MONTANA SOUTHBOUND August 4-11, 2017

After leaving Glacier National Park we drove only an hour south for an overnight in Kalispell at the Elks Lodge south of the city. Once we checked in and got everything set up I relaxed with Foster while Paul had the tires looked at on the RV.

Just 15 miles north of Kalispell is Whitefish, MT and we planned an evening of fun at the Whitefish Community Theater for the wonderful production of "Always Patsy", a tribute and musical based on a true story of Patsy Cline. It was fantastic! A two hour show of wonderful Patsy Cline hits and the story of the often humorous and unique friendship of Patsy and her fan, Louise. 

I was so taken by the little town of Whitefish that I drove back the next morning to walk and enjoy the sweet little town. About the only thing I brought home was the photo of this saying, a small planter for the RV and a beautiful ceramic coffee mug. Just fun to poke around some of the darling small shops.

On the road again the next morning we drove the west side of the beautiful Flathead Lake and on down south for a 4 night stay at Diamond S RV Park north of Ronan, MT. Sadly fires were burning not far from us, near Seeley Lake where we had originally planned to visit. Plus, with the really hot days, we had to be sure we had electric hookups to keep the air conditioner on for Foster; so many of the beautiful Forest campsites didn't work for us. We biked one morning along the back roads to a nearby town and loved seeing this truck coming towards us with enormous rolled bales of hay. I'll never know how they keep them all on that truck bed.

A "not to miss" sight about an hour from Ronan is the National Bison Range where Bison have been protected and have successfully recovered from their almost certain extinction in the late 1800's.

The National Bison Range is mostly grassland, Douglas fir and ponderosa pine forests.  In addition to the bison we also saw pronghorn deer, coyotes and white tailed deer. Today there are 300-400 bison roaming the range.

As we travel and camp, we meet some of the friendliest fellow campers, especially those who love to share their favorite local sights in their state. And when we first arrived in Montana we spent an evening with a couple, formerly from California but now residents of Montana for over 12 years. They were so eager to tell us some of their favorite paces, so we marked the map and planned to see as many of their favorites as we could.

One we're so happy we checked out was Quinn's Hot Springs  near Paradise, MT. We drove an hour east on Sunday and had a fantastic afternoon in the natural pools, moving from low to higher temps before coming to the cold pool to chill out. A wonderfully relaxing afternoon with views of the mountains followed by dinner in their restaurant.


Following the Clark Fork River west along Montana Highway 200 we had wonderful views and hardly anyone on the highway. With the long days it was daylight till almost 10pm.

The smoke from fires all around us just kept getting thicker by the day. We tried going north thinking it might be better, but that didn't happen. Still hot and smokey the afternoon we visited the darling town of Bigfork along the eastern side of Flathead Lake. Nice afternoon and on a Monday everything was Q U I E T.

The following morning it was time to move once again a little closer to Missoula this time.  Along the way we stopped at the tiny town of St. Ignatius, population 842, to visit the St Ignatius Mission Cathedral. The Jesuit mission was founded in 1854 by Father Pierre-Jean De Smet and the mission church built in 1893.  The most exceptional feature is the interior ceiling and walls with 58 murals painted by Brother Joseph Carignano, an untrained artist who worked as a cook in the mission.  It is still a beautiful solid brick structure and may be Montana's oldest building. In the background of the little town are the Mission Mountain Range, most of which we were unable to see due to the thick smoke. This is a National Historic Site and so worth the visit. The grounds also hold two other original mission compound buildings

 This is the first home of the Providence Sisters built in 1864. The cabin that they were to live in was fourteen feet square and it was used also as the school for two years or until the convent was finished. The Sisters of Charity's Holy Family School would eventually teach girls from 17 different tribes.  The school lasted from 1864-1919 when it burned down.  

Still with a few miles to go we arrived at Jim and Mary's RV Park about 2 pm; a beautiful, flower-filled park just north a few miles from Missoula. We would definitely stay here again, large grassy sites, peaceful and so well gardened. 

 We could only get a one night stay at Jim and Mary's so we moved on down the road to Beavertail Hill State Park Campground, about 30 miles south of Missoula. And, great fun to have Marti and Fred Kessler stop by for a wonderful visit Thursday morning! Marti and I taught together at Los Ranchos many years ago and Fred is a former long time Montana resident. We LOVED their time with us before heading on their way to Oregon and the Total Eclipse.

Before leaving Missoula we spent the afternoon at the Missoula Art Musuem housed in beautiful, modern museum. There were several excellent exhibits but the one that touched me the most was the textile work of Maggy Rozycki Hiltner: What Lies Beneath.

She searches antique and thrift stores looking for hand-stitched linens and quilts to use in creating amazing art pieces.  This piece, Requiem, uses a found quilt with the centuries-old pattern of the Whirling Logs design.This pattern was once given in friendship or as a wedding gift, but when the swasticka was appropriated by the National Socialists German Workers Party in 1920, the pattern was forever tainted by the Nazi association. The quilt is transformed into a new beauty by her hand stitching. Incredible!

 As we were leaving the museum we stopped to ask two locals if there was anything going on in town that night and so happy we did! Thursday night in the summer months, Missoula hosts Downtown ToNight in Caras Park. It was only a few blocks away so we walked on down to check it out...food trucks, and some great country music made for a fun couple of hours. Music performed by Ryan Chris and the Rough Cuts.

 Walking back to the car I had to take this photo of the local Elks Lodge! Quite the building.

 Back at the campground I caught this photo of the firefighters camp right alongside our park.  Looked like several hundred hardworking firemen from all over camping in an open field and trying to end some of the raging fires around us.

 Sunset that evening was a reddish glow in the midst of smokey skies.

