My day out with Kam!

Captains Log June 11 – The weather cleared pretty well but Bill wasn’t feeling good and opted to stay home while Kam and I went on an adventure!

We had heard there was a back way into Glacier north from our location called Polebridge.  Kam and I headed out and tried to follow the directions we were given and ended up trying to enter at West Glacier!  The ranger was very nice once we told her we thought we were on the road to Polebridge and she had us turn around in the lot of the administration building.  She didn’t know how to get to Polebridge but suggested Kam ask at the office she went in and got good directions.  The scenery was very nice and the road changed from good to not so good and back again.  We drove by some beautiful lakes and snowy mountains.  Traffic in that end of the park was very minimal compared to the line going in at Glacier.

From there we went to Polebridge, which consists of Polebridge Mercantile, which has been in

Kam leading the way

operation since 1914 and is on the National Register of Historic Places.  During the summer months there are about 100 residents and winter is single digits.  It’s in the middle of no where!  There is no electricity there and they use generators or solar panels. Kam held our spot in the line to get into the Mercantile as it is FULL of stuff and the big draw is their bear claws.  They make an awesome huckleberry bear claw, so I waited my turn and got 2 and some other huckleberry dessert that was a jellied filling that I wasn’t too crazy about.

They have an awesome food truck but since it is a destination that people want to see, the wait time was pretty long.  I had Poutine, which I normally don’t ever see unless we are in Canada.  I ordered a half order and it was huge but sooo good!  We relaxed while waiting for our food as they make it all fresh.  Yummy lunch!

Lake Vuew

After lunch we went on a drive to the ranger station and the ranger confirmed that the access to the rest of the park was no longer available but told us where we could go for a nice hike/walk.  It was about 10 minutes drive to the very small parking area and there was a family leaving as we arrived.  Once they left we were by ourselves for the 1.3 mile walk to a huge meadow with a lovely lake.  We didn’t see any actually wildlife except a duck or goose on the lake on the other side and several ground squirrels / prairie dogs.

The walk had some elevation but was not strenuous and it wasn’t hot out so it was a pleasant trip.  We took some photos and on the way back to the truck we passes a group of 6-7 and figured at first  they were all together but the guy in the back made a comment that indicated that they were not a group.  I don’t think he was happy to be behind them with their kids.  When we arrived at the truck there was another vehicle parking so we were happy that our timing was perfect!

Time to head back to Hungry Horse and pick up Bill.  The 3 of us left for West Glacier now that

Lake McDonald Lodge Lobby

it was after 5 pm and we could enter with our Senior Pass and not have to provide a limited special entry ticket.  The traffic was minor so in that respect it was great.  There was plenty of day light and we drove as far east as allowed to the area where they are still clearing the snow on Going To The Sun Road.  The road goes along one side of Lake McDonald so we got to see some rapids also.  There was awesome scenery and  we could pretty much stop and all of the pull offs for photos.  We went to the Lake McDonald Lodge and perused the gift shop, watched the tour boat take off and sat some in the historic lodge and enjoyed the massive log structure. 

The only thing we didn’t get to do was go in the Visitor Center as it closed before we arrived.  On the way back to    the campground we stopped for dinner Coram at Glacier Grill and Pizza along the road that Kam  looked up and once
we arrived the lot was almost full and folks were waiting outside and inside.  Our wait wasn’t too long and the food and service was good!

Lake McDonald

Although we were not thrilled with the mountainside campground, all in all we enjoyed our time outside of the campground except for the rain!!