Many Glacier, Glacier National Park

I’d heard that a great place for wildlife sightings is Many Glacier, located about 15 miles from our campground.  According to the locals, the best time to see wildlife is in the early morning or evening.  As many of you know, I am not a morning person so I dragged Mark and Winston to Many Glacier one evening in hopes of sighting a bear.  While in Grand Teton and Yellowstone we were fortunate to see some wildlife; but no bears, despite the numerous signs about bear safety and keeping your picnic baskets safely tucked away.  So needless to say, I felt cheated that I didn’t get to see bears romping about in their natural habitat. 

Glacier National Park encompasses more than a million acres so I figured this would be prime bear sighting country.  While hiking to St. Mary’s waterfall we came up bear scat (that’s ‘poop’ for those not as wildlife savvy as others), convincing me that this was surely the place that I would spy my bear in the wild.  But alas, on the drive out to Many Glacier, we didn’t see anything.  I was in full whine mode on the drive back when Mark spotted a bear.  Yes, there he (or she) was in a meadow beside the road snacking on berries before bedtime.  It was just as amazing as I knew it would be. Ahh, I felt complete.  

The relatively short drive to Many Glacier is very scenic although the road itself leaves something to be desired.  The road ends at Swiftcurrent Lake which is one massive lake let me tell you.  Sitting on its shore is the Many Glacier Lodge built in 1914-15 by the Great Northern Railroad.  This lodge is the largest in the park and looks like something you would see if you were in Switzerland.  If we weren’t traveling in YOLO, I would have stayed the night.  The lodge, the lake and the views were amazing and my photos simply don’t do it justice, especially the photo of the lodge.

 

Swiftcurrent Lake 

 

 Many Glacier Lodge

 

 Bear Sighting

 

 Frolicking Bear - Not a Sight you See Everyday

 

St. Mary at Glacier National Park

St. Mary is located on the east side of Glacier National Park.  It’s a very small town with a few places to stay and eat and that’s about it.  We “camped” at Johnson’s RV Park.  NiceRV  park for adults (not much to do for kids) located on a hillside overlooking St. Mary Lake, but the views are amazing.  There is a small café on the premises which has the best homemade bread.  Yum!

The entrance to the park is about 1 mile from town and the beginning of the Going to the Sun Road which winds across the Continental Divide at Logan Pass and the drops down into West Glacier.  The road is 52 miles between the east and west sides of the park and has some of the most spectacular scenery accessible by car in the U.S.

On our first foray into the park, we stopped at the St. Mary’s Fall trailhead and hiked in about 2.5 miles to see St. Mary’s Falls and Virginia Falls.  I just love waterfalls and I wasn’t disappointed.   The water at the foot of the falls is this eerie green color from the glacial melt.  Winston was a trooper – this was his second longest waterfall hike on this adventure.

On our second trip into the park, we actually did the whole drive over Going to the Sun Road. We passed Haystack Creek Falls which cascades down the mountainside right at the roadside, going under the road and continuing on.  Next stop was Logan Pass Visitor’s Center where you can see many of the glaciers in the distance and meadows of wild flowers.  We also saw our first marmot up close and personal and boy was he vocal!  I had no idea they “talked.”  We had a lovely picnic alongside the river and after lunch Winston went to dip his paws in the water. 

Because Glacier National Park is so large and the geography is so diverse, I’ll have another post on the beautiful destination.

Our Million Dollar View to the Right

Our Million Dollar View to the Left

 

             

Mark and Winston at the Falls                                             St. Mary Falls

 

 For those brave enough to jump - adjacent to the Falls

 

 



 River downstream from St. Mary's Falls

 

Virginia Falls



 

Beginning of the 2.5 mile hike to the Falls

 

 Going to the Sun Road

Haystack Creek Falls 

Great Falls, Montana

I got a little behind in my blogging so I’m using the next few days to play catch up.

We decided to implement a course correction and shave off 100 miles from our journey to Glacier National Park by heading north through Great Falls.  Due to reservations in the Glacier area which I necessarily made months and months ago, we ended up having a few days to just hang out and Great Falls turned out to be a good place to spend those few days.  The RV Park is located in town and so shopping was a hop, skip and jump from home.  I also took the time to have the oil changed and tires rotated on the Silver Fox (the Honda CRV) which was overdue. 

