Trail of the Cedars

The Trail of the Cedars was calling to us again today, so we went back to Glacier NP and part way up the Going to the Sun Highway and had a go at the trail.

This is a short trail, about a mile long from the parking lot, but interesting nevertheless. The trail loops along one side of Avalanche Creek and then crosses the river and returns back down the other side.  Various trees and flowers are identified by signs that were placed by school children according to the board at the beginning of the trail.  For example, I learned that Western Red Cedar, a type of lumber that I've been familiar with for years in construction, only grows in an area between Alaska and Washington State, and from the Pacific eastward to about Glacier.

There was a spectacular falls at the point where the trail crossed the river,

This river is fed by glaciers during the summer months, but freezes during the winter.  The water has been tested to be 100% pure.  It sure looks like it!

On the return trail, we stopped to look at a ledge that had water seeping out between rock layers.  From the look of the rocks and mosses below, the water had been running for quite some time....probably since the spring.

Kinda hard to see, but in the middle, just below the bushes, is where the water is seeping out.  There was a "contemplation bench" placed so we could sit and listen to the water dripping and the breezes blowing.  Could have been a million miles away from civilization....

When we got back to the parking lot, we had to check out the 1930's vintage tour busses.

I sort of interrupted the guides' speech, because I walked up behind him with my camera, and all the passengers turned to smile and wave.  Mr Guide didn't miss a beat. Good for him.  These busses were originally at most of the national parks in the early to mid 1900's, Yosemite, Yellowstone, and the like, but apparently the only ones left are at Glacier.  They were completely refurbished in 2000, where the bodies were fit to modern chassis, and are scheduled for another "redo" soon, as environmental issues are beginning to catch up to them.

We sat looking down at Avalanche Creek, amazed at the clarity of the water even in the sunlit pool below:

and got to talking to a Canadian couple from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.  They have a background in construction, and so do Donna and I, so we spent a bit of time telling war stories.  Gary and Isabel are on a road trip and soon will return home.  They are fortunate to be able to divide their winter months between the Barbados and Florida.  Gotta get out of that Canadian winter!

This evening we decided to live it up and stopped at a local butcher shop for some fresh steaks.  We bought way more than we could eat tonight, because the shop reminded me of the butcher shops I grew up with when my Dad would raise our own beef on the farm and take it into town to be cut and wrapped and frozen.  Hey, sawdust on the floor and everything!  We did grill two absolutely wonderful beef steaks, so tender and lean!  Even Pris made out with a little leftover juice on her kibble!

It's time to pack up and mozy out of Glacier Park.  It's a beautiful place, and I'm sure we only scratched the barest surface of things to do.  There are a number of small town festivals going on around us, in Whitefish, and locally in Columbia Falls, but we're going to miss them.  We're on a mission to head east.