Great Adventure
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
Chapter 6: Bozeman, MT to Kootenay National Park,
BC, Canada
August 16, 2002 - August 25, 2002
From Bozeman, Montana, we moved to Fairmont RV Park located
between Butte and Anaconda. For nearly a week, we rested, caught up
on errands, and did no sightseeing. We needed a break before making
our way to Glacier National Park and its breath-taking mountains,
glaciers, and wildflower meadows.
We headed south from Anaconda, picked up Rt. 43, crossed over the
Anaconda Mountain Range and the Continental Divide (again!) with
10,607-ft. Mt. Haggin to the east. The road followed the Big Hole River,
through the tiny town of Wisdom, and we stopped to visit the Big Hole
National Battlefield. In this context, “hole” means “valley”, the same as
“Jackson Hole” in Wyoming. This valley lies just east of the Bitterroot
Mountain Range and was the site of the bloodiest clash between the
Nez Perce Indians and the white men that were
attempting to force them on to a reservation.
We spend two nights at the Square Dance Center
& Campground in Lolo, MT, just outside Missoula.
Nick Russell, in his book, “Meandering Down
the Highway”, pronounces Rt. 12 from Missoula
to Kamiah, ID as one of the prettiest roads in
America. So we decided to take the car and
drove about 60 miles of Rt. 12, paralleling the
route that Lewis & Clark took nearly 200 years ago
while trying to discover the Northwest Passage to the Pacific Ocean.
We crossed Lolo Pass and followed a sparkling river at the bottom of
the canyon surrounded by pine trees, reminiscent of the Adirondack
Mountains in upstate New York. Personally, I think there are prettier
roads in America, but it was right up there!
From Missoula, we headed north and spent two nights in Polson on
Flathead Lake. The rocky Mission Mountains bordered our route to the
east. It was a very scenic drive to the lake, although the road down on
the valley floor runs through an Indian Reservation with scrubby flat
prairie and relatively poor towns. Flathead Lake has the blue-green
cast characteristic of glacial lakes and, with mountains in the
background, its beauty makes it a popular spot for recreation. A number
of state parks available for day use and overnight camping are
available. Along the road on the west side of Flathead Lake we saw our
first bear in the wild. It loped across the road in front of our car and
down in to a ravine too quickly to get a photograph!
From Polson we drove north to Kalispell and through the west entrance
of Glacier National Park.
Glacier National Park
The park is shaped more-or-less like a rectangle, north to south being
the longer sides. The 50-mile Going-to-the-Sun Road bisects the park,
going east-west over Logan Pass (elevation 6646 ft.) and the
Continental Divide. The road is an engineering marvel, requiring ten
years to build before opening in 1932. It is literally carved into the
mountainsides and it curves so sharply and climbs so steeply that no
vehicles over 21 ft. are allowed.
Going to the Sun road
Waterfall under the road
In the car, it was a lot of fun as new vistas of mountains and valleys,
rivers and lakes, glaciers and wildlife greeted us around each bend.
Glacial melt just below Logan Pass
At Logan Pass, we ate a picnic lunch and watched a group of mountain
goats climb down a rocky waterfall!
Mountain goat
Yellow and purple wildflowers, red Indian Paintbrush, and the creamy-
white flowers of beargrass were in full bloom in the mountain meadows.
Mountains and meadows
One evening, we saw a bighorn sheep feeding in the valley below us.
Through the binoculars we could see the ram’s two massive curled
horns. We later learned that the sheep only live to be about 13 years
old and that it takes about 11 years for the horns to grow to their full
size!
Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta, Canada, is Glacier’s adjacent
sister park.
Waterton Lake
The border crossing was our fourth time into Canada on this trip. At
Champlain, NY; Niagara, NY; and Sault Ste. Marie, MI, we had no
problems and usually didn’t even need our passports. This time, the
Canadian customs agents made us get out of the motorhome, took us
separately into a rear office to answer a bunch of questions, wanted to
know all about why we were taking our trip, made photocopies of our
passports and driver’s licenses, and searched the motorhome and the
car! Phew! What was up with that? We concluded that it wasn’t just us,
they were searching a travel trailer and another car as well. Anyway, I
joked with Ed that we are exactly what we look like – a middle-aged
couple traveling the country with our doggie and our kitty! Oh yes, we
had to show the animals’ rabies vaccination certificates as well! It was
annoying and time-consuming, but no harm was done.
Our campground at Waterton was right on the edge of the lake with
mountain views all around. We took a 2-hr. boat trip aboard a 75-year-
old wooden boat called the “International” from the town marina to the
southern end of the lake at Goat Haunt, Montana. On the way we
crossed the international border, which was just a concrete marker on
each side of Waterton Lake with a line of cleared trees stretching up
over the mountains. Goat Haunt is nothing more than a ranger station
and a few cabins at the water’s edge with sheer stone mountain cliffs
rising up behind. The name comes from the fact that it is a place
mountain goats frequent, not because there are ghosts! We enjoyed a
presentation on wildlife before returning to Waterton.