While hanging out in Great Falls, we took a few hours to tour the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center just down the road along the Missouri River.  It was very interesting and worth the stop.  It’s a good thing I didn’t live back then – life was hard.  No wonder so many died young.  Yikes.  We’re following a portion of the Lewis and Clark trail in our air conditioned motorhome.  Can you imagine not knowing exactly where you are going, traveling on foot and carrying everything you owned with you, braving the elements?   

We went to the Giant Springs Park which boasts the smallest river in the United States, a mere couple hundred feet long.   150 million gallons of pristine clear water flows up through cracks in the limestone every day and rushes down the little falls before dumping into the Missouri River.  The park was beautiful, green and cool.  There is also a fish hatchery on site along the bank of the river.  My nephew Connor, the fishing enthusiast of the family, would have been chomping at the bit to throw his line in the water of the Missouri I am sure.  It must have been a good spot since to fish since there were many people doing just that.  Heck, even the pelicans seemed to recommend this location.

 Lewis and Clark Mission Objective

 

 Boats they used to carry themselves and supplies

 

 Winston looks out over Giant Springs

 

Views of the Giant Springs Falls with the Missouri River in the background 

 

Billings, Montana

We stopped over for one night at the KOA in Billings.  It is the first KOA and flagship for the entire franchise.  My review: it was very nice.  The spaces were incredibly close together, but the amenities more than made up for it.  As with most KOA’s, it is very family oriented.  They have adorable little cabins to rent for those traveling without a home on wheels.  I have no idea what they get for a cabin, but if we didn’t have a motorhome, I would love to stay in one instead of a traditional hotel.  If you have children or pets, this would definitely be the way to go.  Although our stay was brief, it was enjoyable.  This was a pass through rather than a destination stop, so other than a quick Costco run and a trip through downtown on our way out, we didn’t see too much of Billings. Did I mention that the KOA rented recumbent bikes?  Guess who spent some time cruising around the campground?

 Next stop – Great Falls, MT

 

 

 

Sturgis, SD

We were here the week of the famous motorcycle rally.  Everything you’ve seen on TV is true.  People here definitely march to the beat of their own drums.  Sturgis is a small town of approximately  6,660 souls who host the biggest motorcycle rally in North America once a year.  Motorcycle enthusiasts come from all around (we saw Canadians, Texans, New Yorkers, Floridians, Californians and people from just about every state in between) to spend some quality time with one another cruising on their bikes through the hills of western South Dakota, party, drink, check out what’s new and exciting in the bike world, drink (did I mention that already?) enjoy concerts and basically have one heck of a good time.  There are literally thousands upon thousands motorcycles of every make, model and color.  From the extravagant to the ordinary, you’ll see them all here in Sturgis and the people that ride them are as individual as their bikes.  While never a fan of motorcycles, I admit after seeing all the bikes in Sturgis I am now wondering what it would be like to own a purple trike.  Hmmm.

We stayed at Shade Valley Camp Resort about 10 miles east of downtown Sturgis.  The campground was nice and would be a good place to stay if you want to distance yourself a little from the non-stop action going on in town, but still be close to the action.  The Eye Candy Saloon is located on site with free concerts every night and there is a restaurant offering outside dining for breakfast, lunch and dinner with a BBQ special offered every night.

The popular destination saloons in Sturgis include The Full Throttle Saloon which is billed as the largest biker saloon in the world, the Buffalo Chip, known for its nightly big name entertainment during the rally.  In town proper, you'll find the Easy Rider and Loud American Saloons among many others.

We were pleasantly surprised at the attitude of the crowd.  Everyone here is laid back, courteous and law-abiding from what we could tell.  I was a little worried about the chaos of driving to town with so many motorcycles on the road, but everyone takes it slow and is very respectful of one another.   The Sturgis police department does an excellent job and the locals are terrific.  A great time!

Rather than try to describe the rally to you further, I think I’ll let the pictures below tell the story…

 

 

 73rd Annual Motorcycle Rally

 

Main Street Sturgis

 

Bikes, bikes and more bikes

 

I think I need one of these

Apparently skin, paint and

electrical tape are the latest fashion.

 

  Partying at night

 



The Full Throttle rocks

 

Loved this metal sculpture

 

 

 

Hill City, SD Nearby Attractions

We’ve been seeing the sites near Hill City, SD for the past few days.  It sure is pretty country here and the roads make it a pleasure to drive along and see the sites; precisely why this has been the spot for the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally forever I am sure.  More on that topic later. 

