Nate's Blog: Great American Road Trip of 2025 - Part 3

Glacier National Park was the other big destination we planned for the trip. We checked into our cabin just outside of the park, enjoying clucking turkeys around the ranch grounds. Our goal was to get into the park at 7:00 am to enjoy the sunrise along the "Going to the Sun Road." In my life and even on the trip we had driven along some roads with gorgeous views, but this one takes the cake for the most beautiful.

Sunrise at Lake McDonald

Felt like we could take photos like this on every turn off

Seriously

We arrived at the parking lot at Logan Pass Visitor Center before it got full up for the day, a very popular spot to hike. Much like other National Parks we could not bring our dogs on any of the trails, so we left our dogs in the car (windows down in the shade) as we quickly explored the Visitor Center and picked up some merch. As obligate rule followers we have always obeyed the rules about not taking our dogs on any of the trails, but were miffed at not being allowed to take them around a mini boardwalk at the VC, this story changed our opinion significantly!

I was hoping of seeing some higher altitude birds so poked around and managed to see this ridiculously tame Dusky Grouse!

While enjoying the grouse, I saw a park ranger walking a side trail with a gaggle of hikers looking on with anticipation. Sure enough, the ranger was keeping tabs on a mother Grizzly Bear with her two cubs!! The bears walked right across the trail a little up the way from where we were standing and we were treated with tremendous views for around 10 minutes.

I don't think we would have wanted to be too much closer to them but it was nice that they weren't on the top of a mountain a kilometer away also. Definitely a highlight of our trip.

We drove the remaining section of the highway with awe, stopping occasionally to admire the delightful views and the occasional bird or moose.