After racing, we drove as far as Butte, Montana to sleep at a Wal-Mart. The next morning which was Monday June 17th, we stopped in Great Falls to eat breakfast at McD's, work on business stuff (yea Wi-Fi) and UPS paychecks back home. The rest of the way up to the East Glacier entrance was Blackfoot territory and it was very depressing to see how impoverished the towns were. Small casinos lined the area and wild-looking dogs ran around the streets.
Finally, we approached St. Mary's Campground on the Mideastern side of Glacier National Park around 3 pm. It was a primitive camp with no hook-ups and very limited generator hours. We were so glad to be out of the driver's seat with two feet on the ground. Eager to start exploring, we rode our bikes to the visitor center to get information on hiking, etc. The rangers informed us that the shuttles were not running yet and most of the park wouldn't be accessible until July due to snow. Our RV was too long to drive the main road into the park so we would need to rent a car back in town in order to drive further into the park.
There was a river nearby the camping loop so we walked over to check it out. The boys collected rocks and I found some driftwood to take home. It was very beautiful there.
Here is a pic of our campsite with a view of the mountains.
On Tuesday morning, it was around 60 degrees in the camper when we woke. We drove up to Many Glacier Lodge and hiked around Swiftcurrent Lake which was 2.6 miles around. Then we took a boat tour across and hiked another 1/4 mile to Lake Josephine for another boat ride. Our hike was with a large group of people and we met lots of nice families from Iowa (The Bodes), Ohio (The Naess) and even Tampa(Steinfelds). Yes, one of the families played for Citrus Park Bills last season with us! Their son played on varsity football and their daughter did cheer for the super-midgets.
How crazy is that?!
On the hike, we crossed suspension bridges, small creeks, played in the snow and saw lots of beautiful scenery. That hike was another 2.8 miles. The boat was full and couldn't hold all of the people going back at 5:15 so a few of us stayed behind at Lake Josephine with a guide. The temperature was dropping and mom was the only one with a jacket. We chatted with a family who was just back from a missions trip nearby. As we discussed our dilemma with the road restrictions and our RV, they offered us their SUV for use the next day. I don't know too many families that would offer a stranger their vehicle. After our boat finally arrived and the tour was complete, we headed to the RV for our ride back to St. Mary Campground. In the parking lot, we saw some bighorn sheep looking for some handouts.
There were too many photos taken to show them all so here are few of my favorites from the day...
Here is a pic of our campsite with a view of the mountains.
Sounds like a very adventurous day. You take some beautiful pictures : )
ReplyDelete