We finally made it back to the mountains where we belong, tucked into a campground just outside Glacier National Park in northern-northern Montana.
With this crazy heat wave rolling through and 90+ degrees, it was our quickest camp setup ever and then straight across the road to Saint Mary Lake to cool off.
Welcome to Glacier
A little different viewpoint than the usual straight-on shot to get the mountains in the background.
Despite the Glacier crowds, there is solitude to be found if you’re willing to look for it. We studied Google satellite imagery and found a spot along the lake where we could relax without the crowds. Nice.
Privacy
If you go off the beaten path you can find some privacy.
And with a second day of heat, we wandered back over to the lake and were lucky enough to get standby seats on the Little Chief tour boat to do a loop through the lake with a stop at Baring Falls. More nice!
The captain was a young college kid with degrees in something related to the outdoors, being very knowledgeable of the area and geography. It’s nice to not only see the sights, but to understand exactly what you’re seeing. Well worth the cost and we highly recommend a ride when you visit.
After the ride, back to the water to get some more downtime with our Kindles.
Glacial Blue
Saint Mary Lake is the blue you expect from glacial lakes.
Going-To-The-Sun Mountain
The longest mountain name ever.
Bands
Reynolds Mountain, Heavy Runner Mountain, and Clements Mountain poke up high above Saint Marys Lake.
Warpage
The tectonic action of the Lewis Overthrust fault is quite evident in these layers.
A Ship At Rest
Little Chief sits idle on the eastern end of Saint Marys Lake.
Little Chief and The Citadel
Little Chief looks right at home below the towering Citadel Mountain.
Chilling Out
It was in the 90s here, so dipping in a glacial lake seemed like a good idea.
Shady Spot
Relaxation right there
Hidey Hammock
Somebody is disturbing my peace and quiet.
Despite the sunshine, we felt random raindrops falling through the trees and Colette noticed a storm rolling in fast from the west. We packed up in a hurry, and within minutes of getting back to the Pod a massive storm blew through with driving rain and 60+mph gusts. Good timing! Not so good for everyone, despite the campground’s printed warnings about leaving awnings out a small camper near us had their awning and all the supporting hardware ripped right off the side of their camper. That makes a very expensive vacation for them…
A Blowout
Sudden squalls happen in the mountains!
After the last couple months of non-stop bugs, it sure is nice to be back at altitude with no flies, no mosquitos, and no stupid grasshoppers.
You’ll be seeing a lot of mountain and lake photos coming up, and hopefully some glaciers. Stay tuned.
Saint Mary Lake
Saint Mary Lake from the Little Chief
