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!

Hidden Lake

We had the most memorable day! We rode the express shuttle bus to Logan's Pass (the place we couldn't find a parking spot the other day) and hiked the Hidden Lake Trail. OMG! The most beautiful place we have ever been!
The trail is 1.5 miles each way and climbs 460 feet in elevation - not horrible, but at an altitude of 6,650 feet it was invigorating to say the least! We saw big horn sheep, mountain goats, and a marmot. Here it is August 13th and we trekked through snow! Glad we had our hiking boots and poles - it was steep and slippery in many places. The scenery is so awesome - like scenes from "The Sound of Music" Everywhere you look there is a snow melt waterfall and right next to glacier snow there are wildflowers trying to bloom in the sunshine. The lake is located at the foot of the mountains and the water is a lovely blue/green. We sat on a rock and ate our lunch and just soaked in the beauty - want to save it in our hard drive so when we need a peaceful place we can go back there! Now we know why Glacier is called the "Crown Jewel of the Continent."
Logan's Pass is about 28 miles up Going to the Sun Road. Ten miles of it drives past Lake MacDonald! We couldn't stop to take good pictures because we were on the express shuttle bus but, we did our best to get
Bird Woman Falls, Haystack Falls and Heaven's Peak. Kinda' nice to sit back and relax and just drink in the scenery.

West Glacier

We went to another park ranger presentation last night - this one about how trees, plants and animals survive the brutal winters here. Glad I don't  have to! She said they did a recent survey to determine the average length of stay in Glacier National Park and asked the audience to estimate. Roger and I said "3-4 days." What would you guess? The answer really surprised everyone - 3 hours!!! We plan to spend 6 days and haven't seen half of it!
We drove Hwy 2 from east to west Glacier this morning. Followed the Flathead River most of the way. More beautiful scenery!
We are staying at Apgar Village National Park on Lake MacDonald - a huge glacier lake. Back to Internet service but on and off cell phones and no TV - too many trees! A bigger campground but not as pretty as Two Medicine. We need a connection to the world so Roger can make plans to get our jacks fixed!
We took the "Trail of the Cedars" hike this afternoon and then stopped at many scenic look outs along the drive back home - mostly waterfalls along the Avalanche River, which eventually drains into Lake MacDonald. The water is crystal clear and a lovely shade of blue/green.

Glacier National Park

I drove part the of way to the east side of Glacier National Park and came across ranchers herding cows down the road. Poor Roger! When we got to East Glacier and he went to unhook the car, it and the tow bar were covered in cow poo! What a mess! And we still haven’t found a car wash!
There isn’t much in the town of East Glacier but there is a 13 foot bridge and our motorhome is 13 feet, 1 inch. We were reluctant to take a chance – it is our house! - so Roger unhooked the car (in case he needed to back up!) and lowered the suspension. I drove the car under the bridge and then guided him through. He hogged the road and blocked traffic but came through with room to spare!
I drove ahead to Two Medicine campground to “scout” a campsite. It’s tricky because they don’t take reservations and the rangers have nothing to do with the process – it is all “first come, first serve” – if you get there too early campers have not left yet and if you get there too late, the campground is full. There are limited big rig sites and many are taken by tenters . Frustrating, but, hey, they were there first! I was about to give up when we saw a pull through site that had just been vacated with a gorgeous view of the lake and mountains. The camping gods were with us! The only bad news was no cell or internet connection.
We took a boat ride across lower Two Medicine Lake – in a lovely old 1924 boat and then took a guided hike to Two Falls. The guide said interrupt and ask any questions – just not about world events or sports – she hasn’t seen a TV in well over a year! The hike began with a talk about bear safety. We think we are all set – got our bells and spray – NOT! Apparently, adult bears have poor hearing and the bells are not loud enough to warn them of your presence. The cubs hear them and are curious enough to follow the sound – of course, where the cubs go, Mama follows. Hence, the rangers and locals call them “dinner bells!” We are such city slickers! But, the bear spray is a must and we had the good kind – sprays a long distance! The guide told us she was ready to dock the boat once and a black bear sauntered out of the woods to get a e drink and then laid on the dock and took a nap. They had to wait out in the lake until he woke up and went away!
We went to the ranger campfire talk and learned all about moose! I got excited a couple of times when we were driving because we saw what looked like the back end of a moose along the road but they “free range” the livestock around here and they were just wayward cows!
We drove up the east side of the park to Many Glaciers. Beautiful scenery but we couldn’t do any hiking – they have closed the trails do to increased bear activity in the area. Say no more, we’re outta’ there! Most of the glaciers are in this north eastern part of the park – nestled in the mountain passes.
“Going to the Sun Road” is the main east/west artery through the park. It is about 50 miles of the most gorgeous vistas you can imagine. There are many scenic overlooks and trailheads so it is fun to drive – stop and hike back to a waterfall – then drive on. We went about half way – had intended to hike from Logan Pass – but the parking lot is way too small and it was a major traffic jam with no hope of getting a spot to park so we decided to take the shuttle from the west side of the park while we are camped there. Road construction doesn’t help the situation but they certainly can’t do it in the winter! The park runs “Red Bus Tours” in neat old touring cars and they help the traffic some.
We met a couple from D.C. on our first hike and they told us there was a good newspaper article in a recent edition of the N. Y. Times all about Glacier. The writer recommended two restaurants in East Glacier and we’ve tried them both. The “Whistle Stop” for awesome omelets and huckleberry French toast - I had a  crab omelet – and Serrano’s Mexican Café – the place was packed!
Today is a “down” day – Roger needs to do some “real” work – we are moving to West Glacier in the morning.