Before checking out of our campsite at one o'clock the next afternoon, we packed up our bikes and returned to Missoula to ride a local rails to trails route. Smokey, yes, but we figured early morning was the best time to ride, so we were up and in town before 8. And that's early for me!

 The sky didn't look much different from the evening before.

 We also rode around the University of Montana campus, lots of beautiful buildings and sculptures.

This photo shows how bright blue the skies can be in Missoula, definitely not my photo from that day. 

 As we got back to the car there was a local TV news team just getting set up. They asked if I'd tell them how the smokey skies were affecting our experiences with being outdoors that morning. So, I did. We tried later that evening to find the news on TV but never did get the TV hooked up; probably just as well. Just never know what a day has to hold!!!

Getting back to Beavertail Hill State Park, PK put the bikes on the rear of the RV, we walked Foster and then back on I-90 for an hour drive to Garrison, MT and our stay at Bernie and Sharon's Riverfront RV Park.

INTO MONTANA & GLACIER NATIONAL PARK July 30 - August 4, 2017

Leaving Washington state, we drove north through Idaho and then east to Montana with plans to spend the month of August seeing this beautiful state. Our first introduction to the beauty of Montana was our stop at Kootanai Falls. It's not easy to find space for the RV and car when we want to make an unexpected stop, but Paul did a super job getting both into and out of the parking lot giving us an hour to hike to this beautiful river and falls area. 

Our campground for the next five nights was at Logan State Park, a small, charming park. Our first site had a great view of the lake but was also set in the full sun, even the awning couldn't give us respite from the heat. So, we walked early morning and late afternoon, seeking shade the middle of the day elsewhere in the park.

As we walked around that first afternoon we noticed that so many of the vehicles camped there all had their hoods propped up, strange, just didn't seem like all these trucks would be having engine troubles...and of course they weren't. Evidently in this area it is a way of keeping pack rats out of the engine of the car. We did see the evidence of damage they can do on a neighbor's truck. so, like a good neighbor, we opened both the car and the RV hood each day we were there. Too funny, but not worth the risk of chewed wires.

Sunsets were so beautiful, and didn't happen until close to 10PM!

 We were able to get an additional couple of nights at the park and a shaded site when someone cancelled a reservation. Sooooooo much nicer to have the shade of the trees to keep us cool.

 We were up early Sunday morning, July 30, to drive on over to Glacier National Park and our stay at San Suz Ed RV Park. The park was wooded with good space between sites, but still not the same as staying in Glacier Park itself. But, when we learned that campers were in line by 5:30 each morning trying to get an empty campsite, we knew that wasn't going to work for us. So, we enjoyed our stay just 2 miles away from the gate to the park, a great location.

As I write the memories of those days in the park, I'm saddened knowing that forest fires have now consumed much of the park near this gorgeous Lake McDonald area. How lucky we were to be there to experience it, without the smokey skies that must be there now.

That first afternoon we drove into the park to see the lake, have a beer and ended up taking an evening boat tour of the lake. The wooden boats are original to the lake and the park, a fun way of beginning our visit to the park.

Leaving the campground by 7:30 the next morning we drove the beautiful Going-to-the-Sun Road with hopes of hiking at Logan Pass. But, this park was in high season and even with an early morning drive the parking lot at Logan Pass was full, cars just circling and circling to get a space. So instead, we stopped at almost every pull out along the route for beautiful views of the surrounding mountains, smoke was just beginning to filter into the valleys but thankfully the sky was still a brilliant blue.

Beautiful wildflowers in August!

Small snow pack along the road.

These classic Glacier tour buses were traveling the opposite direction, loved seeing them all along the road.

As we drove east across the pass we found parking at St. Mary Lake for a couple hour hike to the falls. The bear warning signs always make us think twice about the trails, but with lots of hikers we figured we'd be ok. A ranger was waiting at the trail head and as it turned out, she had discovered we'd left our keys in the trunk of our car. What luck for us! Joining her on the hike really added a much more in depth understanding of the history of this part of the park, where there once were beautiful wooded chalets for lodging and food at the turn of the century, now gone.

Such amazing color in the lake!

Stopping for a picnic as we returned, the day was slipping by and it was time to head back to the RV and Foster.  The heat of the afternoon cooled off that evening so we just hung out at the campsite.

We decided to try a different way of getting up to Logan Pass the next morning...take the shuttle bus up, leaving the car in the parking lot. It all sounded good, but with the huge number of visitors and the limited capacity of the tour buses, it wasn't to be.  We waited for one and a half hours, watched 3 buses fill their 20 seats, and though we were to be the first on the next shuttle it seemed like too much of our day had disappeared. Plus, we wondered what would be the chances of getting on a returning shuttle in time to be back for Foster mid afternoon; we'd made an appointment to see a vet in Columbia Falls.

So, back to the car and on up the road, this time all the way across the pass and to the eastern side of the park at Many Glacier. Oh, what a ride...the biggest potholes I think we've ever seen to drive the 10 miles into the park.  We picnicked overlooking Swiftcurrent Lake and then hiked to Lake Josephine. Everything was so beautiful, even the lodge had flowers flowing from their baskets.

The view back towards the Lodge and a lovely afternoon hike.

Returning back across the Going-to-the-Sun Road the afternoon was beginning to cool off and fewer cars along the roads.

We loved this photo...National Park Ranger and the iconic Red Bus on our hike to McDonald Falls Wednesday afternoon. Many of these buses have been in service since the mid-1930s. The drivers are called "Jammers" because the could be heard "Jamming" the gears of the red buses climbing the Going-to-the-Sun Road when the buses had standard transmissions lasting until new automatic transmissions were installed in 1989.

Photo time in front of McDonald Falls.

We packed up early Thursday morning and took time to walk to Lake Five behind our campground before heading south to Kalispell for 2 nights.