Holy Grail of Campgrounds

It's still cold, 50 degrees right now, going down to 36 tonight, but we have moved to Mountain Meadows Campground, 10 miles outside Glacier National Park, where we have found the Holy Grail.

There it is, folks, the yellow plug bringing in electricity (50 amp) and the white hose connecting us to town water.

Here's the other end, the pedestal with the grey electric box and the spigot with the water hose connected.

For a private campground the sites are amazingly spacious and secluded - nothing like a parking lot with rows and rows of tightly packed RVs.

It's Montana and this charming little bench is right outside the bathrooms.

And here's the piece de resistance - a marble shower with freshly washed rug on the floor and water hot enough that you have to mix in cold water.

Today is Labor Day so that is what we did  - used the nice laundry facilities (4 washers and dryers that all work, in a spotlessly clean laundry room) and made apple sausage & bean soup for the next few days.

We also fired up the oven and made lemon blueberry scones in the back, and Vermont maple pecan muffins. I can't decide if I will put a maple glaze on the muffins. Probably not since we eat them as bread for dinner.

Fish Creek... Closed to Fishing

The Fish Creek Campground, where we are staying, closes for the season tomorrow at noon and we must be out before the gate swings shut and we are locked in all winter. That is what the ranger told us would happen if we weren't gone by noon. We have opted to move outside the park, to a private campground where we will have electricity and water hook-ups. We can easily deal without water and sewer, but when the weather is cold, we like to have our Dyson heater. The other nearby park campground that will stay open, Apgar, is even more primitive than Fish Creek - no hot running water for showers.

Today there is snow on the surrounding mountain tops. Logan Pass, on the world-famous Going-to-the-Sun road, is closed and will be until they plow it open. The ranger said they are not plowing now because it is still snowing up there. 

For today's walk, we opted to eschew a mountain trail that allows horses, and instead walked five miles on a bike path through the woods. Paved, level with no roots or rocks. This youngster was enjoying his supper, with two of his buddies, when we walked by.

There really is a Fish Creek - interestingly, the sign says that it is closed to fishing.

Snyder Lake Trail

It is currently 39 degrees here at the campground and snowing at Logan Pass. Today's hike to Snyder Lake, 9 miles and 220 floors (2, 147 ft.) elevation gain, was rainy and cold. Light rain at the beginning and heavy rain at the lake and on the way back. It was a good day - it's always a good day on the trail! (The only negative thing I will say about today's hike is that horses also use the trail and horse poop, when it get wet, is slippery and stinky.)

Snyder Lake, and nice, small, lake. This is looking north, directly across the lake and...

this is looking to the left, west.

Here we are, modeling our new rain gear. Frederick is wearing a blue jacket with black pants and...

my jacket is red and my pants are also black. My jacket has two different shades of color, as does Frederick's, but mine doesn't show in the picture. Too subtle, I guess.

On the way back down the trail, almost to the trailhead, we came upon this overlook of Lake McDonald, which dominates the southwestern portion of Glacier National Park.

Tomorrow's weather forecast is for rain with a high of 60 degrees. 

Avalanche Lake

The hike to Avalanche Lake is one of the most popular hikes in Glacier National Park. It is near the main Visitor Center and short, only 4 miles plus a portion of the Nature Trail - Trail of the Cedars. But, since we got a late start - after 3:30 p.m. - it was perfect for us today.

The first part of the Avalanche Trail was along Avalanche Creek which drains out of Avalanche Lake.

There were many sinuously shaped rocks from erosion.

Notice the rock that is stuck between the two sides of the creek (center left).

Most of the trail was through cedar trees which were just magnificent.

I realize that I didn't capture Avalanche Lake in this picture. It's really there at the bottom of the picture. Notice the two narrow waterfalls that empty into the lake.

And there, by the side of the lake, was a black bear that was getting a lot of attention from the hikers to the lake. Someone speculated that it was a 3-year-old female. How he would know that I don't know. We looked for Mama bear but she was not in sight so maybe the speculation is correct.

We arrived in Glacier just in time for a turn in the weather, in fact, there has been a winter weather advisory issued for Glacier, from noon Saturday until 9 a.m. on Sunday. Above 6500 feet there is a prediction of snow accumulation, up to 6 inches above 7000 feet. Down below, where we are camped, there is supposed to be a mix of rain and snow. That should help with fighting the forest fires, which is good.

Flat Head Lake

We have arrived in Glacier National Park and are camped in the Fish Creek Campground. Much to our surprise, there are no hook-ups anywhere in the park, so we are "dry" camping, just as we did in Kicking Horse Campground in Yoho National Park in Canada. It was a long day of driving, 270 miles, and we "lost" an hour when we went from Pacific to Mountain Time when we crossed the Montana/Idaho border.

