Crown of the Continent

"My left side – it's my best side."



"Hurry up with the photo! It's cold out here."

The Colombian ground squirrel was shivering as I was snapping its picture.

Well, the cold air was not my fault. We were, after all, in National Glacier Park in Montana.



Where even the goats wear a thick coat of fur.



It was a bit chilly. But how can you quibble about a few bits of Fahrenheit, when you have views like these:

















Where the flowers look like paintbrushes.



And the rocks provide the perfect color palette.





While nature sculpts art into stones and tree trunks:





The views were big, but little details were just as rewarding if you paid attention. For example, spot the curly-horned ram here:



How about prairie dogs (why do they not look like dogs at all?):



The aftermath of the Robert Fire of 2003 provided us with the unique opportunity of walking through a young forest where new pine trees barely came up to the waist:



We supplemented our hikes with a ride on the legendary red bus. I highly recommend it.



Especially if you get Norman as your guide:



Not only did he regale us with the history the park, he also led us straight to a black bear!



Unfortunately, I did not get a picture of the bear.

Count on a return visit, Montana.