Lee and Karen Duquette at Glacier National Park

Lee and Karen Duquette,
The Two RV Gypsies: Full-Time RVers
at Glacier National Park, west Entrance
in Montana - Page 1 of 2
August 23, 2016

USA map showing location of Glacier National Park

Glacier National Park is a national park located in the U.S. state of Montana, on the Canada–United States border with the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia. The park encompasses over 1 million acres and includes parts of two mountain ranges (sub-ranges of the Rocky Mountains), over 130 named lakes, more than 1,000 different species of plants, and hundreds of species of animals. This vast pristine ecosystem is the centerpiece of what has been referred to as the "Crown of the Continent Ecosystem", a region of protected land encompassing 16,000 square miles.


The region that became Glacier National Park was first inhabited by Native Americans. Upon the arrival of European explorers, it was dominated by the Blackfeet in the east and the Flathead in the western regions. Under pressure the Blackfoot ceded the mountainous parts of their treaty lands in 1895 to the federal government; it later became part of the park. Soon after the establishment of the park on May 11, 1910, a number of hotels and chalets were constructed by the Great Northern Railway. These historic hotels and chalets are listed as National Historic Landmarks and a total of 350 locations are on the National Register of Historic Places. By 1932 work was completed on the Going-to-the-Sun Road, later designated a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, which provided greater accessibility for automobiles into the heart of the park.

Lee and Karen Duquette at Lake McDonald - As usual, Karen Duquette must touch the water whenever possible. Sometimes she even walks or swims in it, depending upon the weather and how safe the water is. Lee Duquette does not like to be in water.


Below: The two RV Gypsies, Lee and Karen Duquette at McDonald Falls.



Lee and Karen Duquette loved the big red colored rock that was among all the smaller, plain rocks.

Below: Lee Duquette thought that the top of the colored rock had an image shaped like a spear. Do not look at the entire rock, just the overlayed image on top.

Below: Avalanche Creek




Below: Heavens Peak

The mountains of Glacier National Park began forming 170 million years ago when ancient rocks were forced eastward up and over much younger rock strata.



Below: Lots of waterfalls in Glacier National Park USA


Below: Back-cutting erosion may have carved this mountain ridge and its a sharp-edges.



Glaciers that lie against mountains erode ever-steeper cliffs by repeatedly freezing and thawing, plucking rock loose. The moving ice carries the broken rock down valley. Where glaciers surround a mountain peak they may eventually erode it to a tooth-like horn.



Below: Waterfalls were almost everywhere in Glacier National Park.