Day 138 – July 26 – Saint Mary, Montana

We drove to the U.S. border crossing this morning, about 40 miles and had to wait in a long line to get through customs.

We were hoping to get into one of the Glacier National Park campgrounds on the east side of the park.  The ranger asked how far we were going in the park.  I asked which campground had opening for a unit our size.  He said none of them at this entrance, that we could try the campground 40 miles south.  He also said that we could only drive about 6 miles into the park before we would have to turn around because there is a size restriction of 21 feet or less after that point.

The main road running through the park is called “Going to the Sun” and cuts across the park from east to west.  The park offers free shuttles from the visitor’s center and we thought about doing that, but it means taking three different shuttles, as they only run so far and then return to their starting point.  And they do not stop to allow photos, which is one of the big things we want to do.

There is another service that runs in the park, called the Red Bus.  These “buses” were built in the 1930s and have been in service in the park almost continuously.  They have been refurbished by Ford and now include automatic transmissions.  They have a canvas top that they open if the weather is good.

Our final option is to rent a car and drive ourselves.  That option went out the window when I asked around and no one knew where I could rent a car in Saint Mary.  The closest place was a town 2 hours away.

We stopped at the visitor’s center and looked around.  We got in the camper and drove the short distance back to Saint Mary Lodge for lunch and talked about what we wanted to do.  We decided to try the KOA just outside the park.

We got a space for the night, well actually I signed up for two nights.  After settling in to our space, I walk back to the office because when I checked in, they said they could help us schedule the Red Bus tour.  The young lady at the desk called the tour company and told them what I wanted.  Turns out the tour is full for the next day.  I said try the following day.  Same thing, no space on the Monday tour.  I said try the day after that – they had openings, so I booked us on the tour for the 29^th.  The bus will pick us up here at the campground at 9:45 and return us after the trip.  Then I had to see if the KOA had room for us for two more nights.  It turned out they did, so we are booked in here until 7/30.