On Thursday, we decided to see some out of the way places in Glacier. Someone Jim met during our trip recommended Bowman Lake. Since we got a later start than usual, the line into the park was crowded so we decided to take the outside road. Wow, were we in for an adventure! The road is not maintained (meaning it was not paved) so we rode maybe 30 miles on gravel. Good thing the black beast could handle it. Along the way on this outside road, the scenery was awesome. We were also amazed at the number of houses in this remote area... we could not imagine what these people endure during the winter. We saw a deer along this road, which would turn out to be our only animal sighting of the day... very different from the previous day. Anyway, we were driving along this remote road and suddenly we saw signs hanging from the trees advertising ice cream, pizza, huckleberry pie, etc. We laughed because we thought it was a joke, but sure enough, a bit further down the road was an oasis in the middle of this isolated area. There was a main building with a store and bar/restaurant area, as well as several smaller cabins. Of course, we went in to check it out. There was a guy who runs the place with his brother... they live in Ohio during the winter. He makes 8 huckleberry pies each day and sells out:) It was interesting to visit with him and hear about how he used to come to Glacier as a kid and always loved it. Jim had pie, the boys had ice cream and I got a new spiral, woven rug for the trailer! He recommended that we take a ride to this remote lake outside the park, where we would be sure to see grizzlies and moose. Yay!
So, off we went... more gravel, narrow roads filled with pot-holes, that seemed to go on forever. We eventually found the lake and it was well worth the drive. We had a picnic lunch there and waited patiently for the moose to appear but no luck. We drove further along the road but it got too narrow so we eventually decided to turn around. Back on the outer road again, we took the turn into the park... assuming that once we got into the park, the road would be paved. Not so! We got to Bowman Lake but the entire ride was bumpity bump. Several times during this journey, we had to pull over as far as we could to let other vehicles pass... this made Jim very nervous and also resulted in quite a few scratches on his truck:(
Bowman was beautiful so we relaxed there for several minutes before continuing on. We headed back towards the main area of the park but this entire road was gravel and narrow. Breathtaking scenery to be sure... but no animals came out to say hello. Bummer. We were thrilled to be back on a paved road, believe me! We stopped in Apgar Village to check out the shops and have more ice cream (hey, we're on vacation, right?!?).
Deer heading to door in fence
No Moose Lake
Bowman Lake (GNP)
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