Day 28 & Day 29

Day 28

West Glacier, MT to Dillon, MT

Total Miles:300

Total Distance: 3,820

Our Route:

We set out of West Glacier heading back toward Columbia Heights on hwy 2.  We took a scenic hwy 206 for a few miles to hwy 35. Hwy 35 was said to be very scenic as well. 

A two lane road that runs beside by Flathead Lake. It was smoky from all the wildfires, but still very interesting. 

Near Polson, MT, we picked up hwy 93 again heading south. Just west of Missoula, MT, we found I-90.

We passed through Deer Lodge and Butte, where we then picked up I-15.

We stayed at Southside RV Park in Dillon, MT. The lady at the office was just as nice as she could be. She was so talkative and friendly too. 

She told us she was a history buff and loved to research family histories through DAR. She even looked up things up for the Crisp Family Name and brought the information to us. 

She gave Adam a ride on her 4-wheeler. He was so pleased. 

 The sunset tonight was especially lovely. 

Day 29

Dillon, MT to Ogden, UT

Total Miles: 320

Total Distance: 4,140

Our Route:

We took I-15 all the way south through the southern part of MT, all the way through Idaho and into UT.

We passed over the Snake River, which we remember taking a float trip down when we visited the Tetons a few years ago. 

Then Paw got out the map and he traced it all the way from the Tetons to where we were on I-15. 

Pretty neat. Maybe you should too?

For lunch, we stopped at a road side rest stop. I was thinking, we could eat a quick bite for lunch and let us all get out to stretch out legs and then be back on the road again.

Well, 

I didn't know we had stopped at such an interesting place. We had to check it out...

The lava flowed out of giant fissures in the earth's crust. Not from a volcano. It oozed out and then cooled quickly on the top forming a crust. 

The lava flow is called Pahoehoe.

This area is also called a "high desert". There are sage brush growing here.

A one mile nature walk

We had to explore it.

Juniper berries.

After our delay, we made it to Utah!!

The mountains of Utah

Even this area has seen lots of smoke from the Idaho wildfires. Not so bad this week though, we were told.

The mountains here have red in them. Don't know what kind of trees they are, but they are quite beautiful. We are used to the yellow Quaking Aspens from the northern states and Canada. 

Our campground tonight is in Ogden, UT. It's next to the interstate, but has a heated pool and hot tub. We are excited to relax in it before supper. 

Tomorrow, another long drive down to Bryce Canyon. 

Day 26 & 27: How We Met The Lorax on Avalanche Creek Trail

 Day 26:

Radium Hot Springs, British Columbia to

West Glacier, MT

Total Miles: 230

Total Distance: 3520

We journeyed from Radium Hot Springs to West Glacier today, taking hwy 93 south. We passed towns called Inveremere, Windermere and Skookumchuck. 

We crossed into the United States at Eureka, MT.

The customs agents were great. They smiled and laughed with us, and generally welcomed us back home. It was nice. 

They even gave us directions to the nearest Subway. It was about 2:00pm.

(We were starved)

Do you think Skookumchuck had a restaurant??

Anyway, after lunch we drove on to Whitefish, where we picked up hwy 40/2 and on through Columbia Falls, MT. Afterwards, we took hwy 2 straight to West Glacier, MT.

We stayed at the North American RV Park. 

Day 27: Avalanche Creek Trail at Glacier National Park

Today, we took a 4 mile hike up Avalanche Creek Trial to Avalanche Lake. Oh, was it pretty. 

The trail started out on a wheelchair accessible path, but then became trail consisting of rocks, stumps, and roots. It was quite popular today, with lots of hikers making the climb. 

The day was pleasant, about high of 75. It was mostly sunny, but hazey. The fires from Washington State have blown smoke into this area as well as fires from Glacier National Park itself have contributed to the low visibility in the park.

The First area of interest was a river running along side the main road into the Park on the west side.

We loved these extra large cedars. This is part of the Trail of Cedars that is wheelchair accessible.

Natalie found this tree that was partially hollow.

The Avalanche Creek had many water falls.

Look at the undergrowth in this forest. The moss was really thick.

The color of the rock is red!

We couldn't figure out if it was hemlock or fir. Any guess?

Paw is teaching Adam how to whistle using his hands.

A distant view of the mountains. See the smoke?

Adam telling Nana a story.

We made it to Avalanche lake!

See the smoke rolling down the mountains? 

Still a beautiful view.

Lots of fallen and dead trees in the water.

Wonder what kind of tree this is? It has a few red berries on it too.

We think these are the berries that the bears are coming into the area to eat. We did see a bear today. 

Paw saw and identified it first. 

We were in the car on the way home. Coming around a bend right beside Lake McDonald, he said, "What's that? Look it's a bear!!"

By the time, I got the car stopped, it had run into the woods and up the bank. It was medium sized and black. We saw it only a brief moment. 

I'm glad we saw a bear. I'm very glad we were in the car too! 

I think Nana and Paw really enjoyed this hike. 

The walked along this side of the lake to the opposite end. There were several water falls on the opposite side, but we couldn't see where they were falling or where they ended up. 

But, it was fun hopping on the rocks to get there to check it out. 

Adam was particularly happy to see this sign. But, we had to hike back the same way, making the trip double distance. 

This was the way the trail looked most of the time. 

We rounded another corner and met the Lorax! 

This is the area that had an avalanche. 

See how the trees got blown up the mountain side? The avalanche was on the opposite side and the resulting wind that came from the rushing snow and rock, blew the trees down on this side.

This is Lake McDonald Lodge. 

Beautiful on the inside. The fireplace was blazing.