On Day 13 of our RV trip to Cannon Beach, Oregon, we enjoyed our last day in Glacier National Park before moving on to a new campsite on the shores of Hungry Horse Reservoir. Tom rode his bike and entertained Aly while the rest of us drove along the beautiful Going to the Sun Road.
Going to the Sun Road
Tom and I have visited Glacier National Park several times in the past but never at the right time to drive Going to the Sun Road. Our last trip to Glacier, several years ago, was a week before the road opened for the season. At that time we had a camper van. The van would have been fun to drive to "the Sun" and enjoy all the stops along the way. Our new truck/camper, however, exceeds the length, width, and height limits of the winding, narrow road. Since Going to the Sun Road has been on my bucket list for quite a while, and the only thing on Tom's bucket list is fishing, he offered to stay at camp with Aly while I piled in Val's car with Wendy, Dennis, Brock, and Lily.
We waited until mid-day to start our drive from Apgar Campground to "the Sun" hoping the weather would clear up. But, as we started up the road around 1pm, it still looked more like Going to the Clouds Road than Going to the Sun Road. Val, our local tour guide, assured us that there were beautiful mountain peaks beyond the fog and clouds. We drove through tunnels and saw many waterfalls through the rain and mist. We had planned to hike near the summit of Logan Pass but by the time we piled into the Logan Pass Visitor Center with the other soggy tourists, we changed our minds. Instead, we drove down the east side of Logan Pass. As we approached St Mary Lake, the clouds began to break up and we were thrilled to glimpse blue skies.
After a short hike to Baring Falls, near St Mary Lake, we started our drive back over Logan Pass to Apgar Village. The rugged mountains were absolutely beautiful with the scattered high clouds and low laying fog. I thought if I saw Going to the Sun Road on this visit, I could check it off my bucket list but I'm already looking forward to a future visit. I'm sure Tom will love it, even without fishing!
It was relatively late by the time we returned from our trip to "the Sun" and we still had to find a new campsite. We ate a quick meal at Frida's in West Glacier then caravanned down to Hungry Horse Reservoir where we found a group campsite at Emery Bay Campground. We had no idea what it looked like when we arrived in the darkness but it had a great fire pit!
Slideshow - Day 13
Here are photos from Day 13 of our RV trip to Cannon Beach, Oregon.
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