Day 13 - (07/31) Glacier National Park ... Day 1

This is the busy season at the park. A park ranger suggested we start the Going-to-the-Sun Road trip early. We were up at 6:15am and entered the park at 7:00am. It was 50 degrees, the sun was bright and the views were glorious. Fortunately we travelled east to west.

These pictures were taken from the east entrance to Avalanche Creek and Trail of the Cedars. It started to rain at that point and the photo shoots ended.

St. Mary Lake as we entered the drive.

One of the few sections of straight road.

Two Dog Flats

Goose Island

Glacier covered peaks ahead.

Logan Pass hiking trail to Granite Park

Logan Pass overlooking glacier fields

Carol enjoys the warm sun

Continental Divide

Going-to-the-Sun Road going west

View of a hanging valley

Double click to learn about hanging valleys

There's no swimming in Avalanche Creek

We had a late breakfast at The West Glacier Restaurant. We both ordered hot cakes and a side without knowing the cakes were HUGE. Service was a bit slow, but the breakfast was outstanding. We later learned that a single cook (Linda) was preparing meals for a packed house. We suspect tent campers had come for a hot meal and a dry table.

We had a “skirmish” with a guard rail on US-2 between Marias Pass and East Glacier Park. The passenger side of the TrailBlazer got scraped from front to rear bumper. There was no mechanical damage and no one was hurt. Thankfully, we weren't towing the trailer.

We ended the day with catching up on laundry, blog updates ... and an exceptional meal at Johnson's of St. Mary Cafe. We ordered the day's special: barbeque chicken, salad, baked potato, vegetable beef barley soup and homemade bread served family style. The couple next to us ordered chocolate cake. It was 6" high and consisted of four layers of different kinds of chocolate cake, brownie and icing. A single piece could easily serve three people. We were smitten and ordered a piece too.

We move to the St. Mary Campground in the national park tomorrow. We have no services there. It's unlikely we can update the blog until we get to Calgary on Tuesday.

Oops!

Did you notice day 11 and day 12 are listed out of order? Be sure to read them in order by title description. Otherwise, some comments won't make sense. My mistake.

Map Tracks
Start: St. Mary, Montana
West on Going-to-the-Sun Road to West Glacier, Montana
East on US-2 to East Glacier Park, Montana
North on Montana 49 to US-89
North on US-89 to St. Mary, Montana
End: ??? miles @ St. Mary, Montana

Day 11 - (07/29) Great Falls, MT

This was another great day for driving. The morning was cool (68 degrees) and breezy. The temperature made it to 88 degrees by late afternoon.

We took the scenic route along US-89N to Great Falls. We crossed the Yellowstone River for the last time and travelled through beautiful open plains with mountains on both sides (Bridger Range to the west and Crazy Mountains to the east).

Crazy Mountains near Livingston

Bridger Range near Livingston

Some history from farther along on US-89

Big Belt Mountains

We stopped for lunch at Dori’s Cafe in White Sulphur Springs. The meal was OK. The displays of Coke memorabilia and stuffed animals on the walls were eye-catching. This is a sleepy western town and the café fit the image very nicely.

A bright spot in White Sulphur Springs

Dori's Cafe

Where's the moose?

These guys watched everything we ate.

A good wash job won't help this Airstream much

Kings Hill Pass provided the high point of the trip with an elevation of 7,393 ft.

Kings Hill Pass


The road then drifted down through the forest along Belt Creek.

Belt Creek

We passed Sluice Boxes State Park as we approached rolling prairie on the outskirts of Great Falls.

Sluice Boxes State Park

We arrived in Great Falls to the news that campgrounds were going to be full for the weekend due to the Montana State Fair. We found space for one night at Dick’s RV Park … yep, Dick’s. It’s OK, but nothing special.

The check engine light in the TrailBlazer came on when we arrived at the RV Park. We were able to find a very helpful mechanic who diagnosed an ignition switch problem. We’re having it replaced tomorrow morning. We’re grateful that the fix can be completed before we head into Canada.

