Day 13
Caldwell, MT - Glacier National Park, MT Avalanche Campground
Travel Time: 5 hrs to park and 2 hrs driving half way through
What I can see as I type this: my campfire and my breath...it is freezing!!
Yesterdays Temperature Span: 33 degrees in the morning to 88 degrees at noonish...tonight I think it’s colder. I actually ran the heater in the car this morning. So, in the past 13 days I’ve been at 33 degrees, 116 degrees, at sea level & at 6640 feet above sea level.
Total Miles: 3763
With each new park comes a realization I might have made earlier had I researched any of the parks I’m visiting before departing home. :-) Here’s what I’ve learned about Glacier. It’s all trails with one road cutting through the middle. Although the road is called Going-To-The-Sun Road, it rained during 90% of the time I was driving on it today. I think the mountain lions, moose, bighorn sheep and grizzly bears forgot their raincoats because there wasn’t a one in sight. However, I’m sure they all have their designated spots along the hiking trails for people who take to the woods to have exciting wildlife sightings. In the morning I am going to hike a trail near my campsite. Before I leave I’m going to rub myself down with some good smelling food and not make a sound as I round blind corner and bushes, in hopes to see something terrifying. I’ve already burned some paper towel with butter on it in my campfire in hopes of luring one in tonight. Actually, I am just out of fire starters and had to come up with the next best thing.
Tips for Travelers
- Remember the marshmellows.
- Altitude is nothing to shake a stick at. It’s harder to breathe, things cook funny and it feels like winter after the sun goes down.
- It’s good to find a campsite by 7:00pm, even if you could drive a couple more hours.
- When passing through a National Park in 24 hours it is best to choose 2 things to focus on instead of driving through trying to stop indiscriminately and making yourself nuts
- Gas up before you have less than half a tank...there are a lot of corn fields and cow pastures between you and the next gas station.
- Most of the northern half of the US is less developed than MA. Forget finding a Whole Foods or a Chipotle. You’ll feel like you’ve struck the lottery when a gas station has mini vegetarian pizzas ready in 8 minutes. Today I ran across a market that sold organic and locally grown products...it’s the first one I’ve seen since leaving MA.
- Have plenty of Wet Ones
- A clean & organized car is a happy car
- Figure out some way to be ready to take a photo of a pheasant as it flies out of the grass in front of your car...because that would be a really cool looking picture to post on facebook.
- And last but not least...sometimes the quickest way to get somewhere is to slow down.
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