June 25, 2009, Thursday:
We left Mammoth Springs at 11:00am and headed north following the Yellowstone River and US89 towards Livingston MT and I-90. The Yellowstone River flows northeast until it empties into the Missouri River in ND and was a decision point in the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The valley is beautiful and lush with many irrigated ranches with large herds of cattle. We headed west on I-90 towards Bozeman MT with the hopes of making contact with Jessica McGowan Mason and her husband Seth. We first went shopping at Safeway to restock the larder and be prepared for the time at Glacier NP. We had found the cell phone and were calling Jessica when she called us. She is sponsoring a family reunion and will be coming, with her sister and parents, to Glacier NP at the same time we’ll be there. It’s going to be a full week with Meredith, Michael Ray, his brother and sister, and Jessica and her family. We have heard that the Going-to-the Sun road is open so we’ll be able to see lots of things. We continued west on I-90 and stopped at the Lewis and Clark Cavern SP. We passed by a Woodstock want-to-be, the Headwaters Country Jamboree. From the looks of the layout, they are expecting a large crowd. Once again, we have been to Lewis and Clark Cavern SP before, but it’s a nice park with not too much activity. We found a spot with afternoon shade 1that will carry us through the evening. There are dark clouds around, and every time one shows its ugly face, the wind changes directions and increases in strength. There are cottonwood and pine trees throughout the area. The feature attraction of the park is a large cavern up the hill from where we are. Lewis and Clark were never there, but the headwaters of the Missouri are just a few miles away. The temperature is 81 degrees and relative humidity of 25%. Back when we were planning this trip, I thought it would be 10,000 miles. We have traveled 6,640 miles so the number sounds good.
June 26, 2009 Friday:
We left Lewis and Clark Caverns SP at 10:30am and weren’t too sure where we were headed until the last moment. The final destination turned out to be Missoula MT. We jumped on I-90 heading west, crossing the Continental Divide (again) and passing by Butte MT. As we approached the city from the south, we saw the large open pit mine that is a Superfund site and is mentioned in Jared Diamond’s latest book titled ‘Collapse’.. Anaconda Cooper Mining Company owned the mine. The oil company ARCO bought out Anaconda and the British Oil Company BP bought out ARCO. Anyway, ARCO bought a mess, and BP bought a bigger mess. ARCO and BP have spent hundreds of millions of dollars so far to remediate the site and expect to spend more, maybe as much as $1 billion total. Last year we looked down into this open pit on a tour of the city, but looking at it from 2 miles away, it seemed much bigger. Passing by Butte, we saw the tall stack that was part of the Anaconda smelting operation. After Butte, we followed the Clark Fork river to Missoula. The Clark Fork flows past Missoula, to Lake Pend Oreille in Idaho and north into Canada where it joins the Columbia River. If you have read about Missoula Lake, created about 10,000 years ago, the ice plug that created the lake was on the Clark Fork at what is now the ID/MT border. The valley, through which the Clark Fork flows, is flat and wide and as result the river meanders along. We saw sandhill cranes and blue heron plus several other animals unidentifiable at 60+mph. We came into Missoula and stopped at the RV Park where we had been in 2006. It is shady, and the price is right. We washed clothes, worked on the blogs and finally realized it was late when the sun went down at 9:35pm. It rises at 5:43am! We may stay here one more night as our reservations for Glacier NP don’t start until Sunday night, and we’re only 150 miles away. Daisy is in a bit of a funk because she misses her Uncle Andy and his treats.