Cameron Lake
On Redrock Canyon Road we saw our first bear at close range. Viewing
safely from our car, we watched a black bear feeding about 20 feet from
the road and this time we were able to photograph and videotape him
or her. At another lookout, bighorn sheep ewes and their babies
walked right us. The sheep stared at us intently with their yellow eyes,
obviously curious, so we stayed in the car for the good of all concerned!
Before leaving Waterton, Ed and I treated ourselves to a wonderful
gourmet meal at the Lamp Post Dining Room at the Kilmorey Lodge. We
started with authentic French Onion Soup, and although Ed said it was
better than his own, I disagreed. Almost as good, though! Ed always
loves to try new foods so he was intrigued enough to try Elk Chops
served with a wild mushroom sauce for his entree. It was not at all
gamy, like venison, but actually tasted more like beef, which was a
surprise to both of us. For dessert, we shared Chocolate Paradise,
chocolate layer cake dipped in ganache and served with a raspberry
coulis. It reminded us of Lucy’s Chocolate Diamonds, which Ed has
made from Marcel Desaulnier’s cookbook, “Death by Chocolate”. The
service was impeccable and we have found that service in Canada is
generally better than that in the States.
Our next destination was Banff National Park. We decided to take the
scenic route via Pincher Creek, past the 1902 landslide known as the
Frank Slide, through Crow’s Nest Pass over the Continental Divide into
British Columbia, to Mt. Fernie Provincial Park. David had told us about
Island Lake Lodge in Fernie where he had a wonderful skiing vacation
in 2001. Unfortunately, the campground was full, so we continued on to
Kikomun Creek Provincial Park. The park is on a man-made reservoir
called Kikcanusa Lake (Kikomun-Canada-USA...get it?) We had a nice
spacious campsite on the lake, but no hook-ups, so we decided to
continue towards Banff the next morning. Route 93N took us right into
Kootenay National Park in British Columbia, which is adjacent to Banff
National Park in Alberta. (The Continental Divide, which the Canadians
call the Great Divide, separates the provinces and the parks.) We had
no information on Kootenay and were delighted to find beautiful
Redstreak Campground with full hook-ups right inside the park. We
decided to stay for three days to visit the nearby town of Radium Hot
Springs with its natural hot springs and swimming pools! Soaking in the
Radium Hot Springs in Kootenay was so relaxing, especially good for my
lower back. The natural springs feed into three pools – a 104 degree
hot tub, a huge 84 degree wading pool with bench seating around the
perimeter, and a regular temperature pool for swimming, diving, and
cooling off from the other two pools. Ed & I spent a couple of hours
alternating between all three. The 84-degree one was our favorite; you
could nearly fall asleep.
BC, Canada
August 16, 2002 - August 25, 2002
From Bozeman, Montana, we moved to Fairmont RV Park located
between Butte and Anaconda. For nearly a week, we rested, caught up
on errands, and did no sightseeing. We needed a break before making
our way to Glacier National Park and its breath-taking mountains,
glaciers, and wildflower meadows.
We headed south from Anaconda, picked up Rt. 43, crossed over the
Anaconda Mountain Range and the Continental Divide (again!) with
10,607-ft. Mt. Haggin to the east. The road followed the Big Hole River,
through the tiny town of Wisdom, and we stopped to visit the Big Hole
National Battlefield. In this context, “hole” means “valley”, the same as
“Jackson Hole” in Wyoming. This valley lies just east of the Bitterroot
Mountain Range and was the site of the bloodiest clash between the
Nez Perce Indians and the white men that were
attempting to force them on to a reservation.
We spend two nights at the Square Dance Center
& Campground in Lolo, MT, just outside Missoula.
Nick Russell, in his book, “Meandering Down
the Highway”, pronounces Rt. 12 from Missoula
to Kamiah, ID as one of the prettiest roads in
America. So we decided to take the car and
drove about 60 miles of Rt. 12, paralleling the
route that Lewis & Clark took nearly 200 years ago
while trying to discover the Northwest Passage to the Pacific Ocean.
We crossed Lolo Pass and followed a sparkling river at the bottom of
the canyon surrounded by pine trees, reminiscent of the Adirondack
Mountains in upstate New York. Personally, I think there are prettier
roads in America, but it was right up there!
From Missoula, we headed north and spent two nights in Polson on
Flathead Lake. The rocky Mission Mountains bordered our route to the
east. It was a very scenic drive to the lake, although the road down on
the valley floor runs through an Indian Reservation with scrubby flat
prairie and relatively poor towns. Flathead Lake has the blue-green
cast characteristic of glacial lakes and, with mountains in the
background, its beauty makes it a popular spot for recreation. A number
of state parks available for day use and overnight camping are
available. Along the road on the west side of Flathead Lake we saw our
first bear in the wild. It loped across the road in front of our car and
down in to a ravine too quickly to get a photograph!
From Polson we drove north to Kalispell and through the west entrance
of Glacier National Park.
Glacier National Park
The park is shaped more-or-less like a rectangle, north to south being
the longer sides. The 50-mile Going-to-the-Sun Road bisects the park,
going east-west over Logan Pass (elevation 6646 ft.) and the
Continental Divide. The road is an engineering marvel, requiring ten
years to build before opening in 1932. It is literally carved into the
mountainsides and it curves so sharply and climbs so steeply that no
vehicles over 21 ft. are allowed.
