5/5/2016 – We are finally bound for Alaska
after much anticipation and planning after an extended visit with the Daniels
family. We enjoyed visiting friends and family celebrating several birthdays,
dinners out and a few rounds of golf with friends. We started off a few days late due to some
needed repairs on the RV to prepare for the journey to Alaska, but we did have
some extra time built in the itinerary, so no worries. Got a late start on day one leaving
Bordentown NJ at 3:00pm, tried to make it to Ohio, but fell about 50 miles
short. Spent the night at Camp Wal-Mart, did some shopping and
turned in for the night. The only excitement
was waking up in the morning to find two idiots had parked right in front of
the RV. With some careful maneuvering,
we were able to get out without too much trouble, but I was really tempted to
soap their windows and leave a special message.
Rolled through Ohio without too much delay and settled in
for the night in Bristol IN at a really nice, well maintained and secluded
campground (Eby’s Pines RV Park and Campground) just outside of Elkhart, RV
capital of the world. Happy to say the
RV is running great after the spruce up at Pioneer Truck, total four wheel
brake job, fluid changes, belts, and filters and she is purring like a
tiger. Keeping an eye on the devastating
wild fires in Alberta Canada to see if we will need to make changes to our planned
itinerary to visit Banff and Jasper National Parks. There have been some reports that portions of
the Alaskan Highway have been closed due to the wildfires and 90,000 people
have been evacuated.
Day three finds us in
Black Water Falls WI, land of the cheese heads. 1100 miles down, 2400 miles to go to Prince
Rupert and our ferry to Ketchikan AL, but lots of adventure before we get there
on 5/31. Spending the night in Camp
Wal-Mart, and our camping neighbors are a new rock group by the name of “Bridge
to Grace”, make sure you check them out as they recently released their first
album in August 2015. After we checked
them out online and listened to some of their music, we bought their album, a
shirt and skull cap, and wished them good fortune in the future.
Day four we traveled from WI to MT some 500 miles and spent
the night at Silver Wolf Casino in Wolf Point MT. Tiny little casino no bigger than an
oversized garage, which we found was the average size throughout MT. Upon
arrival it started to rain and the wind kicked up to 25 mph continuing through
the night. We were also right next what
turned out to be a very busy train track.
Chippy counted at least eight passing trains through the night as the
motorhome rocked with the wind. I slept
right through it, but Chippy not being a sound sleeper had very little
sleep. The day was spent traveling
through North Dakota over hill and dale past farms and ranches of enormous
proportions. Passed through Theodore
Roosevelt National Park and the Painted Canyons which were really beautiful.
Our final day’s travel to Glacier National Park proved very
interesting. The rain continued from
yesterday but turned to snow and ice later in the day with 20 to 30 mph
crosswinds buffeting us all day long. By
the time we reached Shelby MT some 300 miles into the travel day, the
precipitation finally stopped and only the winds remained. The final 130 miles to West Glacier was a
much more pleasant drive with amazing views of Glacier National Park in the
distance as the winds finally calmed.
After the scenic drive circling the outer route of Glacier, we arrive at
our home for the next five nights while we enjoy this beautiful national
park. We were surprised to see about 15
other RV’s at the campground this early in the season as we settled in for a
relaxing night next to the campfire. The
temperature is a comfy 59 degrees outside but as the sun finally sets around 9
pm, the cool night air makes the fire a welcome comfort.
The only thing I can say about our first day visiting
Glacier National Park is WOW, what an amazing place this is. Today we spent the day driving the “Going to
the Sun” road and hiking through West Glacier, visiting Apar Village, Avalance
Creek, Lake McDonald Lodge, Lake McDonald, and Polebridge. The only wildlife we saw were prairie dogs
and deer, good thing since we forgot to take our bear spray, which will not
happen again. The snow covered mountains
reflecting their magnificence in the lake was simply amazing. The streams, rivers and waterfalls feeding
Lake McDonald were the only interruption of the quiet beauty of the park. We are too early in the season to be able to
traverse the entire “Going to the Sun” road from West Glacier to St Mary’s, a
48 mile route, so we will have to take the long way around the park to see the
other side, not a problem as driving is what we do, LOL. We finished off the day with a visit to the general store and bakery in Polebridge and
treated ourselves to a homemade pecan cinnamon bun as we sat on the porch and
took in the scenery.