June 27, 2009 Saturday:
We are going to stay one more night. We have the opportunity to tie up some loose ends and be up to date when we leave to go to Glacier NP on Sunday. Of course, we’ll fall behind at Glacier NP because we’ll be with Meredith and Michael Ray for part of the time and also Jessica and her family. The early morning treat here was the arrival of a lady from Cosco with free coffee and muffins plus cost-saving certificates. The muffins were great, but we didn’t join. Don’t know where we’d put all the stuff we would want to buy. Susie worked hard on her blog and was able to post a few more weeks. She is now just a week behind – that doesn’t sound like much, but I can tell you it is lots of work. We are now down at 3,600 feet elevation after having been up high for several weeks. Daisy’s tummy is a bit sensitive, but we finally know what to do. I tried to print out some info from the internet, but I couldn’t get the black ink cartridge to work. The gauge shows 60% full, but I can’t get the ink to flow. I suspect it is the low humidity and lack of use.
June 28, 2009 Sunday:
We left the campground at 11:0am after a morning of miscellaneous work around the RV and Susie finish coloring of her drawings and taking pictures of them for post next chance we get to be near a wifi site. We drove north on US93 and saw a most amazing sight. There was a bicyclist pedaling south, and like so many cyclists, he was pulling a trailer. We have seen people carrying a dog or camping equipment, but this guy had a small kayak strapped on his. We came upon Flathead Lake, a beautiful clear fresh water later about 25 miles long and 15 miles wide.
The wind was from the south at about 18k, and we noticed a PHRF-type race going on. It must have been a non-spinnaker fleet. I know the Thistle Class has held at least 2 national championships here, and I think I read an article on sailing here in a recent Sailing World magazine. We were on the west side of the lake and stopped at a pullover (about 200 feet above the water) and had lunch. On we went, going through Kalispell, before turning east to enter Glacier NP on the west side. We stopped at the Visitor Center and then checked in to the Fish Creek Campground on the west side of MacDonald Lake. We were scheduled to connect with Jessica McGowan and some of her family who were at the Park for one night. They arrived around 5:00pm, and we all went to dinner at a local Park restaurant. It was good food, and the company was better. All seven of us went out to the lake and had our picture taken by a couple from Galveston TX who were headed to Alaska for a 3 week trip. We returned to the campground at 9:45pm, they went to their tents and we to the RV. Jessica’s husband Seth had twisted his ankle, and we were able to give him an ice pack and Ace bandage for the night. They have to leave early, but we should see them before they go. It has been a treat to see them. Tomorrow, we should see Meredith and Michael Ray for a bit as they travel across Glacier NP to stay at Many Glacier on the east side.
June 29, 2009 Monday:
We spent most of this morning trying to figure out our schedule for the next few days. We wanted to take as many hikes as possible without overdoing it. We learned that the shuttle doesn’t start running until July 1st and questioned why so late, but as we thought about it, we remembered the snowplowing operation that the Going-to-the Sun Road did not open until this Friday the 26th, just a few days ago. We have seen some of the shuttle busses traveling along the roads, probably doing a bit of driver training. We decided to take a brief hike along the west shore of McDonald Lake to Rocky Point.
It took a bit longer than we expected because construction in anticipation of the 100th Anniversary of the Park in 2010. We returned to the campsite, and Susie went out for a few moments to take some pictures.
As happens with me most times, she met the Camp Hostess who admitted that she loved the flowers Susie was photographing and then offered to take her to another spot to see the flowers Susie had not yet seen. On the way, there was a horrendous noise and the Hostess and Susie ran to the spot and noticed 2 kids had collided on their bicycles. Neither had helmets on. The boy was still on the pavement, but denied he had hit his head, but why wasn’t he standing as was his sister? Everything was eventually straightened out, but not before the parents were given a gentle reminder that the kids should wear helmets at all times. So when Susie finally returned it was a bit longer than a few minutes. We loaded up and headed north on the east side of McDonald Lake, hoping to take a small walk, but before we were able we realized that Meredith should be arriving around 3:30pm. We hustled back and reached the Apgar Visitor Center at the same time she did.
WE had about an hour with Meredith and Michael Ray plus all of the Duffey family present. They then took off and headed over the Going-to-the Sun Road to the east side of the Park to Many Glacier where they’ll spend the night in some cabins. We returned to the campground and had dinner before heading back to Apgar Village to hear a song program done by a Blackfoot family. It was fun, and we returned to the campground for the night. I was very tired (probably because of the cold I was fighting) and went to bed almost immediately. Susie stayed up and drew for a while.
