Going-to-the-Sun Road

The only road that runs through Glacier National Park is Going-to-the-Sun Road. There are only 150 miles of roads in the Park and over 50 miles of those are the Sun Road
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The Elderhostel group rode in vans, but the traditional, postcard way would be to ride in the Red Cars driven by the Jammers, the drivers, who in the old days had to jam their feet into the floorboard to switch gears up the very steep roadway. Today you can catch a Red Car at the McDonald Hotel for some big bucks. Several red touring cars of tourists passed us on our journey and I am sure they enjoyed their 360 degree view in the convertible classics.

The road was named after the mountain Going to the Sun, which was named by the Blackfeet as the mountain that they traveled to attain their vision quest or their going to the sun.

The road is skinny and steep. No rvs allowed, thank goodness. No bicycle riders allowed from 11:am to 4:00 pm. We encountered a few before the 'get out' times, and there ain't enough room for the both of us. Another challenge was the necessary road construction, so one-way traffic delayed visitors - but the construction workers must have felt like birds on a perch as they maneuvered their dirt movers and loaders, very slowly and carefully as non-stop traffic got in their way.

On this trip we will not drive the entire Going to the Sun Road, but half way is good. The scenery is spectacular - you have to experience it yourself. The circular valleys created by the glacial crawls seem to invite you to become part of the evolving scenery. Since so much of the park is back country and assessable only by foot or horseback not many take advantage of the wonders. We are just getting a peek.

The group stopped at the Visitor's Center, the only one on the route, and every one in the State of Montana had also decided to visit Glacier Park, drive the Road, and stop at the center. One of the biggest challenges of the trek is to find a parking place at the center! I'm not kidding, people circle in their cars and motorcycles like vultures coming in for the kill. Drivers follow walkers in the parking lot begging them to get in their cars and leave.

The Elderhostel walkers climbed through a wildflower meadow on boardwalk amid a circle of glacial mountains shrouded in fog. As we learned about the natural wonders of where we were standing and witnessed the undressing of the peaks as the fog drifted away, a fluffy white mountain goat and two kids joined us, from a distance. Just like in the Alps.

We were fortunate to be joined by Doug Follett, 84, became a forest ranger in Glacier Park when he was 20 - and he isn't ready to call it quits. Our guide, Dave, is a friend and talked Doug into sharing a story, Doug shared two or three and no one wanted him to stop.

But, one story he relayed shows how we all are. He was talking to a group of visitors in the camp amphitheater and a mama moose and her calf sauntered into the area chewing on the grass between Doug and his audience. The people listened, the moose listened for awhile and then walked away, and so did the audience, they followed the moose family as Doug continued with his talk to empty benches. He learned who had top billing.

Check out more information on Ranger Doug Follett: type in npca.org voice of glacier

and you will read a wonderful interview. There are also videos of him sharing his poetry and incredible stories of living and working in the park. No wonder everyone wants to be park ranger, I know I did, but girls were not allowed in the ranks in those days.

Search on the internet 100 days in Glacier National Park and you will see up close and personal the sights of this park.