Two Medicine Lake

Emboldened by the success of my trips to Logan Pass and the cliff-hugging trip to Red Rock Canyon in Waterton I decided to take Highway 49 to Essex today.  The route there was on the outside of the roadway.    Many areas had just been cleared of rockslides and the pavement was missing from sections of roads that had been washed away.  Some areas of road were sunken in and other's raised so that one had the effect of climbing up and down on a roller coaster. The views were incredible, when I dared to look!

At the end of 49 I turned toward the ranger station at Two Medicine. ( I love my "old people's pass".  It is so nice to hand over my Golden Age card to a ranger and enter parks free.  It has also provided half price camping at federal and state campgrounds across the U.S.)  Clark and I walked along Two Medicine Lake for a while, enjoying the scenery and warm breeze.

After Two Medicine we went to East Glacier to fill up with gas. Ponds along the way were filled with ducks, including many buffleheads, my favorite duck.  The signs for huckleberry shakes and huckleberry pie were tempting but we drove on.  I wanted to be sure to be back in time to do some laundry before the LSU baseball game so we turned back.   Sixty miles home on the boring route on Highways 2 and 89 through Browning or 43 very exciting miles back over Highway 49.   Hmmmm, which should I choose?

A Ride to Logan Pass

Clark does not think I should drive on steep mountain roads.  He grumbled the whole way up the Going to the Sun Road to Logan Pass.  Snowplows have been working each day to open the roads to that point.  The drive was beautiful but a bit frightening at times.  One section had been plowed only enough to let two very friendly small cars drive pass each other.  The snow on the sides was quite a bit higher than the car.

Park tour vehicles are a favorite of European visitors.

Stairway to ????

A fresh coating of snow on the mountains.

Freshly plowed

I indulged in a bit of grafitti today, but only because my wrongdoing would melt away soon in the bright sunshine.

Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta Canada

I have added quite a few photos today.  To see them all click on one to make it full size and then click on it again to scroll through all of the photos.

The weather was overcast here again this morning and I headed north to Canada to find some sun. I was a bit nervous about going through customs.  Passport and doggy papers were in order and I checked the car to make sure that I knew exactly what was in it but it is still a bit unnerving.  The Canadian border guard was so spiffy in his uniform and quite serious.  The questions were a bit strange but Clark and I were welcomed to Canada in less than a minute.  The person in front of me was pulled over.  Yikes.

Waterton was more beautiful than I remembered.  The last time Breland and I were here was in the fall of 2007 and it was very crowded then. Today there were few people.  A deer was at the entrance to the park, a grizzly on side of the road right after.  On the ride to Deer Creek I saw a total of six bears, a moose, and more deer.

One very large black bear sniffed the air as I sat in a pullover watching him.  He then ran down the mountain toward the road, sniffing as he came.  He climbed down the embankment and started toward the car but was  frightened by a car coming from the other direction and headed back up the mountain. I do think he may have been coming to visit Clark.  I, of course, had the doors securely locked and the windows up.

A cinnamon-colored black bear.

Checking out my car from high on the mountainside.

What big claws he had!

 The scenes along the way through Glacier and Waterton Parks were breathtaking.

Glaciers and Flowers

Years of traveling alone for work taught me that even the most wonderful new site is not as enjoyable if you don't have someone to share it with. That is true here in Glacier.

 It has been cool and rainy every since Breland left. I have traveled the park roads several times, enjoying the birds and flowers.   Did you know that in 1850 there were 150 glaciers here in this park?  And that there are only 25 left today and that by 2020 they all will be gone?

The lodge at Many Glacier will open soon and the employees are rushing around to get everything ready.  I counted over 100 flower planters being set up today.

 There are countless wildflowers throughout the park.  I will have to learn their names.

 It is especially beautiful in these mountains right after a rainstorm.

June 11, 2013

A few photos from Glacier Park over the last few days.

Goose Island

Many Glacier Lodge

The Only Sun Today

Ground Squirrel

First Day in Glacier

June 8

I wanted to get out at first light today but Breland needed to sleep in a bit after yesterday.  We drove into the park around 9:30 and stopped at every pullover.  It must have been the wrong time for wildlife because all we saw were prairie dogs and one scraggly coyote.  The mountains were beautiful and the  weather was sunny and in the 70's.   

