Day 140 & 141 – July 28 & 29 – Wow, O’ Wow

On the 28^th we stayed around the campground.  Dorrie did some cleaning and I did a load of laundry.  That was about the extent of our day.

On the 29^th we took the Red Bus tour of the national park.  What a trip!  The bus picked us up at the campground at 9:45.  

The driver (known as jammers) was Evelyn and she was really proud of the park and her bus, ole number 107.  The White Motor Company built the bus in 1937.

A short bit about the bus before I get into the tour – in 1935 the national park service asked for bids for buses to be used in the parks.  White Motor won the bids with their open topped buses and the national park service ordered 500 buses for the various parks.  Glacier National Park received 35 of the buses and 34 of them are still in use.  The 35^th bus was in an accident and is used for parts.  A few years ago Ford Motor Company partnered with the park to refurbish the buses.  They kept the bodies the same, but mounted them on F-450 motorhome chassis and use V-8 engines that run on propane.  This is the only park that held onto the buses for continued service.  Our jammer said that there are now a few in use in Yellowstone National Park, put into use a few years ago.  The term jammer was used to describe the drivers because the transmissions were not syncronized and the drivers had to jam the gears in place.  The buses have canvas tops that fold back to expose the sky and there are crossbars to help you stand when the bus is stopped.  Each bus carries 16 passengers and only has doors on the right side.  You may wonder about the color - it is the color of the spruce tree berries, a orange / red color.

The road was built to showcase the parks beauty and it took 21 years to complete the 52 mile road.  The original design was to have a series of switchbacks to climb the mountains but was changed to run along the mountainside.  The final designer of the road said it should lay gently on the land.  The construction contract stated that the rock removed from the mountainside was to be used in the construction of the road and not allowed to be thrown over the side, thus scaring the beauty of the landscape.  The men working on the road were at times lowered over the side of the cliffs by rope to drill holes for blasting.  They had to use hand drills (bars driven by sludge hammers into the rock) until they had enough room to use other equipment.  Only three men died during the construction, which is amazing when you travel the road and realize the conditions they worked under.

Now for the park – I always thought it was named because of all the glaciers within the park.  At the visitor's center we saw a display that projected that by 2020 there would not be any more glaciers in the park.  What we learned on the tour was the park was named for the effect the glaciers had on the landscape - the glacier shaped mountains, the carved valleys and the beautiful water features found in the park.

As we passed Saint Mary Lake, the surface was smooth and as reflective as a mirror.  The mountains and sky were beautifully detailed on the surface.  Dorrie had to take pictures on the fly since we did not stop at that point.  

Evelyn kept us entertained the entire trip with stories about the history of the park and the building of the “Going to the Sun Road”. 

The sky was blue with some white puffy clouds to help add to the pictures.

At Logan pass we stopped for a bathroom break and to refill our water bottles.  While we were there, someone spotted some Big Horn Sheep across the road.

Back on our trip we passed so many waterfalls and we were told their names.  One of the big falls was called Bird Woman, named after a member of the Black Foot tribe of Native Americans.

We drove the road over the continental divide at Logan Pass to the valley on the other side.  The road was cut on the cliff edge and the drop on the side away from the mountain was many times straight down. 

At Lake McDonald Lodge we had lunch, took some pictures and started our return trip to Saint Mary.  

We stopped at the pullout for the Sacred Dancing Cascades.  The color of the water was unbelievable and so clear you just wanted to jump in - but I am sure it is cold.

At one point we saw Mountain Goats laying in the shade on a snow bank.

I am not sure but it looks like there is a little one behind the goat on the left

They are in the process of repairing the road and have a couple of places with flagmen to stop traffic.  While we were stopped, someone on the bus spotted a bear in the hillside by the bus.

We were dropped off at the campground at 5 o’clock after a spectacular day.  This park is another example of the vision the men creating the national parks had for preserving the beauty of this country.  One of my favorite places on this trip!