Glacier National Park and a layover at Court Sheriff Campground outside Helena, Montana  – Late August/early September

Our drive back into the States was through an entry that is only open during the summer months.  And the ride to Glacier, which was only an hour or so away, was memorable.  Our first introduction to free range cows!  As we came around a bend, there were cows in the road!!  And they were very clear they owned right of way and just hung out for a while in the road, looking at us.   Too funny!

Glacier National Park, where the wind howled for several days, rocking and rolling our RV.  Bears galore and we learned to distinguish black bears from Grizzlies!  Definitely better to have a run in with a black bear. Many big horn sheep, mountain goats and deer.

The Red Bus tour through the park was so worth it, introducing us to the ‘going to the sun’ road, park history, rock formations, etc….

Some parts of the park were off limit due to fires that were mostly extinguished.

The 4.2 mile long, 1,840 feet of elevation hike up to Grinnell Glacier was truly memorable, hiking under waterfalls on slippery rocks, incredible birds-eye views of three lakes, having my hiking shoes fall apart, seeing the glacier up close and melting into a lake and racing the last .6 mile down to make the boat that takes you back.  (Denise, thanks for recommending this hike!)

Steve and I traveled into the park a couple of nights to see if we could find wildlife and we always did! Usually bears, sometime mule deer… By the way, driving the ‘Going to the Sun’ road takes patience, is very doable and provides incredible views of the mountains way above and canyons way below.A few days layover in Helena, Montana…..at the small, lovely and quiet Court Sheriff campground.  Replaced my broken hiking shoes, replenished supplies and enjoyed laying low.

thoughts:

• Montana wins our award as having the straightest roads of any state.  They also have 80-90 MPH speed limits!
• Glaciers are disappearing.  The glaciers in Glacier National Park are expected to be gone in 10-15 years;  a few years later in Banff
• Free range cows are common in the West.  Coming around a corner to find 2-3 cows in the road staring at you is unnerving and just not something seen in the East!
• My favorite campgrounds so far are generally county, state or national parks or on BLM public lands.   More space, further removed from towns, more connected to nature
• My fear of heights shows up when on narrow trails (less than 18″ wide) with sheer, steep drop offs on one or both sides.
• Need to be discriminating is selecting a Laundromat!
• So enjoying this trip!