A Tiring Day

June 7

With campground reservations at Glacier we pulled out of Jamestown early.  I would have loved to photograph the birds but they weren't active that early.  We hoped for as smooth a drive as the day before.

There was road work on highway 2 with stretches of wet tar and loose gravel.  We had to wait at several spots for a pilot car to guide us through the work.  As soon as we got beyond one pilot car a driver got impatient and flew past us, spraying gravel as he went.  Of course one rock hit the windshield.  We will have to see if we can find a Safelite station before the chip becomes a crack. 

We passed through many small towns, each with speed limits of 25mph.  It was going to take a long time to make the 340 miles we planned for that day. 

We pulled over at a historical marker to give Clark a walk.  Two young native women were there and they looked uncomfortable to see us.  When they thought we weren't looking they went over to the rock there and left an object.  After they were gone I read the sign.  The large rock was called the Sleeping Buffalo and was a very important object to the local tribes.  When the road was going through the rock was moved into the town.  The natives said that the rock was unhappy and they could hear it tossing and turning at night.  It was moved to a spot along the roadway and a shelter built over it.  Locals bring it gifts and ask for favors.  There were quite a few cigarettes on the rock, broken but unsmoked.  A tobacco offering or a prayer to stop smoking?  There was also an apple and a large teddy bear and other items I couldn't see.

As we approached Cut Bank the Check Engine light came on.  We had visions of breaking down on that lonely road, having to be towed to Great Falls, me having to spend the 10 days Breland would be gone living in a repair shop's parking lot, losing our reservations.....   Breland called Freightliner and they walked him through the diagnostic computer on the dash.  The code was an SCR catalyst efficiency fault.  In other words the DEF sensor was indicating a problem.  The recommendation was to try to drive to Great Falls and hope we didn't de-rate on the way or to add DEF and see what happened or both.  We were down to a quarter of a tank of DEF so Breland added 5 gallons more and we decided to keep driving towards Glacier.  My reasoning was that being towed heading away from Great Falls would cost no more than being towed heading toward it and just maybe adding DEF would solve the issue.  After about 10 miles the Check Engine light went out and we relaxed a bit.  Bre had decided not to let the DEF go below a half a tank any longer. 

The wind rocked the motorhome and rainstorms appeared as we started to climb the mountains.  The campground warned us about the 6% grade when we called.  We have taken much steeper grades in even worse weather so I felt safe.   We made it with ease. 

A beautiful rainbow arched across our camping site.  A great ending to a long day.  

A Change of Plans

June 6

Theresa called about the mail last night.  She opened all of the envelopes with Breland's doctors' appointments and found one appointment for June 17, three day after his scheduled plane trip back to Montana.  We talked about what would be best and decided to reschedule his flights so that he would leave from and return to Great Falls.  This would have us lined up to cross the Canadian border at Waterton as soon as he returned and I would stay near Glacier for that time.   It will cost an additional $200 to reschedule and he will be away even longer but it is important that all of those appointments are completed.

That settled and both of us feeling ready for travel we continued across North Dakota and into Montana, traveling all of the way to the Fort Peck dam.  430 miles is a lot longer then we normally travel in a day but the combination of uncrowded interstate and nearly empty two lane highway made for an enjoyable trip.  We stopped at the Theodore Roosevelt State Park overlook on I-94 and enjoyed the view while we ate lunch. Much of our ride took us through the Badlands of North Dakota and Montana.  Breland said that he kept expecting to see cowboys and Indians riding toward us.

Buffalo, antelope and deer are mingled with the cattle along our route.  I even saw a badger!  If only Bre would slow down long enough for me to photograph them!

Our stop for the night was at the Corp of Engineers park at the Fort Peck dam.   This is a great RV campground and one day we will return.  The concrete pads are over 70 feet long and there is 50 amp electricity at each site. It was clean and quiet with large treed areas between sites and it was only $9.00 for the night.   Breland grilled steaks and I sautéed baby portabella mushrooms and made a salad.  We ate outside under the cottonwood trees, listening to the birds and enjoying the warm breezes off the lake.  Tomorrow we head to Glacier!

Lilac Border

Highway Sculpture

Thedore Roosevelt State Park

Badlands Overlook

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Bre driving in the Badlands