Reflections - By Curt Johnson

Horace Greely once said “Go West young man, go west.”  So, off we went.  First it was Curt, Vanna, and Benny -  soon joined by Charlie Potts on the way through the congestion of Chicago, past the Wisconsin Dells, into the windswept prairies of Minnesota, North Dakota and on into Western Montana where we met Peter and Richard at the Grouse Mountain Lodge in Whitefish, Montana. 

Having gone west on several occasions over the years,  I can attest to the beauty and draw of places like Colorado Springs, San Francisco,  Klamath Falls, Eureka, the Black Hills, Devil’s Tower,  Santa Fe, Sedona… the list goes on.  However, the majesty of Northwestern Montana and the Waterton-Glacier National Peace Park is a destination not to be missed by anyone who wants to say that they have seen the best of America.  Not only is the Park breathtakingly scenic, but there are many wonderful man-made attractions such as the Red Busses, various golf courses, hiking trails, boating options, bicycling paths, and best of all, wonderful old lodges where one can spend time resting and relaxing in grand style, having high tea while overlooking a lake, enjoying a libation while recounting the day or being served a beautiful meal in an elegant dining room.

Our group enjoyed the Park at the pace of a bicycle, which provides more opportunities to capture the scenic wonders in one’s mind and in one’s camera.  We all have a significant quantity of pictures to share with anyone who might show the least bit of interest.  One can hardly be bored by photographs of such magnificent scenery be they flora, fauna, geology, hydrology or glaciology.  In addition, there are stories to go along with many of the photographs that include interesting places where we relaxed for lunch or stopped for Huckleberry this or Huckleberry that. There were stores and diners that were nothing like what we have in our Eastern cities. Variety was limited…we couldn’t have anything our hearts desired.   We could have what they had to sell.  Amazingly, we survived!  And, I might add, we survived very comfortably.

The Going to the Sun Road was the most spectacular piece of road we had the pleasure of encountering.  We did ‘go to the sun’ as we drove west to east in the morning.  Interestingly, it had only one switchback from the west end at Apgar Village to the Logan Pass.  The only curves in the road were due to staying with the topography as the 6% grade continued from beginning to end.

It was easy for us to understand why the Blackfeet Indian Reservation was adjacent to the Park as the Native Americans, too,  loved this area for generations before America existed.  We enjoyed a lunch on their reservation near Browning, their “capital city.”  It was bustling with activity as the Blackfeet went about their day.  Waterton-Glacier National Peace Park is not to be missed, and seeing it with friends at a slow pace is most special.