June 30, 2009 Tuesday
We were up before 7:00am and were on the road by 7:30am heading north to the Avalanche Lake Trailhead. Just after we left the campground, we saw a little fox kit sitting on the road, but near the edge. As we approached, it moved off to the grass and seemed very interested in us, but still a bit skittish. We wondered where the rest of his family was. We were early and parked on the road until I discovered a dedicated (or so the sign said) RV parking area. We found our spot, had breakfast and loaded up for the hike by 8:45am. We walked through an old growth of Western Red Cedar Trees. For some reason, no forest fire had not reached these trees for the last 500 years. They were a stark contrast to the areas burned in 2003. After the walk through the trees, we started up the Avalanche Creek.
It was flowing fast and full, and we noticed numerous trees had fallen into the Creek and had partially blocked and redirected the Creek. After 2 miles we popped out of the woods to see Avalanche Lake, a beautiful blue piece of water. 
As we gazed with wonder, we realized that there were 5 waterfalls falling 2,500 feet. None were a clean fall, just water bouncing off the rock cliffs as it fell. The source of water is the Sperry Glacier at an approximate elevation of 7,500 feet.
We didn’t stay long enough for the sun to move to the west so that the light would shine on the cliffs and waterfalls. We walked back and when we were almost to the trailhead, we saw an animal sitting in the middle of the road. It eventually moved off, but didn’t seem really scared of humans. One person thought it was a mink, but Susie and I bet on it being a fisher, but checking with the Park Ranger, he thought it might be a pine marten and brought out a picture for us to look at. Sure seemed like a pine marten to us. So on this hike we saw several chipmunks, a yellow-bellied marmot and pine marten. We took Daisy swimming in McDonald Creek and had lunch before driving south to a very short paved road on the west side of the road. We climbed out and took the McDonald Trail back north to the McDonald Falls. These falls are not where as big as the falls we saw before, but we were much closer. The McDonald Creek has cut through sedimentary rock and the banks are rugged. 
Just south of McDonald Falls there is a bridge for horses and people that allows great photos of the falls and turbulent waters. If we had known about this bridge, we could have stopped on the main road and had a much shorter walk. Oh well, the walk was nice and peaceful. We continued south to the Apgar Visitor Center where we asked about the pine marten and some flowers Susie was unable to identify. Daisy took her 2nd swim of the day. Successful in identifying the flowers, so we went over to the ice store and sampled their moose tracks ice cream. While standing in line we talked with a young couple with 2 boys from Minnesota. They were a hoot. We are amazed at how many people from Minnesota we have seen this trip. We started to go back to the campground, but Susie noted that we would be coming back for a Ranger talk on cougars, mountain lions or whatever you chose to call them. Susie took Daisy for her 3rd swim, and saw a couple take a bath in McDonald Lake. They said it was cold, but survivable, so she came back to the RV, got her swimsuit and towel and took a standup bath and head wash in the lake. I followed, and it was wonderful. We had supper and then went to the Ranger talk. I’m sorry to say that it was one of the worst we have experienced. Back to the campground where we prepared for tomorrow’s adventure. The shuttle starts, and we’re getting up early to ride our bikes to the Apgar Transit Center to catch a bus. The first one leaves at 7:00am, but I doubt if we’ll make that one. We’ll travel most of the Going-to-the-Sun Road, getting off to take some hikes if the trails are not snow-covered.
