8/20/20 Crossing over to Montana, Big Sky. As we approach the small town of Troy, there was a pull out for some scenic attraction, so we decided to pull over and check it out. What a hidden gem! It turned out to be the Kootenai Falls and Swinging Bridge. Where is Tommy Ngo and his drone when we needed him? Cascade water falls in the middle of the Kootenai national forest? Who knew?!!! And I didn’t bring my camera because I thought it was only a quick “lookouts” from the road. 0.25 miles of the hike in, the grand waterfall reveals itself in the most picturesque way. Ahhhhhh, where’s my camera when I needed one . Served me right for being lazy!
We keep accidentally discovering these gems as we travel, and these delightful surprises make the roadtrip so worth it regardless of the restless nights, the long road, the harsh weather, etc. The song “America, the Beautiful ” now makes perfect sense to me. You can sing a song and memorize all the words, but when you can see it and feel it, the song takes on a different meaning as you can visualize what you’re singing.
“Oh beautiful, for spacious skies, For amber waves of grain, For purple mountain majesties, Above the fruited plain….”
Camped at the national forest, Pleasant Valley campground.
8/21/20 Finally arrived at Glacier National park, the long awaited part of this journey. We had reservation at the Big Creek campground, and after a long drive plus 10 miles of rough dirt & gravel road, which was bumpy all the way, there was no sign of the glaciers anywhere. All the mountain around us looks so dry unlike Mt Rainier, which was one of our favorite parks . We talked to the camp host and one of the rangers informed us that BAT is too big to go into the park. We will have to park at the visitors’ center, or go as far as Avalanche but we will not be allowed to drive to the top as it will be at least 14 miles of steep climb to Logan Pass, and the road is too narrow for BAT. Bikes are not allowed to go up hill between 11 – 4 for safety reason as there will be a lot of cars traveling that narrow road. What a major disappointment after a very long wait to see the grandeur of this park. Oh well, we have had several pleasant surprises on this journey thus far so one disappointment should be acceptable. We’ll have plan B as usual. Gotta be flexible on these roadtrip.
8/22/20 The next morning, we made our way into Glacier national park. No signs of snowpeak mountain, although the drive is beautiful, what was told from our camp host is coming true. We went to the visitor center to obtain more info. We went as far as Avalanche Creek but no parking for big rigs beyond 21′ so we left and went to lake McDonald, hoping for some sighting of glacial view, but nothing remotely close to it so we finally cut our losses and left the long awaited Glacier National park onto our next destination.
We stopped in Hungry Horse National park, and crossed over a long, big dam hoping for a campsite, but they are all full. Tidbit: “564 feet high, Hungry Horse is one of the largest concrete arch dams in the United States, and its morning-glory spillway, with water cascading over the rim and dropping 490 feet, is the highest in the world.”
Luckily we found a pullout on the side of the road with a beautiful lake view. We spotted an eagle’s nest and as the evening approached, two baby eagles flew home to their nest cawing for their mother (I think…) we thought this area would quiet down at night, but pickup trucks hauling boats were continually roaming down this road until 2 AM. And here I thought I was going to have a beautiful lakeside premium parking and a quiet night… Regardless, the lakeside view was still fantastic, and dare I say this lake is more scenic than the lakes inside the glacier national park.
8/23 Trekking towards Bozeman but my back problem has been more aggravated everyday so we are trying to break up the miles, commuting in shorter distance so I can have longer breaks in between. We stopped at Cracker Barrel in Missoula for the night. The parking lot was flooded with RVs and the like, hitching a free camping spot just like us. At one point a pickup truck with a long RV pulled up beside us and it felt as though he’s 2 inches from BAT, making us nervous how he’s going to pull out without scraping us, but eventually he made it out uneventfully. Phew!
8/24 We had a pancake breakfast at the Cracker Barrel restaurant before heading out to Bozeman, Mt. The sky was hazy & overcast for several miles, not the typical Montana’s “big sky!” We stopped at a wild campsite per iOverlander , but the area looks desolate, and Paul spotted a warning sign re high frequency microwave transmission nearby so we thought we’d better get out of this area asap. Luckily we found the Lewis & Clark campground 32 miles down the road, and bingo we were able to get in for the night. We talked to the camp host and another visitor re the hazy sky and they explained that these are the smokes from northern California’s wild fires via the jetstream. At the same time, there was a 300 acre fire at Yellowstone national park just 3 miles south of Old Faithful . I would think that the smoke came from this fire since Yellowstone is about 78+ miles from Bozeman instead of California, but everyone insisted that it’s from California.
