Two weeks ago we counted ourselves lucky to be able to eat lunch
while gazing out over the Many Glacier landscape.

Bicyclists and hikers can venture three miles beyond Rising Sun. Adjacent to Glacier National Park, between Two Medicine Valley and St. Mary, Highway 49 (Looking Glass Highway) also opened last week.

Vehicle access on the West Side of the Going-to-the-Sun Road continues to be restricted at Avalanche Creek. However, weekend hikers and bicyclists may travel to Bird Woman Falls Overlook, approximately ten miles beyond Avalanche Creek.

Pictured on the right: From the overlook at Running Eagle Falls looking back at Two Medicine country

The Inside North Fork Road is now open from Polebridge Ranger Station north to Big Prairie, to Bowman Lake and south to Logging Creek. Bowman Lake Campground is now open for the season.

Non-motorized use is welcome on other park roads that are otherwise closed to motor vehicles; users are reminded to be very alert for potential avalanche hazards, ice, and rockfall, as well as bears and other wildlife. Bicyclists and hikers are asked to stay on the right side of the roadway. Visitors are also reminded that when sections of park roads are closed to motorized vehicle use, and are utilized as trails, these roadways are closed to all pets.

Two park campgrounds opened for the season May 17th: Bowman Lake Campground in the park's North Fork area and Sprague Creek Campground on the Going-to-the-Sun Road. Camping within the park is also available at Apgar and St. Mary Campgrounds; however, St. Mary Campground is available for primitive camping only (no running water) until the campground opens for the season Friday, May 24.

Pictured at left: Running Eagle Falls at Two Medicine

Visitor services and facilities are open in Apgar Village, including the Apgar Visitor Center, which is currently open daily from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Additional services and facilities throughout the park will continue to open in coming weeks.

Current road conditions are available on the park's web site at www.nps.gov/glac/whatsnew/gttsroad.htm General park information is available at www.nps.gov/glac/home.htm or by calling park headquarters at 406-888-7800.

Pictured at left: These inquisitive bighorn sheep wandered down off the slope onto the road looking for handouts (naturally we did not oblige!). Besides being dangerous, (just think of the damage they could do to a car if they decided to ram it with their horns or sand on the hood and look in the windshield) it's bad for the sheep and illegal.

These bighorn sheep blended in so well with the rocks on the slope above the road into Many Glacier that we could hardly make them out.

It's a joy to see these animals free and in their natural environment. The Many Glacier area is famous for close-up wildlife viewing, especially Bighorn Sheep.

Pictured above: The line was long at Avalanche Campground last Thursday as we waited for buses to take us up to Bird Woman Falls overlook to watch the plowing of Going-to-the-Sun Road.

Photo on Right: The plows were almost hidden
by the mounds of snow near Haystack Creek.

Upon hitting the road surface at Haystack Creek, crew members estimate the snow spread out and covered approximately 100 yards of the Going-to-the-Sun Road surface before continuing to run almost to the lower section of the Going-to-the-Sun Road below Haystack Creek. The crew estimates only half of the snowpack in the Haystack Creek avalanche zone slid on Thursday.