Today it was time to drive the western part of the Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park. After rainy and snowy conditions on the eastern side yesterday, and the promise of not-good weather today, I was prepared for anything and got nothing. Temperatures got as high as 60 and there was only a little spitting rain, although there was no sunshine either.

After the startling vistas up and down mountain passes yesterday, today was much more level and much less stunning. No grey wolf either. The photo shows a little of the Flathead River at the bottom, cedar trees up the hill opposite, snowy peaks peeking out at the top.

I started up the wrong side of Lake McDonald (I'm still me), reversed course, and drove the open 18 miles to Avalanche before running into the other side of the same closure as yesterday -- persistent road work between Avalanche and Logan Pass. A total of 29 out of the 50 miles are open right now.

Going-to-the-Sun Road on its western side is well maintained with lots of turnouts for picture-taking as well as spots to pull over and let speed demons pass you. It parallels the Flathead River, which is an icy green color that reflects the ice melt from glaciers this spring.

At Avalanche there was a nature trail to hike, and warnings again about bear. I was lucky in that two fellows starting the trail when I did invited me to accompany them. (It's hard to be noisy without feeling foolish when you're walking alone, but keeping bears at bay requires noise.) The two men were from California, one a retired policeman and the other a retired teacher, and both were avid photographers. They had their 70-200 zoom lenses and a tripod; I had my iPhone. They were in camouflage. I wasn't.

When I mentioned bears, one of them pointed out his bear spray, meaning to reassure me I think. But the can was snapped into a bear-spray holster on his belt, and his jacket covered it. He was huffing and puffing a bit as we walked on a level path, so I was pretty sure I could outrun him if necessary; he sure wasn't going to get the spray can out of the holster before he became bear snack.

The photo shows how shallow rooted some of the trees around us were.

We were passed during one of our stops to take photos by a family who mentioned that a bear had just walked into the parking lot we had left 15 minutes earlier. My companions were bummed. I was not. When we parted later I could see them heading back to that parking lot, cameras at the ready.

On my drive back to the western entrance to the park, I stopped at McDonald Lodge at the far end of the lake and had a quick lunch, then drove out of Glacier and north toward Whitefish, a small town about 10 miles away. On the drive, I detoured 4 miles (driving my GPS a little crazy again) to Hungry Horse Dam, wondering how big a dam is needed for such a small town. A very big dam, as it happens. The environmentalist in me wonders how much beauty was erased by the dam; the pragmatist says to hush.

Whitefish has a population of slightly over 6000, which is a 25% increase in the past decade. It's a recreation and retirement area, surrounded by mountains and lakes. But it's not very exciting. On my way to Missoula tomorrow I will stop by Bigfork, which is known for its artsy culture. I will have just missed by a day or two its kayaking adventure races on the river. In the cold. And wet.

Amusing sign of the day: Assisted Living RV Park.