We stopped by the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Interpretive Center on the way back to the campground. The National Park Service has created a wonderful site here. The staff, facilities and displays are as good as any we’ve seen. We could have stayed for days, but in just an hour we were able to grasp the significance of the Lewis and Clark expedition ... what a monumental undertaking!

Map Tracks
Start: Livingston, Montana
North on US-89 to Great Falls, Montana
End: 176 miles @ Great Falls, Montana

Day 12 - (07/30) St. Mary, MT

Dick made an early morning trip to High Tech Automotive for an ignition switch replacement. These folks were great. They did the repair immediately, finished quicker than expected and for 30% lower cost than they estimated.

We said goodbye to Dick’s RV Park at 10am.

We continued the National Geographic US 89 Scenic Drive across a corner of the Great Plains toward the Rocky Mountain Front.

Freezeout Lake is just north of Fairfield. It’s a major stopover for migrating waterfowl.

Freezeout Lake extends across the prairie.

The Log Cabin Café caught our attention as we entered the town of Choteau. Carol had the “mile high sandwich”, Dick had “fish and chips with chowder”, and we shared warm peach pie alamode. We were amazed that everything, we mean every single item served, was absolutely delicious.

A log cabin to remember.

The town of Choteau didn’t disappoint either. It was clean, lively and apparently more prosperous than most we’ve seen.

This feed company was directly across the road from the Log Cabin Café

Teton County Courthouse – Choteau

This drive has presented the Montana we had hoped to see. The rolling hills, grass prairies and fields seem to stretch forever. It’s just like the scenes in “The Horse Whisperer” starring Robert Redford. You see mountains, prairies, ranches, real cowboys, cattle herds, and large fields of wheat and hay. We hadn't expected to see casinos on most street corners or connected to gas stations, however.

It seems you can see forever out here.

Much of the drive was within the Blackfeet Reservation.

We climbed into the foothills after leaving Browning.

St. Mary is at the eastern entrance to Glacier National Park. We’ll spend four days here. The first two days will be at Johnson’s Campground of St. Mary (water & electric). The remaining days will be at the St. Mary Campground in the national park (no services).

Johnson camp site overlooks St. Mary Lake

St. Mary Lake

We plan to drive the Going-to-the-Sun Road tomorrow.

Did you know?

What's the difference between a mesa and a butte? Both have eroded sides and are flat on top. A mesa is wider than it is tall; a butte is taller than it is wide.

Map Tracks
Start: Great Falls, Montana
North on US-89 to St. Mary, Montana
End: 158 miles @ St. Mary, Montana

Day 10 - (07/28) Livingston, MT

The first thing we did on this tour and drive day is stop for breakfast. How do you like those priorities?

The twists and cinnamon rolls were fresh, warm and perfectly glazed at Sweeteats-N-More. The restaurant is tastefully furnished, kind of like an Amish dining room. The owner and staff were friendly and helpful. Stop at the corner of West Third St. and N. Central Ave. in Hardin if you’d like a real treat.

Our next stop was at the Little Big Horn National Battlefield. We enjoyed three excellent ranger talks. They presented a description of the battle, a battlefield tour and reflections by an Aricara (Native American) whose great-great grandfather was a scout for General Custer.

This is one of the battlefield views. A large Native American village was just beyond the cottonwood trees along the river in the distance.

The white headstones mark where US troops were found after the battle.

This is part of the new memorial to the Native Americans.

There's and ongoing effort to identify where the Native Americans fell during the battle and place markers there.

Cavalry horses were valued and valuable. They cost the US government $600 each. Many were killed by the soldiers and used as protective barriers toward the end of the battle.

From the base of the Memorial

The Memorial remembers all officers and soldiers by name

We passed through Crow Agency on the way to and from the battlefield. Crow Agency is the executive branch of the Apsaalooke Nation. It’s located in the Crow Indian Reservation in the heart of Crow Country.

