Tuesday-July 25-Day 35- Disappointment at Glacier

Clear blue skies greeted us this morning. And our unknown friend was not out of his cacoon yet. When he did get up, he spent quite awhile with the neighboring campers.  We had only about 100 miles to go to our first destination, so we took time to make blueberry  pancakes for breakfast. Served with maple syrup and coffee, it was a breakfast fit for kings!  Yum! The young man eventually came back to his stuff, and we got to talk to him.  He is from Nome, Alaska (a fly-in community) and is on his way to his first year of college in Colorado.  Imagine that! Riding his bike all that distance! He said he has a budget of $20. per day. He sleeps whereever he can find a spot.....sometimes just off the road. We offered him our left-over pancakes and he readily accepted. He said he never turns down free food! We sent him on his way with some fresh fruit and a blessing from the Lord.

When we hit the road south, we passed a lot of ranches/farms. Here they mow and bale the medians! A win for the rancher, a win for the township!

The land was very dry, and brown.
The only green areas were where it was irrigated.

A field of canola in full bloom.

Marie passed the time finishing her book so Barb could read it next.

The flat ranch lands became rolling hills.

As we approached the border, the Rockies again came into view.

We crossed the border for the last time at Carway, AB. 
But first we waited in line for about an hour!

We said good-bye to the land of liters and kilometers, washrooms, loonies and toonies......and found ourselves back on soil of the good old USA! Montana, to be exact! 

We drove to the town of St.Mary, which is the east gate of Glacier Natioinal Park.

There we met Barb's daughter Dawn and her grandson Tanner.
This was in our plans from the beginning.....that Barb would spend some time with her daughter, who lives near Great Falls.
In the last week, due to a combination of life events, including her sister's rapidly declining health, she decided to fly home from Great Falls.  It was a difficult decision for her, and all of us.  We had grown very close over the past five weeks and it was not easy to  say good-bye. We ladies all had tears at breakfast this morning!

We sadly parted ways, and then drove a half mile on Going-to-the-Sun highway to the entrance of Glacier. Our plan was to drive through, to the west entrance and then head on to Heron, Montana. I had heard so many wonderful things about Glacier and was looking forward to finally seeing it with my own eyes!

But our plans were again thwarted when we were told that no vehicle over 21 feet could go through the park. (We are 32 feet) We were permitted to  drive in 6 miles and then had to turn around and come back.  So that's what we did.  But compared to what had awed us yesterday in the Canadian Rockies, this was a let-down.
I am sure it is more picturesque further in, but the first 6 miles were rather bland, except for the above sight.
So we thought we would spend some time at the Visitor's Center to learn more about what we were unable to see.  BUT....again. after driving around the parking lot several times, we could find no spot to park our RV!  Good-bye Glacier.....maybe next time!

Miss GPS re-routed us unto Route 89 South, then west on Route 2, which circumvents the south side of the park. Route 89 was a mountainous windy road.....with brown sage brush and green clumps of trees.

We came around a corner and the traffic was stopped.  There were horses on the road! They did not appear to be wild horses......just free range!

Continuing toward our next destination, we followed the railroad tracks for many miles.

When we arrived at West Glacier, where we were originally planning to exit the park, we saw this young man selling Huckleberries. Marie turned the rig around and we went back. We love interacting with local folks! He told us we were the biggest vehicle that ever stopped!  He had an ice chest on the back of his pick-up,  about half full of freshly picked huckleberries, which grow wild here, and across northwestern Montana. Of coarse, one of my first questions was ,"How much?" I about fell over at his reply......"$7 a cup" !!!! He was earning money for college.....and I couldn't walk away without helping him out.  So I bought a cup! He then told me that with the picking and standing there in the afternoons selling them, he makes about $20 a hour. My thought response??  No wonder! At that price!  But he must be commended for his ingenuity and hard work....picking wild huckleberries is not easy, nor for the faint of heart! The bears like them as much as the people do, or more! He did say the hardest part is finding them up in the mountains.

We washed the berries and divided them into dessert cups....1/3 cup for each of us!  They were good....a bit tart and somewhat like blueberries.  Actually, they are wild blueberries.

We enjoyed the ride toward Heron......

I made a reservation for tonight at Rocky Mountain "Hi" Campground in Kalispell. And again!  We got the last campsite! That is 4 times in 2 weeks!
 We feel so cared for by our loving Heavenly Father!
 I asked the gal who took my reservation for a supper recommendation and she referred us to "The Back Room" in Columbia Falls, enroute to Kalispell.

We liked this sign!  Just wish we would have brought a few chickens...😁

We had a true Montana meal! BEEF!
I chose the BBQ medallions.....

Steve got broasted chicken....
(wonder who paid their dinner bill with this one??)

Marie ordered brisket....
With our meals came baked beans, cole slaw, roasted potatoes and fry bread,
 served with honey butter......soooo good!

We arrived at our campground at 8 PM. Our hearts were a bit sad. We are missing Barb.  It seems so strange without her.

 It was a lovely evening for sitting outside.
Marie did her online scrabble while I blogged.  But then the mosquitos started bothering us so we had to give up the delightful outdoors.