Day 4 in Glacier National Park
For our last full day in the park we decided to head to the Many Glacier area. We left the cabin around our customary 7:30 time. We made the hour drive to East Glacier via Hwy 2 and stopped for breakfast at the same place we had stopped on Day 3. We then headed up along the eastern boundary of the park past the turn in for Two Medicine. The road between Two Medicine and Many Glacier was full of twists, turns and range cattle. This slowed us up a good bit. But the scenery along the way helped to pass the time.
Heading into the Many Glacier area we saw... yep, you guessed it..another bear! Four days in the park and four bears! That's a pretty good record. It was a black bear grazing away on one of the hillsides next to the road. It kept checking us out but didn't leave.
The further into the Many Glacier area we drove, the more obvious it became that this was going to be an iffy weather day. Some fairly ominous clouds were rolling in over the mountain tops. 
We opted to try a short 2 mile round trip to Appikuny Falls. We put on our rain slickers and ponchos and headed out. I should add that we were all a little jumpy because the Many Glacier area had by far the most signs posted warning of the presence of grizzlies. Anyway, the wind was fierce and the sprinkles had started but we pressed on through some pretty thick brush and were getting close to the top. Suddenly Gary stopped and said "do ya'll smell that?" And boy did we. A very strong, rank, musty animal smell. Talk about the short hairs on the back of your neck standing up! All it took was an exchange of glances and an about face and we headed back down the mountain. None of us had any desire to come face to face with Mr. Grizzly! Plus, by this time the rain had started to come down in earnest. Once we reached the truck (amazing how quickly that reverse trip went!) we decided to check out the Many Glacier Hotel.
The Many Glacier Hotel is a very old lodge (1915 I think) that sits at one end of a large lake. It has a HUGE central fireplace which was just what we needed to warm up and dry off. With the weather showing no signs of improving we decided to take advantage of the hotel's reasonably priced buffet lunch. The dining room offered great views of the storm sweeping in over the lake and surrounding mountains. We got to chatting with our waiter and turns out the Many Glacier Hotel is the inspiration for Stephen King's The Shining. Apparently, in mid to late September someone moves into the lodge to live out the winter months alone. The snow gets as deep as the 3rd and 4th floors and he has to keep the sheep and goats off the roof. There is a large stuffed big horn sheep in the lobby which was killed when it fell through the skylight one winter. The lodge is large and rambling, complete with creaky floors and doors. It gave us the willies just thinking about staying there alone!
When it became apparent that the weather was not going to let up, we decided to head back to West Glacier to finish up some souvenir shopping. We were disappointed that our chance to explore the Many Glacier area was cut short but the idea of shopping perked us up somewhat. So back to West Glacier we went. Then dinner and home for one last soak in the hot tub. And packing.
We all had flights out the next day around 2pm. We bid a fond farewell to our little cabin which had served us well and headed back to so-called civilization. Glacier National Park lived up to our expectations. It is truly some of the most beautiful scenery we had ever seen. And the nice part is that it is so accessible. No need to back pack for 2 days to see it. So we highly recommend Glacier as a great vacation destination!
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