Glacier National Park - Driving to the Top of the World

If you think that line across the mountainside has anything to do with geology, think again. That's the road.
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This story is about the drive.  It took 3.5 hours to get from Drumheller to St. Mary's on the eastern edge of Glacier Park.  It took another 3 hours to travel 39 miles to the Lake McDonald Lodge, at the far end of the "Going to the Sun Road."

The road itself is a monumental feat of engineering.  It remains open for less than half the year because of the weather encountered at its highest points.  The pass is at nearly 9000 feet, and just beyond it, you get a good view of the road ahead, as if God had simply scratched the mountain face with his fingernail.  Running into the ditch would be a very costly mistake, and you are painfully aware of this as you drive along the wall.  Who knew that the slow, bumper to bumper drive that annoys us on the way to work, could be such an adrenaline rush under a slightly different set of circumstances.  The car complains, you smell the radiator fluid boiling off into the thin air, and on the way down, you smell the brakes getting hot enough to start a fire.  But then, it's not my car.

beyond the pass, you see the road ahead, as if God had simply scratched the mountain face with his fingernail.

Pulling off the road is not an option.
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It's not all scary.  Before you get to the top of the world, there are many views of mountains, trees, and glaciers from a greater distance.... And many photo ops.

GT