Day 9 (September 9, 2019) - Montana in the Rain

East Glacier, MT to Gardiner, MT

We arose this morning to the sound of rain. It was light rain but it meant a wet trip.  At least it wasn’t foggy like yesterday.  We went to the same local restaurant for yet another paid breakfast!  I’ve mentioned “local” restaurant and “local” bakery both yesterday and today.  I don’t mean to give the wrong impression.  There isn’t much choice.  There are 2 restaurants – the one we frequented and a Mexican place – and 1 bakery.  There is also a gas station … and cabins for rent.  That’s about it.  East Glacier is small.

We were in rain for about 3 hours, some of which was light and other periods of heavier downfalls.  The fog persisted through the mountains but above road level.  We caught enough glimpses of the mountains alongside the road that I can imagine them to be beautiful with a cover of evergreen forest.  Our route took us around Glacier National Park to the south and west along the Flathead River.

When we started back south, we followed Flathead Lake for miles.  It is huge and, despite the fog, we could tell it was a beautiful place.

I noticed a lot of “huck” stuff along the way – huck pies, huck ice cream, huck jams, huck shakes, huck tacos.  Well, maybe not the last one.  Huckleberries are a big deal up here.  I grew up picking and eating huckleberries.  They are delicious.  But they are small.  It takes a lot of picking to get enough for huck anything.  I can’t even imagine where all of these huckleberries are sourced.

I also saw a sign for “Bale Judging”.  As long as I’ve been around farms and farmers, I’ve never known of a need to perfect bales.  This was a new one for both of us.  We guessed there wasn’t much to do around those areas.  I’m not judging them but just noting an interesting and different activity.

The rain did cause us to change our route.  I had picked a longer but more scenic route to Yellowstone.  Since we couldn’t see the scenery, we opted for the faster route.   It turned out to be a great decision.  We soon ran out of the clouds and almost simultaneously saw a sign for the National Bison Range.  This couldn’t be a coincidence, I thought.  It had to be a sign.  I had never heard of the National Bison Range so we headed off to learn what it was.  It is a large area where the bison roam in their natural habitat of the high plains.  We didn’t cover the entire range but saw herds of bison, a pronghorn antelope and mule deer.  There were supposed to be elk hiding in the trees along the river.  But they were well hidden.  The range was a relief from the dreary morning.

Pronghorn Antelope

Bison

Mule Deer

While a welcome diversion, going to the range set us back a couple of hours.  A quick lunch at McDonalds and gasoline in Missoula had us headed east on I-90.  Susan took over the driving duties for a while as my eyes tired.  We saw some great mountain ranges along the way.

We finally pulled into the Yellowstone Basin Inn, our "home" for the next 3 nights at about 7:30.  The outward appearance of the place showed a little wear and tear but our room was great.  The innkeepers, Jeannette and Danny, were very friendly and welcoming ... and from Pennsylvania.  We learned that a herd of elk frequented the property and saw them next door.

Our room's view was across the valley at a formation called Devil's Slide.

Devil's Slide

Last year, the elk herd decided, for the first time in the memory of locals, to climb Devil's Slide.  Luckily it was documented on video.

We were pretty tired when we arrived and the innkeepers recommended a grocery store with takeout food where we bought some barbecued ribs and potato salad.  Not too bad.

Susan’s quote of the day:  “I'll drive but not as fast you do."  Her entire drive of 162 miles was on a stretch of I-90 with an 80 MPH speed limit.  I've already mentioned her discomfort with that speed but she did darn well.  When I glanced at the speedometer, I often saw 72 MPH.  Regardless of the speed, I appreciated her help and she did a great job.

The highlights - National Bison Range.
The regrets - Change route to shortest due to weather.

Today's total miles - 537
Today's miles from start to destination - 487
Today's miles on side trips - 50
Today's miles driven by Paul - 375
Today's miles driven by Susan - 162
Today's hours in car - 8
Total Miles Hiked - 0

Cumulative total miles - 3,502

Cumulative miles from start to destination - 2,953
Cumulative miles on side trips - 549
Cumulative miles driven by Paul - 2,975
Cumulative miles driven by Susan - 527
Cumulative hours in car - 61 1/2
Cumulative Miles Hiked - 9.5