2nd July - Glacier Nationa Park.
Started out early and got to the gate before 9am, after having stopped at the ranger's station in Hungry Horse - where in 2007 I was given information for a great trip I did up a mountain, at the top of which one could see the glacial valleys of GNP. Unfortunately they were closed.
At the park visitor centre there was a ranger explaining lots of things to a husband who was wheeling his wife in a wheelchair. I joined them, saying that is what I needed.
In the end his advice was that the Cedar Trail was the only one which was accessible.... other than the visitor centres. The lines were already long and the visitor centre was already crowded. Only then did it dawn on me that I had fallen on a holiday weekend. The roads too were crowded, and turnouts were mostly full. When I saw a spot to park, it was usually too late to turn into it. Took my photos from the car when stopped on the crowded roads.
The Cedar Trail did not disappoint. Fortunately, even though the parking area was marked full, I was shepherded in to the permit parking area, behind the main parking area. I went round the boardwalk twice, taking in all it had to offer, and fully aware that this was basically all I was going to see, away from the road.
Being a solo tripper has its ups and downs, and this day was to be one of the downs. By the time I got back to my car and on the road again, it was very crowded, turnouts were overflowing, people were parked on the road forcing others to cross the double lines to get through, which in turn gave the oncoming traffic very little room, especially by the sheer cliffs, close to the road. Unfortunately I did not have anyone to fold in my passenger side external mirror, and yes, you guessed it, for the second time my mirror was shattered. I was left with about a quarter of the big mirror and half of the little round convex mirror.
At the visitor centre at the top, there was an opportunity to ask a ranger about Hungry Horse, and she reminded me that they were possibly closed because one of their rangers had been taken by a grizzly on the previous Wednesday. I then recalled having read about it in the local paper. She told me that most of the rangers up there knew the lass who lost her life, and it cast a shadow over the whole holiday weekend.
There were no more stops, but I resolved that I would take a boat trip next day. Not sure on which lake, but whichever suited my timeline.
Headed down to East Glacier on what turned out to be an awful road - #49. I had stayed there before, and planned to again, until I came to a roadside sign which pointed to Cut Bank Ranger Station camp ground. I followed the road, and came to an unattended entry into Glacier National Park. A little further on was the campground.
Driving through I spoke with the family who had just occupied the last vacant spot. It was a self registration campground. The brochure with the rules and regulations stated among other things, no more than two vehicles per site. I drove around slowly, and saw two young man with a small vehicle and a tent way at the back of the site. I asked them if I could be the second vehicle on their site. I had everything I wanted in my van, and just wanted to park. They agreed, and I paid them the registration fee, so that they had a free night. (The first and only night I have stayed in a NP.)
I was asleep long before their fire was out.
Cut Bank Ranger Station camground - GNP.
(Odo - 143920)
Lifey
3rd July - Waterton Lakes National Park.
When I awoke in the morning, the boys were nowhere to be seen, though their car and tent were still there. I had not heard a thing. Heading out of the campground, I noticed a lot of vehicles which had camped/parked at the trailheads. The actual ranger station had a sign discouraging approaching it.
In East Glacier I filled my tank, and spent some time at the World's Largest Wooden Spoon Shop, as well as at the World's Largest Purple Wooden Spoon. Great tourist attractions. Hard to take a photo without other folk in it. (Thought this would be of interest to roadtrippers who are wanting to visit the largest this-and-that.)
I managed to get hold of the boat times for lake tours, for the lake I did not yet have. Not sure which lake it was, but I could get there in time. However, when I went there, no one was able to tell me where to go. There was not a single sign. I was sent to a hotel, to ask there. From there, it was a staircase down to the boat.... some two dozen (plus) steps. When it became clear to the teenager in charge that my scooter would not cope with the steps, I was told how to get there the long way round. By now it was only a few minutes to departure time. The path I had been told to take was loose gravel, which I cannot do on my scooter, so I went back to get my car. As I approached the corner where I had to turn to get to the ticket office, I saw the boat pull out. The teenager at the information counter said she was forbidden to call them to say I was on my way. I could have cried, but instead, in sheer frustration headed for the border.
Crossed the border on MT-17, where the only delay was that I joined the incorrect line, not realising my van was too tall. A mature gentleman went along the lines and asked the initial questions, so all we had to do was hand over the passport and get it stamped. Very efficient.
Headed straight for the visitor centre. Not sure how much it cost to enter Waterton NP, I handed over US$100 and received CA$123+ in change. Seems that the CA$ is almost on par with the AU$.
Waterton was a most delightful place to get around. With the car parked at the waterfall in town, I spent almost the whole day in town, along the lake and the boardwalks. It was a sunny day - as most of my time had been - with lots of folk in kayaks and canoes on the lake. It was idyllic until around 4pm, when the wind blew up. Now the waves on the lake were washing up on the stony beach. My little scooter was almost blown of the path.
After dinner I headed to the Crandell campground, just short of Crandell Mountain. It was a lovely campground, with ample room between sites. A first come best dressed campground, it was nowhere near full.
Crandwell campground - Waterton Lakes NP.
(Odo - 144077)
Lifey
