Waterton Village is a quaint little place that comes alive in the summer and rolls up its sidewalks in the winter. Most of the houses here are summer houses and were closed up while we were here. However they are being watched by the locals who are staying.
We were hoping that we could continue following Hwy 5 to the border crossing at Chief Mountain but they close at the end of September. However we decided to travel the road anyways as it runs down the east side of Waterton National Park. Shortly after we left the park we climbed to a lookout where you could see all the mountains surrounding Waterton Village.
The rest of the short drive was quite nice and we did take a few pictures before we turned around and headed for the border at Carway, Aberta. We were able to get a good look at Chief Mountain as we got closer to the border as it is in Montana. Chief Mountain has been a sacred mountain to Native American tribes for hundreds of years. The Blackfoot name for the mountain is Ninastiko.
When we got to the border they confiscated our firewood as a safety precaution against the Pine Bark Beetle. Actually they made us go back to Canada and leave the wood with them and then get back in line to cross over. Again.
Once leaving the border we headed straight for St. Marys and the entrance to Glacier National Park. We wanted to drive the “Going to the Sun Road” but were not sure if they would let us in as there is a length restriction. The maximum length allowed in is 21 feet and we are 29 feet with the bike racks. When we got there it wasn’t an issue as the road was closed at the 17 mile mark for construction. The part of the road that they were concerned about was past the 17 mile mark so the park attendant let us take the truck in that far.
The drive was quite spectacular and we stopped at a number of places to take pictures until we reached Logan Pass and had to turn around. Its best just to let the pictures do the talking.
We turned around at Logan Pass and only made one stop on the way back and that was at St. Marys Falls. To get there we had to hike in about 1 mile but it was worth it as the hike was nice going in and the falls were pretty nice. Even with the uphill climb out.
On the way to the falls I had a question answered that has been bothering me for years. I don’t know how many times I have heard “Does a bear shit in the woods” and I realized that I didn’t know. Well the question has been answered.
Yes he does.
After leaving the park we had a decision to make. Our preferred choice was to travel west on hwy 49 from Kiowa, Montana to East Glacier. This road which also had a 21 foot restriction was reported to be a very beautiful drive but a very rough road with a lot of heaves in the pavement.
The alternative was to drive southeast to Browning before making a 90ยบ turn and heading back west. We decided to gamble and we took the shorter route and the drive was quite nice. The road was not as bad as was reported but there were some pretty rough spots. However it was the sun that gave us the most trouble as it was directly in our eyes which wasn’t too bad most of the time. It was only when we were on the sharp curves with no guardrails and a long drop that it got a little hectic. However we made it safe and sound.
We reached East Glacier and now had the chore of trying to find an RV park that was open as most of them close at the end of September. We stopped at a few places with no luck. We finally found one that was open half way between West Glacier and Kalispell and settled in for the night.
On the way from East Glacier to the RV park we did stop to have a look at this fellow and take a couple of pictures. It’s a good thing as Kathy is just not happy unless we see a bear during the day.
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1 comment:
You turkeys could have turkey next weekend if you stayed in Canada.
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