Highway 2 From West Glacier, MT to Deer Park, WA

It was another bug-filled windshield day as Dave and I left West Glacier and followed U.S. Highway 2 to Washington state.  After leaving Kalispell, this was all new road for us and we thoroughly enjoyed the drive.  We enjoyed beautiful scenery the entire way.

Entering Libby, Montana

Just outside of Libby we ate our lunch at a pull-out overlooking the Kootenai River.

After Libby, there was a town named Troy that had a pull-out for looking at a dam and falls, but we weren't able to stop.  So it was on to the Idaho border.

Bonners Ferry looked like a quaint river town, and then we looked forward to the drive through Sandpoint.  We spent some time there about 17 years ago but haven't been back since.

I was so busy looking at all the changes and growth at Sandpoint that I forgot to take any pictures!  We followed the Pend Oreille River but there were lots of trees in the way of getting a good picture.

Pend Oreille River in the next two pictures.

Then it was time to cross the river and enter into Washington.  There was no sign to welcome us back to our home state.  I liked the looks of the small town of Newport.  Now we have been to Newport, CA, Newport, OR, and Newport, WA.

Newport (the one in Washington)

Before we knew it, we were at Riverside, WA (we used to live in Riverside, CA, so I remember the name) and turned off Hwy 2 to go to our home for the night, Spokane RV and Golf Resort at Deer Park. 

Deer Park is a planned community and houses and RV lots are surrounding the golf course are for sale. 

This is a deluxe RV park with all sites overlooking the very pretty golf course.  We didn't think the nightly price was bad at $34.05 after the Good Sam discount.  No pull-thru sites here, though.  We could have had a pull-in site facing the golf course, but then the sun would have been on our front window, so we chose a back-in site. 

#139, the same site number we had at the Glacier KOA.  Yes, that's one of the greens right behind us.

Winding Down in West Glacier

Dave and I made our last entry into Glacier National Park this morning.  We had both Hilltopper bicycle batteries charged and we were able to ride over ten miles with a little help from the batteries.  We saw a doe foraging through the picnic area.

Our picnic dinner last night was a success.  Why does food seem to taste better when eaten outside?  We picked a spot that someone had evidently just vacated, because the campfire was still smoldering.

We sat by Lake McDonald after we ate and enjoyed the views as the sun got lower.

 

The water was so clear that the multi-colored rocks and pebbles showed up.  How would you like to do a jigsaw-puzzle of this picture? 

This afternoon I made a final trip to the village of West Glacier, which is located just outside the park entrance.  I visited the Canadian visitor's center which features the province of Alberta.  We didn't go to Canada this trip, but ten years ago we stopped at West Glacier before we went on to the Canadian part of the park at Waterton.  We also visited Cardston's Carriage Museum, the Head-Smashed-in-Buffalo Jump, Drumheller's famous paleontology museum, Banff, and the towns of Salmon Arm and Hope.  In July of 2001, the U.S. dollar was stronger against the Canadian dollar!

Canadian Visitor's Center in West Glacier

Alas, this stuffed grizzly inside the Canadian visitor center was our last chance to see a bear on this trip.

Tomorrow we say goodbye to the West Glacier KOA and head west on Highway 2 all the way to Deer Park, WA, which is north of Spokane. 

Our site (#139) at the KOA

Not the 3rd, Not the 5th

It's the 4th of July!  Happy Birthday, USA!

A flag flying behind an RV at the KOA.

Dave and I went for a bike ride today at Apgar Village.  Only one of the batteries for our bikes had power, so Dave used the battery on the way out, and I used the battery on the way back.  Since our bikes are regular bikes and still work with good old pedal power, we got along just fine.  We just avoided going on any hills.  We'll recharge both batteries and go on the ride again tomorrow.

The creek flowing into Lake McDonald

We drove to nearby Columbia Falls visit the town and go to the grocery store.  They had a Smith's which is a chain of our Fred Meyer, so we were able to get the store discounts. 

