Summer 15

Interior of the Whitefish depot. The depot is now used by Amtrak for its version of the Great Northern Empire Builder train, but the station's preservation is due to the activities of the Stumptown Historical Society who operates a museum in the building.

Diesel switch engine on display in the colors of the Great Northern Railway, at the depot in Whitefish, MT

Historic Izaak Walton inn in the small town of Essex, MT. Built in 1939 by the Great Northern Railway as crew quarters, the building was designed in anticipation that there would be a southern entry to Glacier National Park -- which didn't happen. The inn is now privately owned and is a flag stop for the Amtrak Empire Builder. The diesel engine on the right is actually one of two pieces of railroad equipment that was converted into a hotel room that is rented by the Inn. The Inn has an outdoor restaurant with exceptionally good and innovative food at reasonable prices, very friendly staff.

BNSF yard that's next to the Izaak Walton Inn in Essex.

BNSF train entering a snow shed (this is the end of the train), just east of Essex, MT. I'd been watching for a chance to get a picture of a train in the mountains, but of course none came through until I was at a point where I couldn't get a clear shot.

East Glacier Park Amtrak depot. Built in 1913 as the Great Northern Railway depot for the Glacier Park Lodge (see adjacent picture).

Glacier Park Lodge, as seen from the Glacier Park depot. The lodge was built by the Great Northern railroad in 1913. Unfortunately I didn't know to go in, from the Wikipedia page (below), the interior looks spectacular. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glacier_Park_Lodge

A plaque telling the full story -- that Glacier National Park was a major marketing activity / tourism site for the Great Northern Railway in the early 1920's. As the map described, the railway built a series of lodges that were one day's ride apart by horseback.

Lower Two Medicine Lake, from the highway, with smoke from the Saint Mary Lake fire in the distance and unusual clouds overhead.

US 89 on the east side of Glacier National Park,

The fire around St. Mary Lake in Glacier National Park. The very large section of dead trees in the foreground is from a different fire, not this fire.

St. Mary Lake fire, Glacier National Park

Part of the firebase for the St. Mary Lake fire, at Babb, MT (see adjacent picture).

The rest of the firebase at Babb (see adjacent picture).

Telephoto of just one part of the common areas at the firebase. Seeing the firebase provided a good reminder of how complex the logistics are for fighting a fire, including having fuel and buses to get to the fire, and water and food for the personnel -- plus probably a field medical center and some sort of entertainment (a makeshift movie theater?).

Aerial portion of the firebase for the St. Mary fire. On the left side of the picture there are what look like tents, but being in a straight line suggests that they may be marking off some sort of landing area -- though too short for an airplane runway.

Telephoto of the aerial firebase, including a portable control tower, two huge helicopters, and three smaller helicopters.

In the distance, Grinnell Glacier, with Lake Sherburne (a reservoir, not a lake) in the foreground. The reservoir was built between 1914 and 1921 to provide irrigation water for north central Montana. No, I did not do the hike up to the Glacier...