24 Aug 2022 - Boat Tour of Saint Mary Lake and Visit to Many Glacier

 24 Aug

Happy birthday to me!  On this day in 1955 at 2013 hrs I came screaming into the world at 7 lbs 4 oz and 20" tall!  It's been a heck of a ride with the last 48 years spent with my spousal unit, the love of my life and best friend, Doreen.  We are having a blast now traveling around the USA and we are glad you chose to follow our journeys!

So today started out a bit chilly and very overcast for our Glacier Park Boat Tour.  Our show time was 0930 hrs so we arrived at the east park entrance a bit earlier in case there was a crazy line, which there was not.  We proceeded to the vehicle check-in area where they checked us for a vehicle pass, which is provided when you buy your tickets,  and they let us by.

The boat tour ticket office is at the dock as is the large parking area and a modern latrine.

Ticket office

Latrine in the rear.

The 1000 hrs boat tour operates two boats.  I assume during peak tourist season they are operating two boats all the time.  

The dock area and the two boats

The "Little Chief" is on the left and the "Joy II" is on the right

The boats looked like they were brand new.  So well maintained!  We were shocked when they said the Little Chief was built in 1926!  You heard it right, this boat is 96 years old!  The Joy II was built in 1984.  We chose the Little Chief for obvious reasons LOL.  Seemed only fitting!!

Soon we were underway and headed out on the Saint Mary Lake.  The clouds were low, visibility was not that great, and it was a bit chilly out, but on the positive side, it was not raining!

"Mo" was our boat captain and narrator, and she did a great job.  She answered continual questions about the geology of the area.

Visibility out the windows was pretty good!  This was across the aisle.  What we could not see clearly on the way out was on our side on the way back.

Overcast and gray out detracted from the obvious beauty of the area.  This would have been a gorgeous trip on a clear, sunny day.

One of the islands on the lake, which reaches over 300 foot depth.

Pretty cool picture of this mountain and the clouds rolling over.

Zoomed in.

Towards the west end of the lake we exited the boat and headed up a trail to Baring Falls, one of many falls in Glacier National Park.  This one is easily accessible from the shore here.

The Joy II docked before us.

A stream of boat people heading up the trail

Lots of evidence from the 2015 Reynolds Creek fire that took it's toll on the area.

Notice the burned trees along the way

The Baring Falls - beautiful!

There were people everywhere and not just from our group

Absolutely crystal clear water and the color of the river stones shows through

Manny berries along the trail!

The weather started to clear a bit on the return trip and we took a few more pictures.  You can really see the devastation from that 2015 fire.

Stones used to create the wall where the road is built.  Much of this work was done by the CCC back in the day.

We got back to the dock before noon and headed back to the campground.  In route, we followed one of the Red Bus Tour vehicles that we will be on tomorrow.

After we had some lunch and took care of Liberty, we headed north to Babb MT and turned left down Rte 3/Many Glacier Road.

The road dead-ends basically at the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn.  We had Liberty with us and had not planned to do any hiking today, just checking it out for Friday/Saturday.  

This road skirts the tail waters below the dam of Lake Sherburne, and then along Lake Sherburne for several miles. 

The river below the dam

The dam on Lake Sherburne

Still foggy and overcast, but still some nice reflections in the lake

Then we passed the turn to a Many Glacier Hotel and Swiss Lodge.  There is a horse stable there if you want to go riding, and the continental divide trail passes through.

Further down the road we arrived at Swiftcurrent Motor Inn.  

The Swiftcurrent Motor Inn with gift shop, etc

Cabins buried in the timber behind the main building

This area has an interesting history.  Automobiles gained popularity and affordability back in the 1920's and became a preferred mode of travel over the more expensive railroad.  The Going-to-the-Sun Road opened in 1932 and connected with US-2 which was just two years old at the time, Glacier National Park became a popular destination for road-trippers!  Because of this, the National Park Service asked the Great Northern Railway to build the Swiftcurrent Auto Camp, now called the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn.  There was a camp store and 54 small cabins for the visitors.  Throughout the years, the popularity of the area continued to grow.  

A few more pictures on this trip:

Doreen and her new friend!

Tomorrow we are doing the Red Bus Tour which will take us up to Logan's Pass and back down.