Month: July 2017

July 17 – July 21

Staying at the Glacier Pines RV Campground. Adequate, had a pool which was nice. 

July 17 – It was a short drive from St. Mary to Kalispell. Once we got the camper set up we drove around the corner to some jive river across and let the kid play and dog swim. 

July 18 – Went to check out Flathead Lake. The kiddo fell asleep so we ended up driving all the way around the lake. Found a small driftwood covered beach on the north side and played for a bit. Surrounded by cattails. The view was a little obscured by some smoke from wildfires in the area. 

July 19 – Went to Whitefish Ski Resort to hike (Danny On Trail) and so Matt could bike ride. Another well done trail mostly in the forest, but occasionally crossing a ski run. Went to Bonsi Brewing Company on the way back, delicious food and a great spot. Large lawn with tables and lots of kids and dogs. 

Looking towards Whitfish Lake and smoke from some fires:

July 20 – We just got in the car to head towards the Jewel Basin Trail but the air conditioner wasn’t working. Made a few phone calls and ended up at a shop 2 miles from the campground. Good/amazing news was that he had the part and could do it that day. Bad news, we wouldn’t be hiking. As the temperatures were in high 80s to 90s we decided to get it fixed. Spent the day playing in the pool and around the camper.  

July 13 – July 17

Staying at the Johnson RV and Campground. Not highly recommended but due to location bearable. And the views were good. 

July 14 – Went to Glacer National Park and hiked the swiftcurrent trail in the “Many Glaciers” part of the park. Beautiful trail but very busy. Wildflowers up to the shoulders, waterfall, fun bridges. Evidently we turned around just before Bull Lake. 

Red rock falls: people were jumping off this!

July 15 – Drove up the “Going to the Sun” road, the main road that traverses the park west to east. We drove to Logan Pass and took a shuttle bus down the east side to the Avalanche Lake trailhead. Another gorgeous and busy trail. Lake at the end was fed by multiple waterfalls. 

Wild goose island:

July 16 – Went back to the many glaciers area of the park for a boat ride! Took 1 boat shuttle across a lake, then hiked 1/4 – 1/2 mile to another boat which brought us across that lake and then hiked a little over a mile to see another beautiful lake, Grinelle Lake. Much fun for the kiddo!

None of my photos of glacier showed the bright blue color of the water. 

July 9 – July 13

Back to the Sunrise Campground!

July 10 – Mellow day running errands. Went to dinner at Dave’s Sushi (delicious) after browsing some stores in town. 

July 11 – Dropped the truck off to get the oil change and some other maintenance. Fun day playing back at the campground. Went to the farmers market in town. It was so big! However most items were quite expensive so we didn’t get much. 

July 12 – Went on a hike at the Haylite Reservoir. Beautiful spot with so many hiking trails. We did the west lake trail. 

July 5 – July 9

Staying at a National Forest Campground, Moose Creek Flat, along a river. 

July 5 – It was a short drive from Bozeman to the campground. After dropping the camper we drove into the town of Big Sky and checked out the ski resort. Had some snacks and beer at the Lone Peak Brewery. Delicious. 

July 6 – Drove up the dirt, rocky Portal Road in search of agatized petrified wood. Unfortunately we started looking a mile too early. I did find some interesting metamorphic rocks and a good chunk of agate. Spent the afternoon playing in the cold river. Then went back to Big Sky to watch some music in the park, The Quebe Sisters. 

More amazing wildflowers and fungi(?):

July 7 – Matt went mountain biking near the ski resort and down the hill to town. Benat, the dog and I went on a hike to Osoul Falls. Beautiful 30 ft waterfall, quite wide. Finished the day with some beer at Lone Peak (they also had free wifi!!)

July 8 – Hiked the Beehive Basin trail. Amazing trail winding up a hillside through meadows of so many wildflowers and leaders streams. We turned around after a little over 2 miles but still got a great view of the mountain range. Finished the day off with some playing in the stream. 

July 3 – July 5

Staying at he Sunshine Campground to the east of downtown. 

July 3 – It wasn’t a far drive to get to Bozeman and we had the afternoon to explore. Drove around town, checked out some stores. The downtown area was nice, quite the variety of stores. Had an early dinner at the Ale House… beer was good but we probably won’t return. 

July 4 – Drove to the nearby town of Ennis, MT for their parade. Surprisingly, Boseman doesn’t have their own. It was a fun parade but short. Over in about 30 minutes. After Benat napped we took Dexter to the Bozeman Pond dog park. Great spot because it was off leash and he could swim. Lots of fun playful dogs around too. Finished the day with an ice cream social back at the campground. Everyone was so friendly there. The days are so long here the town fireworks didn’t begin until 10:30! Luckily Benat did not wake up from sleeping but between the town festivities and the local enthusiasts, there was a lot of fireworks!

At the parade:

Cooling off with our feet in some water: