If you follow me on Instagram or Twitter, then you may know that I was recently in Montana for vacation. And whenever I visit, I end up spending a lot of time in Glacier National Park (and Happy Birthday National Park Services!*). This time was no exception, even with the weather. But my last full day was beautiful! Clear blue skies, warm sun and the perfect day to visit the park.
And even more perfect was the elusive grizzly bear sighting. Because not only did we see one bear, but we saw three!
The first one was a cub on the side of the road rooting around for, well…roots. In a blink and you’ll miss him, we drove on by only realizing what the little ball of fur was as we passed. So I got a good view of him by turning around and watching as we continued down the side of the mountain.
But then we saw two more (one of them – the one pictured here – is likely to have been a black bear). Both were at a distance, but still very exciting. Each time we visit the park, we’re always looking for the bear, hoping to see one in the meadow or in the woods. And while I had seen the barest glimpse of one once before, these were full views of them.
It was very exciting, and had me grinning throughout the rest of the day. And actually, so far for the rest of the week. On the way back through the park to leave, I did also see a family of mountain goats and chipmunks. I haven’t seen any bighorn sheep again in my last two visits, so I guess that means I’ll just have to go back. And besides, I now have the elusive elk and moose sightings to capture. Even more elusive? The northern lights.
*The National Park Service celebrated its 98th Anniversary on my last day in the park, which included waiving park entrance fees. I’m looking forward to making sure to visit a national park in two years for the centennial!
