We're lucky in a lot of ways: we get to brew beer for a living (it has its perks), we get to live 20 minutes away from a great skiing mountain, and if you go to our tasting room you can grab a Black Star, step out onto the balcony, and admire one of the most beautiful places on earth: Glacier National Park. Actually, our namesake, the Great Northern Railroad, had a lot to do with the creation of the park. At the turn of the century, after the area turned out not to have any copper, gold, or oil deposits, the Great Northern promoted the area as a haven for visitors. President Taft, in one of his few memorable decisions, created the park in 1910. The Great Northern then poured millions of dollars into building many of the lodges and chalets that remain there today. We've noticed that when people rave about the national parks, going on about Yosemite and Half Dome and Yellowstone and Old Faithful, Glacier is somehow forgotten. Maybe it's because we Americans like to drive in our parks and Glacier isn't as paved as those others. The vast majority of its 15,000 square miles are only accessible on foot (and with a lot of those trails closed much of the year due to snow and bears). Maybe people don't visit because, lying up here in the northwest corner of Montana, it's a bit hard to get to, or maybe it's just because people have no idea just what a spectacular place it is. We don't have a big problem with that; after all, we prefer our park full of nature instead of packed full of tourists. But it is a shame more people don't know how great it is. Even if you don't hike, driving the Going-to-the-Sun Road is probably worth the trip alone. Easily one of the most impressive roads on earth, it runs 52 miles from beside Lake McDonald to the top of Logan Pass (elevation 6,645 feet). Along the way you'll see breath-taking scenery: towering cliffs and crags, cirques and peaks so grand that just looking at them takes a bit of time. You'll also probably see mountain goats coming down along the side of the road to graze, indifferent to the visitors passing by, and bald eagles with a mighty and gentle elegance above waterfalls that cascade down thousands of feet of rock to the valley below. If you do come, think about bringing a bathing suit and jumping into either Lake McDonald or St. Mary Lake. Sure, they're filled with ice cold glacial water, but it does wake you up and get your blood going. Or, if you prefer, crawl under a glacial waterfall. Be forewarned, it's cold, really cold. But refreshing. For more information about Glacier National Park, check out their Website Visitor Center.