July 1, 2009 Wednesday:
I was up at 6:15am and walked Daisy. When I returned, Susie was up and had prepared Daisy’s food. We left the campsite at 7:50am and arrived at the Transit Center at 8:10am. The next bus to Logan Pass, the high point on the Going-to-the-Sun road was at 8:22am. We loaded up and off we went, arriving at 9:45am. The construction delays were minimal, but they’ll probably be worse in the afternoon. The Park has two different size shuttle busses due to the roadway restrictions between Logan Pass and Avalanche Creek on the west side. The large shuttles busses operate on the east side from Logan Pass to St Mary and from the Apgar Transit Center to Avalanche Creek on the west side. So except for the very first runs in the morning on the west side, you take the large shuttle to Avalanche Creek and transfer to the small shuttle for the remainder of the trip to Logan Pass. The reason for the shuttles is the ongoing re-construction of the Going-to-the-Sun road, scheduled to take 10 years to complete. They are now in the 3rd year of this project. We followed McDonald Creek upstream until we made a U-turn and headed generally southeast along the south side of the Garden Wall, a cliff with completely covered with trees. At this time of the year is brilliant green. Of to the right, we looked down into the deep valley with Logan Creek at the bottom. Logan Creek flows into McDonald Creek. The difference in elevation from the Going-to-the-Sun road to the creek bed is about 1,400 feet and is accomplished in less than 2,000 feet horizontally. There is some protection against driving over the edge, but not much.
When we reached Logan Pass, we decided to hike to the Hidden Lake Overlook. Most of the trail from the Visitor Center to the Overlook was still snow covered, but the warmer temperatures made the snow were slippery. I fell twice, but Susie was fine. 
We saw another type of animal, a hoary marmot. It has a silver coat. Two of them came to the Overlook and had very little fear of humans. We also saw several mountain goats, including a kid. They are very sure-footed on rock and the snow.
Find the Mountain goat in the picture above.
We left Mammoth Springs at 11:00am and headed north following the Yellowstone River and US89 towards Livingston MT and I-90. The Yellowstone River flows northeast until it empties into the Missouri River in ND and was a decision point in the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The valley is beautiful and lush with many irrigated ranches with large herds of cattle. We headed west on I-90 towards Bozeman MT with the hopes of making contact with Jessica McGowan Mason and her husband Seth. We first went shopping at Safeway to restock the larder and be prepared for the time at Glacier NP. We had found the cell phone and were calling Jessica when she called us. She is sponsoring a family reunion and will be coming, with her sister and parents, to Glacier NP at the same time we’ll be there. It’s going to be a full week with Meredith, Michael Ray, his brother and sister, and Jessica and her family. We have heard that the Going-to-the Sun road is open so we’ll be able to see lots of things. We continued west on I-90 and stopped at the Lewis and Clark Cavern SP. We passed by a Woodstock want-to-be, the Headwaters Country Jamboree. From the looks of the layout, they are expecting a large crowd. Once again, we have been to Lewis and Clark Cavern SP before, but it’s a nice park with not too much activity. We found a spot with afternoon shade 1that will carry us through the evening. There are dark clouds around, and every time one shows its ugly face, the wind changes directions and increases in strength. There are cottonwood and pine trees throughout the area. The feature attraction of the park is a large cavern up the hill from where we are. Lewis and Clark were never there, but the headwaters of the Missouri are just a few miles away. The temperature is 81 degrees and relative humidity of 25%. Back when we were planning this trip, I thought it would be 10,000 miles. We have traveled 6,640 miles so the number sounds good.