Mount Rushmore is no doubt the one place every visitor to South Dakota puts on their list of things to see and do and we were no exception.   Gutzon Borglum and 400 workers created the sculpture of the four presidents (Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln) using dynamite and jackhammers to carve the granite on the hillside.  The project took 14 years between 1927-1941 and cost approximately 1 million dollars.  Each presidential face is 60 feet tall. 

Democracy is the meaning of Mount Rushmore .  How apropos.  Did you know that the sculptor’s vision included a hall of records to be carved into the vertical wall behind the presidential faces which was intended to house The Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights?  Worked started on the Hall of Records in 1938, but ultimately the U.S. government did not approve funding for the addition and work stopped after carving only a doorway and small hallway. 

Although the hall was never built, in 1998, Borglum’s daughter was part of a team that buried a teakwood box in a titanium vault at the entrance of the Hall.  The box contains 16 porcelain panels bearing the words of the Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights.  The panels also contain presidential biographies and information about how and why Mount Rushmore was carved. 

Also at Mount Rushmore is the Avenue of the Flags with a flag for each of the 56 states, districts, territories and commonwealths of the U.S.  So that’s your history lesson for the day.

Then, it was off to Custer, SD which is the site of the Flintstone’s Bedrock City.  Of course, we stopped at the Bedrock Drive-In Diner for lunch.  I had a Chickasauras sandwich and Mark had Brontosauras Ribs.  Unfortunately, Fred and Barney were hard at work at the quarry when we stopped.   Oh, and for Denise…Bamm Bamm’s pet’s name was Hopper.

Our last tourist attraction around Hill City area was Cosmos Mystery Area.  Okay, I really am at a loss as to how to describe what this is.  A guide escorts you up a hill where you encounter “the force” where the laws of gravity seem to go berserk.  Water flows uphill.  People shrink or grow depending on where they stand.  A ball which appears to be sitting on a slanted board remains in place rather than rolling off.  It’s just plain strange. 

Next stop, Sturgis, SD.

 Avenue of Flags

 

Mount Rushmore 

Those noses are 20-21 feet long!

 

 Did you know Bedrock was in South Dakota?

 

Mark places our lunch order

 

Winston and Dino bond

Winston waiting for our tour 

 Mark's a little lopsided....or is he?

 

 

 

Hill City, South Dakota

We are back on the road!  After parking YOLO in Rapid City, South Dakota for a few weeks and flying to Arizona to spend some quality time basking (more like melting) in the Valley of the Sun, we returned to South Dakota and breathed a sigh of relief – it’s so cool here!  Winston was thrilled to be able to walk during the day without scorching his paws and wilting in the unrelenting sun – and so we did and have been walking to make up for lost time.   In AZ we restricted most of our short walks to early morning and evening in the spirit of self-preservation.  But I still love AZ!

Upon returning to South Dakota, we discovered that Rapid City had a serious hail storm (golf ball size hail) last week which caused all kinds of damage, especially to vehicles.  That explains the shattered windshields on the rental cars parked at the airport.  Fortunately, Mark was insistent that we park YOLO in an inside storage facility and I am so glad we spent the extra money to do just that.  In the long run we saved a lot of money and time not having to deal with damage to the RV.  Yup, when we picked YOLO up, she was in pristine shape just lounging indoors all cool, clean and happy. Whew, dodged a bullet there.

We are staying at the Rafter J Bar Ranch this week which is just outside of Hill City, SD.  Rafter J is a beautiful campground with lots of trees and wide open spaces, a sparkling clean pool, heated spa, arcade, playground and store.  Very kid and doggie friendly.  This place has everything you could need.  Last night Winston and I were outside and it was pitch dark with a clear sky and we were treated to an amazing view of the twinkling stars overhead.  On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Rafter J has BBQ night at the outdoor dining hall!  We will definitely be chowing down on that tonight for dinner while Cowboy Roy performs live country western music.  Yeah, this is roughing it.  Seriously, this is a very nice place to stay and I would recommend it if you’re ever in the area – it’s also centrally located to all the major attractions.  Check out the campground photos. 

Stay tuned for the scoop on what’s to see and do in this area in blogs to follow.

View of our camping spot

 

View out of our window

 

View out of our window

 

Winston catching an afternoon nap

 

Playground at camp