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State Count #4 - Montana

Nickname		Big Sky Country, Treasure State
Capital		Helena
Did we go there?		No
Sales tax		None!
Famous for		Big sky, grizzly bears, cowboys, fly-fishing
State random fact		Some highways didn't have speed limits until the 1990s
The truck smells like		Wildfire smoke
Favorite meal		Tupelo Grille in Whitefish with Howard, Karen, and all the Sisters
Oops moment		Almost hitting another deer
Highlights		Cowboy church, Melanie's childhood pictures, Rib dinner, Huckleberry Milkshake, Glacier National Park, running into the Sisters
Best drive		The Swan Highway from the Wilkin's house in Kalispell to Bozeman
Conversations		Money, geology, being a smart kid, Mr. Bojangles, cowboys
Adjectives		Big, beautiful, amazing, spacious
Friend Count		5

Mile 3256 - Grinnell Glacier, MT

We were able to fit in one more day in Glacier to go see the main event.  Glaciers are kind of an enigma of natural forces.  It's just a really big piece of ice right, or is it a slow, frozen river?  Either way, their power equals earthquakes and volcanoes in their impact. We first saw glaciers in July in Glacier Bay, Alaska, where you can still listen to cracks and pops from sheets of ice that are hundreds of feet thick and gradually flow, ripping off chunks of the mountains and taking them to the sea.

Here in Glacier, Montana the mountain carving is done and the Glaciers have almost all melted into lakes. There are mountains that you can easily see the different layers of rock that have been pushed up out of the earth and slowly scraped away by tons of rock. There is, fortunately, a couple remaining spots where you can still get up and close with a Glacier, but you have to earn our way there by hiking 6 miles and gain 1600 feet to reach them. 

Our hike of choice for our last day of Glacier National Park was Grinnell Glacier. Grinnell is predicted to be completely defunct (gone) by 2030.  We’re glad we took this opportunity to see it while we still can! 

We steadily gained elevation as we hiked through flowers and shoulder-high berry bushes. This was pretty unnerving because there was signs everywhere warning us about the grizzlies in the area. Almost every hiker we passed jingled with bear bells, but they say the most effective deterrent is loud talking. Good thing Aaron comes with that standard.

At one point we picked up the pace because Aaron was hearing what sounded like loud slurping. Sarah couldn't hear it, but for Aaron, it was so loud! No worries, it was just the water jug sloshing around in the backpack. Their haste brought them up past the tree line so they had lunch at an awesome view of yet another teal alpine lake.

We highly recommend this hike, but we also recommend starting early. It's picturesque every step of the way and can attract quite a crowd. We saw a herd of longhorn sheep, wild flowers, and unbeatable views of the valley below. When we finally reached the glacier at the top of Mount Gould we were around 7000 feet. We enjoyed feeling the water, freshly melted off the glacier, as well as wondering about the fascinating geology surrounding us. The only disappointment was that we couldn't stay at the top longer. 

As if the hike couldn’t get any better, on the descent things got even more interesting. A boat full of tourists was crossing the lake and we watched them suddenly stop and head for the shore about 100 yards ahead of us. Their fingers were pointed and cameras were blazing and up ahead the path was full of halted hikers. Turns out it was snack-time for a momma grizzly bear and her 3 cubs and the middle of the path was the perfect spot. Sarah fearlessly marched up to the front of the crowd to get close enough for a good picture. We pretty much all acted fearless, but there certainly were a lot of bearspray cans at the ready. We watched them quizzically enjoy their lunch entertainment and eventually they tumbled across the trail and slid off to the lake for a drink. Our time in Glacier National Park was then complete.