Trillium at Glacier Park
Christine May 23rd, 2009
~~ Thursday we managed to take off for a pre-Memorial Day camp trip before the hordes hit Glacier National Park. I really wanted to get up there to see the Trillium since it’s been several years since I had that opportunity. This year’s wild flowers are late blooming due to the very chilly weather we’ve been having — until this weekend which has turned out quite warm and inviting everyone to getting outdoors. Thursday afternoon we set up camp at Apgar Campground; people were already arriving from out of state for the weekend but they were mostly retired folk biking or youthful Canadians tenting and snowshoeing up on the higher snow banks of the Park. There is such a variety of activities to enjoy in Glacier but my main objective Thursday evening was the Trillium and I was not disappointed. There they were near Fish Creek in their shady, secluded spot blooming bravely in the glade. These photos all enlarge.
You can tell by the ground that the snow has only just recently left and in some places there were still mounds piled from the snowplows. The Going to the Sun Road is being cleared partly due to a class 5 avalanche which must have occurred early in January and wiped out thousands of trees, carrying huge boulders and snow across the road in two places. I’m not sure how they are going to deal with all of that. It is a major project just to clear the road in the spring so all the tourists can enjoy the scenery but when you have the aftermath of an avalanche to deal with, then that is a different matter. People will simply have to be patient, which they often are not – especially the business people. That road is the life blood of the park and they want it open at all costs. Here’s a thought, maybe the businesses could contribute a little to the Park’s maintenance instead of whining! I cannot even guess how much that will cost to remove all that debris in the next weeks. Meanwhile they are holding the rest of the park together with duct tape because there is not enough money to keep everything in shape. I am not kidding about the duct tape.
Anyway, below is a shot of the creek side and some very quickly growing ferny foliage.