The Lewis & Clark’s campsite is spacious and clean with plenty of space between the sites for privacy, unlike all the campgrounds that we have been to. And then…. nightfall.. and we were invaded with bugs inside the living unit. There must have been hundreds of them, buzzing in the dining room because we had the lights on. I used up a whole box of Kleenex to clean them out… still get goosebumps thinking about it. I know this is all part of the camping experience , but bugs and I just can’t get along.
8/25 The next morning we tried to reserve tickets for the cavern tour, unfortunately, they were sold out for the next 5 days. Ok then, onward with our journey to Bozeman.
We checked into the hotel to rest up for the next few days as BAT will be going through some warranty service at Acela. We enjoyed dinner at our favorite BBQ restaurant in Belgrade, Bar 3 Bar-B-Q, best bbq ever.
8/26 Paul dropped his big fat baby BAT at Acela for servicing at 6:30 AM, while I stayed at the hotel and slept in, Heaven! We visited the Museum of the Rockies which turned out to be more interesting than I had expected. Learned so much more about dinosaurs and space travel at this Museum. Tidbit: Did you know that T-Rex grew fast and died young? Did you know that dinosaurs are ancestors of the bird species?” hmmmm… Great learning experience!
We dined at Thai Basil and I dared tried the Thai’s version of Pho. It was completely different from the VN pho, the broth was not a clear broth, it had fried garlic, crushed peanuts & crushed red peppers. Although it wasn’t what I expected, I did enjoy it. It’s always fun to try something new.
8/27 Strolled through downtown Bozeman visiting various shops and contributed to the local economy is one of the things we enjoy doing while on travel. I treated myself to a leather & suede backpack, which was very reasonably priced and quite stylish. The vibe here is a bit livelier than San Fran and Seattle. We see more visitors & shoppers wandering the street and eating out on patios. While people are still wearing masks, it just seems more relaxed than the big cities.
8/28/20 We picked up BAT from Acela and reloaded with groceries. Returned the rental car to National at BZN airport . Acela graciously offered us to camp at their facility overnight, which was super nice of them . We went out to dinner at Bar 3 BBQ again, but this time I had the berries cobbler with ice cream for dessert. Too decadently sinful for the waistline but hey I will hike it off shortly (that was my justification!)
MAGGIE TO NARRATE OUR TRIP TO YELLOWSTONE HERE
Paul picks up the story… the day had come to drop Maggie off at Bozeman airport to take a flight back to John Wayne airport in Orange County California. It feels a little strange drive such a big truck into an airport. I always wonder what anybody watching will think. As it happens, with COVID fear of airline travel was in full swing because the airport was deserted. Maggie and I said our goodbyes and I and I dropped her off at what turned out to be the Arrivals door (wrong door). When I drove past and discovered the Departure door there were more people (at least six!) so she was not going to be alone on her fight back to California.
We had parked and stayed the night at Acela Truck Company lot (by kind permission!), and I decided to get organized and plan my next few days by staying one more night. I also want to enjoy one last Pulled Pork BBQ sandwich at Bar3 BBQ in Belgrade before I left.
The guys at Acela had previously told me about camping up at the Hyalite Reservoir so I decided now was as good a time as ever so off I went. The journey was not far but did involve a climb in elevation from the Belgrade area. The area is quite scenic, with mountains views, forests and the reservoir itself. As it was midweek the place was almost deserted and thus, I had no trouble getting a nice campsite close to the water. It was cold and had started to rain so after a short time checking out the camp area on foot, I decided the get into the back and enjoy a beer, some food, the warmth and later a movie. As the temperatures dropped the rain turned to snow and it was quite cosey watching the wintery scene from the warmth and comfort of the Bliss box.
