A Glacially Long Drive

It's been awhile since my last post. We are finally back in a part of the country that has not only wi-fi, but also cell phone coverage! So I'll share a bit about yesterday's adventure in this post and then share more about today's fun in tomorow morning's post.

The laundry was done, breakfast was consumed, the car was packed and we were in the car after a quick stop at Walmart to replenish our snacks. We gave a nod to Matt, and the boys talked about texting him a photo of his favorite store. The weather was drizzly, windy, and chilly as we headed north to Glacier National Park. Google told us it would be about 5 hours, and we were underway by 11:30.

Right outside our cabin

The plan was to drive to the east side of Glacier and take the Going to the Sun Road stopping along the way to enjoy the sites and activities. Our stopping point was a cabin in the west end of the park near McDonald Lake. We figured we'd arrive near the park entrance at St. Mary (on the eastern side) around 5:00 and still have plenty of time to drive the road since the sun doesn't set until 10:00 p.m. But things didn't turn out quite the way we planned.

Our first clue that things might go awry was the rain. The further north we drove, the more it rained, and it was a cold rain. When we had been driving for about 2 hours on a lonely state highway, we came upon a truck covered in mud and a police car with it's lights flashing. The driver of the truck turned out to be a road worker, and he was informing us that the road was being closed ahead. They were working on the road, and because of the rain it had become a path of mud where cars were sliding into ditches and an RV had even turned on its side. He asked us where we were headed, and when we said Glacier, he sighed. He then told us our best bet was to drive back to the town we'd gone through 20 miles back and catch another highway to go around this road work. Ultimately, we would catch the 15N and then cut back west to hook up with the original highway north of all of the road work. It was not as easy as it sounds.

We turned around and drove back to the town of Choteau while checking our phones for any kind of signal to be able to come with an alternative route. We stopped at a gas station and after a conversation with several clerks, I wrote down some directions. They went like this:

1. Drive back down the road you came into town on.
2. Turn right on the street between the motel and the grill.
3. Drive for a long time and go up a hill.
4. Make a left at the stop sign.
5. Drive on that road for a while and it will take you to Conrad.
6. I think you can connect to the 15 from Conrad.

Ummm...yeah. Fortunately, David got a signal on his phone long enough that we were able to find a route that by passed the construction. 150 miles later we were back on the highway and eventually ended up in Browning, Montana which is considered the eastern gateway to Glacier National Park. It was 35 miles to St. Mary where we would enter the park and drive across to the other side (about 50 miles) on the Road to the Sun. This road basically crosses the Continental Divide rising and falling in elevation by two to three thousand feet while winding and twisting at 25-40 mph.

By now it was after 6:30, and I looked at the wet weather and the blanket of clouds that were covering the mountains we were supposed to be driving toward and through and started having second thoughts about this great plan. We stopped at another gas station and I asked the clerk if were crazy to try and drive the Road to the Sun that night. She said, "I wouldn't if I were you. It's probably really foggy and maybe even snowing on that road. Plus if you are afraid of heights, there are some pretty steep drops."  So, I'm not afraid of heights, but I am afraid of driving on an unknown narrow mountain road in the fog! Another clerk told us we could get to the West Glacier entrance by driving on another highway that goes along the southern edge of the park. He said, it won't be as pretty, but you'll get there faster than taking the Road to the Sun, and the other clerk reiterated it would be safer. So we opted to take a new route once again.

We arrived in Western Glacier National Park around 8:00 p.m. and checked into our cute cabin just inside the park at Apgar Village. Our cabin was right on the edge of a creek that came off of the lake. We ate dinner in the village and since there was still plenty of light we explored a path along the edge of the creek. We came upon a beaver who quickly scurried into the water and we stayed watching him swim around waiting for us to leave. We also saw two deer up on the bridge that crossed the creek. It was really cool. So despite the unexpected and disappointing changes, the day ended with some fun and we were able to get to bed fairly early and make some new plans for the coming day.

For another perspective:

David's blog: http://favoritesonsspiels.blogspot.com

Joe's blog: https://joesage.wordpress.com