{"id":33428,"date":"2014-09-01T12:54:15","date_gmt":"2014-09-01T16:54:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/motorcyclemojo.com\/?p=33428"},"modified":"2020-04-07T12:39:26","modified_gmt":"2020-04-07T16:39:26","slug":"glacier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/motorcyclemojo.com\/2014\/09\/glacier\/","title":{"rendered":"Going to the Sun Road"},"content":{"rendered":"
Glacier National Park has much more to offer than twisty roads and mountain scenery<\/p>\n
A simple wooden sign marks Logan Pass and the Continental Divide in Glacier National Park, Montana. It\u2019s fitting, given the wild, untamed mountains and natural beauty that surround it. From here, you can see tall peaks, deep glacier-carved valleys, waterfalls and wildflowers. Although this is the geographic pinnacle of the Going to the Sun Road, each turn opens up another spectacular view that takes your breath away yet again.<\/p>\n
Glacier National Park and surrounding area offers stunning vistas, no matter which direction you ride in. I created a counterclockwise loop, beginning in Saint Mary, riding west on the Going to the Sun Road to West Glacier, then back east along Highway 2 and north on Highway 49\/89. The whole route is 220 kilometres and can be done in a day, but allow at least two days to explore the area.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Named for its glacier-carved terrain and remnant glaciers, Glacier National Park preserves more than a million acres of forests, alpine meadows and lakes. It\u2019s home to nearly 70 species of mammals, over 270 species of birds and the headwaters of both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, as well as Hudson Bay. Now a protected sanctuary, visitors seek out its rugged peaks, clear waters and mountain trails.<\/p>\n When Europeans first arrived, the area was controlled by native American tribes whose ancestors had inhabited the area for more than 10,000 years. The vast prairie east of the mountains was Blackfeet country. The Salish and Kootenai Indians lived in the western mountain valleys. It\u2019s easy to understand why they all referred to this Rocky Mountain paradise as the \u201cBackbone of the World.\u201d<\/p>\n The park\u2019s eastern side is where the prairies meet the mountains. As you approach from the south, parallel to the mountains, the vast prairie and big blue sky is endless. It\u2019s so transfixing that the abrupt transition can almost catch you by surprise. Stalwart sentries from the Blackfeet Nation extend a warm, yet poignant welcome, their permanent gaze trained on country that was once ancestral land. The boundary they now patrol, bordered on the north by Alberta and on the west by Glacier National Park, marks a reservation that is a fraction of the size of the land they once called home.<\/p>\n It was late afternoon by the time I arrived at my campground just north of Saint Mary, on the eastern edge of the park and the western boundary of the Blackfeet Reservation. Here nature presented another juxtaposition of beauty and tragedy, visible from my riverside campsite. Forest fires were ravaging areas to the west, creating a smoky haze that persisted for my entire time in the area. That same smoke created a stunning evening sky.<\/p>\n Having ridden all day across Montana plains, I was ready to eat and replenish for the next leg of my journey. There\u2019s a moderately stocked, highly priced grocery store in town, as well as a fantastic little caf\u00e9. Known for its pies, the Park Caf\u00e9 is so popular that there\u2019s usually a long waiting line, but if you can persevere, the home-cooked food is delicious.<\/p>\n