We started today in a haze. Literally, a haze. The first 3 hours of the day were spent driving in the smoke drift from several Canadian wildfires. That lent a yellowish tint to everything as we left Glasgow and headed toward West Glacier Montana.
Because we decided to skip a layover in Shelby and head all the way to West Glacier today (after driving through the town we made the RIGHT decision), our driving day was about 6.5 hours. For those RV’ers more hearty than us (Wolfe’s, we’re looking at you), this is more than we usually drive on our way out to our first big stop. And everything was going just fine until just west of Harlem.
No, not New York. We’re in Montana. Follow along.
Road work. Seven miles worth. No big deal, right? Wrong! The entire seven mile stretch along US Route 2 was completely dismantled, in many places down to dirt and gravel. And the best part? The traffic was simply directed to drive over it! No detour, no single lane still intact, no crossovers. Just seven solid miles of dirt, gravel, potholes, and misery.
Neither of us had ever seen anything like it. Karen did an amazing job of taking her time and avoiding as much bumping as she could. The RV is noisy at the best of times. On this it was almost deafening. Due to great driver’s skill we cam through unscathed in Zurich.
No, not Switzerland. Montana. Geez!
The debacle proved one thing to us – the new steel valve stems we had installed really made a difference! Between the bumps and the gravel our old rubber valve stems would have popped like crazy. We would honestly have dealt with at least a couple of flats in the past. Many thanks to the folks at Borg Equipment & Supply for providing us what we needed.
After the midway point in our drive, the skies cleared and we got a good dose of the Montana “Big Sky” country. We were shocked by the amount of agriculture this far north in the U.S. It was like Kansas, except beautiful. No offense to Kansas-ites, but the scenery sucks for most of the state. The gently rolling countryside led to vast scenes covered in greens, yellows, and shades of brown. It was a Sunday, yet farmers were out in full force plowing under fields which already yielded their seasonal crop. There is no rest for farmers.
Gradually, out to the west, we began to see the hints of the Rockies. Merely shadows playing above the landscape, hiding their grandeur. As we approached, the shapes formed into the pointed, jagged skyline of the Northern US Rockies. Karen mentioned that it felt a lot like approaching Denver. All flat fields and dust and then – BOOM – the land erupts skyward.
It seemed surreal that we just left this same range a mere 10 weeks ago. Further south, but the same blockade to the West again stood in our way. It was wonderful to see these old friends again.
Our path took us south and then east, skirting Glacier National Park. It was moving to think we had travelled nearly 1,800 miles to see this land we seen in pictures our entire lives. And here it was, ready for our taking over the next week. Gooseflesh covered my arms when we saw the first sign announcing, “Glacier National Park”.
Our home for the next 6 nights is the West Glacier KOA Resort. It is perfectly situated near the western entrance to the park, and surrounded by conifer covered peaks. After we checked in and had dinner, we headed to the beer garden (yes, we have one right in the campground!) to enjoy a beverage while watching a lovely young musician play guitar and sing.
For tonight, Livvy is tucked into the more wooded, older section of the campground. We sit here surrounded by 50-foot pines and the smell of campfire (okay, and some pot). The skies have moved from a deep purple to a midnight blue. There is little sound. I catch strong whiffs of pine, reminding me of Maine, a place we miss dearly this time of the year.
But this is new to us, and this is why we travel the way we do. There is so much more to see.
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