June 26, 2009 Friday:
We left Lewis and Clark Caverns SP at 10:30am and weren’t too sure where we were headed until the last moment. The final destination turned out to be Missoula MT. We jumped on I-90 heading west, crossing the Continental Divide (again) and passing by Butte MT. As we approached the city from the south, we saw the large open pit mine that is a Superfund site and is mentioned in Jared Diamond’s latest book titled ‘Collapse’.. Anaconda Cooper Mining Company owned the mine. The oil company ARCO bought out Anaconda and the British Oil Company BP bought out ARCO. Anyway, ARCO bought a mess, and BP bought a bigger mess. ARCO and BP have spent hundreds of millions of dollars so far to remediate the site and expect to spend more, maybe as much as $1 billion total. Last year we looked down into this open pit on a tour of the city, but looking at it from 2 miles away, it seemed much bigger. Passing by Butte, we saw the tall stack that was part of the Anaconda smelting operation. After Butte, we followed the Clark Fork river to Missoula. The Clark Fork flows past Missoula, to Lake Pend Oreille in Idaho and north into Canada where it joins the Columbia River. If you have read about Missoula Lake, created about 10,000 years ago, the ice plug that created the lake was on the Clark Fork at what is now the ID/MT border. The valley, through which the Clark Fork flows, is flat and wide and as result the river meanders along. We saw sandhill cranes and blue heron plus several other animals unidentifiable at 60+mph. We came into Missoula and stopped at the RV Park where we had been in 2006. It is shady, and the price is right. We washed clothes, worked on the blogs and finally realized it was late when the sun went down at 9:35pm. It rises at 5:43am! We may stay here one more night as our reservations for Glacier NP don’t start until Sunday night, and we’re only 150 miles away. Daisy is in a bit of a funk because she misses her Uncle Andy and his treats.
June 27, 2009 Saturday:
We are going to stay one more night. We have the opportunity to tie up some loose ends and be up to date when we leave to go to Glacier NP on Sunday. Of course, we’ll fall behind at Glacier NP because we’ll be with Meredith and Michael Ray for part of the time and also Jessica and her family. The early morning treat here was the arrival of a lady from Cosco with free coffee and muffins plus cost-saving certificates. The muffins were great, but we didn’t join. Don’t know where we’d put all the stuff we would want to buy. Susie worked hard on her blog and was able to post a few more weeks. She is now just a week behind – that doesn’t sound like much, but I can tell you it is lots of work. We are now down at 3,600 feet elevation after having been up high for several weeks. Daisy’s tummy is a bit sensitive, but we finally know what to do. I tried to print out some info from the internet, but I couldn’t get the black ink cartridge to work. The gauge shows 60% full, but I can’t get the ink to flow. I suspect it is the low humidity and lack of use.
June 28, 2009 Sunday:
We left the campground at 11:0am after a morning of miscellaneous work around the RV and Susie finish coloring of her drawings and taking pictures of them for post next chance we get to be near a wifi site. We drove north on US93 and saw a most amazing sight. There was a bicyclist pedaling south, and like so many cyclists, he was pulling a trailer. We have seen people carrying a dog or camping equipment, but this guy had a small kayak strapped on his. We came upon Flathead Lake, a beautiful clear fresh water later about 25 miles long and 15 miles wide.
The wind was from the south at about 18k, and we noticed a PHRF-type race going on. It must have been a non-spinnaker fleet. I know the Thistle Class has held at least 2 national championships here, and I think I read an article on sailing here in a recent Sailing World magazine. We were on the west side of the lake and stopped at a pullover (about 200 feet above the water) and had lunch. On we went, going through Kalispell, before turning east to enter Glacier NP on the west side. We stopped at the Visitor Center and then checked in to the Fish Creek Campground on the west side of MacDonald Lake. We were scheduled to connect with Jessica McGowan and some of her family who were at the Park for one night. They arrived around 5:00pm, and we all went to dinner at a local Park restaurant. It was good food, and the company was better. All seven of us went out to the lake and had our picture taken by a couple from Galveston TX who were headed to Alaska for a 3 week trip. We returned to the campground at 9:45pm, they went to their tents and we to the RV. Jessica’s husband Seth had twisted his ankle, and we were able to give him an ice pack and Ace bandage for the night. They have to leave early, but we should see them before they go. It has been a treat to see them. Tomorrow, we should see Meredith and Michael Ray for a bit as they travel across Glacier NP to stay at Many Glacier on the east side.June 29, 2009 Monday:
We spent most of this morning trying to figure out our schedule for the next few days. We wanted to take as many hikes as possible without overdoing it. We learned that the shuttle doesn’t start running until July 1st and questioned why so late, but as we thought about it, we remembered the snowplowing operation that the Going-to-the Sun Road did not open until this Friday the 26th, just a few days ago. We have seen some of the shuttle busses traveling along the roads, probably doing a bit of driver training. We decided to take a brief hike along the west shore of McDonald Lake to Rocky Point.
