Day 143 – July 31 – West Yellowstone, MT

We filled up with gas and headed south out of Helena on the interstate highway.  While on interstate 15 we crossed the continental divide at a little over 6,300 feet.  At Butte we turned east on another interstate – I-90 and again crossed the continental divide.  We left the interstate road system and turned on highway 191.  This is a scenic route and all I can say is Montana just keeps working its charm.

The road ran through a valley along side the Gallatin River.  Most of the time we had river on one side and mountain on the other.  The river was spotted with fly fishermen from time to time.  At one point we pulled over to take a break and eat lunch.  The pullout was next to the river and as we stopped we saw rafters coming down the river.  Dorrie ran out and got some good shots of them going through the rocks and rapids.

The near Big Sky, Montana the river was getting very narrow and soon it seemed to just disappear.  I guess we are simple people because these simple sights entertained us for several miles – the rafters, the fishermen, and the every changing landscape.  Montana is a beautiful state.

We stopped at the visitor’s center in West Yellowstone to see if they had suggestions on campgrounds, since we are still travelling by the seat of our pants and did not make reservations.  Seems we picked a bad weekend to hit Yellowstone.  There is a big car show going on for the next four days, plus July and August are the busiest times of the year for this area.  I called several campgrounds and could not find a place.  Finally I called Yellowstone Cabins and RV and got a voice message that they had cabins and RV sites available, to come on over.  So we drove over – it is a small place that rents cabins and has 8 RV sites.  I asked if they had a place for us and was told to look out back and see which one I liked, sites 1, 4 and 8 were open.  To get to site 4 or 8 I would have to back between trees that I am not sure the camper would fit between.  So I took site 1, which is just long enough to fit the camper and get off the sidewalk.  At least we have a place with hookups for the night.

After eating we walked the 5 blocks to the main street area and walked through the shops.  It is an interesting little village and we enjoyed the exercise and the shopping.

All the trash cans have some type of image on them similar to this.  It is a fun town.

Day 142 – July 30 – They Just Keep on Coming

We departed Saint Mary this morning and drove south towards Helena, Montana.  After climbing a very long grade we saw cars on the side of the road and people standing outside their vehicles.  There was a horse standing on the side of the road and the people were taking pictures of it.  We drove past and I noticed there was a small herd of horses in the trees just past the one out in the open.  There wasn’t a good place to stop, so we had to drive on.

A little farther down the road we rounded a curve and there was a young horse crossing the road.  This time we got a picture.  This is an open range area and we have drove through them before and seen cows on the road, but never horses.

We stopped at an overview of a canyon that Lewis and Clark had traveled when they were following the Missouri River.  Off in the distance you could see the river and an old highway bridge crossing the narrow Missouri.  

On down the road we drove beside the river for several miles, as it kept trading sides of the road.  There were several people out on the river, some fishing from drift boats and others on air floats of one type or another.  The river is very clear here in Montana.

The mountains and sky were beautiful again today and Dorrie took a couple of photos as we drove.

About 12 or 15 miles outside of Helena the bluffs and roadside turned to a red stone.  Your eyes have a Christmas treat seeing the deep red of the stones combined with the green pine (or spruce, not sure which) trees.  I bet it is breath taking in the winter with the trees and rocks wrapped in the white snow.  Montana has been on its best behavior for us with the blue sky and sunshine.  It is warmer than we are accustomed to after our northern trip, but I guess we are going to get even hotter weather from now on.

We are in Helena for the night.

Day 140 & 141 – July 28 & 29 – Wow, O’ Wow

On the 28^th we stayed around the campground.  Dorrie did some cleaning and I did a load of laundry.  That was about the extent of our day.

On the 29^th we took the Red Bus tour of the national park.  What a trip!  The bus picked us up at the campground at 9:45.  

The driver (known as jammers) was Evelyn and she was really proud of the park and her bus, ole number 107.  The White Motor Company built the bus in 1937.

A short bit about the bus before I get into the tour – in 1935 the national park service asked for bids for buses to be used in the parks.  White Motor won the bids with their open topped buses and the national park service ordered 500 buses for the various parks.  Glacier National Park received 35 of the buses and 34 of them are still in use.  The 35^th bus was in an accident and is used for parts.  A few years ago Ford Motor Company partnered with the park to refurbish the buses.  They kept the bodies the same, but mounted them on F-450 motorhome chassis and use V-8 engines that run on propane.  This is the only park that held onto the buses for continued service.  Our jammer said that there are now a few in use in Yellowstone National Park, put into use a few years ago.  The term jammer was used to describe the drivers because the transmissions were not syncronized and the drivers had to jam the gears in place.  The buses have canvas tops that fold back to expose the sky and there are crossbars to help you stand when the bus is stopped.  Each bus carries 16 passengers and only has doors on the right side.  You may wonder about the color - it is the color of the spruce tree berries, a orange / red color.

The road was built to showcase the parks beauty and it took 21 years to complete the 52 mile road.  The original design was to have a series of switchbacks to climb the mountains but was changed to run along the mountainside.  The final designer of the road said it should lay gently on the land.  The construction contract stated that the rock removed from the mountainside was to be used in the construction of the road and not allowed to be thrown over the side, thus scaring the beauty of the landscape.  The men working on the road were at times lowered over the side of the cliffs by rope to drill holes for blasting.  They had to use hand drills (bars driven by sludge hammers into the rock) until they had enough room to use other equipment.  Only three men died during the construction, which is amazing when you travel the road and realize the conditions they worked under.

Now for the park – I always thought it was named because of all the glaciers within the park.  At the visitor's center we saw a display that projected that by 2020 there would not be any more glaciers in the park.  What we learned on the tour was the park was named for the effect the glaciers had on the landscape - the glacier shaped mountains, the carved valleys and the beautiful water features found in the park.

As we passed Saint Mary Lake, the surface was smooth and as reflective as a mirror.  The mountains and sky were beautifully detailed on the surface.  Dorrie had to take pictures on the fly since we did not stop at that point.  

Evelyn kept us entertained the entire trip with stories about the history of the park and the building of the “Going to the Sun Road”. 

The sky was blue with some white puffy clouds to help add to the pictures.

At Logan pass we stopped for a bathroom break and to refill our water bottles.  While we were there, someone spotted some Big Horn Sheep across the road.

Back on our trip we passed so many waterfalls and we were told their names.  One of the big falls was called Bird Woman, named after a member of the Black Foot tribe of Native Americans.

We drove the road over the continental divide at Logan Pass to the valley on the other side.  The road was cut on the cliff edge and the drop on the side away from the mountain was many times straight down. 

At Lake McDonald Lodge we had lunch, took some pictures and started our return trip to Saint Mary.  

We stopped at the pullout for the Sacred Dancing Cascades.  The color of the water was unbelievable and so clear you just wanted to jump in - but I am sure it is cold.

At one point we saw Mountain Goats laying in the shade on a snow bank.

I am not sure but it looks like there is a little one behind the goat on the left

They are in the process of repairing the road and have a couple of places with flagmen to stop traffic.  While we were stopped, someone on the bus spotted a bear in the hillside by the bus.

We were dropped off at the campground at 5 o’clock after a spectacular day.  This park is another example of the vision the men creating the national parks had for preserving the beauty of this country.  One of my favorite places on this trip!

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.