This
landscape has always been sacred, first to the area's early
inhabitants: the Blackfeet, Salish, and Kootenai peoples, and
now to two countries. The landforms were created over 75 million
years ago when forces within the earth thrust the rock of the
Lewis Overthrust into the sky, where the newly formed mountains
touched the clouds. At the Triple Divide Peak, southeast of
Logan Pass, water can flow towards the Pacific Ocean, Gulf of
Mexico, or into Canada's Hudson Bay-earning it the title "Crown
of the Continent," which was coined by co-founder of the
Audubon Society, George Bird Grinnell, in 1908.
Waterton
Lakes Park was created in 1895, with Glacier Park coming somewhat
later in 1910. However, it was the joining of the two parks
into the world's first International Peace Park in 1932 that
is most significant. The global importance of the International
Peace Park was reaffirmed in 1995 with its designation as a
World Heritage Site.
For
me, the majesty of nature makes the Park one of the most beautiful
places I've ever visited. The diversity of wildlife and ecosystems
is incredible, with plants and animals of the humid Pacific
Northwest meeting those of the Great Plains and Northern forests.
In my further explorations of the park, I traveled from lush
cedar and hemlock forests though alpine meadows to the edge
of the western prairies.
Night
found me in the US side of the Park, checking into the magnificent
Glacier Park Lodge. Constructed of 500 to 800 year old fir and
3-foot wide cedar logs, it is a true complement to the park's
natural beauty. Originally built in 1913 by the Great Northern
Railway, it still retains a rustic style today.
My
second day in the Peace Park took me on another great adventure-the
Going-to-the-Sun Road. Local legends tell of a deity, Sour Spirit,
who came down from the mountain to teach Blackfeet hunters how
to be successful, then had his image reproduced on the top of
the mountains for inspiration on his way back to the sun. The
mountain was named Going-to-the-Sun, and inspired the road's
name at its 1933 dedication.
Going-to-the-Sun
Road crosses Glacier Park through Logan Pass, resulting in many
spectacular views of the park as it winds for 52 miles past
Lake McDonald, through the loop, and past Saint Mary Lake. In
1983 Going-To-The-Sun Road was included in the National Register
of Historic Places and in 1985 it was made a National Historic
Civil Engineering Landmark.
(CONTINUE...)
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