Does it always rain in Glacier National Park?

No one told us that it doesn't always rain in Glacier, except one friend who told us that "no, it doesn't always rain -- sometimes it snows"!  Well,  after the first rainy day, the sun came out and it was glorious.  And hot.  We spent a day exploring the lower parts of the park, and a day exploring and running errands in Kalispell, the nearest big town, 30 miles away.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 On Saturday, our last day in Montana, we took a Red Bus Tour up to the highest point in Glacier National Park.  The driver was excellent -- she shared a lot of info and interesting stories.  The weather was perfect.  There was quite a bit of snow at the top but the walkways around the visitor center were cleared.  And the snow melt created abundant sparkling waterfalls down the mountainsides.  Jim  enjoyed being able to just look at the scenery and not have to drive. 

The "buses" were built in 1933-34, but have been totally restored and modernized.  There are about 30 of them.  Each holds 18 people including the driver, is 26 feet long, and rides more like a car than a bus.  It was pretty comfortable, so the suspension must have been rebuilt too.

For more fantastic views of Glacier NP, click Glacier.

"This is how I remember Glacier ..."

Choteau to Glacier National Park. We spent the night in a small town park, with one other motorhome nearby.  It was quiet and safe, although not very pretty -- the park was next to a large grain elevator, and the trees that had once blocked the view had been cut down.  But we faced a row of trees on the other side, and the price of $8 was right.

In the morning we set of on our journey northwest to Glacier National Park.  This was part of the change in plans.  We had been to Glacier in '82 when we took our first cross-country National Park trip.  It rained the whole time.  We had debated whether we wanted to give Glacier another chance.

We passed more beautiful scenery and lots of construction, and sometimes a combination of both.






 

As we approached the eastern edge of the park the sky got blacker.  As we continued around the southern edge of the park, it started to rain.  Jim commented, "This is how I remember Glacier."

For more pictures of this drive, click Choteau to Glacier.

 

Change of Plans and First People's Bison Jump

(Helena to Choteau, MT)

Our plan to head to north to Calgary and then west to Banff National Park had to be changed when we heard about the extreme flooding and resulting road closings between Calgary and Banff.  We decided to head west, then north.  Included in the change of plans was a stop at the First People's Buffalo Jump State Park. 

This is the biggest buffalo jump -- the u-shaped cliff and the prairie extend for miles.  At the visitor center, the park manager talked to us about the First Peoples and how they used the buffalo jump. 

Then we hiked 3 miles across the prairie and up the cliff face, on switchbacks, to the cliff top.  We enjoyed great and colorful views of the prairie where 'First Peoples'  from multiple tribes would gather for the hunt. The hunt involved collaboration of about 300 people, who would kill and process about 150 bison, which would sustain them for the winter.
 

 

 

 

Note:  The only buffalo we saw were in the visitor center!

 

To see more pictures of the Buffalo Jump State Park and the road to the next stop click Helena to Choteau.

 

 

 

Frank Lloyd Wright's Big Orange House

We were advised that the two best things to do while in Helena were the Gates of the Mountains boat tour and the train tour of the city.  The train is not really a train -- more like a Disneyworld tram. 

 The tour was great -- it took us through the government area, the shopping area, the old pioneer and gold miners area, and the wealthy old home area.  Helena is the only gold mining town that is not a ghost town.  At one time there were more millionaires living in Helena than anywhere else.  We saw Reeder's Alley, where the single men who were there for the goldrush lived.  The tiny buildings, designed in the 1800's by a Philadelphia brick mason, have been converted to offices, shops and a restaurant.  After the tour we went back there to explore and have lunch.  We met a woman, and her caregiver, who told us she lives in a big orange house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, one of the homes that the tour goes by.  (More on that below.)

The third best thing to do in Helena is to visit the City Park.  We drove up a hill behind Reeder's Alley, to see the fancy (newer, modern) homes, and came across the entrance to the Park, high on a hill.  It was time to stretch our legs and go for a walk. 

 

 

 

 

We had great views of the city, but the more uphill we climbed, the more we realized we weren't going to walk the whole trail.

 

 

 

 

 

Back in the car, we discussed what to do next.  Jim said "Let's see if we can find the big orange house". 

As we stopped for a traffic light in the center of Helena we saw a couple of deer prancing down the center of the street. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Without knowing the specific street, we knew the area, and figured there couldn't be too many orange houses.  And we found it -- the woman and her caregiver were sitting out front.  We waved and we were invited in to tour the house.  Our new acquaintance is Murel (she pronounces it Merril).  The house was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and built by two of his students. There are definite Frank Lloyd Wright touches everywhere.  Murel inherited the house from her father-in-law, who, from what Murel said, had his finger in a lot of different things.  It's a huge home and while the influence of Wright is there, Murel's put her own personal touches into the decorating (she was an interior decorator).  It was quite an interesting tour and we enjoyed our time with Murel.  It was obvious that she enjoyed sharing her home with us.

Here's a link to some more pictures of our day touring Helena.

Gates of the Mountains

Merriweather Lewis named these rocky canyons the "Gates of the Rocky Mountains", because, as you approach it on the river it looks as though gates are opening.  The only way to see the effect is by boat.
  

 

For more pictures of our boat trip to the Gates of the mountains click Gates

 

 

The Road to Montana

Beautiful, green, hilly, empty (nobody home) -- the road from Arco, ID to Helena, MT was another spectacularly scenic road.  There were many farms, and then we went up into the mountains.  Travelling north on I15, we noticed that exit zero was for Monida (name made up from Montana and Idaho).  The town is right on the state line. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Passing beautiful lakes, the road went through mountains of brown, green, and red. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We crossed a mountain pass at 6000 feet and noticed a warning sign and a pullout for putting on chains (hopefully only in winter). 

 

 

 

 

 

Another pullout is found after the pass, for taking your chains off.  We didn't actually see any snow here, but we did encounter some rain.

 

 

 
For more pictures, click Road to Montana

 

Craters of the Moon

Craters of the Moon, so named because that's what it looks like, is an area of volcanic rocks and craters. This area in Idaho is the most seismically active area in North America.  This area has had an active volcanic eruption every 2000 years for the last 30,000 years. By the way, the last volcanic action was about 2100 years ago.

We took a scenic drive and took a few short hikes. 

 

 

 

We were amazed at the abundant wildflowers, many just starting to sprout out of the lava rock.  It was a stark contrast to see green plants with flowers growing out of the black volcanic rock. We imagine that in a few weeks the hills will be a riot of color.   

We spent the next day waiting out a series of storm fronts that passed through the area.  Strong winds and dust storms don't mix with driving a motorhome.  Even though we were parked in a campground the winds were strong enough to rock our 15 Ton home on wheels. We 'turtled up' (brought in all the slide out rooms)  to help avoid damage until the wind storm was over.  It was a little scary.  

For more pictures of Craters National Monument click Craters

(Thanks to Jim for supplying the text for this post.)