On the road again: Bison Refuge, Glacier National Park, Fishing the Flathead, the road to Appleton
Our first stop was in Sand Point to see family before heading to Glacier National Park for the fishing trip that I had planned last September, but had to reschedule because of the fires in the park. The smoke was so bad Glacier Guides had to restrict it's fishing and rafting trips. They were gracious enough to reschedule my reservations.
On our way to West Glacier, MT from Sand Point we drove down along Lake Pend Oreille then to and through the National Bison Refuge just outside of Ronan, MT. Last spring we were too early to take the upper ridge road because it had just been treated to keep the dust down. We were 2 days too early then. Not this year. We saw lots of bison, deer and pronghorns. We didn't get to be as close as we did last year. All the bison were further away and none were crossing the road.
We didn't realize just how far the Glacial Lake Missoula extended and that Lake Pend Oreille was actually part of the glacial ice dam that, when it failed numerous times, released the floods that shaped the coulees of eastern Washington.
The Bison refuge is only about 2 1/2 hours from Sand Point so we had plenty of time to spend there and get lunch before reaching West Glacier and the Glacier Guides Lodge where we spent the next 3 days.
That evening we got to Glacier Guides Lodge and met the manager, Don, who's a 6th grade teacher and works the lodge with his wife and 2 children. We had a great room with access to the back where a table and chairs sat waiting for us. The hillside next to us was full of huckleberry bushes and Don's kids were constantly running around and eating them. Won't be any to attract bears, that's for sure.
The next day we drove Going to the Sun highway through the park to St. Mary's, and back. One of the things I found most impressing was how the mountains were created by uplifts, not upthrust. I'm defining uplifts as raising straight up with the rock strata horizontal and upthrust as being angled, more like the Cascades with 30 - 60 degree slopes on the strata. Most of the upper parts of the mountains are horizontal while you find the slope strata on the lower parts.
St. Mary Lake
We stayed in Glacier so I could do my Father's Day gift from 2017. A half-day guided fishing trip. I did it through Glacier Guides, who operate the Lodge where we were staying. It's a nice place and I'd recommend it for someone wanting to do Glacier.
Dining opportunities are limited. Most places are burger and standard fare pub/cafe food. Seven miles west is Coram where the Glacier Grill is located. Their pizzas aren't too bad, but then we're spoiled from traveling in Italy. The Belton Chalet restaurant is the best choice for really good food, but you're going to pay for it. We had a couple cocktails, two appetizers and entrees and it cost us nearly a hundred dollars. There's the West Glacier Cafe, just across the highway before you enter the park, but it's more of a family place. Breakfast looked interesting and they have a large ice cream counter but we wanted dinner and burgers and fried stuff didn't interest us, especially in a place w/no beer, wine or cocktails.
My afternoon fishing was fun. My guide, AJ, had a morning trip that was, according to him, pretty slow. Our afternoon was better. I got schooled in how to drift fly fish. It was obviously my first time doing it and a LONG time since I had a fly rod in my hands. He started me with a pretty flexible graphite rod but before we were done he handed me a rod that had more stiffness and it really helped with the wind. The rod I use is pretty stiff and my accuracy was much improved. I caught 2 small cutthroats and one small rainbow that weren't "picture fish". I did hook 2 larger cuts and 1 nice rainbow though so the afternoon was not wasted. Fishing is much more fun when you catchfish.
On our way east we stopped in Havre, MT to see Karen. We met her in Sciacca when we spent the winter there 2 years ago and she's become a friend that we stay in touch with. We've been wanting to meet up for some time.
From Havre we drove to Dickinson, ND, passing through the Little Missouri Grasslands, kind of an introduction to the Little Missouri Badlands.
As we went through the Badlands of the Little Missouri on I-94 we came across Theodore Roosevelt National Park, the only national park named for an individual. The park has 3 units, all associated with the ranches he owned before getting into politics. The draught of 1887 and subsequent severe winter of 87-88 caused millions of cattle in the West to starve to death. Roosevelt lost most everything as a result and he moved back to New York state and became politically active. The South unit has the Painted Canyon. This land has never been farmed. The park's units still have bison herds roaming it, along with elk, deer, bear, etc. It's one of the few remaining virgin prairie areas left in the US.
Painted Canyon
Well, that pretty much catches me up with our photos and trip as far as Appleton. Not sure when I'll add another post since the areas we're rolling through we covered a couple years ago on our Burning Bridges tour so...
Ciao for now.