Day Nine
Today was the big day. I had been driving for over 4000 miles and the one thing I wanted to do on my way out to Oregon was to tour Glacier National Park.
Because my campsite was very close to the park entrance I was there bright and early. My plan was to enter from the east entrance at Saint Mary, tour the park and exit from the Western Glacier.
I was in for a big disappointment. The backup to get into the park was very brief and I was excited to check out this famous park which I had never visited before.
I could tell from the ranger's facial expression that something was wrong as I pulled up to the window. He explained to me that vehicles in excess of 21 feet long could only drive six miles into the park due to tight corners and traffic congestion. I was devastated. He told me that I could go the six miles and leave the trailer in the "long vehicle parking lot" but either way I was going to have to return to Saint Mary and take a long route around the entire park to the south. Having driven all this way I wasn't going to just turn around and leave so I paid my $35 and drove the six miles, disconnected the trailer and explored the park.
The scenery was just amazing and well worth all the troubles or inconvenience. It was a gorgeous day but the smoke from the fires did obscure some of the beauty. Oddly enough the smoke actually seemed to enhance some of my photos.
As I climbed the winding road to the summit and the Logan Pass Visitor Center I was glad that I had gotten an early start because all the little pull-offs were filling up with eager tourists armed with their cell phone cameras. This is one of those places where one finds oneself surrounded by one spectacular scene after another and it's difficult to stop taking photos.
The park was established in 1910 and actually spans the international border into Southern British Columbia, Canada.
The Logan Pass Visitor Center sits right on the Continental Divide at an elevation of 6,646 feet above sea level.
Below is a photo of a row of antique buses that bring tourists up through the park from Saint Mary. They are driven by these dashing gentlemen in period outfits.
Here are more photos taken from the visitor center.
By now it was noon and I still had many miles to cover. Besides, it was getting quite crowded and I still had to get down off the mountain, reattach my RV and take a massive detour around the park in order to get over to Kalispell, Montana by days end.
I had already called the KOA and they were full so now I also needed to find an alternate campground. The detour took me through some amazing country so it really wasn't a hardship at all.
Once I hit Kalispell I made a beeline for the Walmart store and picked up one of those 30 to 50 amp. adapters and noticed several RV's camped out in their vast parking lot.
Apparently, Walmart allows RV's to camp overnight for free but offer no services such as water and electric hookups. This is referred to as dry camping or "boondocking". I had purchased a 3100 watt generator and solar panel figuring I'd try boondocking at some point on my journey.
The temperature was running in the mid 90's and the thought of sleeping in my RV without the benefit of air conditioning seemed crazy so I jumped back on Hwy. 93 south to Lakeside, Montana where I found a great little RV campground by the lake.
After I got settled in I took this photo of the interior of my RV just to give everyone an idea of how comfortable it is. This thing is night and day above the tent camper I hauled behind my motorcycle for the past five years.
Because my campsite was very close to the park entrance I was there bright and early. My plan was to enter from the east entrance at Saint Mary, tour the park and exit from the Western Glacier.
I was in for a big disappointment. The backup to get into the park was very brief and I was excited to check out this famous park which I had never visited before.
I could tell from the ranger's facial expression that something was wrong as I pulled up to the window. He explained to me that vehicles in excess of 21 feet long could only drive six miles into the park due to tight corners and traffic congestion. I was devastated. He told me that I could go the six miles and leave the trailer in the "long vehicle parking lot" but either way I was going to have to return to Saint Mary and take a long route around the entire park to the south. Having driven all this way I wasn't going to just turn around and leave so I paid my $35 and drove the six miles, disconnected the trailer and explored the park.
The scenery was just amazing and well worth all the troubles or inconvenience. It was a gorgeous day but the smoke from the fires did obscure some of the beauty. Oddly enough the smoke actually seemed to enhance some of my photos.
As I climbed the winding road to the summit and the Logan Pass Visitor Center I was glad that I had gotten an early start because all the little pull-offs were filling up with eager tourists armed with their cell phone cameras. This is one of those places where one finds oneself surrounded by one spectacular scene after another and it's difficult to stop taking photos.
The park was established in 1910 and actually spans the international border into Southern British Columbia, Canada.
The Logan Pass Visitor Center sits right on the Continental Divide at an elevation of 6,646 feet above sea level.
Below is a photo of a row of antique buses that bring tourists up through the park from Saint Mary. They are driven by these dashing gentlemen in period outfits.
Here are more photos taken from the visitor center.
By now it was noon and I still had many miles to cover. Besides, it was getting quite crowded and I still had to get down off the mountain, reattach my RV and take a massive detour around the park in order to get over to Kalispell, Montana by days end.
I had already called the KOA and they were full so now I also needed to find an alternate campground. The detour took me through some amazing country so it really wasn't a hardship at all.
Once I hit Kalispell I made a beeline for the Walmart store and picked up one of those 30 to 50 amp. adapters and noticed several RV's camped out in their vast parking lot.
Apparently, Walmart allows RV's to camp overnight for free but offer no services such as water and electric hookups. This is referred to as dry camping or "boondocking". I had purchased a 3100 watt generator and solar panel figuring I'd try boondocking at some point on my journey.
The temperature was running in the mid 90's and the thought of sleeping in my RV without the benefit of air conditioning seemed crazy so I jumped back on Hwy. 93 south to Lakeside, Montana where I found a great little RV campground by the lake.
After I got settled in I took this photo of the interior of my RV just to give everyone an idea of how comfortable it is. This thing is night and day above the tent camper I hauled behind my motorcycle for the past five years.
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