When we arrived at Kalispell and started looking at what we wanted to see in Glacier, we realized that they issue a very limited number of vehicle entry tickets, which I should have reserved for 6 months in advance. Another way to get in for the day is to reserve a tour with one of the park concessionaires. And from my last trip here, I knew that driving the Going to the Sun road allowed the driver little time for enjoying the amazing scenery.

So I reserved a trip on the little Red Bus tour for our first full day in the area, over Ray’s objections. He was certain he’d be stuck in the middle of a 4-person bench seat and be able to see nothing. We had no local dog sitter for Olive for the day. Also… MONEY.

We left the campground by 7:30am and found a quarter mile line-up to enter the park. Many cars were being turned around. Ray’s skepticism and frustration ramped up and I was glad we started off so early and would surely not be missing our bus tour, regardless of the wait.

We went to the Apgar Visitor Center and were able to find parking. Another win. When it was time to board the red bus, we were odd numbers thanks to a family of 3, so I volunteered Ray to sit in the front next to the driver. It was the absolute primo seat, allowing him to film from the front as well as the side. I also hadn’t realized the canvas top of the bus rolled back to create an open viewing area that let passengers imitate gophers and stand up to pop our heads out for a better view. Our tour guide, or “Jammer Driver” as they are known, was so in love with Glacier that his enthusiasm really shone through. And I felt totally safe on those narrow, windy roads with thousands of feet of drop off, right below my window.

Ray had been getting a little jaded with the parks. He has been rating them, and felt that Grand Tetons would be the very best, and how could any others compare? But the views in Glacier, the bighorn sheep, the mountain goats – all made him rethink his rating system.

Our tour took us to Lake McDonald Lodge then up to Logan’s Pass. What a fantastic trip! Not having to drive allowed me to gawk without interruption.

The remainder of that day was spent trying to figure out how to get back into the park. Should I book a horseback ride? A whitewater rafting trip? Take our chances on snagging one of few vehicle 3-day passes released for the following day at 8am? in the end I opted for begging the internet gods to smile on me. At 7:55 I was locked and loaded to request the vehicle pass to Going to the Sun road and St Mary’s, the section of the park on the other side of the 50-mile long mountain pass. I tried again and again. The “spinny wheel of death” showed the available passes dwindled from 300 available to 195, to 70 to 11 with each request I made and I was sure we wouldn’t get one… but finally, success! We would be allowed into the park for 3 days. Yay!

We decided to repeat the trek we made with the Red bus, heading to Logan’s Pass. But now we would have time to hike the trail there to Hidden Lake, assuming we could find a parking place! We left plenty early and brought Olive with us, thinking with the cool nights and high altitude, she’d be fine in the truck. We had to wait for about half an hour to snag a parking space by following someone who was leaving. When we got to the trail, bighorn sheep were RIGHT THERE. As we walked further, we saw mountain goats right next to us too. It was a few mile trek, but Hidden Lake was really nice. Overall, an easy, nice trail. Turned out to be Ray’s favorite so far.

We were too low on gas to keep going east to St Mary’s, so we headed back to the western entrance after our hike. Some of the trails I wanted to check out on the way down had parking lots way too full for us to get into. So we decided to come back bright and early the next day for them.

We were better prepared for hiking the next morning, leaving our campground at 5:30am. A surprise was that we weren’t alone when we hit the parking lot at Avalanche Lake, where the Trail of the Cedars also begins. But unlike the previous day, we were able to park. So far this was my very best hike. Several miles of well-worn pathway, alongside a cascading river and around Pacific rainforest cedars, with moss-covered trunks and trails winding around massive boulders. What’s not to love!?

That’s about it for Glacier. Although we do have a pass for one more day, tomorrow is another long travel day so heading back to the park for more driving today doesn’t appeal. There’s so much more I would have liked to see and do, but camping outside the park boundaries really limited us. Perhaps we’ll consider work camping here for a season so we can fully experience all the park has to offer. After all, this is Ray’s favorite! (So far!)