Monday, August 26, 2013

Glacier National Park - Going to the sun road

 

The heart of Glacier is the Going to the Sun Road. It is 52 miles long and can take most of the day to drive because a) the views are so stunning and b) the road is very narrow and windy so you drive slow to stay safe.

Lots of people opt for the restored 1930’s buses to avoid the drive. The drivers are dressed in period costumes and we only saw one or two broken down per day! 

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In the 1930s the National Park Service developed a program with the White Motor Company of Cleveland, OH, for the production of canvas-topped touring coaches to provide transportation for visitors within national parks. More than 500 vehicles were manufactured in the mid-1930s and were purchased for use in various western national parks including Bryce Canyon, Glacier, Grand Canyon, Rocky Mountain, Mt. Rainier, Yellowstone (where the busses are yellow – obviously), Yosemite, and Zion National Parks. The fleet of (red) buses are maintained at Glacier National Park.

 

More of those rocky mountains looming out of the clouds.

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Mountains on just about every side

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Some cool bridges and tunnels to keep it interesting

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Not man made steps but make for an interesting waterfall

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Some of the views were just stunning

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and some of the road a little tight to look at the views too much!

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And if you keep your eyes closed on the narrow bits then everything’s just fine…

 

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