Miles Driven Today: 125   Total Miles Driven 2016

Slept like logs! Must have been the total darkness and quiet. Self catered breakfast in our cabin and then loaded the car and set off for the day. Another beautiful day weatherwise again. We have been so lucky with that as it can be very changeable up here.
We were booked on a boat trip and guided hike at Two Medicine Lake which is in the SE of the park, about 40 miles from our overnight stop. The road between the two was extremely scenic but in very bad condition. Many potholes. At one point we encountered the maintenance crew who were resurfacing. Got talking to the flagman and he told us that last week he watched as a grizzly bear took down a calf about 300 metres from the road! He carries two firearms in his truck just in case.
We managed to get a bit of phone signal on one of the points of the mountain. Didn’t seem any logic to that but it was good to get. Called Daisy, our youngest, and were thrilled to find she has got the job she interviewed for that she was so keen on. That’s the best possible start to the day.
Arrived at Two Medicine lake at about midday and had our picnic lunch there. An absolutely stunning spot. Now we see it in daylight, it is very clear how extraordinary Glacier National Park is. Major peaks in every direction.
We got on the little historic launch to take us across the lake. It took about 25 minutes. The guide was very good, gave us lots of stories from Black foot mythology. When we arrived he lead us on a two mile round trip hike through the forest to see the Twin Falls. It was an absolutely gorgeous walk through the forest, sunlight coming down through the trees. Trickling streams and then finally the twin falls. There was a nice flow over both of them. I have definitely walked a lot further to see worse falls. Along the way the guide stopped regularly and showed us plants and berries. We tried some of them: Huckleberrys which Bob says are called bilberries in the UK and also Thimbleberries which were like tiny raspberries. Both very tasty.
We got back to the car by about 4pm and then drove to our accommodation for the night at the Many Glacier Lodge, on Many Glacier lake. This is an historic lodge, in the grand style with much use of wood and an enormous 4 storey great room centrally with a huge wood fireplace. A bit like the hotel in the Shining to be honest. This is our biggest splurge on the holiday, not only to stay here but we have a room with a shared balcony overlooking the lake.
There are no lifts and I did feel sorry for the poor bellboy who had to carry our luggage all the way up. The room is very old fashioned as you’d expect and not that big. Smaller than the cabin last night which is weird as it is twice as expensive. The balcony and view down the lake are divine though. We got a glimpse of paradise , went back inside to unpack, and then…. The heavens opened and it has been a total downpour ever since!!! The forecast tomorrow is back to sunshine though se we won’t worry. More hiking and boat trips tomorrow but based here so no need to get in the car.
This is a really beautiful park. A total wilderness that the roads only scratch the edge of. There must be huge parts of it that hardly any westerner has ever entered. There are lots of wild things here. Clearly loads of grizzly bears. We saw 4 more today. But also black bear and elk. The trees are dense and are as far as the eye can see. I don’t think its changed much since the early explorers found it.

Ate in the casual restaurant in the hotel.  Bob had a bison burger that was just the best he’d ever had.