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On my recent 11,560-mile loop around the U.S.A., my daughter Janet and her husband, Bill, joined me for camping in Montana’s exquisite Glacier National Park, a place I have enjoyed during many trips. My Golden Age Pass allowed me to bypass the $25 entrance fee and took our campground fee from $20 to $10 a night.
 On my recent 11,560-mile loop around the U.S.A., my daughter Janet and her husband, Bill, joined me for camping in Montana’s exquisite Glacier National Park, a place I have enjoyed during many trips. My Golden Age Pass allowed me to bypass the $25 entrance fee and took our campground fee from $20 to $10 a night.
We headed east along Going-to-the-Sun Road. Alas, at Avalanche Creek we were turned back. Winter snows still clogged the highway along with construction that may be continuing for another 8-10 years. Given that this amazing 50-mile road is 75 years old, it isn’t any wonder it needs major renovation.
On our way back to Apgar Campground, we paralleled the southern shore of Lake McDonald, the park’s largest lake at ten miles long and over a mile wide. McDonald Creek roared toward McDonald Lake in a typical springtime rage. Lake McDonald Lodge is one of many Swiss style chalets built by the Great Northern Railroad in endeavoring to create “America’s Switzerland.” Only five still exist and they are on the National Register of Historic Places. This is one of many places where you can find boat tours, horseback rides and the free shuttle.
 Yes, I said “free.” Environmentally conscienscous Glacier has a new shuttle system on Going-to-the Sun Road. You don’t need a ticket and you can get on and off at any shuttle stop as often as you like. They will also take you to fee-based shuttle transfer points to go to East Glacier or West Glacier or even into Canada. I remember thinking at Grand Canyon that I didn’t want the regimentation of a shuttle, then discovered it is the greatest convenience since indoor plumbing. Shuttles run every 15 minutes to a half hour and relieve the stress of finding a parking place. Another way to get around is in the 1930s historic red touring buses with roll-back canvas tops that allow for spectacular views.
Wilderness Outposts
One of our forays from Apgar Campground took us up Outside North Fork Road following the Flathead River, where we found the Bottoms Tavern and Home Ranch Store. They had the only hot showers within 30 miles ($7). The owner, Dan, is retired and “independently wealthy, well, anyway independent,” and likes his “oasis in the wilderness.” He offers campsites at $35 a night with electric and that isn’t bad when you consider there is no electricity wandering in along the road. Generators keep everything running.
Along with supplies, provisions and souvenirs, a custom-built log bar in the rustic tavern promises the friendliest service, “the coldest beer in the North Fork,” and an assortment of food (including pizza) that can be consumed on the outdoor deck.
 We continued north to Polebridge Mercantile, which provided baked goodies with fresh coffee that we couldn’t resist. It is an old-fashioned store with most of the “necessities” you might need if you continue north to remote Kintla and Bowman lakes.
We passed through regrowth lodgepole and ponderosa pine forests recovering from major fires. The Inside North Fork Road and the roads leading to the two lakes are the only lawful areas to gather campfire wood. Peaceful Bowman Lake has a campground right on the shore, and you couldn’t find a more serene spot for canoeing, kayaking or fishing. While there were a few RVs, I wouldn’t recommend anything larger than a truck camper.
Locked Out
That evening I drove down to the Apgar shops to make a phone call and locked myself out of the car. Three young guys pulled in beside me. I asked, “Could any of you break into my car? I just locked the keys in it.” Interesting reply: “We should be able to; we’re from Philly.” Well, they decided they couldn’t do that, but one of them drove me back to the campground. I went with Janet to find Ranger Brad.
I was feeling really stupid but he was gracious, saying, “This happens all the time.” Brad had the door open in short order. “How much do I owe you?” I asked.
“Do you pay your taxes?”
“Yes.”
“Then we’re all right.” And with all our newly gathered wood, we had a marvelous fire that night.
Size restrictions are in force for through-traffic on the Sun Road. Vehicles no longer than 21 feet and no wider than eight feet are allowed between Avalanche Campground and Sun Point parking. Campgrounds that the Civilian Conservation Corps helped develop in the 1930s (along with park trails) also have size limits and a limited number of large sites. The best preparation is to visit the Internet and download the “Waterton Glacier Guide.” This is available as you enter the park, but it is extremely handy to have the information before you arrive. It gives an overview of places to visit, the 730 miles of hiking trails, scenic drives, boat tours, shuttle stations, restaurants and cafes. It also has advice on handling bear encounter and the rules for crossing the border into Canada’s Waterton Lakes National Park.
