Montana

The drive from Yellowstone to Glacier Park was long and uneventful. We stopped by Bozeman but it seemed empty. We then stopped at Big Spring and saw the waterfalls which also weren’t as impressive as we expected.

So far, the smallest town we’ve seen is Emblem, WY with a population of 10. Northern Montana is completely empty with farmland as far as the eye can see. We drove through the Blackfeet Indian Reservation and all the roads everywhere in Montana were scarcely populated.

We arrived at the park at 9pm, went to the campground even though it said it was full and got a spot. The gusty winds made for a very hardy night. Our crappy tent thrashed around in the wind. I kept thinking it would fall on us any minute. As a result, we got maybe 3 hours of sleep all night. We kept waiting for the sun to ocme up hoping it would signal the end of the wind but even as late at 8am, the wind was still going full force so we gave up and decided to get going.

We drove the going-to-the-sun road and hiked, saw deer and longhorns, saw a glacier and waterfalls. We saw bighorn sheep just lying on the grazz and sun bathing. A deer looked us in the eye at about 5 feet. The peeks of the mountains were covered with snow but the meadows had wild flowers. Streams of water trickled down most of the mountains. Bird chriped everywhere and we saw at least 7 chipmunks running past us. One even approached us thinking we had food but quickly lost interest when we didn’t. St.Mary’s waterfall had a rainbow going ight through it and the water was icy. The park had magnificent views and falls. It was one of the most beautiful parks I’ve ever been to and I’m glad we decided to go out of our way to come here.

I’ve officially become a fan of Montana.

Lodging: St.Mary Campground in Glacier Nat. Park@$17
Car’s Mileage: 13,526
Gas: $13.40@1.69 & $13.03@1.62 & $10.05@1.77
Roads: 90 to Butte, 15 to Shelby, 2 to Glacier Park
Sites: Bozeman, Big Spring, Glacier National Park