In 2004 I made a 3 week tour on my motorcycle from Colorado to the West Coast. I rode 4200 miles and camped along the road during those 3 weeks. I saw some beautiful country and loved the experience. I spent two days in Glacier National Park, which is not enough time, camping along the southern edge of Lake McDonald. After setting up camp I wandered down to the lake. The most striking memory of that lake was the crystal clear water. Standing on shore I could see the bottom of the lake as far as ten to fifteen feet.

My visit was after the devastating fire in the summer of 2003. That was the most significant fire season in the history of Glacier National Park. After a normal winter snowpack, precipitation was below average from April through June (66% of normal), but more importantly, July, August, and early September brought almost no precipitation. This came on the heels of the 5th year of drought in northwest Montana. Approximately 136,000 acres burned within the park boundary, which was more than during the previous benchmark fire-year of 1910. Most of the forest on the opposite side of the above image were burned out. Yet, as the sun set, the majestic beauty of nature was offering a breath taking display. I really did not take that many images but sat there in a state of awe and wonder. I need to make another visit!

Thankfully, around the turn of the century, people started to look at Glacier National Park differently. For some, this place held more than minerals to mine or land to farm…they began to recognize that the area had a unique scenic beauty all to its own. I personally call it a life of its own. By the late 1800s, influential leaders like George Bird Grinnell, pushed for the creation of a national park. Fifteen years later, Grinnell and others saw their efforts rewarded when President Taft signed the bill establishing Glacier as the country’s 10^th national park. Because of their efforts I had the chance to sit on that shore and was moved to tears.