Montana Monday and Glacier Tuesday

(It's Tuesday evening and I still haven't been able to post this because the WiFi here isn't even as good as in Spokane. I haven't complained about it because I didn't want to get in trouble again. The first half of this post is from Monday. The second half is from Tuesday.)

Poppa's happy - gas is under $4 a gallon! At least until we get into the backcountry.

We left Spokane in the rain this morning and crossed into Idaho. Poppa had decided to avoid the Interstate and try for a more scenic route, so we went north on US-95 to Bonner's Ferry. Then we followed US-2 east into Montana, then south, then east, then south, then east, then north to Kalispell where we started to see the Rocky Mountains, then east, then north, then east, then north to West Glacier, just outside of Glacier National Park. Thank goodness we stopped before I got dizzy.

There is a safety awareness program in Montana called Highway Fatality Markers. At the point of each highway traffic fatality, a small white cross marks the spot. Some markers have more than one cross. In the first 50 miles, we counted 50 crosses. In the next 100 miles, we counted 49 more. And we were only counting the crosses on our side of the road. It was pretty sad thinking about all the people. It also made Poppa nervous. A couple times he would say something like "I don't like this curve coming up - bet there's a cross" or "This merging point is too close to that intersection - bet there's a cross". And he was right.

It had rained on and off all day,and after Kalispell we followed the Flathead River for a while. The river was almost up to the road in a few places. The last few miles toward West Glacier were up a valley that leads to Glacier National Park. The rain stopped just before we got to the campground and started again just after we got the trailer set up. Good timing! We saw another rainbow, really wide, but it's mostly hidden by the trees:




At the campground they told us that the entire Going-to-the-Sun road opened today, but the park's website doesn't say so. We'll find out tomorrow.

Someone named "DDBIV" left a comment on my blog the other day. I've heard of "ROY-G-BIV" but never "DD-BIV". Anyway, he said that two adventurers from Florida are in Yellowstone hunting bison, moose, bear, coyote, and Tiggers! We're supposed to go to Yellowstone this weekend, so I was kind of worried.

Poppa said not to worry because DDB4th is a known troublemaker. Poppa said that one of the adventurers in Yellowstone is as friendly as a Teddy Bear, and if I behave myself, the other adventurer would probably give me a gold star. I feel better now.

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O.K., HERE'S THE TUESDAY POST:

Tuesday morning we still weren't sure that the Going-to-the-Sun road was open, so we followed US-2 east around the southern end of the park and up the east side. After about 38 miles, we discovered a waterfall by the road that had no sign and no name. Henceforth it will be known as "Tigger Falls". Next year you should get new maps from AAA because it should be on the map by then:




Poppa found this whole sign interesting. Nana like the blue part on the right. You should read that much at least, so you understand the next picture and the lodge we stopped at after that:




This statue is John F. Stevens, who discovered the Marias Pass here. He also discovered the Stevens Pass in the Cascade Mountains that we drove through on Sunday. I guess he really liked snow:



We stopped at the Glacier Park Lodge for lunch. Nana finally showed me what these things are for. I called my broker, but had to leave voicemail. And it cost me a quarter. I still think the thing Nana is holding for me looks like a shower nozzle:



Nana and I relaxed while we waited for a table:




Nana had chicken salad and Poppa had BBQ chicken. I had my heart set on Rocky Mountain Goat, but this scaredy goat hid behind the glass:




After 2 months in the trailer, Nana was ready to move into this spacious cabin:




We stopped at Running Eagle Falls:




(Yes, Miss Nancy, I have video of these falls, just like all the others we've seen.)

Going back to the campground, we actually drove the entire Going-to-the-Sun Road, including the Logan Pass section that was just opened this afternoon! The bad news is that it was cloud covered and foggy, barely 2 lanes wide, with a sheer wall going up one side and a sheer cliff going down the other. We had to stop twice for one-lane sections at construction sites, but that gave Poppa a chance to take this picture out the truck window of the majestic Rocky Mountains across the valley from us:




Nana really enjoyed the ride. We'll try it again tomorrow for more great pictures.

Posted from Nana's iPad