The next morning, I was presented with a beautiful winter scene. I decided to take the UBCO Bike out for a ride to explore the extended area. While it was a little chilly riding the bike around in below freezing temperatures, being out in the snow covered forest was well worth it. Furthermore, along one road I discovered a hiking trail to a waterfall. So I parked the bike and walked up the trail. What a beautiful scene awaited me at trail end.
I enjoyed exploring the area very much but eventually returned to the warmth of the Bliss box for an adult refreshment and something to eat.
I spent a second night in camp and the following day I made my way back down the mountain. Along the way I noted that the CTIS on BAT was not acting as normal. I got in touch with Acela and it was determined that the issue was likely related to ice in the CTIS system confusing the controller. As I descended to lower warmer altitudes the problem did indeed correct itself. After stopping off in Belgrade to dump my black water tank one more time and refuel with Montana cheap diesel, I began the journey towards another destination I had previously heard about from the guys at Acela; Revenue Flats which is another cool spot to relax. The journey to Revenue Flats was also pleasant with the road tracing the banks of the river in many places allowing for many beautiful scenes.
I then returned to Belgrade one last time before heading off the drive the Beartooth Highway which again had been recommended to us by several people.
I arrived at the beginning of the highway in the late afternoon so decided to camp and begin the highway fresh in the morning. So I found a pleasant disbursed site in the forest just off the beginning of the road.
The next morning smoke from the fires in California still lingered but did little to spoil the fantastic views laid out along the way. My pictures will not do the journey justice.
Eventually the road leads towards the north east entrance to Yellowstone park but before you enter the park there is a village which I think is called Soda Butte (not sure about this) where I decided to enjoy some Asian pot stickers (who would have thought!) at a place called Montanasia…. excellent!
Having already explored Yellowstone with Maggie a few weeks earlier I just transited the north end of the park and camped one night before leaving the next morning via the west entrance. I left at 8am that morning and the was a queue one mile long just to enter the park! Everyone is camping because of COVID this year.
I began the journey south heading towards Equipt Expedition Outfitters in Salt Lake. That night I found some disbursed camping out in the high desert and enjoyed a peaceful evening out on the prairie! The next morning I noticed several cattle were grazing around BAT completely unperturbed with his presence. After a quick breakfast it was back on the interstate and later that early evening I pulled into another disbursed camping location on the outskirts of Salt Lake where I had the please of meeting Lou, Sarah and their son. We chatted and then turned in for an early evening. The following morning I chatted again to Lou and Sarah (very nice couple and it turns out they live in Ojai CA, not so far from me). Sarah recommended I check out the Spirol Jetty. Around midday I arrived at Equipt and I swapped out some brackets being replaced under warranty and purchased some aluminium storage boxes for BAT’s garage. These boxes are great for organizing gear. I told one of the guys at Equipt about the Spirol Jetty recommendation from Sarah and they told me that it was near to the Golden Spike National Park so off I went. Both places are certainly worth a visit and are indeed very close.
From here I set out in a westerly direction to a place I had long wanted to visit. A place far away, a flat and very dry desert playa know as the Black Rock Desert. You have heard of Burring Man, which as it turns out is celebrated at the south end of the playa. The playa is, in fact, about 75 miles long and 35 miles wide. When I visited, the fires in California were still causing the air to be quite misty, so much in fact that once on the playa and a few miles in it was impossible to see the edges and the entry/exit points onto the playa. To navigate across the playa and to see my position on the playa, I had to rely solely on the Garmin satellite navigation and my ‘breadcrumb’ trail.
Finally after enjoying the emptiness of this strange but wonderful place to the full I made my way back to civilization, the gas station and the interstate and began pounding the pavement to Northern California and Reno. I spent two nights on the road as I made my way back to Southern California. The last evening I snuck in amongst the big rigs and caught some sleep in a noise truck stop.
Unfortunately, the adventure was not finished as I noticed freon leaking over the truck chassis while taking a break at a freeway rest station in California’s central valley. It seems that one of the lines into the compressor was not tightened properly and had come loose spilling freon everywhere. I ending up getting this fixed shorty after my return home.
I eventually made it back to Thousand Oaks tired, but full of thoughts of the three months on the trail. We did 7,765 miles, used about 1,200 gallons of diesel and had one fantastic time!
Endless Trail Expeditions 