Day Eight
Sunrise this time of year comes very early and I was awakened by the sun streaming in through my eastern facing windows. Old Joe Pease, the owner of the Northern Motel and mini RV park, was already up and setting up his lawn sprinklers for another scorching day.
Up until now, I had never used my onboard shower because the previous campsites always had shower facilities. There was no point in waiting any longer so I took the plunge and had a great shower. The water pressure was excellent and there was plenty of hot water too. I wanted to reach the east gate of the Glacier National Park by dinner time so I rustled up some breakfast, buttoned up the RV and was back on the road by 9:30.
The landscape was slowly changing as I headed west. More hills, some distant mountains but now the smoke from the fires in California was starting to obscure the view.
When I reached Great Falls, Montana I had a choice of routes; Hwy. 15 which was highspeed freeway driving or Hwy 89 which was more scenic, a bit slower pace but shorter distance. Scenery is my thing so I gassed up and headed north on 89. I was making good time by the time I reached Browning where the highway turned west and I started climbing up into the foothills. I ran into some major road construction which had me in a long line of cars for about twenty minutes waiting for the pilot car to lead us through the extremely rough construction area. Once I was back on some decent asphalt the going was still pretty slow because it was so incredibly windy. Once I reached the summit and started down again my brakes got a real workout as I descended into Saint Mary. Earlier that afternoon I'd run into a fellow traveller that told me that most of the campgrounds were full but he'd found a little place not too far from the KOA. The KOA was full and their rates were $80 plus which I still think is highway robbery. I wasted more time trying to find a nearby independent and came upon the Red Eagle Motel and campground which had a few spots left with full hookups for only $40 a night.
Needless to say, I was pretty pleased with myself and picked out my site and began the setup process. This involves hooking up the electrical cord, water line and sewer hose as well as dropping down the four stabilizer legs. When I opened the electrical box I discovered that it was a 50 amp. power supply and my cord on the RV only had a 30 amp. plug. Not having run across this before I did not have the necessary adapter pigtail and had no way of hooking up my electricity. I packed up and drove back into town figuring there must be a store that sells RV supplies. I was wrong. Here I was in one of the most popular camping destinations in the country and there wasn't one shop in town that sold camping supplies. Next, I decided to go back to the Red Eagle office and see if they might have one I could borrow. I was in luck. Problem solved.
So now I'm back at the campsite and have everything hooked up. I opened the door and inside I found dishes all over the floor (fortunately none were broken) which must have been the result of the very rough roads I had crossed earlier. I got everything put away and opened the door of the frig to get some limes and tonic and a full pint of fresh blueberries fell out and exploded on the floor. I guess I'm learning lessons every day on RV life. Tomorrow I will pick up a 50 amp. adapter in Kalispell and next time I'll open the frig door slowly after a bumpy ride.
Tomorrow I will enter the park and feast on all its natural beauty.
Up until now, I had never used my onboard shower because the previous campsites always had shower facilities. There was no point in waiting any longer so I took the plunge and had a great shower. The water pressure was excellent and there was plenty of hot water too. I wanted to reach the east gate of the Glacier National Park by dinner time so I rustled up some breakfast, buttoned up the RV and was back on the road by 9:30.
The landscape was slowly changing as I headed west. More hills, some distant mountains but now the smoke from the fires in California was starting to obscure the view.
When I reached Great Falls, Montana I had a choice of routes; Hwy. 15 which was highspeed freeway driving or Hwy 89 which was more scenic, a bit slower pace but shorter distance. Scenery is my thing so I gassed up and headed north on 89. I was making good time by the time I reached Browning where the highway turned west and I started climbing up into the foothills. I ran into some major road construction which had me in a long line of cars for about twenty minutes waiting for the pilot car to lead us through the extremely rough construction area. Once I was back on some decent asphalt the going was still pretty slow because it was so incredibly windy. Once I reached the summit and started down again my brakes got a real workout as I descended into Saint Mary. Earlier that afternoon I'd run into a fellow traveller that told me that most of the campgrounds were full but he'd found a little place not too far from the KOA. The KOA was full and their rates were $80 plus which I still think is highway robbery. I wasted more time trying to find a nearby independent and came upon the Red Eagle Motel and campground which had a few spots left with full hookups for only $40 a night.
Needless to say, I was pretty pleased with myself and picked out my site and began the setup process. This involves hooking up the electrical cord, water line and sewer hose as well as dropping down the four stabilizer legs. When I opened the electrical box I discovered that it was a 50 amp. power supply and my cord on the RV only had a 30 amp. plug. Not having run across this before I did not have the necessary adapter pigtail and had no way of hooking up my electricity. I packed up and drove back into town figuring there must be a store that sells RV supplies. I was wrong. Here I was in one of the most popular camping destinations in the country and there wasn't one shop in town that sold camping supplies. Next, I decided to go back to the Red Eagle office and see if they might have one I could borrow. I was in luck. Problem solved.
So now I'm back at the campsite and have everything hooked up. I opened the door and inside I found dishes all over the floor (fortunately none were broken) which must have been the result of the very rough roads I had crossed earlier. I got everything put away and opened the door of the frig to get some limes and tonic and a full pint of fresh blueberries fell out and exploded on the floor. I guess I'm learning lessons every day on RV life. Tomorrow I will pick up a 50 amp. adapter in Kalispell and next time I'll open the frig door slowly after a bumpy ride.
Tomorrow I will enter the park and feast on all its natural beauty.
Looks beautiful! You're getting closer. Looking forward to seeing you soon.
ReplyDelete