Polebridge

We drove about 25 miles into the northwest section of the park this morning to Polebridge Loop. The entire town of Polebridge consists of the Polebridge Mercantile and the Northern Lights Saloon and about 15 full time residents! The mercantile is known for its great bakery and our cinamon rolls proved the rumor true!
After a fun chat with the locals we headed further into the "boonies" to Bowman Lake. You would think that traveling down a dusty, bumpy gravel road for 12 miles through prime bear country would have been rewarded with seeing a bear - but, no such luck! The lake was lovely and is the starting point for many backpackers and long hikers who really explore the wilderness of Glacier National Park!

Tidbits about Glacier:
We heard one of the locals complaining that it was "too damn hot" - it was 68 degrees! He'd never survive in Texas!
The ranger presentations in the evenings have been very interesting. They mark certain trees in the forests, put small barbed wire strips on them and then collect the bear fur that is left when the bears rub the tree. They can then track the bears from their DNA. There are about 50 wolverines in the park - none in Michigan anymore. They are very difficult to capture or track because they are so vicious - "one bad, ass sociopath of the park!"
They tranquilize them and insert GPS devices and have been amazed at how far they roam and how quickly! Eagle's eyesight is so keen it could read a newspaper from 7 stories up! So, now you are ready for a game of Trivia! As much as we have enjoyed the park, considering our national debt - I think there is room for some cuts!
The locals say they had a "hard" winter and spring was 3 weeks late but this summer has been the nicest in several years - lucky us!

We rode our bikes along the paved bike path from the campground to the little town of West Glacier late this afternoon - about 6 miles round trip. We stopped at the local bar for a beer, started talking with some people - guess where she was born and raised? Jackson, Michigan! They live in Wisconsin now. Met a couple last night at dinner from Lansing - he had a Tigers baseball cap on - they live in Missoula, MT now. Heather posted on Facebook that she saw a guy with a "Keep Austin Weird" T-shirt in KL the other day. It truly is a small world!

I found a neat T-shirt for Roger - it says "Glacier National Park" on the front - on the back it shows a guy hiking up a cliff with the caption "Let Someone Else Climb the Corporate Ladder."

We still have not found a car wash. The car is now covered in a thick layer of dust - stuck in the cow poo! It is driving Roger crazy - I told him to think of it as an "anti-theft" device!