We ventured over to the eastern side of Glacier National Park on a bright and sunny day last week. Since we were staying in Columbia Falls, just a few miles from the west entrance to the park, we had already spent two days checking those sites out. One can drive from the west entrance all the way to the other side via the Going-to-the-Sun Road, but a section of it was closed (the highest point) for snow removal (In June! Snow removal in June!). So, we took the long way out of necessity and drove around the park to the east entrance. This was a couple-hour drive, but there was a lot to see on the way and once there.
Our first stop was Goat Lick Overlook. This is a place where goats come to lick the mineral-laden cliffs. From what I read, they like to lick the riverbank cliffs for the salt. At first, we didn’t see any goats, and we figured we wouldn’t, because they aren’t always around. But, just as we were about to leave, I spotted one goat in the distance. I shouted for Jayden to look, and then Ray and Rayne joined. It was a group of three walking in single file, along the edge of a cliff, rocks crumbling and falling as they moved. This didn’t seem to concern the goats at all. They continued on to their destination. We immediately began taking photos, and none of mine were worth sharing, but Ray, the better of the photographers between the two of us, got some pretty good shots. These are his:
After those three goats moved on, another three came, and then another. We saw 9 or 10 goats total, and while I’m not sure why, this was incredibly exciting for me. I’ve seen mountain goats before – in the zoo, at the fair, one lone goat way off in the distance while we were climbing some rocks in New Mexico or Arizona. But, this was different. They were not so far away, and they were doing their thing without paying us any mind at all.
We moved on to a little town called East Glacier, the only place we could find to eat on the way. This town had a handful of shops and restaurants, though several didn’t open until dinnertime. We wandered into the Two Medicine Grill, where I ate my first Buffalo Burger. It was okay, but I think I’ll stick with beef in the future. It was a little gamey, and maybe it was just all in my head, but it wasn’t all that juicy. Still, not terrible or anything, and it has a lot less fat (probably why I didn’t like it as much).
We moved on to the entrance to the park, and the east side is way less populated, but it still offered some breathtaking views. We were also able to see an actual glacier from this side, though I still don’t quite know what I’m looking at. It all just looks like snow to me. We again encountered the bear warning signs, and I’m not going to lie, this really scares me. I don’t want to walk any trails that have bear warnings, and while Ray thinks it’s all good as long as he’s armed with the bear spray, I’m just not doing it. I told him he could go on, but the girls and I would stick to the roadside sights. He declined.
Here’s the thing: When I see a sign that tells me that people have actually been killed by bears in the park and that bears frequent the area, and that safety from bears can in no way be guaranteed, I’m just going to back away from it. The number of deaths that have been caused by bears in Glacier (in their 105 years as a national park) is 10. I know that’s not a huge number, considering that millions visit the park yearly. But, I don’t want my family to be numbers 11, 12, 13, and 14. I’m just not that adventurous when it comes to man-eating wildlife.
We did see a little bit of wildlife, though: some type of prairie dog creatures were everywhere – sitting on rocks, sunning on branches, just chilling on the sides of hills. Also, and this may have been the highlight for Ray, a wolf ran out in front of our truck on our way heading out of the park. He just ran across the road, stopped in front of the truck, looked at us, and then ran on. We thought it was a dog for a second, and then we all realized and shouted, “That’s a wolf!” I wasn’t fast enough with the camera. The wildlife pictured below (Ray’s picture) seemed harmless enough.
Bears and wolves aside, Glacier National Park is really one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.
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