Montana 2024 - Part 1 - Glacier National Park Part 1 of our Montana Trip, jump to: Whitefish, Montana Many Glacier, Glacier National Park (and first bear sighting) Going To The Sun Road (second bear sighting) St Mary Lake Boat Tour (third bear sighting) Two Medicine West Glacier and McDonald Lodge North Fork and Polebridge   After flying into Missoula, we drove 2 1/2 hours north past Flathead Lake, through Kalispell to Whitefish, Montana for a quick stop for lunch on our way to Glacier National Park Who would have guessed that Whitefish, Montana has a beach?- the shores of Whitefish Lake. We stayed two nights at the incredible Many Glacier Hotel in the Many Glacier section of Glacier National Park on the east side. The lodge was completed in 1915 on the east shore of Swiftcurrent Lake. On the way in, we had our first bear sighting.                 Our first bear sighting, this was most likely a Black Bear which was brown in color. It was a mother with three cubs. Unfortunately, of all trips, I forgot the adapter for my telephoto zoom lens and was forced to take these with only a 105mm lens. A photographic tragedy really - this would haunt me for the rest of the trip.     Taken through one eyepiece of our binoculars...               The next morning, we entered Glacier National Park at the Going-to-the-Sun entrance and drove the length of the road which traverses the entire park and reaches a peak of 6,646 ft. Construction of the road began in 1921 and was completred in 1932. This drive is the crown jewel of Glacier National Park. Snow at the top of Logan Pass The Weeping Wall... This Black Bear was our second sighting in as many days... We booked a boat ride tour of St. Mary Lake on the east side of Glacier National Park which also included a short hike to a small water fall After the boat tour, we encountered yet another bear before heading back to the hotel for the evening....as This bear was possibly a Grizzly Bear, though its not conclusive. We followed this one for a while, but again without a telephoto lens, the pictures are poor... On day two, we drove south to the less visited Two Medicne section of Glacier National Park.... Later that afternoon, we drove back over Going-to-the-Sun road to West Glacier and to Lake McDonald Lodge where we would stay the next night. The next day we visited the North Fork section of Glacier National Park which is fairly remote and very near the Canadian border. Near the northwestern edge of Glacier Park is the tiny town of Polebridge and the unique Polebridge Mercantile.                                     Back in West Glacier where we visted The Cedar Tree gift shop in Apgar Village...         Click Here for Part 2 of our Montana Trip including Big Sky, Yellowstone and Bozeman