#ProjectAlaska: Glacier National Park

Yesterday, I mentioned some facts about Glacier NP along with some of my experiences of the park. Today, I will continue with my stories; adding the fact that while I was absolutely overjoyed at coming back to the park, I was also greatly saddened to see such marked changes in just 8 years. This series of pictures starts out just below Logan Pass on the east side and then progresses west and then south along Lake McDonald to Lake McDonald Lodge.

Tomorrow you will see the smoke get thicker and thicker as I get closer to active forest fires...I had actually avoided any serious trouble along the trip (up to this point) with regard to weather and other issues for the most part, which I was elated NOT having to deal with any detours. Traveling out west has become more fraught with danger over the past decade, with rock, mud, and landslides, floods, wildfires, electrical outages, and heatwaves becoming much more frequent and almost unavoidable. Over the past 5 years, EVERY SINGLE TRIP has had at least one of these situations I had to deal with. In 2012, the Going To The Sun Road (which is the road that traverses Glacier National Park) was taken out by 2 separate landslides which stranded a few visitors. This happened the day before my dad and I were supposed to visit there, and was the second time I was unable to visit the park (see this post for the first time).

Sad to say, 2012 was actually a rather crazy year; as my dad and I fought several different situations all on the same trip. During the first part of the trip we fought a heatwave with temperatures up to 109 degrees (F). Then the landslides at Glacier NP. A hailstorm in Idaho almost landed us into the back of a log truck on I-90. Electrical power in the northeastern part of Washington State had been taken out from powerful thunderstorms that were a part of the same system that caused the hailstorm in Idaho, so finding a gas station that could actually dispense gasoline or sell anything was a challenge. As if that wasn't enough, while we were in Everett (just north of Seattle), a disaster unfolded which stopped our trek dead in its tracks. My dad developed chest pain which resulted in him needing to be taken to a local hospital emergency room! I was really frightened by this turn of events, but luckily, they released him about 14 hours after he was admitted. Despite all these setbacks, this was still an iconic trip for me, as I had never before spent two weeks with my dad on a trip like this.

Anyway, back to last summer's trip. This series of pictures starts out just below Logan Pass on the east side and then progresses west and then south along Lake McDonald to Lake McDonald Lodge.

Shortly after visiting McDonald Lodge, I came upon this sign:

Here is what it looks like now:

#ProjectAlaska: Back Into the USA

After thoroughly enjoying my travel on the Alaska Highway, it was time for me to discover a few new (and old, for that matter) places in my own country. I originally visited Glacier National Park in 2008 after a failed attempt to visit there in 2006. The 2006 attempt failed due to the Red Eagle Fire and the road going to the entrance on the east side of the park was closed.

My visit to Glacier NP in 2008 was one of sheer joy. At the time, I didn't realize just how quickly the glaciers here were melting. At the time, it was believed that the glaciers would be gone by 2030.

Fast forward to 2016. To now realize that most if not all the glaciers in Glacier National Park will now be gone by 2020 was a shock, to put it mildly. Areas which were covered in snow in 2008 had no snow whatsoever in 2016. Areas which were lush and green in 2008 were full of gray, dead trees; killed by pine beetles and other invasive insects or burned out by wildfires. Upon arriving in St. Mary the night before I was to traverse the park, there was a haziness caused by wildfires burning hundreds of miles to the south (which I would get to experience firsthand as I made my way south). You can see it here in this picture:

Luckily, no fires were burning at the time near the park; and the winds shifted overnight clearing the skies somewhat the next morning. Still, the pictures here contain a lot of haze that isn't usually here during times of calm with no wildfires. Here is a picture of Saint Mary Lake showing Wild Goose Island:

Just a couple of pictures of what wildfires have done over the past decade:

Finally, a couple of last pictures for today. I will save for tomorrow the bulk of the pictures in the high country near Logan Pass.

#ProjectAlaska: Valdez Part 2

I arrived in Valdez to find the skies gray and rainy. However, I discovered quickly just how bright things can be in Valdez. I spent some time driving around and getting more familiar with my surroundings. I visited the docks first, as you saw in yesterday's pictures. One of the grandest sights to behold in mountainous terrain is a glacier. To realize that most glaciers worldwide are shrinking and melting due to climate change means that NOW is the time to go see them before they disappear. The glaciers in Glacier National Park will be gone in a few years, so you'd better hurry. Check out this video:
http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/news/151021-glacier-national-park-melting-vin
This article makes it clear that the glaciers there will be gone much sooner than expected:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/03/090302-glaciers-melting.html

For me, my rendezvous with Glacier National Park will come later in my story. For now, I shall focus instead on a different glacier: the Columbia Glacier. While I stayed in Valdez with another friend, I went on a cruise to see the glacier up close (for additional info, go here:
http://www.stephenscruises.com/columbia-glacier-cruise/). I was very grateful for this opportunity as well as the cruises around town to museums and being shown the old town (destroyed in the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake).

Boarding the boat for my first trip on the Pacific Ocean!

I thoroughly enjoyed my stay in Valdez before I began the long trip to Anchorage.