Home to the infamous Going-to-the-Sun road and known for its breathtaking views, Glacier National Park may just be the most glorious place on our physical earth.
Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park, Montana
If you have not yet, go read my previous posts about my trip to the Pacific Northwest and my time in Mount Rainier National Park & Olympic National Park, leading up to Glacier! Keep reading to hear about my experience in Glacier National Park.
The sun had not risen, but I was on the road from Spokane towards Wisconsin. Out of pure luck, I decided to see (mainly as a joke) if there were any last-minute vehicle passes available for Glacier National Park. The time was 6:01 am, and they had opened them at 6:00 am – how lucky am I? I bought the $2 pass, and made the conscious decision to flip my mood around real quick.
At about 11:00 am, I entered the park through West Glacier, and started making my trek through the Park. The adrenaline running through my veins was more than enough to keep me awake.
To be honest, I spent the most amount of time here despite the lack of planning. The first time I drove the full length of the road, I don’t think I stopped once – I just drove. By the time I got to the other side of the park, I had no way to wrap my brain around everything I had just seen.
I woke up the next morning ready to get sunrise photos, but I did not expect to have the storm from the day before stick around. I still decided to head to the lookout and see what I could get, and I am beyond thankful I did. That morning gave me the most insane sunrise I have ever witnessed, and maybe the best I will ever see, in my entire life.
I stood there for an hour, watching the sunrise develop, and you could not even tell that it was raining. At that moment, I was proud of myself. I was speechless.
The rest of the day I spent driving back up and down GTTS road, stopping, taking photos, and taking it all in. I stopped to hike the Hidden Lake trail, and even saw a Grizzly Bear – do not approach.
I went to bed that night feeling freshly motivated and alive, the most alive I had felt in a while. The next morning I grabbed my honorary pin from the gift shop and headed east towards Wisconsin.
Taylor Kurer 