Heading East on US 2

On Sunday, August 8, we left Lakeside and traveled all of 19 miles, around the top of Flathead Lake, to Bigfork, MT.

We stayed at the Outback RV park, a quite rustic small place with lots of trees and full hookups. It was nice to not be looking at another RV right out of the windows!

We did have neighbors in sight, but not on top of us.

In addition to a few newer RVs, there were some rigs that were there for the long haul. It is not unusual for people from the area to have an older rig in a park full time as a hunting / fishing / weekend getaway. These are usually not allowed in the more "touristy" places like the Lakeside park. 

This one had a few interesting modifications. Note the wood stove chimney and the attached shed entry hall, which are both great for cold weather.

This long peach-colored bus was there for the summer. We met the young couple who owned her on our walk around. They and their two very young children were from Texas, and one or both of the parents were working at a nearby lodge for the season. Their little girl proudly told me they had beds in the bus! 

The only thing I was not 100% comfortable about the Outback was the steep gravel road we had to go down to get out. But as it turned out it was no problem for the Alfa.  [From Craig] I drove out.
 

The Outback is just a few miles closer to Glacier National Park than Lakeside is, so we choose Monday or Tuesday of our stay there to drive up to Glacier. Because of overcrowding, National Parks have a new system that requires you to get a "time in ticket" online either months ahead, or at 8 AM two days before you want to go. All were sold out on Friday morning for Monday before I had a chance to make a time selection. On the Sunday we had both laptops queued and ready to push the select buttons at 8 AM. I lost, but Craig got in for a 9 AM slot.  

 

We choose to get tickets for the "Going to the Sun Road" shuttle because from past experience at Glacier we knew the parking at Logan Pass (the top of the road) was always very congested. 

We had had quite a rainstorm the night before and the morning was overcast and cool.  As we waited for the bus, the ticket lady told us that it was only 39° F at Logan. I was glad I wore my warmest jacket.

Even with the timed entry system, there already was quite a crowd on the road.

We really could see very little from the shuttle because of the fog. 

It was not long before we were up in the clouds.

 

When we got off the bus at Logan there were only a few feet of  visibility.  (I could barely see the people on the sidewalk in front of me.) So we decided to get back onto the next bus going back down.

This sad little naked tree is a good representation of what we saw of Glacier National Park. I am very glad we came here a few years back and spent several sunny days exploring. Unfortunately with the ticket system we could not just come back the next day!

August is cherry time around Flathead Lake.

In Bigfork there are dozens of small and large cherry stands, ranging from an  umbrellaed table, an open garage, to  commercial orchards. 

The cherries, both Bing and Rainier types, are fresh picked sweet and cost much less than in the market.

 

On Wednesday it was time to say good by to this part of Montana and head east on US Hwy 2. 

Near the eastern border of ND, the Alfa odometer turned 100,000 miles.

Since it had 13,000 miles on it when we bought her, it means we have traveled 87,000 miles. I'm going to have to watch as we get close to 113,000 in the future. That will be our real 100,000 milestone!

 

You never know what you are going to see. These humongous buffalo skulls graced the center of a traffic circle along our way.

We did see a few buffalo in a field, but they were probably being raised for the meat trade.

from web site Depositphotos

I regret not having pulled over to take some pictures of the vast rolling wheat fields we passed. The above image is from the Web. They were beautiful. 

We also saw a lot of big hay or straw bales.

Web stock picture

I spotted the first oil rig in eastern Montana, but they became more plentiful along with fracking sites in North Dakota.

In five days we drove over 1000 miles. We stopped one night in Havre, MT at the Great Northern Fair Park, which was a narrow strip of land just feet from the edge of Hwy 2 with full hookups for RVs. 

Then one night in Williston, ND, at the Fox Run RV park, which was a large parking lot with hookups for oil workers and lost travelers. 

(I will not write about the hour we spent driving on gravel roads around the Williston Airport because we took a wrong turn. It was not a fun time.) 

And two nights in Devils Lake at APRV, a very easy in-out grass field with hookups. I don't like to drive more than three days in a row without an extra day to rest!

Then we stopped in Bemidji, Minnesota, for three days at the Royal Oaks RV Park. 

The park felt "tired".   The area has been very dry for a long time. They had no snow last winter and so far no rain this summer. Most of the grass in the park and in the town was dead, and the trees look sad.

Downtown Bemidji was not very busy on a Monday afternoon. We walked a few blocks, but not being shoppers there was little of interest to us.

Across the way was Bemidji Visitor Center and one of the two lakes. We had to stop and admire the great Blue Ox.

This statue of Shaynowishkung stands in the park along the lake shore. 

The plaque picture below tells some of his story.

In these times of our becoming more aware of some of the actions taken against the indigenous residents, I think it reminds us there were real people here before us.

 

 

 

 

 

This sculpture is also in the park. 

As were this small group of Canadian Geese!  

Our next stop is along the south shore of Lake Superior. I think of it as the beginning of the next chapter of this year's travels.