Glacier National Park

We made it to Glacier National Park on Monday afternoon and were suitably awed by the glorious mountains surrounding us! Unfortunately, the campground where we wanted to stay was full. No matter…Bill found a dirt road outside the park and pulled off next to a stream.

One of the nice things about our motorhome is that we need no hook-ups. Our water is heated by propane, so our shower is always ready. We keep a well-stocked refrigerator, and our propane stove is used to make dinner or to heat up water for making coffee in our French press. Usually the only time we need electricity is when I want to blow-dry my hair, and I simply turn on the generator for that.

So here we were, by ourselves in another free campsite. Well, almost by ourselves..there were a few people cooling themselves off in the stream. It was a really hot day…mid 90’s…and no one around here has air conditioning. The nights, even on very hot days, drop down to the 40’s or 50’s. The “warm season” only lasts a few weeks, so installing air conditioning wouldn’t make sense.

I began making a meat sauce for our spaghetti dinner using the last of our 2011 frozen tomatoes (Claire and Brenden are harvesting and freezing the 2012 crop while we’re away. Thank you, dears!). Bill ventured outside to talk to a Native American/Indian (not sure which term is PC) family who was wading in the stream. Before they left the lady picked me a small bouquet of wildflowers called Indian Paintbrush, and the gentleman picked us some serviceberries. He did warn us that bears like serviceberries too. Great.

Tuesday we secured a campsite at Two Medicine Campgrounds inside Glacier National Park. We will stay here until Saturday. There is no Internet access at the campgrounds, though, and we drove to the Glacier Park Lodge so I could catch up with things. The national park inns are stunning, so even if you’re not the camping kind, look into staying at one of the inns/lodges if you'd like to experience these spectacular venues.

And, yes, we’re still hiking. Bill and I hiked around 5 miles yesterday to see Aster Falls. That wasn’t enough for him, though, and up a mountain he went later in the afternoon. These mountains feed his soul…he is certainly in his element…and I am happy to share this time with him.