ON TO YELLOWSTONE

Jim and Mary's RV Park

From Glacier NP, we headed south to Missoula where we stayed at Jim and Mary's RV Park.  This was not our first visit here and we can highly recommend this rv park for its beauty, cleanliness, and large rv spaces.  This was our time to get the laundry done using their laundry facilities so that we could do all of our blankets, sheets, etc as well as the little stuff that I usually do in our rv washer and dryer.  We also headed to Costco to stock up on meat and purchase more vitamin supplements to keep us going for a few more months.  And we had timed the visit so that we would be able to take advantage of their wonderful double farmers markets, one near the railway station and the other by the river, both on Saturday morning.  I was able to purchase a big bag of huckleberries along with all the other produce that I normally find.  So for the next few days I  made huckleberry pancakes with the whole grain hand milled flour that I had purchased in Columbia Falls.... and I also made huckleberry scones from scratch.  

Montana Valley Used Bookstore

While we were in Missoula, we made a concerted effort to find a used book store, but we were disappointed with the few we found, until a seasonal baker at the Le Petit Outre (a wonderful bakery we found, as if we needed more baked goods) told us about a used book store about 15 miles west of Missoula.   This was one very old and rickety book store with books piled up ceiling high and a basement with bookcases from one end to the other.  Allan found lots of personal memoir war books and I found a few books on books as wells as some books of essays.  

Allan, lower left corner, with Bud Light

From Missoula we headed east, stopping in Anaconda at the Fairmont Hot Springs RV Park.  After setting up, we drove 15 miles to Butte for lunch and found a great used book store run by the daughter of a man who traveled in Europe and send back books for the bookstore.  Again we both left the store with boxes of books.  That evening we went over to the resort and paid our $4.75 each to use the hot springs.  We purchased a Bud Light at the outdoor bar and settled in for a lovely soak.  They have two pools inside and two pools outside.  The water is clean, not sulfuric, and it is very relaxing.

Yellowstone NP Bison

The next morning we headed out early to the West Yellowstone gate where we stopped briefly for fuel and lunch and a huckleberry ice cream cone.  Then we proceeded on through into the park where I am always amazed how we can use our National Park senior pass for entry at no cost.  We drove on through to the Fishing Bridge RV Park at Yellowstone Lake.  This is actually a great location with most of the bison action just to the north of us and some of the hot springs and mud pots to the north as well.  

Old Faithful

We took a drive even further north the following day to see Mt Washburn which at 10,000 feet did not look all that imposing, but then we were already at 8,400 feet.  The altitude was a bit of a problem at first, as I got a very bad headache and didn't feel well for a couple of days, but then I got acclimated and all was well so we thought we would head over to Geyser Village to see Old Faithful.   You would think that if you saw one mud pot or hot springs, they would all be the same.  Here is a selection of just some of the volcanic features on view around the boardwalk.

All of these features have names but I did not write them down.  There are bison prints all around the pools and crusts of mud and algae.  They come here in the winter to eat the grass that stays under the shallow snow.  They use their big head to push the snow away and then feed on the grass.  

In spite of the many signs of danger, we saw many human footprints out on the crust near the pools and a ranger told us that occasionally a bison gets too near the edge and falls in.  They have had human incidents as well.  There are also warning signs everywhere about approaching the bison.  But there have been 5 people gored already this year and one hiker eaten by a grizzley this year.  For some reason, no one believes the signs.  