Flowerpot outside the Lake McDonald Lodge

We hatched a plan to celebrate the 4th.  Instead of driving to Whitefish to see their fireworks show, we will go back into Glacier and have a picnic at the Apgar picnic area.  This time, however, instead of eating sandwiches we bring along, we'll bring along our grill and some hot dogs.  Dinner by the lake--I like it!  Then at 8 pm we'll attend another ranger talk at the lovely Apgar Amphitheater.  What a way to celebrate!

Avalanche Creek along Going-to-the-Sun Road

Exploring Apgar Village

I think yesterday's action-packed day tired me out today.  We went for a walk along the Apgar bike path and I made it there, but Dave went and got the car so that I didn't have to walk back.  If I don't take a preventative Tylenol before going on a walk, I generally get pain in my hip which bothers me.  That's why I like bike-riding--it doesn't give me hip pain!  Maybe tomorrow we'll bike on all the Apgar and Fish Creek bike paths. 

Last night, Dave and I attended a very informative ranger talk at the Apgar Campground amphitheater, which is located at the west end of scenic Lake McDonald.  The topic was about trees.  Ranger Becky gave us a lot of information, including how to identify different trees, and her presentation was interactive and enjoyable for all ages, from children to senior citizens. 

The Apgar Amphitheater

Ranger Becky holding up the number of vascular animals in Glacier National Park.  The audience had to guess what each number stood for.

The final number was the number of tree species in the park, a low enough number that it ought to be easy enough to identify all of them.

She also had the audience play a game that identified the functions of each of the parts of a tree.  You would be surprised how involved the children in the audience were during the presentation.

Some of the trees surrounding the amphitheater:

 

This morning, Dave and I attended the non-denominational church service here in the lounge of the KOA.  It was a  well-done service which included several hymns and several praise songs, prayers, a responsive Bible reading, and a short devotional based on the Bible reading.  It was very nice to informally worship the Lord with the others that attended the service--a good way to start the day.

As Dave wrote in his blog, we intended to drive up to Polebridge, but we turned around when the road turned to gravel.  On the way back to Apgar, we saw a deer in McGee Meadow.

During our picnic lunch at Apgar Village, we enjoyed another good view of Lake McDonald and the snow-capped mountains.

After lunch we went on the ill-fated (for me) walk from the village to the Apgar campground.

Many trees burned during the big fire of 2003, but there are still lots of trees in the park.  Many of them are lodgepole pines and cedars.

I snapped a photo of a few of the many ferns we saw.  It was an enjoyable, peaceful walk, except for my hip pain.

In case anyone is interested, the Apgar Campground looked very nice.  No hookups, of course, but the price was right at $10/day for senior pass holders, and $20/day for others.  We saw a few big rigs in the campground, but most of the sites were more suited for average or smaller rigs. 

We are spending the rest of the day relaxing at our KOA campsite.

West Glacier Didn't Disappoint!

This morning (Saturday) Dave and I entered Glacier National Park's West Glacier Entrance.  There was a long line on this beautiful holiday weekend day, but the our day's activities in the park didn't disappoint. 

Our first view of Lake McDonald was great, with the lake reflecting the mountains.  What a view!

We drove on Going to the Sun Road for the 16 miles that it was open.  That took us to Avalanche Creek.  We tried to take the free shuttle for hikers and bikers that went 9 more miles, but after standing in a very long line for a while, we didn't feel like waiting the hour that it would take to get on a shuttle. 

After finding a parking spot in the very crowded day-use A loop, we walked along the handicap-accessible "Trail of the Cedars". 

The trail was part pavement and part boardwalk.

Avalanche Creek

We came upon a couple being married along the trail.  This was a highlight of our day!

One of the many downed-cedar trees along the path.  They have a shallow but intricate root system.

After a picnic lunch in the day-use area, we headed back down Going to the Sun Road and visited Lake McDonald Lodge.

At 3 pm, we took the 1-hour guided boat ride on Lake McDonald.

The following picture shows the deep aqua-colored glacier water that formed the lake.

I took way too many pictures--good thing they were all digital!