat imo. The mixed vegetables were fresh broccoli, carrots, small Yukon Gold potatoes, shallots, minced garlic, sautéed in real butter...with a little Mrs. Dash salt free seasoning with fresh ground pepper.

It was awkward to cook on that fire pit. All I had was wood and that style fire pit was made for charcoal...but it worked.
:)

al_in_al wrote: Tue Apr 20, 2021 8:12 am Chiming in a little late to say thanks for the east side pictures! Great shots, even the windshield ones.
Not too worry Jessica. Thank you! :)
You going to sit out this year due to all the uncertainty and craziness?


Cheers and good health to all!👍👍😎

pete :wink:
"If you are not curious, you will learn nothing" -Goethe-

"When you're born in this world, you're given a ticket to the freak show.
And when you're born in America, you're given a front row seat."

George Carlin
Post Reply

Return to “Photography”