From Billings to Great Falls to Glacier NP to Canada - On Saturday, June 4 we took our time getting ready and out the door. We relaxed, slowed down the pace, and checked out of the motel around 9-9:30 am. We stopped for breakfast and were on the road about 10-10:30 am. Later than usual.
We drove I-90 west to exit 340 near Livingston where we took US highway 89 north through deserted country. Past White Sulphur Springs we crossed the King’s Hill Pass (7,393 feet) with snow on the side of the road and past the Show Down ski area. We drove through an old mining town called Neihart and as the highway descended, the rapid flowing Belt Creek increased in speed and amount of snow runoff water. We finally made it to Great Falls, Montana, and to the home of friends, Bill and Kay Quast.
Bill took us into the town of Great Falls and we stopped to let Rita shop at the Big Sky Quilt Store while Bill and I walked around part of the historic area. Next we drove to see the falls on the Missouri River called Great Falls. The Missouri River has five cataracts close together and when Lewis and Clark reached this place on the river they had to portage or carry their boats a good distance in order to continue their trip west. We walked over a swaying bridge that suggests only six people at a time as it collapsed a year ago into the river, to a small island in the Missouri River. Scary when you see the river nearly over its banks and flowing rapidly towards Iowa, Missouri, and the Mississippi River. From the island we had great views of the Great Falls with a tremendous amount of water cascading over it. Finally we went to dinner, and had good conversation at their house until time to go to bed.
Sunday we woke early but had a leisurely brunch before attacking the day. This far north the sky lights up around 5:30 am and dusk lasts until 10:00 pm before it really starts to get dark. And this was another day of great weather with sunny skies and temperature up to 82 degrees. We spent half the day at the interesting Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center. One could spend all day here or more – there are hundreds of signs to read and displays to look at as well as movies and talks throughout the day.
From the Center we walked the short distance to the Giant Springs which releases millions of gallons of fresh spring water into the Missouri River daily. We drove to a vantage point overlooking Rainbow Falls, another of the five cataracts. After a drink we headed south of Great Falls to the village of Ulm where we toured the First People’s Buffalo Jump which has been documented as used by the Plains Indians from about 900 to 1500 AD. We ended the day with dinner at a distinguished restaurant called Jaker’s. Rita and I had our first rainbow trout of the trip.
Monday morning we said good-bye to Bill and Kay and headed north on US highway 89 through Choteau and Dupuyer to Browning, the capital of the Blackfoot Reservation. We continued north to St. Mary where we entered the Glacier National Park. Our luck with good weather finally ran out and the tops of the mountain peaks were obscured with low clouds. We drove the Going-to-the-Sun road as far as it was open which was the Jackson Glacier Overlook. We had faint views of the glacier but we weren’t too concerned because a) the glaciers in this park have been disappearing over the past century and will all be gone by 2020 and b) we have seen glaciers before elsewhere. We did see two young elk and an osprey nest with a half-grown chick.
We drove back to St. Mary where we stopped at the Park Café, a recommendation from Rachel. We split a sandwich and then each had a slice of pie. The Park Café specializes in pies and has about a dozen different ones to choose from. Their slogan is “Pie for strength”. Their other slogan is “Yay Pie”.
We drove to Browning once more where we picked up highway 2 west which skirted the Glacier National Park. This highway hugs the Middle Fork of the Flathead River which was flowing rapidly and nearly over its banks – like all the rivers we have seen in this part of the country. We drove into the village of Kalispell to have a look around then headed back to the Glacier National Park entrance at West Glacier. Again we took the Going-to-the-Sun road as far as permitted which was to the Avalanche Creek camp ground. Finally we checked into the rustic Lake McDonald Lodge where we had reservations for the night. This lodge was built in 1895, is on the National Historical Landmark list, and was welcoming with huge beams and timbers incorporated around a fireplace that was about 12 feet wide and over 6 feet high. We loved the lodge even though our room was small – they all are. We had an excellent meal at the lodge restaurant with a window table overlooking Lake McDonald. We walked a bit after dinner and then sat in front of the roaring fire until time for bed.
I suspected we couldn’t continue on this trip forever without some inclement weather. We woke to rainy skies that lingered around most of the day. We departed West Glacier and headed north on US highway 93 through the pretty little town of Whitefish to the Canadian border where entrance was quick and easy. They didn’t even ask us about our car insurance which we thought was serious business. We took the highway east into Alberta crossing the Rocky Mountains once more. We also had to stop for a small herd of Rocky Mountain sheep to cross the road in front of us. We drove through coal mining villages on highway 3 and then headed north on highway 2 to Calgary. We discovered that Calgary was hosting a large oil exposition and hotels were full up. We did not have reservations. But we got online and found a room at the last moment. The motel was full by the time we drove into town and finally located it.
After checking in we asked the Indian (sub-continent) at the front desk for recommendations for Indian food and he steered us to Namskar restaurant where we had an excellent dinner. Getting around Calgary was confusing because they have numbered street s and numbered avenues and they intersect. But we managed to find the restaurant and our way back.
Our itinerary has changed a little bit from its original plan but we will still leave Vancouver on June 15 because we have ferry reservations.
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