But, we are here, ready to see what the trails are like and to determine if there are any that are closed due to the fire. Tomorrow, first thing, we'll visit the Visitor Center then we will go find some fuel and instant coffee since the Keurig doesn't work when we're not plugged in. There is some coffee left in the jar, but we used most of it when we were at Kicking Horse.

Only two pictures, both of Flat Head Lake that Frederick took from the car window . As you can see, it was cloudy today and we had on-again-off-again sprinkles most of the drive in Montana.

Flat Head Lake is huge and there are several resort towns along the lakefront. 

Seeing Triple

It is unusual to have another Airstream in a campground where we are staying, but yesterday afternoon, when we got back from our hike, there was an Airstream two doors down from us. Then this afternoon, when we got back from Coeur d'Alene, a third Airstream had pulled in between the two of us. So naturally, I had to take a picture.

We have been staying in a lovely campground, only about 20 sites and before the Airstream arrived yesterday, only one other small A-frame trailer was inhabiting the park. 

This morning we met Cam and Marsha who are on their way to join an Airstream Caravan that will be traveling from Yellowstone to Estes Park, Colorado. They told us the third Airstream would be coming in and joining them on their journey to Yellowstone where the caravan begins. 

This welcome sign is next to the door of the third Airstream. George and Claudette Paige are traveling with their two dogs, poodles, named Puck and Leo.

Most of today we spent re-supplying and having one last visit with Marlene and her family. Tomorrow we move on to Glacier National Park.

Dancing Till Dawn, or at least until the end of the evening

Back in Spokane/Coeur d'Alene, there are a number of chores/errands that need to be completed before we head to Montana and Glacier National Park. We thought we would need to do everything today, Tuesday, because our original plans called for us to leave on Wednesday. But when we took the car to the dealer to complete the servicing that began last week, we learned that the wrong part (new motor for the push-button third-row seats) had been sent and that the right part would come overnight and the repair would be completed on Wednesday. We now plan on leaving on Thursday and that gives us an extra day in Spokane/Coeur d'Alene.

It had been a week since we have been on a trail so this afternoon we went back on the Liberty Lake Loop trail and completed it in reverse (see blog post for August 26, "Hnmulshench").

While we were gone this part of Washington state had some rain and the cascade had a bit more water.

We noticed this huge cedar tree last week. It is by the cascade and...

is one of the biggest trees in the forest. Magnificent!

Even the "falls" had some more water - maybe it doesn't look like it, but we thought there seemed to be more.

Last week when we went by this overview we could hardly see the mountains beyond Liberty Lake because of the smoke. Rain, and a wind storm over the week-end seems to have cleared up things considerably.

Now for the wedding trip. This is mostly for Suzanne who was not able to attend. 

THURSDAY NIGHT

We arrived in the Cincinnati airport, which is really in Kentucky, and went to the hotel in Covington, Kentucky, right across the Ohio River from Cincinnati. Peter and Vian were on a plane from California that arrived about 45 minutes after ours from Spokane. We were able to drive together into Covington where we met up with some of the family for a late supper in downtown Covington. It was a warm evening and the restaurant had outdoor seating. 

We gathered for a picture in front of the fountain on the square, where we ate.

My sister Rose relaxed about the coming festivities.

FRIDAY NIGHT

Rose and Ralph, and my brother Jack and his wife Cheryl, hosted a party for the out-of-town guests.

Me, in blue, in the back left talking with Josie and Peter and Vian, just to the right, talking with my brother, Paul. We are at the Clubhouse of the complex where Kelly's mother lives.

Peter and Vian with smiling baby Jamie, my niece's 7-month old.

SATURDAY - THE WEDDING

Peter and Vian have returned to California and the wedding is in Erlanger, Kentucky, just south of Covington, at 2 p.m.

Michael awaiting his soon-to-be wife, Kelly.

Jackie doing a reading.

Exchange of vows.

Looking relaxed with eyes only for each other.

SATURDAY NIGHT - THE RECEPTION

Held at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in downtown Cincinnati, the venue reminded me a little bit of the Library, only modern. The Center opened in 2004 to commemorate the slaves - as many as 100,000 - who fled north across the Ohio River to safety in the decades leading up to the Civil War. The Ohio River, just across from Covington and steps away from the Center, was likened to the River Jordan in those days and Cincinnati, with a large African American population in the abolitionist state of Ohio, was one of the most important cities in the Promised Land. Designed by the late Indianapolis architect Walter Blackburn, the grandson of slaves, the Freedom Center is a bold architectural statement.

The colorful quilts on the second floor main rotunda where the tables were set up for dinner and dancing.

Introducing the bride and groom who stood on the balcony above.

Arriving in the hall.

First dance.

Mike with his mom, my sister, Rose.

My sister Rose on the left; Fran, mother of Jamie (her husband Jonathan is working in England); my niece Jackie, sister to Mike, and her fiancé Rodrigo.