Gearjammers gather for Glacier reunion

EAST GLACIER PARK — More than 160 former red bus drivers are gathering at Glacier Park Lodge this week for a reunion.

The reunion will include drivers from the 1940s to present, as well as family and friends, making it a gathering of more than 300.

For some gearjammers, it will be their first time back in Glacier since they were red bus drivers, giving them a chance to show their families why it was the best time of their lives.

Drivers are coming from across the country and abroad to share stories of their time behind the wheel in Glacier Park.

Today, about half the drivers and guests will leave Glacier Park Lodge in the morning for an all-day tour in red buses over Going-to-the-Sun Road.

They will stop at Lake McDonald Lodge for lunch. Joining the group will be a cavalcade of historic vehicles from The Jammer Trust. These will include a 1927 Cadillac, and two earlier model red buses, carrying various guests.

This trip of historic vehicles once used in the park, such as for President Franklin Roosevelt’s 1934 tour, is weather dependent.

On Friday, a smaller group of gearjammers and guests will take the Going-to-the-Sun Road trip. Later Friday, the drivers and guests will gather at 8 p.m. for a Tall Tales session at Glacier Park Lodge, where the gearjammers will share some of their favorite memories and stories about their time in Glacier.