Going to the Sun road
Waterfall under the road
In the car, it was a lot of fun as new vistas of mountains and valleys,
rivers and lakes, glaciers and wildlife greeted us around each bend.
Glacial melt just below Logan Pass
At Logan Pass, we ate a picnic lunch and watched a group of mountain
goats climb down a rocky waterfall!
Mountain goat
Yellow and purple wildflowers, red Indian Paintbrush, and the creamy-
white flowers of beargrass were in full bloom in the mountain meadows.
Mountains and meadows
One evening, we saw a bighorn sheep feeding in the valley below us.
Through the binoculars we could see the ram’s two massive curled
horns. We later learned that the sheep only live to be about 13 years
old and that it takes about 11 years for the horns to grow to their full
size!
Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta, Canada, is Glacier’s adjacent
sister park.
Waterton Lake
The border crossing was our fourth time into Canada on this trip. At
Champlain, NY; Niagara, NY; and Sault Ste. Marie, MI, we had no
problems and usually didn’t even need our passports. This time, the
Canadian customs agents made us get out of the motorhome, took us
separately into a rear office to answer a bunch of questions, wanted to
know all about why we were taking our trip, made photocopies of our
passports and driver’s licenses, and searched the motorhome and the
car! Phew! What was up with that? We concluded that it wasn’t just us,
they were searching a travel trailer and another car as well. Anyway, I
joked with Ed that we are exactly what we look like – a middle-aged
couple traveling the country with our doggie and our kitty! Oh yes, we
had to show the animals’ rabies vaccination certificates as well! It was
annoying and time-consuming, but no harm was done.
Our campground at Waterton was right on the edge of the lake with
mountain views all around. We took a 2-hr. boat trip aboard a 75-year-
old wooden boat called the “International” from the town marina to the
southern end of the lake at Goat Haunt, Montana. On the way we
crossed the international border, which was just a concrete marker on
each side of Waterton Lake with a line of cleared trees stretching up
over the mountains. Goat Haunt is nothing more than a ranger station
and a few cabins at the water’s edge with sheer stone mountain cliffs
rising up behind. The name comes from the fact that it is a place
mountain goats frequent, not because there are ghosts! We enjoyed a
presentation on wildlife before returning to Waterton.
Cameron Lake
On Redrock Canyon Road we saw our first bear at close range. Viewing
safely from our car, we watched a black bear feeding about 20 feet from
the road and this time we were able to photograph and videotape him
or her. At another lookout, bighorn sheep ewes and their babies
walked right us. The sheep stared at us intently with their yellow eyes,
obviously curious, so we stayed in the car for the good of all concerned!
Before leaving Waterton, Ed and I treated ourselves to a wonderful
gourmet meal at the Lamp Post Dining Room at the Kilmorey Lodge. We
started with authentic French Onion Soup, and although Ed said it was
better than his own, I disagreed. Almost as good, though! Ed always
loves to try new foods so he was intrigued enough to try Elk Chops
served with a wild mushroom sauce for his entree. It was not at all
gamy, like venison, but actually tasted more like beef, which was a
surprise to both of us. For dessert, we shared Chocolate Paradise,
chocolate layer cake dipped in ganache and served with a raspberry
coulis. It reminded us of Lucy’s Chocolate Diamonds, which Ed has
made from Marcel Desaulnier’s cookbook, “Death by Chocolate”. The
service was impeccable and we have found that service in Canada is
generally better than that in the States.
Our next destination was Banff National Park. We decided to take the
scenic route via Pincher Creek, past the 1902 landslide known as the
Frank Slide, through Crow’s Nest Pass over the Continental Divide into
British Columbia, to Mt. Fernie Provincial Park. David had told us about
Island Lake Lodge in Fernie where he had a wonderful skiing vacation
in 2001. Unfortunately, the campground was full, so we continued on to
Kikomun Creek Provincial Park. The park is on a man-made reservoir
called Kikcanusa Lake (Kikomun-Canada-USA...get it?) We had a nice
spacious campsite on the lake, but no hook-ups, so we decided to
continue towards Banff the next morning. Route 93N took us right into
Kootenay National Park in British Columbia, which is adjacent to Banff
National Park in Alberta. (The Continental Divide, which the Canadians
call the Great Divide, separates the provinces and the parks.) We had
no information on Kootenay and were delighted to find beautiful
Redstreak Campground with full hook-ups right inside the park. We
decided to stay for three days to visit the nearby town of Radium Hot
Springs with its natural hot springs and swimming pools! Soaking in the
Radium Hot Springs in Kootenay was so relaxing, especially good for my
lower back. The natural springs feed into three pools – a 104 degree
hot tub, a huge 84 degree wading pool with bench seating around the
perimeter, and a regular temperature pool for swimming, diving, and
cooling off from the other two pools. Ed & I spent a couple of hours
alternating between all three. The 84-degree one was our favorite; you
could nearly fall asleep.