It took a bit longer than we expected because construction in anticipation of the 100th Anniversary of the Park in 2010. We returned to the campsite, and Susie went out for a few moments to take some pictures.
As happens with me most times, she met the Camp Hostess who admitted that she loved the flowers Susie was photographing and then offered to take her to another spot to see the flowers Susie had not yet seen. On the way, there was a horrendous noise and the Hostess and Susie ran to the spot and noticed 2 kids had collided on their bicycles. Neither had helmets on. The boy was still on the pavement, but denied he had hit his head, but why wasn’t he standing as was his sister? Everything was eventually straightened out, but not before the parents were given a gentle reminder that the kids should wear helmets at all times. So when Susie finally returned it was a bit longer than a few minutes. We loaded up and headed north on the east side of McDonald Lake, hoping to take a small walk, but before we were able we realized that Meredith should be arriving around 3:30pm. We hustled back and reached the Apgar Visitor Center at the same time she did.
WE had about an hour with Meredith and Michael Ray plus all of the Duffey family present. They then took off and headed over the Going-to-the Sun Road to the east side of the Park to Many Glacier where they’ll spend the night in some cabins. We returned to the campground and had dinner before heading back to Apgar Village to hear a song program done by a Blackfoot family. It was fun, and we returned to the campground for the night. I was very tired (probably because of the cold I was fighting) and went to bed almost immediately. Susie stayed up and drew for a while.June 30, 2009 Tuesday
We were up before 7:00am and were on the road by 7:30am heading north to the Avalanche Lake Trailhead. Just after we left the campground, we saw a little fox kit sitting on the road, but near the edge. As we approached, it moved off to the grass and seemed very interested in us, but still a bit skittish. We wondered where the rest of his family was. We were early and parked on the road until I discovered a dedicated (or so the sign said) RV parking area. We found our spot, had breakfast and loaded up for the hike by 8:45am. We walked through an old growth of Western Red Cedar Trees. For some reason, no forest fire had not reached these trees for the last 500 years. They were a stark contrast to the areas burned in 2003. After the walk through the trees, we started up the Avalanche Creek.
It was flowing fast and full, and we noticed numerous trees had fallen into the Creek and had partially blocked and redirected the Creek. After 2 miles we popped out of the woods to see Avalanche Lake, a beautiful blue piece of water. 
As we gazed with wonder, we realized that there were 5 waterfalls falling 2,500 feet. None were a clean fall, just water bouncing off the rock cliffs as it fell. The source of water is the Sperry Glacier at an approximate elevation of 7,500 feet.
We didn’t stay long enough for the sun to move to the west so that the light would shine on the cliffs and waterfalls. We walked back and when we were almost to the trailhead, we saw an animal sitting in the middle of the road. It eventually moved off, but didn’t seem really scared of humans. One person thought it was a mink, but Susie and I bet on it being a fisher, but checking with the Park Ranger, he thought it might be a pine marten and brought out a picture for us to look at. Sure seemed like a pine marten to us. So on this hike we saw several chipmunks, a yellow-bellied marmot and pine marten. We took Daisy swimming in McDonald Creek and had lunch before driving south to a very short paved road on the west side of the road. We climbed out and took the McDonald Trail back north to the McDonald Falls. These falls are not where as big as the falls we saw before, but we were much closer. The McDonald Creek has cut through sedimentary rock and the banks are rugged. 
