Leaving East Glacier - Heading for Canada

June 7-10

     Kathy and I arrived in East Glacier KOA on 7 June in anticipation of meeting up with Ed and Kay that afternoon and enjoying a little bit of the east side of Glacier National Park with them before crossing the border into Canada....... that was not to be....see Ed's post on their journey.

     Weather here has been pretty varied....we have had highs in the upper 80's the first day with mild nights but it has turned a little cooler the last two days. Last night was a cool 36 degrees and today a pleasant 65. Tonight is expected to get to the mid 30's again and a chance of snow in the morning by the time we plan to depart......you need everything from a bathing suit to a snow suit. 

     We spent all day on the 8th of June touring and hiking here in the park on this side. Note - with the going to the sun road not open yet it is a 2.5 hour drive from the West to the East side of the park. Again a beautiful setting with fantastic hiking trails/views of St. Mary Lake and the mountains. Much of the hiking we did on this side was through forests that had been destroyed by fire....some one year ago and some ten years ago. It's interesting that the forest service now talks about the fires as a good thing to regenerate the forest. You will notice from our photos that much of the timber is burned yet the bed of the forest is alive with many wild flowers that are beautiful.

     On Thursday the 9th of June we rested and did laundry except for a short ride to the Many Glacier part of the park which is an entrance about 8 miles north of where we are staying.

     Today was our long hike day....we did about 6 miles of a hike that included three named waterfalls and at least a couple other places with water cascading that deserved to be named in my opinion. It was a really nice hike along the shores of Lake Mary.....we met and talked with many nice folks along the way.

     We were very happy to get back to camp to find Ed and Kay had arrived in their brand new truck.....they were as happy to see us and we are all ready now to move on. Tomorrow morning we break camp and head into Alberta, Canada with plans to tour Banff and Jasper National Parks.

Some of the photos from the last couple of days below:

Sunrise photo on Lake St. Mary - notice how the sun lit the tiny island in the water

Kathy by the Baring Waterfall

Wild flowers on the hillside

Still snow on these peaks

Getting in the selfie game

Just below the falls

Beautiful trails

Wildflowers

Wildflower or weed?

Hiking Trail

Hiking Trail

View driving from the West side on Highway 2

Lake St. Mary

 

Ed & Kay have arrived!

"Ed Says" - A summary of our cross country marathon

     We were able to leave on our journey to rendezvous with Darrell and Kathy on Friday June 3 about noon.  Our plan was to drive, eat and sleep until we met them, no touring.  And that is mostly what we did for 5 days, averaging 500+ miles per day and eating out except for breakfast.  One day we drove 660 miles!  Never again!  Ed had vertigo for the next two days (car sickness we think).   Another objective was to stay at no cost camp sites the entire way.  This we accomplished by staying in Walmart and Cabela's parking lots, and one Dodge dealer parking lot (more on that experience later).

     We arrived in Great Falls, Montana on Tuesday June 7 for an early start the next day for the run up to Glacier National Park for our rendezvous.  Well, we got the early start.  That's the good news.  Kay started driving first and quickly noticed the MIL light was on.  Not a good sign--this stands for Malfunction Indicator Light, like in engine problem.  We have had this experience with this truck before, none of it with a good outcome.  So we headed to the Dodge dealership right down the road.  The problem was diagnosed and was a relatively quick and inexpensive fix.  I have learned that "inexpensive fix" for a diesel is a relative term and does not mean low cost, as everything about a diesel cost more that any other auto repair or service.

     Having had significant problems with this truck before and now coupled with this problem,  we lost all confidence for this truck to get us to Alaska, let alone to get us back.  So, while at the dealership we began discussions to trade this truck in for another.  And we did.  We now have a gas 2015 Ram 1500 4x4 with trailer towing package, and an extended warranty!!  Comfort and confidence at last!  My one and only diesel experience has been a complete nightmare! 

     With repair work on the diesel, haggling for the new truck, installing trailer hitch, and adjustments to trailer part of the hitch, it was going to be Friday June 10 before we could leave for the rendezvous.  And this is how it came to be for us to spend the night in our camper in the dealers parking lot.  We can not say that was a no cost stay.  Let's just say it was included with the truck!

RENDEZVOUS AT LAST!   We arrived in Glacier early afternoon.  What a joyous sight to see Darrell and Kathy.  Now the fun part of the trip begins.  Tomorrow, we cross into Canada.