Thurs. Sept 20, 2007

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Wrapping up the day – I finally made it to West Glacier (which is really the south entrance). It had been raining hard for the first time on the trip and the weather is expected to stay this way till Thursday. Bummer! I got lots of tips from the Ranger regarding hikes and that half of the Road to the Sun road is closed for repair. That’s the main artery that connects East and West Glacier and gets you to the ‘good side’. After weighing my options, I decided to do a drive on the West side – according to the Ranger, most of the sights are visible from lookouts and then travel around the park to the East side where he said the animals were more popular and the trees were changing color. There wasn’t much to see on the West other than the enormous lake McDonald. I didn’t hike because of the rain – kept driving. (Hey, there’s a rabbit outside my RV!) Sorry – anyway, on the trip to the West, the colors of the Aspen in particular were awesome. Some were actually orange and they stood out among the yellows and greens like they were on fire. I saw another bear too – just the top of his head though – he was in some tall bushes eating (I’m assuming) berries. I’ve come upon Two Medicine campground – not much here (few people, the store is closed, no gas station – should have filled up earlier and hummmm now the Check Engine light is on – lovely.) Anyway, since I’m here in the boonies, I’ll camp by the lake (rough life), hope the weather is nicer tomorrow and go for a hike. Two others in the area told me they saw bears up in them there hills – and I’m going to go lookin’ for em! Cross your fingers that the Check Engine light will be off in the morning, I’ll have enough propane to make my coffee and enough gas to get out of the valley after my hike! Oh the drama!

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Well looky here – I went to bed with rain and woke up with 2” of snow! Crazy!! The roads were clear but it was still snowy and windy so no hiking today. I tried to drive up to the St. Mary’s (West) side of the mountain but was met by roads covered in 6” of snow and a small car on the wrong side of the road, pointed toward the canyon! Fortunatelyl there was a snow plow on it’s way up the hill and he plowed the back end of the car out and two guys pushed the car back on to the road. Since I don’t have 4 w drive I decided that Glacier was out for this trip. Unfortunate but I prefer warmer climates and safer driving! So, after driving about 450 miles to get there, I turned around and headed 550 miles toward Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota. I made it about 10 hours with stops along the way – not much to see since most of the western state was snow and rain socked in. WY was clear but by the time I got there, it was about 8 PM and pretty dark. I hung out in a hospital parking lot, showered in the RV and went to sleep. Woke up to 60 degree weather – now that’s more like it!

Thursday, September 20, 2007

I looked for wi-fi in Spearfish, WY – doesn’t exist here. Went toward Grand Rapids and drove to the town just before Mt. Rushmore (one of my most anticipated desitinations). After many twists and turns, I finally landed at the base of Mt. Rushmore and what a sight! It really is amazing to see 4 presidents faces clearly carved in granite alongside a huge cliff! I spent a few hours walking around the manicured areas, listening to a Ranger presentation and watched a short movie on the making of Mt. Rushmore. It’s really spectacular to see. After that, I went to Custer Park nearby and am here now, using their wi-fi and having a beer while more buffalo roam. It’s about 70 in the shade, there’s a nice light breeze and I’m not driving another mile today! Might even watch some college football in the lounge later. Tomorrow, I’m off to visit my cousin in CO