Animal Sightings in Glacier

 While heading out of Glacier via the Going-To-The-Sun Road, we stopped and took some pictures of St. Mary's Lake. Other cars were stopped too. While snapping away, one stranger saw this guy above us. Bighorn Sheep!

 Mom was the one who spotted his friends, even higher up above us.

While driving toward the Many Glacier entrance, a car had stopped on the road in front of us. As we slowed down, we saw why they stopped...

A BEAR! Well, at least a bear's butt. He (or she) didn't turn around for awhile, but we gladly stopped and started snapping bear butt pictures.

 It did eventually turn around for us (how thoughtful of him!). You can't always use color to determine what type of bear you are looking at (black or grizzly), but this guy had a hump on its shoulder - definitely a grizzly!

 He did look up at us a few times (we were safely still in the vehicle), but mostly, he just kept on chomping away at the grass.

 Pretty neat, huh? :)

 I was stuck in the back, in the worst seat possible, but Mom didn't mind me leaning over her though to snap some pictures! Grizz even stood up through the sun roof to get a few more pictures. Dad had the best seat in the house :)

 During this entire time, Grizz had left the vehicle running - just in case the bear decided to walk our way. We all agreed that it is easy to see how some people get the courage up to risk getting out of the vehicle - I mean, there's a bear, happily eating a few 30-40 feet away. It didn't look mean... it looked cuddly, actually. Why not just step a few feet from your vehicle to get a few more pictures? Of course, this is the wrong way of thinking! Stay in the vehicle. If you see a bear while hiking, follow Glacier's recommendations (they hand out info as you enter the park). Do not stay to take pictures! BE SMART! BEARS ARE DANGEROUS!

 After the bear walked away, we continued driving. Yet, the fun didn't stop! We saw some mountain goats on the slopes!

Even though the weather wasn't ideal, it was a great day trip. We had a picnic lunch in the car before hiking and we stopped at the Lighthouse near Valier for supper.

**Grizz and I haven't seen a bear the entire time we've lived and explored out here. My parents just have a magical touch I guess. Last year when they visited we saw a moose... in a small mountain range that doesn't boast a lot of them. Now this year we saw a grizzly bear. Grizz joked that maybe my parents should come out during hunting season... he'd be sure to get his elk with them along :)