Jacqueline’s Jaunts

The drive from Kalispell/Whitefish KOA was along Flathead Lake. This is a huge lake, with lots of small towns along the drive. They all looked like great little communities. Hot Springs is a very small town, with a population of only 200, according to the last census. It was a destination in the early 20s and 30s for their hot springs. Thought we would be able to relax for the next few days and enjoy some of the hot springs...not so much. We pulled into Sophis Hot Springs, and the site we were told in our email to park in was taken. The park has only eight sites and is in the middle of a neighborhood. Barry called the number we had and left a message. We waited for a few minutes for a return call. We thought maybe we had the wrong address. He unhooked the jeep and drove around the block looking for the office. When he got back to the sites, a woman flagged him down, and she happened to be the owner. The person on our site decided to stay for another month, so we were moved to a concret...

We both slept for eleven hours. I can't believe Barry slept that long. It's not like him. On the other hand, I can! The KOA offers a free breakfast for its campers. We decided to try it out, so we walked over. They had French toast sticks, scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy, a large bowl of cut-up melons, cereal, instant oatmeal packets, juices, coffee, and some stuff I’m sure I missed. Lots of great choices.  The large rec room next to the breakfast area was video game heaven. All the video games they had were the old ones like Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Space Invaders, and so many more. There must be twenty machines in the room. All of them cost twenty-five cents a game. These were all the games I played with my youngest brother, Shawn, when I was in high school. We loved playing Pac-Man. Ping-pong, air-hockey, pool, and fussball were also available.  As we left, we decided to walk out to see the pool area. Three-quarters of the pool was under a roof. There was a pipe sticking ou...

Great campsite on a little hill. Loved the deck.  Had huckleberry bread toasted for breakfast. It was yummy. Too bad we can’t get it at home. Today we are on our way to the other side of the park for a few days. Our plan is to visit the visitor center and drive the Road to the Sun as far as we can. It’s still closed at the top of the road at Logan Pass. We followed the Flathead River, and it was a beautiful drive. Stunning mountains, forests, and we saw a Moose in a big pond as we left the Blackfeet Reservation area. The area is called the Louis and Clark National Forest. We also saw a few trains throughout the mountains hauling oil tankers.  At 12:45 PM, we entered the West Glacier boundary. The speed limit after entering the park boundaries was 70 miles per hour. I would not drive that even in a car. This road through the park will be closed in June for road construction and needs some TLC. The road needs it. The speed limit is 70 MPH, but I think it’s too high for this area...

Today we decided to explore the south end of the park, Two Medicine. We planned on hiking a trail to see some moose. A ranger at the St. Mary visitor center told us about it.  The drive from St. Mary is about an hour. Highway 49 is closed, so we had to take the long way around, which was a beautiful drive. It was further in miles but not in time. The road takes you out of the park, then back in. At one point, a deer almost ran in front of us, but it did a hairpin turn and ran back up the mountain. Scared the heck out of us.  We stopped at the ranger station, and it had passport stamps. The stamp is really worn. You can see the date, but not the words. Talk about a bummer. I can find a stamp online, print it, and that will work. The ranger told us they have to order a new one, but this part of the park is closing early in September. There is quite a bit of maintenance they will be doing, mainly road work. She said they are called the “step-child of Glacier NP.” I have to say th...