Just south of McDonald Falls there is a bridge for horses and people that allows great photos of the falls and turbulent waters. If we had known about this bridge, we could have stopped on the main road and had a much shorter walk. Oh well, the walk was nice and peaceful. We continued south to the Apgar Visitor Center where we asked about the pine marten and some flowers Susie was unable to identify. Daisy took her 2nd swim of the day. Successful in identifying the flowers, so we went over to the ice store and sampled their moose tracks ice cream. While standing in line we talked with a young couple with 2 boys from Minnesota. They were a hoot. We are amazed at how many people from Minnesota we have seen this trip. We started to go back to the campground, but Susie noted that we would be coming back for a Ranger talk on cougars, mountain lions or whatever you chose to call them. Susie took Daisy for her 3rd swim, and saw a couple take a bath in McDonald Lake. They said it was cold, but survivable, so she came back to the RV, got her swimsuit and towel and took a standup bath and head wash in the lake. I followed, and it was wonderful. We had supper and then went to the Ranger talk. I’m sorry to say that it was one of the worst we have experienced. Back to the campground where we prepared for tomorrow’s adventure. The shuttle starts, and we’re getting up early to ride our bikes to the Apgar Transit Center to catch a bus. The first one leaves at 7:00am, but I doubt if we’ll make that one. We’ll travel most of the Going-to-the-Sun Road, getting off to take some hikes if the trails are not snow-covered.July 1, 2009 Wednesday:
I was up at 6:15am and walked Daisy. When I returned, Susie was up and had prepared Daisy’s food. We left the campsite at 7:50am and arrived at the Transit Center at 8:10am. The next bus to Logan Pass, the high point on the Going-to-the-Sun road was at 8:22am. We loaded up and off we went, arriving at 9:45am. The construction delays were minimal, but they’ll probably be worse in the afternoon. The Park has two different size shuttle busses due to the roadway restrictions between Logan Pass and Avalanche Creek on the west side. The large shuttles busses operate on the east side from Logan Pass to St Mary and from the Apgar Transit Center to Avalanche Creek on the west side. So except for the very first runs in the morning on the west side, you take the large shuttle to Avalanche Creek and transfer to the small shuttle for the remainder of the trip to Logan Pass. The reason for the shuttles is the ongoing re-construction of the Going-to-the-Sun road, scheduled to take 10 years to complete. They are now in the 3rd year of this project. We followed McDonald Creek upstream until we made a U-turn and headed generally southeast along the south side of the Garden Wall, a cliff with completely covered with trees. At this time of the year is brilliant green. Of to the right, we looked down into the deep valley with Logan Creek at the bottom. Logan Creek flows into McDonald Creek. The difference in elevation from the Going-to-the-Sun road to the creek bed is about 1,400 feet and is accomplished in less than 2,000 feet horizontally. There is some protection against driving over the edge, but not much.
When we reached Logan Pass, we decided to hike to the Hidden Lake Overlook. Most of the trail from the Visitor Center to the Overlook was still snow covered, but the warmer temperatures made the snow were slippery. I fell twice, but Susie was fine. 
We saw another type of animal, a hoary marmot. It has a silver coat. Two of them came to the Overlook and had very little fear of humans. We also saw several mountain goats, including a kid. They are very sure-footed on rock and the snow.
Find the Mountain goat in the picture above.
We saw people carrying snowboards and also skiers. Returning to the Visitor Center, we took a shuttle towards St Mary. As we left Logan Pass, we saw another valley more beautiful than the first. I was only 800 feet deep and did not have as severe slopes as the other. We also saw several big-horned sheep. We exited the shuttle at Sun Point and were able to hike along the north shore of Saint Mary Lake, seeing Barring Creek Falls. 
We saw them in the fall of 2006,, and they were much less impressive than they are now. We continued on and picked up a shuttle that returned us to Logan Pass. We transferred to a small shuttle and headed back to Apgar Transit Center.
The Weeping Wall looks more like a RV wash station. Too bad we couldn't get there.
It was the end of a long day for us, but even a longer one for Daisy who had been confined to the RV for almost 10 hours. As a treat Susie took her swimming while I tried to clean up the RV and put away the bikes. This is our last night on the west side of Glacier NP, but we are thinking that we need to look at the east side before we leave the area. It's a long way to come and not do it all.
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