We ended the day at Osen's RV Park & Campground. We're 55 miles north of the Gardiner entrance to Yellowstone National Park.

Map Tracks
Start: Hardin, Montana
South on Montana 47 to I-90
South on I-90E to Crow Agency, Montana
North from Crow Agency, Montana on I-90W to US-89
North on US-89 to Livingston, Montana
End: 204 miles @ Livingston, Montana

Day 9 - (07/27) Hardin, MT

Last night’s storm activity brought a 20 degree drop in temperature and an overcast morning sky. Carol woke early (or maybe she stayed awake all night watching the lightning). She wisely suggested we get on the road sooner than usual. A misting rain started just as we finished connecting the trailer.

Our last view of the Little Missouri Campground overlook.

We had breakfast at Elkhorn Cafe in Medora, SD and saw a restaurant that features steak deep-fried on a pitchfork. Sure hope they use new pitchforks.

The day cleared as we traveled 350 miles to Hardin, MT. The temperature hit the mid-80s by the time we setup at the Hardin KOA campground. The campground was nice but not fancy.

The Hardin KOA was surrounded by wheat fields.

Things of Note

• This was Dick's first visit to Big Sky Country.
• Unlike in ND, we didn't see oil wells or coal mines in MT.
• We now have wireless broadband access wherever Verizon has coverage.

Map Tracks

Start: 19 miles north of Killdeer, North Dakota

South on North Dakota 22 to North Dakota 200

West on North Dakota 200 to US-85

South on US-85 to I-94

West on I-94 to Montana 47.

South on Montana 47 to Hardin, Montana

Day 8 - (07/26) Killdeer, ND

Today was active and exciting. The day started as overcast, but cleared to a sunny, hot day. It reached 95 degrees in the late afternoon. Severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings were issued in the evening.

The 156 mile drive to Little Missouri State Park provided the first half of our touring. It consisted mostly of National Geographic’s Sakakawea Trail. We then parked the trailer and went to the Theodore Roosevelt National Park for more sightseeing.

Little Missouri State Park
This rustic campground is next to a riding stable and a deep canyon. We're camped about 20 yards from the canyon wall.










Sakakawea Trail
The trail follows ND route 200 from Washburn to Killdeer. Scenery and lifestyle changed significantly as we drove northwest from Bismarck. The landscape changed from prairies to low rolling hills to badlands. Windmills stretched along a low ridge for miles (but, not nearly as many as we saw in Texas). There were numerous lignight coal mines and there seemed to be oil wells all over the place.

Fort Clark Historic Site
Nothing remains of the fort on this deserted prairie. A fur-trading post operated on the site from 1831 to 1860. Passengers on one steamboat brought small pox and nearly wiped out the local Mandan Indians.

Knife River Indian Villages

This free interpretive center presents the life of the Hidatsa and Mandan villagers from the early 16th century to the late 19th century. It's located at Sakakawea's home.

Carol acts as real estate agent for an earth lodge

Earth lodge interior

Earth lodges housed 10 to 30 people

Theodore Roosevelt National Park
We took the 14 mile drive to Oxbow Overlook in the Northern Unit. The park tour actually covered a lot of road. We drove 153 miles to get there, take the scenic drive and return to our campsite.

These fellas are about to duke it out over a girl

This one lost and he's really mad about it

Little Missouri River flows through the park

We ended the park tour with a tense dinner at The Buckskin Bar & Grill in Killdeer. Weather announcements were forecasting severe thunderstorms in the area, we were 19 miles from the trailer and we had left windows open.

The evening ended well. There was no storm at the campground and we met some delightful folks from MA (Paul & Joyce Casavant).

Map Tracks (note: we’re adding this part to each day so our grandchildren can follow the trip)
Start: Killdeer, North Dakota
North on US- 83 to North Dakota 200
West on North Dakota 200 to North Dakota 22
North on North Dakota 22 to Little Missouri State Park
End: 19 miles north of Killdeer, North Dakota