Road Trip 2015 - Glacier National Park

The Glacier Park Lodge is located in East Glacier and was built over a hundred years ago by the Great Northern Railway. Passengers would arrive at the station across from the lodge and then start their Glacier Park adventure from there. They usually explored by horseback. We would rely on horsepower but it would run the engine of our car.

The lobby of the lodge is amazing. Three stories high, it is supported by huge Douglas fir timbers that are about 36" to 42" in diameter and still have their bark on them. It is estimated that they were already 500-800 years old when they were cut for the construction of the lodge.

The lodge has not been updated with an elevator--at least for the guests. We did happen to see a service elevator on our second day. Our room was on the third floor but luckily the lodge was updated with young strong bellmen one of which grabbed both suitcases and hefted them all the way to the room.

The room. Well, to say the least, it was a little small. The double bed took up most of the room and I wasn't sure if we could open both suitcases at the same time and be able to walk. The bathroom was small too but the upside of that was that it would be impossible to fall in the shower. We sucked in a deep breath and decided we'd go for a drive and find a trail to walk.

Two Medicine Valley is near the lodge so we decided to spend a few hours exploring. It was about a fifteen minute drive up the road--that is until we had to stop and wait for the cattle to cross the road. Free range cattle freely wander along the roads there so you have to be careful around every curve.

We drove to Two Medicine Lake and found a trail that took us part way around the lake. I kept hearing jingle bells and it made me think of our Polar Express days where the elves wear lots of bells with their costumes. I turned almost expecting to see someone in elf costume and a lady smiled at me as she and her hiking companion passed us by. On her wrist was a set of bells. I remembered then that we were in bear country and making noise on a hike was a good thing to avoid the bears. We talked a lot more after that.

Another trail we had been told of by the ranger at the station in Two Medicine was a hike to Running Eagle Falls or "Trick" Falls so nicknamed because there were actually two waterfalls one on top of the other. Unfortunately for us only the spring fed waterfall was active since the summer had been so dry. It was still pretty and we enjoyed the walk.

When we returned to the lodge, Bob stopped at the desk and inquired about the possibility of upgrading. There was still a vacancy sign out front so we knew the lodge wasn't full. We were told to check out a room in the annex and see if we'd prefer that. It had a queen sized bed so at least we knew it had to be a bigger room. Sure enough. It was perfect if you didn't mind not having a view so much. The windows were shoulder high but the room was three times the size as the other. It was a deal, especially when he said we didn't have to pay extra for it. We were quite comfortable for the two nights we spent there.