Days 18-21

Day 18- Bozeman to Glacier National Park

We left our motel in Bozeman around 11am and stopped at the dollar store and Safeway supermarket to stock up on food before heading in to Glacier, which has no shops or diners, unlike Yellowstone. We had about a 6-hour drive today; luckily it wasn’t too boring because we had such amazing landscapes to look at! I lost service on my phone before even entering the park that is how remote this area really is. About 45 min before reaching Glacier we passed through a Blackfeet Native American town and it was heartbreakingly impoverished. There were run down houses and cars everywhere, there was even a skinny three-legged dog running down one street. It was just so sad seeing this entire area living in such poor conditions. We passed a school in the town and its playground was horribly rusted and really not something young children should play on. Anyway, as we began to make it closer to the mountains of Glacier, we could see how much snow there was still left on them in June! The park’s mountains are lower in altitude than Yellowstone, but somehow have much more snow still to melt. We eventually arrived at the St. Mary’s East Entrance and were met by a very friendly Park Ranger who was being eaten alive my the swarming mosquitoes. She informed us that the only road that crosses the park, the one we needed, of course, was closed due to snow after 18 miles. She directed us on a road outside the park for tomorrow’s journey to the western side of Glacier. We decided to drive up Going to the Sun Road until the barriers, and let me tell you, it was one of the most beautiful drives I have ever taken. We had perfect views of the jagged mountains covered in snow and the blue lake resting at the base of all the surrounding mountains. We made a few pit stops along the way to take one mini hike and take loads of pictures. During out 18-mile drive we stumbled upon a grazing male deer and one black bear hiding in the trees (still not sure how I managed to spot it). Once we reached the road closing at the Logan visitor’s center we got out to search for small animals and play in the snow like everyone else. Here we saw an adorable ground squirrel type animal and a Big Horned sheep, which was lying down in the distance. On our way back down from the mountains to the camp grounds we saw another black bear running across the road ahead of us. This bear was much larger than the first and ran across the road in a very entertaining manner… they almost rock on their paws as they run. As I am writing this, it is 10pm and the sun still has not set! Glacier is definitely one of the most beautiful places both Josh and I have ever been.

Day 19- Glacier National Park

Today we drove around and had to leave the park to reach the other side due to road closures. We passed though two main towns and stopped to have a delicious milkshake that had dark chocolate chunks in it. When we arrived on the west side of the park we went for a short drive up until the road was closed off. Afterwards we set up our tent with that tarp over it because a ranger had stopped by to inform us of severe weather heading our way. It was severe indeed! It was an incredibly loud thunderstorm that also down poured with rain. The storm took about 45 mins to pass over. We then made dinner and crouched next to a small fire. The sun didn’t fully go down until gone 10pm so we stayed up until about 10:30, which sounds early but everyone in campsites go to sleep early since there isn’t much to do. Unfortunately, we had a loud snorer in one of the campsites near us!

Day 20- Glacier National Park

We woke up later than usual at about 9:45am. We were about to make oatmeal for breakfast when the family next to us offered us a Costco sized bag of pancake mix, saying they were going home today and didn't need all the food. The wife also passed us loads of other odds and ends from their cooler before leaving. Honestly, having pancakes felt like a real treat after living off of the very basics of cereal all day long and pasta for dinner for me and cup of noodles for Josh. After we had filled up in pancakes, we headed off for what Josh said was a 6 mile hike (he lied because it was actually about 8 miles and he didn’t think I would do it otherwise… and he was right because the assent was also about 4,000 ft. We only got about a mile in before we finally decided to turn around not only because of how hard it was but the path was overgrown with vegetation and swarming with mosquitoes. When we got back to the car and I read the sign, that was when I realized Josh had been hiding the difficulty of the trail. It also did have any nice views, just dead trees that had charred and fallen over from a forest fire. We decided to try the avalanche trail instead which was only 4 miles, and had only about 400 ft in assent. This hike was much more enjoyable and scenic. We ate lunch on a secluded pebble beach with a gorgeous view of the lake and mountains. On the way back it began to pour with really cold rain. Both Josh and I became soaked and our waterproof jackets were not strong enough to hold out the downpour. We had to sit in the car at the campsite to wait for the rain to pass. The rain also cooled off the temp, making it much colder than earlier in the day. My socks were really muddy and soaking wet from the hike, so I was trying to dry them under the hand dryer in the campground bathroom and when a women asked if they were my only socks, she offered me a pack of socks she had bought for a dollar and wouldn’t let me leave the bathroom without them. And I was indeed very glad I took the socks! The temp really dropped during the night, however it was, luckily, not as cold as Yellowstone.

Day 21- Glacier National Park to Sandpoint, Idaho

We woke up around 10am today and it was so cold and rainy we really didn’t want to get up. Our fingers froze just taking the tarp down from covering the tent. We didn’t even stay to make pancakes for breakfast; I just ate dry rice crispies on the go. We passed through a few small towns before reaching Sandpoint and to show how small their high schools are, all of them are the size of one floor of one wing in Haverford High. So tiny! There was one town that had beautiful wooden carvings of eagles spotted along the main road. We eventually crossed into Pacific Time when nearing our final destination. It was still raining heavily and very cold so we gave into staying in a hotel, even though we can’t really afford it. The nice women behind the front desk gave us discounts to a price more in our range. I think she was very sympathetic to our situation of being on a road trip, camping in the cold and rain, only having access to a shower every few days, and being very low on money. The hotel is really nice as well! We are definitely looking forward to the free continental breakfast tomorrow morning! Tomorrow we head to Canada :]