Scenic Spots
 The next morning we drove the southern border of the park to East Glacier along Highway 2, following the Great Northern Railway through Marias Pass. Across from St. Mary Lake, we set up camp at Rising Sun where we could buy showers in the camp store. Janet and Bill were thrilled that one of the nearby cabins was where they spent their honeymoon 30 years previously, almost to the day.
Our exploring took us to a view of Wild Goose Island, a tiny spot in the middle of St. Mary Lake, one of the four largest lakes, with a breathtaking backdrop of mountains. We stopped at each pullout. It’s dangerous not to because you’ll be craning your neck to see scenery rather than watching the road. A locked gate greeted us just east of Logan Pass.
We couldn’t drive the scenic middle section of Going-to-the-Sun Road, but if you go in June, you will find that the alpine meadows of 6,646-foot Logan Pass are decorated with wildflowers—butter and eggs, bear grass, Glacier lilies and columbine. You’ll see the Oberlin Bend and stop at Big Bend for views of Heavens Peak and the 100-foot Weeping Wall that is most spectacular when melting winter snows send water cascading over the edge. You’ll be awed by the East and West tunnels and their construction stories and marvel at the Triple Arches, realizing why this road has been named a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark…and why it took 11 years to build it.
You can experience some of the 200 waterfalls. Some are close to the road while others are within a reasonable hiking distance. Still others cascade endlessly down distant mountains.
Visiting Bear
After another great campfire and peaceful evening, we heard from a neighbor that a bear had wandered through the campground during the night. This was another reason to keep all food and anything “fragrant” in the car or in one of the provided food lockers. Not only is it a matter of personal safety, it is the law.
We headed out of the park, north along U.S. Highway 89, and then back into the park at Many Glacier. Many years ago with two munchkins in tow, we hiked the 4.5-mile guided trip to Iceberg Lake. Mountain goats frolicked in the cliffs and at that time, we thought nothing of drinking from the streams to quench our thirst. That was before we knew about giardia lamblia.
 Janet has always been good at detecting animals and true to form, she saw several grizzlies in the meadows along Sherburne Lake, and far below us a mother moose led her calf along a trail. Mountain sheep wandered around the hotel. The park is also home to black bears, lynx, wolves, elk and mountain lions.
The largest lodge, Many Glacier, sits on the eastern shore of Swiftcurrent Lake overlooking magnificent Mt. Wilbur. It was one of those places where you couldn’t put the camera down. Inside, a fireplace that reached several stories to the ceiling, invited us to sit and just be.
Nearing a Century
We tore ourselves away and returned to Highway 89. Turning left would have taken us north to Canada’s Waterton Lakes National Park with whom we share the border. The two parks are known as the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, and both are designated as World Heritage Sites and Biosphere Reserves.
Ten thousand years ago, well before President William Howard Taft made this the 10th national park on May 11, 1910, Native Americans trod this land. The Blackfeet and Flathead Indian reservations border the park to the east, west and south. The park encompasses over 1 million acres, and has been referred to as the “Crown of the Continent Ecosystem.”
Celebrate Glacier National Park’s 100-year anniversary in 2010. With the recent improvements to the visitor centers, historic hotels, campgrounds, trails and Going-to-the-Sun reconstruction, this is a perfect time to visit. By the way, the glacier that formed turquoise-colored Iceberg Lake is long gone, as are all the glaciers in Canada’s Waterton. In 2005, only 27 glaciers remained of the 50 glaciers for which our park is named. Scientists believe that with the current global warming trend, all the glaciers may be gone by 2020. Go!
God Bless.
Columnist Sharlene Minshall traveled across the country this summer. You can read about her trip online at www.rvlife.com by clicking on blogs and then on “Silver Gypsy.”
Autographed copies of RVing Alaska and Canada ($19.95 for the revised 2009 edition, $16.95 for the revised 2001 edition); Adventures with the Silver Gypsy (14.95); Full-Time RVing: How to Make It Happen ($14.95); In Pursuit of a Dream ($8) and Freedom Unlimited, the Fun and Facts of Full-timing ($9) are available through author Sharlene Minshall, Box 1040, Congress, AZ 85332-1040,www.full-time-rver.com or Amazon.com. |
