Glacier National Park- Logan's Pass & Sunrift Gorge

Jason's favorite flower on the hike

On Wednesday June 19th, we got to use an SUV that belonged to the Naess family from Ohio. We had met the previous day during hiking. Thank You so Much!!!
We drove to Logan Pass which was as far as the road had been cleared and also marked the Continental Divide. The visitor's center was not open yet for the season but there was a ranger posted there. The boys built a snowman, which was a first. They also got sworn in for their junior ranger badges; although, I think Jason and I were more excited about adding another one to the collection than they were.

Then we drove back down to Sun Rift Gorge for a 5 mile hike. There were many waterfalls along the way and the path was lined with beautiful wildflowers.

 It rained off and on which made the hike a little tough. We turned around before making it to the 3rd waterfall and started our trek back to the SUV. We came to a fork in the trail where no one could agree which to take. Nathan made a $100 bet that his way was right. We took Big Jason's path anyway. About 1/2 mile back, Big Jason knew this path was not correct. There were wild roses and numbered plaques marking the way. We had not seen these before. We emerged onto the road and began walking in the direction we thought was correct.


Since everyone was tired and wet, there was not much talking going on which made it too quiet to warn animals of our presence. Big Jason came face to face with a black bear trying to cross the road. They were probably equally afraid of each other because the bear turned and ran back into the woods.  As Jason caught his breath, he tried to get a photo but was unsuccessful. No proof that bears really do exist! He turned and called out "UNRA...EARBA" which means "RUN...BEAR" in pig Latin. This has been a joke in our family for the last year because we had not seen a bear yet in all of the National Parks we had visited. We waited around to see if he would re-emerge at another place down the road. Sure enough, about 100 yards away, he quickly crossed the road. I snapped a quick picture but my camera was on the wrong setting so it is not so great. At least we have the proof! By the way, never run from a bear....black, grizzly or otherwise.
We were exhausted after the long day of rain and hiking and had managed to miss lunch in the process. Our RV was  a welcome sight and we felt safe and secure there.