opening day-Going to the sun road/Logan Pass

July 13th-2011-7:35 a.m. the anticipation was growing as winter held on to this area for a very long time.
Longest time on record for the Going to the sun road to open.

Usually the road after it gets plowed is ready for tourists from both sides (the west side of Glacier National Park and the east side of the park from St.Marys) on the 15th of June but deep snow in the mountains which set records left and right made even getting up to Logan pass a chore & a half.

The crowd started to grow as vehicles started to slowly make it's way towards the gate.I spoke with several people about a time that the caravan would begin & 7:45 was the time or when the pilot car arrived as it was coming from the east side of Logan Pass.
I walked around watching the crowd grow more antsy about this big day & then the horn sounded-the pilot car had arrived & the mad dash to the cars began -7:45 a.m.

The scenery was going to be a bit different from times past as the higher we rose in elevation on the drive up the landscape would start to be spotty with snow & not just a dash of snow here or there but deep snow-snow bridges & rivers of water would be seen all the way to the top but also with the sun coming up over the mountains,the cold from the snow would clash with the heat of the day & provide us in most cases going up to the pass with fog & thick fog the closer I got to the top.

I watched as a few cars in front of me would slow down to check out the view as it was stunning to see & a trail of cars could be seen for ways down the mountain.
The easy part was going up but the fun is coming down.

I arrived about 8:30 as Logan pass was covered in dense fog but one could see the outline of a mountain in the distance.

The parking lot was filling up fast & it is said that if you come to Glacier National Park esp Logan pass it is best to be on the going to the sun road no later the 8:30 as parking this time of year is hard to find up here because you have thousands of people visiting this area in a weeks time so plan ahead.

The bus were starting to arrive & the Jammers were over full of visitors racing to be the first to walk about the park.Visitors were leaving their names in the deep snow walls that engulf the visitors center-people were snapping photos & a lot of folks were making their way to see the winter landscape that surrounds Logan pass with Mt.Reynolds & the trail to Hidden lake which is all buried in deep deep snow.

The view is staggering as the line of traffic can be seen building up down the side of the mountain.

I passed two fellows who were getting a photo taken by the welcome to Logan Pass sign-I know this because they ask me to take it which I did-the older fellow held his mountain bike over his head as to say-I HAVE DONE IT!! they conquered the mountain or at least was one of the first to get a shot like that.
I made my way away from the crowd & walked down to the overlook-here usually this time of year big horn sheep will be lurking in the brush or laying along side the overlook walkway just enjoying the heat of the sun.

Today with all of the deep snow there wasn't a sheep to be found.


The snow covered the garden wall which this time of year is busting with wildflowers & hikers & photographers looking for that scenic shot-the only thing bustling along this morning is the crowd growing & growing.

A great day for the Park & a great day to be a tourist or a local as the treasure of Montana is open for all to see.After I spent some time doing a variety of photo shoots I headed back down which in one word can explain it all-crazy.

The traffic could be seen winding it's way all the way down the side of the mountain-a few cars were leaving but for every one car leaving the park there was 30 more cars to replace it.

What would take a mere 45 minutes to get here would take longer to get back to the main road.

Jammers & buses & people on foot & on motorbike & people out of their cars waiting for the traffic to move would be snapping picture after picture.

The fog was long gone & the beauty & awesomeness of this grand ole place was coming alive.

It was a long wait but even tho the snows are slowly melting ,the road leading up to Logan pass is now open & hundreds of thousands of people will enter the park this year making it their temporary home & what will be on a lot of peoples wish list while in Glacier will be to travel the Going to the sun road & be swept away in all it has to offer.

You can check out more of Photographer Patrick Booths images at www.mysticcreekstudios.com