Glacier, etc.

About 1/3 to 1/2 of these photos are those taken by other REU students because we seem to swap them around a lot...just an FYI.

For the 4th of July weekend a group of us got together and went to Glacier National Park...we left Thursday and came back Sunday, so it was a nice long weekend kind of thing. The best part was the group: 4 CM, 6 Solars, and 2 other MSU undergrads. Mixing is achieved at last!

The drive was a little under six hours and we had to do some creative packing to get all of our stuff into two tiny cars (three if you count the MSU guys). I ended up riding in Chris's car, and it was funny because all of the smallest people were in that one. It was very roomy, especially compared to how packed the other group was.

We got there at 7:30-ish and decided that rather than setting up camp while it was still daylight, like sensible people would do, we would go get pizza because we were hungry. By the time we got back it was dusk, so we took some pictures of the campsite and then set up camp by flashlight.

Our campsite was basically right on Lake McDonald:



Friday morning we decided to drive the Going-to-the-Sun road to Logan Pass. I was not expecting the road to be quite so amazing as it was. You could really just make a day out of driving the road. Some scenery from the road:

The Weeping Wall:

We got to Logan's Pass, which was....snowy! How shocking! So we decided to do what we do best, which is hike through snow.



We got to Hidden Lake, which was living up to its name.



I walked around a bit and stumbled upon this fellow, who did not seem too perturbed by my presence.



He even posed for me.



We had a nice lunch with this view, and people just generally took a lot of pictures.



Chris, Nick, Keara, me, Jenna:



On the way down, Eric, Nick, and Ben decided to make things quick and sled.

We drove onwards to another lake whose name escapes me this second, but it's the picture you always see of Glacier so here you go:

About this time it was looking pretty sketchy weather-wise, and while it made for cool photos (below) we decided that driving a treacherous mountainside road that was under construction during a storm might not be the best idea. So we left.

Buuuuut...we ended up doing so anyway. Included in our experience were rain, hail, lightning, thunder, 6% + downhill grades, going five to ten miles per hour for long stretches of time, and sitting in place for long stretches of time. It was still picturesque, regardless of the large chunks of ice pelting the car.

By evening the weather cleared up, so we went to Whitefish to catch their fireworks display. We got there a little early, so we just hung out on the grass. Andrew ran into someone he knew from Minnesota at the same time I took this picture, so everyone's looking his way in amazement.

Fireworks! It gets dark really late here. I think the fireworks started at 10:15, if that gives you an idea.

On Saturday we decided to split into two groups, because half of us wanted to do a hike I deemed the "scary hike" and the rest of us wanted to take it easier and still get pretty scenery. This was also the day that Nathan and Brian (the MSU guys) left.

So now, the Pretty Hike. It was me, Jenna, Chris, Robbie, and Keara, which is a fantastic group. We started out walking through about two miles of Jurassic Park - esque scenery.





The color of the water in Glacier is amazing. No one's camera even got close to capturing it. Also, I kind of look like a boy in the picture below, which amuses me greatly.



After two miles the trail opened up and undergrowth basically enveloped us. While Chris and I were walking in front of everyone else a bear cub decided to cross our path about 15 feet away. Of course, we halted immediately, and then Jenna was like "uh...guys...I think the mom's behind you, to the left." Which she was. We backed away slowly and Robbie got a picture, and no one got mauled.



Once the bear threat vanished we continued on the the gorgeous Avalanche Lake!

Keara's here for scale purposes:



Robbie did his thing and climbed around on the water-rocks.





Chris and I continued toward the waterfalls and got some nice views.



Meanwhile, the other group was struggling on what is known as "one of the most grueling hikes in the park", and they too almost got eaten! Andrew and Ben were walking up front when a mountain lion leaped into the path. Ben was convinced they were going to die, and Andrew was just awestruck because no one gets to see mountain lions. About this time the cat ran away, and Ben thought to get out his camera.



They got to the top and I'm kind of jealous. Then I remember that they climbed about 4000 feet in three miles and I'm not so much.





We got back, made dinner, and did nothing strenuous whatsoever for the rest of the day.

A picture of everyone, taken by Ben. So...I suppose a picture of everyone but Ben.



The next day we somehow fit everything into two tiny trunks and had a relatively uneventful ride back. My Sunday evening was spent with Jenna, Nick, Chris, and Ben, playing a game of croquet. (Nick has a set, and I think this Sunday is slated for Bowties and Sundresses Croquet.) Nick killed us all.