From Yellowstone, we made our way to Bozeman, our first stop in Montana, where we visited The Museum of the Rockies on the Montana State University campus. The museum houses important collections of North American dinosaur remains. Many of the fossils on display were excavated right in Montana’s fossil‑rich badlands.
Bozeman also had a unique downtown, which reminded us a bit of Northampton, MA.
As we continued our drive across the state of Montana, the scenery shifted constantly.
Not a neighbor in sight here.
We made it to Glacier National Park and were playing with snow in mid-August!
At the same time, we were walking alongside wildflowers!
The glaciers that sculpted this terrain began forming around 12,000 years ago. Today, twenty‑five much smaller alpine glaciers remain and are still slowly reshaping the land.
Glacier National Park uses a fleet of restored 1930s red tour buses, similar in style to the historic yellow buses in Yellowstone. These vintage vehicles take visitors along the scenic 50‑mile Going‑to‑the‑Sun Road, a route that crosses through the heart of the park from St. Mary Lake on the east to Lake McDonald on the west.
Glacier’s terrain ranges from alpine peaks to deep glacial valleys, dense forests, and broad lakes. During our time in the park, we experienced all different kinds of weather including rain, fog, bursts of sunshine, and rolling clouds proving how quickly the mountain air can shift conditions.
Lake McDonald on the West side of the park.
St. Mary Lake on the East side of the park.
As we continued our drive with many stops off, there was always more to see around each corner.
Along our drive, we were able to stop at some fun sights, from shallow creeks to deep, crystal-clear blue streams.
The boys were brave and jumped off a rock into a deep stream fed by Glacier’s high‑alpine runoff. Auggie’s reaction summed it up best, “how do fish survive in here?!”, referencing the water temperature, brrrrr!
The after!
How could they not swim in this cyrstal-clear water?!
The first big-horn sheep sighting of the trip.
A fox going after his prey; we think it was a chipmunk.
A series of photos to show the fog on part of the drive!
We caught a black bear crossing the stream!
This is one of the mountain lodges just outside of the park.
That’s a wrap on Glacier National Park!
We were a short drive to the Canadian Border, but didn’t make the crossover this time!
Next stop: Washington.