Montana Glacier NP Fish Creek open carry (#0199)

This was my 3rd, and almost successful, attempt to go to Glacier National Park. My main interest in going to Glacier was the engineering marvel of the Going to the Sun highway, so the previous two times got canceled at the last minute because of summer snow that closed the highway. This time there was a fire that closed the eastern portion of the highway, but all reports were that the western (and most scenic) portion was open.

As you might guess, this view from my first day in the park is NOT from the Going to the Sun highway. Having checked the park's website, I was prepared for the fact that I might have to take the shuttle bus up the highway (and that's better for the environment). But, when I got to the park, there were over 250 people waiting for the shuttle and the shuttles were 15 passenger buses that ran every hour.

I was tempted to leave and simply skip the park entirely, but I heard the ranger mantra that there's more to do than the highway, so I decided to explore by heading northwest to Bowman Lake. Since I had to stretch, I stopped first at the Fish Creek picnic area on McDonald Lake. A not very positive initial experience.

Given America's mantra about the 2nd amendment (right to bear arms), I'm going to have to get better at preparing myself for the effects of open-carry laws. The picnic site wasn't particularly crowded, and it was mostly small families with relatively quiet children. One handsome father caught my eye because of the way he was adjusting his shorts, but then I realized what he was adjusting was his holster. Looking around, I then saw that another father, with wife and two young (under 10) kids, was also armed.

It wasn't a majority that was armed at the site, but it was disconcerting to see that two fathers were. Yes, there are bears in the area, but the park is pretty clear that using a handgun on a bear just makes the situation far more dangerous. So, I don't know what these men were protecting except from the dangers of other park attendees....