Day 20: Second day in Glacier National Park: Jammer tour

Miles driven to-date: 5,607
States visited to-date: 20
Countries visited to-date: 2 ~ Happy Canada Day!



When researching Glacier before our trip, we read about the famous scenic red bus tours and figured that was something we had to do. Because the tour didn’t leave until 11:30, we had time for a short but very steep hike to Apikuni Falls. It was a beautiful morning and we were rewarded with some pretty nice views of the water cascading down the rocks.

After a quick snack, our red bus (or “jammer”) picked us up at the hotel and we met Bernie, our friendly driver from Massachusetts. Bernie and his wife had retired when he got it into his head – without ever having visited Glacier – that he wanted to drive a red bus at the park. He became a bus driver in downtown Boston in order to have the credentials to drive a jammer. He was quite knowledgeable and added a lot to the whole experience for us.

The red buses were a staple of the park back in the day but needed to be refurbished so in 1999, Ford took on the project as a charitable endeavor and renovated the jammers so they are now environmentally friendly. It was a nice way to see the sights, especially when Bernie removed the roof so we could see all around us.

The tour took us across the border into Alberta’s Waterton Lakes National Park. Before the trip, I had looked into the requirements for crossing the border and had confirmed that until December of 2007, U.S. citizens only need a drivers’ license to get into Canada (and back) so I didn’t bother bringing my passport. Well, upon arrival at the hotel I learned that they strongly suggest that tourists bring at least a copy of a passport on the tour (I wished I had been told that before we left!). My Mom was kind enough to fax a copy of my passport to the hotel so I felt a bit better about my chances of being let back into the country (plus, two others on the tour only had licenses with them) and luckily we had no problems with customs.

The main stop on the tour was Waterton’s Prince of Wales Hotel, a gorgeous old lodge built right at the foot of beautiful lakes and mountains.

The tour offered the option of enjoying high tea at the hotel, which I wouldn’t have missed for the world! You can see below that I was reading my first Agatha Christie book, which I began after we stayed in the room named after the author at the B&B in Oregon.

I really wished my Mom could have been with me as I sipped tea and read my book at a table overlooking the lovely lake. Meanwhile, Steve had a pint and bangers ’n mash at the hotel’s pub as he watched World Cup soccer. We felt very British! As we boarded the jammers to continue the tour, a storm suddenly materialized right in front of the hotel. Blowing rain almost sideways over the lake, it was an amazing sight to see.

This, by the way, was my view out the window where I had tea!

We then drove through the town of Waterton which was adorable and seemed very family-friendly. Many festively-dressed Canadians were picnicking and enjoying Canada Day. We also saw several deer, which apparently run rampant in the town. The final stop on the tour was through an area that bison frequent . . . and we were very lucky because we saw a whole herd. They were giant and very calm, just looking at the bus and chewing their grass. There were several babies in the group and it was incredible to watch them going about their business. Steve got this great photo – notice how the bison has “white eye” instead of red eye in the picture!

After crossing the border back into the U.S., the tour ended at our hotel. We were glad to have explored the park on a red bus and felt especially fortunate to have seen the bison at such close proximity.

It was clearly time for a nap (this place rivaled our Amazon cruise as far as quality of naps!) so after a bit of shut eye, we headed to the hotel’s lodge for dinner. I thought I was brave to try the sampler of bison and elk sausage, which was actually quite good. I also have a new favorite beer in Moose Drool – it is excellent. We needed to get a good night’s sleep because we were planning an early hike in the morning, but more soon . . . thanks for checking in!