When we got back to our rv at fishing bridge after a very long day, we drove up to find water pouring out of the seams of our rig.  Allan shut off the water and we opened the door to find all of the kitchen/living area inches deep in water.  The poor dogs were up on the couch and were glad to see us.  Allan found the problem right away,  the water supply control valve to the water heater had broken and of course this had to happen on the one day we took to explore.  We had stayed home for the two days prior because of my headache, but no, it could not happen then, fate had to wait for us to leave before dealing us another blow.  
We soaked up as much as we could with towels and Allan went to the service station at fishing bridge to see if they could do anything.  Well they said to bring the rig right over and they would make a temporary fix for us.  They closed at 5 and it was already 3:30, so we literally crammed all the stuff sitting around on our bed, in the shower, and any other place we could put something without it being in the living room.... then we got the dogs into the truck and zoomed over to have the water leak fixed.  The following day we drove the 80 miles east to Cody where we purchased a shop vac and hair dryer at Walmart (along with needed food supplies), had a great breakfast at Our Place and returned home to begin the drying process in earnest.  I guess it takes a disaster to get us to do a really deep clean of the rig.  The rug is now dry and looks good.  Most everything is back in its rightful place and we are just kicking back a little, painting a little, and hoping to have an uneventful final week here at the Park.  

GOING TO THE SUN IN GLACIER NATIONAL PARK

Spruce Park RV Park along the Flathead River, Montana

The drive down hwy 93 from Canada to Kalispell, Montana was scenic and easy.  Almost all of the scenery was of farm fields with the mountains in the background.  When we got to the border we stopped at the duty free shop to divest ourselves of the remaining Loonies and Toonies (Canadian dollars).  We got some maple syrup for the exact amount we had left in our pockets.  This time coming through US Customs, we had to turn in our one lemon and all of our tomatoes before proceeding south.  We had an RV space reserved in the Spruce Park RV Park which had a fabulous location but was plagued with hornets and yellow jackets.  One of our neighbors went out and purchased a couple of traps and within a day or two had at least a thousand of the little nuisances dead in their trap.  

West Side of Logan Pass

We spent one of our days at the Whitefish Art Festival, which was a non starter...... mostly photographs and rustic wood carving.  And we spent a morning down in Bigfork, a charming little village on Flathead Lake.  But our real focus was on making the trip across the Going To The Sun road in Glacier National Park.  When we first arrived at Spruce Park, we were told that the road on the eastern side of Logan Pass was not open due to wildfires, but after a couple of days, the road did open for limited hours and we headed out early in the morning before they changed their minds.  We had some beautiful shadows on the mountains as we climbed the steep and windy pass.  

Allan, Elsie, and Murray at a pullout, still on the West Side of Logan Pass

On the western side of Logan Pass we were able to pull over at view points and take photos.  We had already been warned when we entered the national park that we would not be able to do that on the eastern side.

The Garden Wall, west of Logan Pass

We must have been in the right season for the spectacular views of flowers all along the way, especially on a cliff called the Garden Wall.

Western Side of Logan Pass

As the sun rose higher in the sky, we were treated to some emerald green shoulders of the mountains in the distance.  Closer to us were blue flowers lining the road.

On the top of Logan Pass near the Visitor Center

At the top of Logan Pass there was a visitor center with restrooms and trails heading off to some of the peaks.  We were not able to take any of the trails because the national parks do not allow dogs on the trails.  But we had a good break and ate our P & J sandwiches before heading down the eastern side of the mountain.

Ptarmigan in summer plumage (in winter they are white)

We were able to pull over at a viewpoint not far from the top of Logan Pass and ran into a bird usually seen in the arctic but because of the elevation of Logan Pass, they are frequently seen in this area.

Glacier National Park wildfire damage

It wasn't long before we started seeing evidence of the wildfires which have been out of control for weeks.  In some areas the smoke was still rising and just a few days later, the fire started up again and the roads were again closed.  We were lucky to have had this window of time after driving so far to see the park.   The best part of the park is near the summit, the remainder of the park is similar to any park with trees and creeks and lakes.  

Blackfeet Reservation, south of St Marys

Rather than retrace our steps back over the same road, we chose to travel around the southern perimeter of the park.  This is a beautiful area of prairie with wildflowers blooming everywhere.  We stopped in East Glacier for lunch and then continued around the bottom of the park and then turned north to get back to our rv in Kalispell.