Where is the Glacier?

2 May
We left our free city park site in Chester, MT traveling west on hwy 2. Yes, I probably don’t need to tell you that route number again but eventually it will change! We are traveling to Glacier National Park. It is still early in the season, snow capped mountains are everywhere as we drive through this beautiful valley. All three visitor centers are closed, and only one campground named Apgar is partially open on the west side of the park about one mile in from the West Entrance. Apgar takes its name from Milo Apgar, an early settler in the Lake McDonald area from the 1890s. He and two others unsuccessfully tried to farm this land and then decided to service tourists, much easier. Apgar is also the starting point for almost all Red Jammer bus tours on the Going-to-the-Sun Road. This road was completed in 1932 and is about 50 miles going over the continental Divide at Logans pass at 6k feet. The road was still closed for winter after the Lake McDonald Lodge. We drove the Sun Road, which at this point parallels the lake and it was absolutely beautiful. Even though the Sun Road is closed, Elkhorn and Bigfoot are too large to travel it anyways. OBTW, we did not see any glaciers here.
We camped at a couple great campsites for the night.

3 May – Left Glacier enroute to a Walmart parking lot in Ponderay, WA. Along the way we stopped at Kootenai (CooTinA) Falls County Park, maintained by the Lions Club. Kootenai Falls is the largest undammed falls and there is a cable supported swinging bridge to get to the other side of the river, with outstanding views of the river. To the Kootenai tribe, the falls is a sacred site. It was quite a hike for me, Virgil on the other hand made it look easy as we followed a path of rocks, tree roots, and other non-smooth surfaces down to the bridge. The return trip up the hill was a piece of cake… After another 60 miles or so, we found a nice quiet spot on the side of Walmart.

4 May – Short drive 120 miles west on hwy 2, stopped at Fairchild AFB, then on to the boondocking site at Davenport, WA, next to the recreation field.

After we set up, three of us were sitting outside behind the Elkhorn enjoying a cold beverage, as Ann Marie was taking a nap, when an older man walked over to us, all the while watching his dog Rosie do her business. We exchanged greetings and Rusty started telling us some Navy jokes, as he served in 1968-72. Rusty reminded me of a friend, who is quick on his feet, always making jokes, has a dog, has a camper like ours, and drives a Ford, oh, wait, Rusty drove a Tundra (more on why that is important later).

Anyways, after a while talking, he said he would be right back. The three of us looked at each other thinking, where is he going? Well the Bigfoot was parked 50 feet in front of Elkhorn, and Rusty went to pick up the “empty” chair that Ann Marie was not using, and he brought it back to sit with us. He starts to tell us stories of this small town that he lives in and his many accomplishments over the years. He is a hoot and very hard of hearing which made the conversations even more interesting. After about 15 minutes of chatting, Ann Marie comes outside and relinquishes her chair with barely a fight. After another 15 minutes of talking about stuff, he asks us if we want a tour of the town (population 1400), and to see his house? He had some steaks and would be honored if we joined him for dinner. After a very long awkward pause, Virgil and I decide we will go (not for steaks but a tour) and leave the ladies safely at home. So, we climb into his truck, and Rosie jumps up to the middle console of the front seat. Thankfully Virgil sat in the back “jump seat, as I would have never fit. As Rusty drives around town, he is pointing out the businesses and such along the way. He told us he was a retired CPA and his name is still on the building, and in fact it was. Then he says, see this pizza joint across the street, I think it was a money laundering front. Never saw much pizza leave there. Okay, well then he drives up a block and starts pointing out a few houses that sold for $370k and then says this is my house. A very nice tri-level, and pulls into the driveway. So he invites us in, his sister is there, watching tv. Very nice, large inground pool, and he started pointing to pictures and memorabilia on his walls and some shelves, throughout the house. Virgil looked at me and whispered, how did we get into this? Rusty was proud of his accomplishments and his family, and he wanted to share it with us. He owned horses, knew and played basketball with the owner of Seattle Slew, the triple crown winner in 1979 ( I think). Yes, very strange, and in the back of our minds we were hoping he was not related to John Wayne Gacey.

After about a 15 minute tour, Rosie and us piled back into the truck, and Rusty took us back to our wives. (whew, we made it). Rusty again welcomed us to his town, thanked us for being very kind, and invited us back there anytime. He drove off waving goodbye with Rosie (Penny) on the middle console.

On this trip, it seems like the locals are curious why a Bigfoot and an Elkhorn are boondocking in their small town. We have talked to four or five different folks in the last many stops. In fact one guy travels to Kodiak every year to see his son and we exchanged information. It is a great way to learn about small town America, but one has to trust your gut, your instincts, and be careful.