Going to the Sun Road

I woke up early this morning, but after a night of rain I didn't think a run would be the thing. The puddles and mud were everywhere. That and it was about 50 degrees outside. The rain turned into a drizzle, but the fog stuck around. That's why these photos are a little on the hazy side. That and the fact that many of them were taken in the glare of the still-hazy day as the clouds parted in the lower elevations.

This is a waterfall that is so popular they've built a couple decks so you can stand over the water and take photos without falling in. The Park Service is genius and I mean that. Further up this river you can see straight down to all the river rock in the middle of the river. The water is really clear except that the waterfall activity makes it glacier-blue.
I took the color out of this photo because the color was drab and because I like the stark look of the trees. This was up by the Weeping Wall, so still high enough to stunt the trees.

Just a long waterfall. If it has a name, I don't know it. It probably has a name.

This is St. Mary Lake over on the east side of the park. It is a stunning shade of blue. This photo really doesn't do it justice. I will be going over there again and hopefully the light will be better. The east and west sides of the park are different and that's because, in part, of being against the wind or under the wind. One side is wetter, one drier and so on. Then if you go into the park on the west side and inside of turning right, you turn left, you will see yet another landscape that's unexpected and stark.

This is also St. Mary Lake at roughly the same position only pivoted to the opposite angle.

That little dot in the water is Wild Goose Island. The red bus is one of those tourist tour buses. I can't think of what they're called now. They're pretty neat and look retro like the ones originally used in the park. The Ford Motor Company has altered them to run on propane. They seem very popular. I've never been in the park this time of year, so I'm a little overwhelmed by the crowds. This photo does a better job of showing the blue of the lake.

I don't remember what this is, but it is on the west side of Logan Pass and it reminds me of Lois M. Jones. If it is shaped like a V, water created it. If it is shaped like a U, a glacier created it. I miss her every. single. time. I come to a place like this.

This is a pretty little tundra flower. Look how the water collects in the leaf to the right of the stem. There was a big patch of them in the meadow not far off. This was behind the visitor center at Logan Pass. There were a number of ground squirrels and a family of marmots: a big momma and three kids. Two of the kids kept punching each other. It was pretty funny and she didn't intervene. They stood on their hind legs, close to each other and threw little itty-bitty punches into the face and shoulders of each other. Unfortunately, between my point and shoot camera and the dismal lighting/fog of the early part of the day, I don't have a photo. Maybe later.

This is at the bottom of the parking lot at the Logan Pass visitor center. It probably has a name. I saw a man walking a Rottweiler and a Great Dane. If you look at the bottom of the photo, center, you see a man in a blue shirt and white shorts. That's the Great Dane you see. Huge is what I am telling you. Also? You know all the people who show up at the Continental Divide in short shorts and flip flops and tank tops? Again, the Park Service is genius. They make a killing selling hats and coats and sweatshirts. Me, I'm in a sweatshirt, a rain jacket, a hat and gloves. It was 48 degrees on a mountaintop!

Lastly for now, here is a neat photo of a waterfall. I just like it. We may need to store our perishable items in a nearby waterfall because the refrigerator in the camper is leaking ammonia and could poop out before the end of the trip. Oh and cold water makes me remember that although the ladies room at the visitor's center ran like clockwork (no line, no waiting...amazing), the water out of the faucet was being pumped from the snow melt out back. The sign said so. It said, hey folks, the water is ice cold. We recommend you use the hand sanitizer. Two times I used the piddle parlor and two times I was the only one using the hand sanitizer dispenser on the wall! But kvetching about the cold water? Oh, boy.

It looks like the evening may include a bike ride. I'm exhausted from all that sitting around driving up and down mountains.