We didn't pick a very cheerful day to visit Glacier National Park since it was rainy and clouds covered the sky, but once we were in the park, the beauty of the scenery made the day a beautiful one. Columbia Falls is located a short drive from West Glacier, so we had just a short drive before arriving. Since it was in October, the entire park was not open. A large snowfall had closed the Going to the Sun Road at Logan Pass, but we were able to experience the scenic beauty of Glacier National Park, since we saw beautiful lakes, mountains, and fall foliage on our drive.
Our first stop in the park was the Visitor's Center near Lake McDonald. The rangers there were very nice and told us where we were most likely to see wildlife in the park. We stopped at Lake McDonald Lodge and walked around the grounds and took some photographs. The lodge was closed for the season, but we enjoyed walking along the sidewalks to the back where we viewed the lodge's pier and beautiful Lake McDonald. I had prepared a picnic lunch for us that morning before we left Columbia Falls and we found a beautiful picnic area, near Lake McDonald, to eat our lunch. We watched the squirrels and birds as we ate. We had a strong urge to leave some food for them, but we knew we were not supposed to feed the wildlife, so we resisted the temptation. We drove on toward Logan Pass, and as we gained altitude, the mountains and the trees seemed even more beautiful. Long before we were ready for it, we arrived at Logan Pass and were at the end of the road. We stopped and got out of our vehicle and enjoyed the wonderful panoramic view before us.