Back in September 2007, we went on our honeymoon to Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks. At the time we drove the silver 1994 E500 which I had only owned for a few years. Made that trip with the stock 16" wheels/tires and have a few pics with the car in it, which I need to find and post.
Fast forward 15 years and we decided to head back to Glacier for our anniversary, and take the same E500 (now with ~18 years of ownership). This time it's rolling on Evo repops as those have all-season tyres, and I didn't want to risk hitting bad weather with summer Pilot PS4.
Back in 2007, after tourist season officially ended post-Labor Day, traffic was light and people were few. Not this time, unfortunately. Traffic is bad and people are everywhere, at least in West Glacier and west of Logan Pass on Going to the Sun Road. We even had a several-minute wait to get into the park with 3 lanes/booths open. Very unusual for mid-September.
Even worse, the first ~8 miles or so of Going to the Sun Road along Lake McDonald had road work blocking one lane periodically, with timed traffic lights (no sensors) that held up traffic unnecessarily. And, the temporary pavement patch over where they had dug the trench to lay ~12" diameter flexible black pipe was so rough, it pounded the car mercilessly. Thankfully this was only in one direction and we were driving that around 7pm when there were few people coming the other way (entering the park), so I was able to drive across the double yellow on smooth(er) paevment. I hope they will go back and fix it properly after the big black snake is buried.
As a bonus, since the entire west coast is on fire
, smoke is extremely thick and blocking all views of the mountains. Weather is beautiful, ~70°F/20°C high temps with hazy sun coming through the smoke. There are still good photo ops for close-up objects. Quick sample below of the E500 at the entrance to West Glacier, taken in between packs of cars mobbing the sign.
More pics coming later this week or next week.
Fast forward 15 years and we decided to head back to Glacier for our anniversary, and take the same E500 (now with ~18 years of ownership). This time it's rolling on Evo repops as those have all-season tyres, and I didn't want to risk hitting bad weather with summer Pilot PS4.
Back in 2007, after tourist season officially ended post-Labor Day, traffic was light and people were few. Not this time, unfortunately. Traffic is bad and people are everywhere, at least in West Glacier and west of Logan Pass on Going to the Sun Road. We even had a several-minute wait to get into the park with 3 lanes/booths open. Very unusual for mid-September.
Even worse, the first ~8 miles or so of Going to the Sun Road along Lake McDonald had road work blocking one lane periodically, with timed traffic lights (no sensors) that held up traffic unnecessarily. And, the temporary pavement patch over where they had dug the trench to lay ~12" diameter flexible black pipe was so rough, it pounded the car mercilessly. Thankfully this was only in one direction and we were driving that around 7pm when there were few people coming the other way (entering the park), so I was able to drive across the double yellow on smooth(er) paevment. I hope they will go back and fix it properly after the big black snake is buried.
As a bonus, since the entire west coast is on fire
, smoke is extremely thick and blocking all views of the mountains. Weather is beautiful, ~70°F/20°C high temps with hazy sun coming through the smoke. There are still good photo ops for close-up objects. Quick sample below of the E500 at the entrance to West Glacier, taken in between packs of cars mobbing the sign.More pics coming later this week or next week.
![[500Eboard] exterior_3.jpg](https://www.500eboard.co/forums/data/attachments/154/154466-86b9ca5b9a9caa07299e5a311391fa2a.jpg?hash=hrnKW5qcqg "[500Eboard] exterior_3.jpg")
