June 19, 2014 (59th Day)

We slept in til 9 am. After checking out of the campground we went to look for Chevrolet dealer to have them do oil change on the camper van.  After the oil change was done they brought the van to the auto wash station and washed/rinsed it. It came out looking so clean!

At Safeway in Whitefish, MT we picked up some more fruits and nuts and got gas there. 

 This is what we saw on our way to West Glacier Entrance via Route 2

Signage at a RV Park. Cool idea! 

Got on route 2 toward West Glacier, MT. Arrived the West Glacier entrance around 1 pm, went to the Canada visitor center to pick up maps/brochures and to get feedback on suggested routes to travel on and places to visit after we enter Canada. The girl there was very helpful giving us lots of tips and information.

There was a sign in front of the ranger station that only 16 miles of the Going to The Sun Road (52 miles long) is open and the rest is closed due to snow.

We made several stops along the route.  There was a roadblock at Avalanche area.

Snow plower 

Roadblock at Avalanche area (16.5 miles from West Glacier entrance)

We had to make a U-turn to go back to West Glacier area.  Before leaving the park we stopped at the famous Lake McDonald known for its beauty and clear waters.  A very popular spot for photographers.

Lake McDonald
Glacier National Park's biggest lake (10 miles long and 472' deep)

The water is so clear you can see the rocks at the bottom

While still in West Glacier area we wanted to pick up some huckleberry BBQ sauce bottles and some candies at Montana House store.

Left West Glacier at 4:30 pm, got on Route 2 East toward East Glacier. We pulled over at Contiental Divide/Mariah Pass to take picture of Glacier Mountains.  What a beautiful view! While Edith was busy taking pictures this curious ground squirrel came out to see what was going on.

Ground Squirrel

Last year we stopped for lunch at this homey restaurant in East Glacier called Luna's Restaurant, had their delicious huckleberry pie and it was heavenly. So, our first stop after entering East Glacier was to go there and picked up two boxes of pie slices to go. That would be for our dessert later tonight.  While there Erwin bought two bags of Grizzly Bear ground coffee (he bought them last year and really liked the flavor).  

Trekked on MT 49 toward East Glacier. There was a car crash and we had to slow down to go past it.  There was a police car and an ambulance.  We hoped that the people were okay.  We continued down to Two Medicine to take pictures of Sinopah Mountains.  The lake was overfilled from all the melted snow. There were plenty of rocks, but Erwin did not feel like building a rock cairn. It was 60˚ and we were at 5,000 ft elevation.

Looks like a Fairy Tale picture, doesn't it?

Beaver's teeth mark on the tree.  We looked around and didn't see any beavers
but there was lots of evidence of their presence in the area.

We decided that we were going to dry camp tonight. Since the park within Glacier National Park does not allow overnight camping we continued driving on Route 2 toward Browning, MT, turned left on 89.  There was this Glacier Peaks Casino with a large parking area and we wanted to dry camp there. We went inside the casino and checked with the security if we could park here overnight.  No problem, they said. So, we looked for a good parking spot, settled down and fixed supper.  While eating supper Edith noticed that the sunset was going to be good.  She said for us to go somewhere high enough for her to take pictures of the sunset without obstructions.  We continued on 89 until we found a high school on a hill that had a parking lot in the back of the school.  Edith took pictures of the sunset while Erwin read a book (of course, he stopped reading to admire the sunset).  

When it was all over we drove back to Glacier Peaks casino parking lot.  We went inside the casino just to look around and to get free drinks.  Back to the camper van we had huckleberry pie for dessert. Still yummy!

Mmm Mmm Good!!!

It was time for bed early because we wanted to be up early and go to the East Glacier park entrance before it gets crowded later in the day.