My wife and I packed our bags and flew the friendly skies to spend a week in northwest Montana in October! What a beautiful and magnificent part of America! We spent a lot of time at Glacier National Park, but also traveled throughout the area – putting almost 1,100 miles on a dusty rental car traversing many scenic byways and more than a few dirt roads. At one time we were so close to the border that Verizon welcomed us to Canada!
We chased buffaloes, waterfalls, rainbows, trails, streams, lakes, and huckleberry bear claws all the way from where the Plains meet the Rockies to Polebridge! The weather was near perfect, the only exception was a brief rain shower that resulted in a series of rainbows and a breathtaking fiery sunset! The only real drawback was the Going to the Sun Road was closed in the mid-section due to icy conditions.
It is hard to take a picture in NW Montana without mountains as the focal point, especially when many of the peaks were snow-covered. The abundant glacier-formed lakes were crystal clear giving mirror-like reflections of the surrounding mountains. The mountains changed throughout the day due to shadowing and light conditions. Many picture were taken in the same spot but look totally different depending on the time or weather conditions! At times it seemed as if we wandered onto a Bob Ross canvas!
We saw a moose, several elk, bison, mule deer, whitetail deer, turkeys, grouse, and several colorful birds. The crowds were minimal with no lines and no traffic to contend with. What a wonderful week I had with my beautiful bride – riding, hiking, picnicking, and just admiring the landscape! These pictures just give a taste of what we saw and experienced during the week! I highly recommend a trip to Montana, and if you just so happen to find yourself off the grid in downtown Polebridge, ask for the whereabouts of the Polebridge Mercantile for a Huckleberry Bear Claw – you won’t be disappointed!
My goal is to add additional posts of this trip with daily details on what we saw and did. Only time will tell if I meet this goal.