RV Repair

Good news: The RV repair shop was expecting us and got the motorhome in on time this morning and diagnosed part of our problem.
Bad news: We need 2 new jacks.
Good news: They are under warranty.
Bad news: Atwood doesn't have any in stock - they need to make them - 2-3 week delivery time!
Badder news: "We forgot to tell you this - the warranty only applies to parts, not labor - that will be $300, please!"
We will have them delivered to a repair shop somewhere in our future travels. Once they are put on, then they can figure out what caused them to fail - a computer problem perhaps?
Could be worse!

We will head to Glacier National Park early tomorrow morning. We are excited! We talked with our friends, Mike & Lorraine, and they gave us many tips on what to see and do - it's one of their favorite spots!
We bought "Bear Spray" and bells at the sporting goods store today - $46.95 each for the spray!!! We certainly are not planning on any back country hiking but want to hike popular trails to lakes and waterfalls and figured we should be prepared. The bear spray is a super, duper pepper spray that sprays 30-35 feet - comes with a "holster" so you can keep it handy! The directions say not to use it if you are "down wind." Just my luck the bear would be on the wrong side of me! The bells are like big "jingle bells" that you attach to your clothing so they make a lot of noise while you walk. Hope we see some bears - but, from a distance, like while driving in the car!!

Great Falls, MT

We had to leave our campsite in Devils Elbow, because it was reserved for the week-end, so we headed to Kings Hill National Forest Campground. Roger wasn't feeling a 100% so I drove through the mountain passes and valleys to get there -in the rain - did OK - good experience using the air brakes!
The campground is near Kings Hill Fire Lookout Tower (a little over 8,000 feet) so we drove up to see it. We thought it was abandoned but, there is a full time "Forest Engineer" on duty. She invited us "up" to see the view - awesome! It was a beautiful clear morning and we could see 13 different mountain ranges - one as far away as 100 miles. She explained how she calculates the location of fires and reports them to the firefighters on the ground. She lives in a 10 x 10 room with a small gas stove; a small refrig; a twin bed; a desk and her "fire finder." Notice I did not list a sink or a toilet! She has electricity and a phone but no internet or TV. She has one day off every 2 weeks and spends that getting groceries and water to take back for her next duty time. She has been doing it for several years and loves it - said she averages about 15 visitors a day! She stays until the first snow "that sticks" and then she works at the ski slopes during the winter.
On our way to Great Falls we stopped at a trailhead leading back to Memorial Falls. It felt so good to go hiking again! But the altitude does make a difference!
The drive to Great Falls followed a clear, bubbling stream that took us through a canyon with cliffs on both sides  and then eventually opened up to vast plains. As we got closer to Great Falls the plains became huge wheat fields. I don't know how to describe how big they were - miles and miles along the road and as far as the eye can see in all directions. They were like infinity pools - they just drop out of sight on the horizon! We saw one field where there were 4 huge combines, one after the other, harvesting the wheat. A long way from the small family farm!
The last picture is of our lunch picnic spot!
We are now at Dicks RV campground - our home until we get the levelers fixed. Great view of the railroad tracks - hope that isn't an idication of noises in the night!
PS - It is such a small world! We met a couple on the boat tour the other day whose daughter lives in Napoleon, Michigan - near where we grew up. And today we met some bikers, on their way to the Sturgis rally, one of them has a brother that lives in Bulverde, TX - near our house in Spring Branch!

Helena, MT

We are in Helena now - next stop is Great Falls where we have an appointment to get our levelers fixed. Poor Roger has been doing it the old fashioned way with wood blocks! But, hey, it works!

We are staying in another beautiful BLM park on the Missouri River called "Devils Elbow."

We took a boat tour up the river today through a canyon in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Lewis and Clark named this stretch of the river "Gates of the Mountains." Beautiful limestone cliffs hug the river. We saw eagle and osprey nests but no big horn sheep. There is a campground that is accessible only by boat but the picnic area was flooded by snow melt - the tables are now under 10 feet of gravel!

Some of the forest was destroyed by a huge fire in 2007 and many trees are being killed by a small beetle that gets under the bark. Sad to see the decimated forests.

We also went by "Mann Gulch" where 13 smoke jumpers were killed in 1949 by a fire that suddenly leaped from one side of the gulch to the other. Three firemen survived - 2 rookies who were physically fit enough to run up a 70 degree slope and find cover on the other side and the leader who started a backfire that cleared an area where he laid down and let the original fire pass over him! He could not convince the others not to try to outrun the fire. Scary stuff - couldn't pay me enough to do that job!!