Hanging around Glacier – August 11 to 15
On leaving Glacier Park proper, we then spent several days simply “hanging around” the area within 50 to 75 miles of the Park. Our first two nights out of The Park were spent in Logan State Park in MT.
This is a beautiful little park right along a clear, mountain lake with boating ramp and good lake access. As we drove in and approached our camp site, which was directly across from the boat launch ramp, the vehicles parked both in the boat launch area and the adjacent camp sites captured our attention. Many if not all the vehicles sat with their hoods propped up about a foot or more. We noted the interesting scene and then set up camp, not at all certain what, if anything, the raised hoods meant to us.
Our fellow campers were really friendly and greeted us immediately, including assisting us in backing into an awkward site and assuring we were filled with potable water. We exchanged pleasantries as each family walked back and forth in front of our site to the swimmin
g area. Toward the late afternoon, one lady approached us and asked if we had been told about the pack rats. (Huh? Pack rats?) We replied they had not and she gently suggested that we might want to pop our hood (as the others had done) while we were in the campground. This, she explained, discouraged the rats from entering the warm engine compartment and feasting on the vehicle’s electrical wiring. (Oh, joy!) Fran immediately popped the hood and located an appropriate make-shift “tool” to keep it up for the duration.
Even though all the vehicles were in the same condition (hood popped and propped), there was this tiny nagging feeling that we had “been had” by the locals. Even if that was the case, it was all in fun and made for an interesting stay. We did not re-latch our hood until we pulled out of the campground!
We had a “high Rockies
” thunderstorm that night with serious cracks of thunder following very close lightening strikes. Fran spent the time counting the seconds between the flashes and the sounds, and keeping vigilant as the time period between the two got shorter. It did not last long, but the next morning, we were awakened by the sound of helicopters flying low and frequently over the campground. A quick check told us they were sucking up water out of the lake
and whisking off to pour it on nearby fires – one using the old fashioned bucket scoop and the other the equipped with the newer internal siphon mechanism. Both were applying their loads to nearby fires, but in opposite directions.
The local volunteer ranger assured us there was no immediate danger and they would let us know if things changed. However, they also told us they didn’t know exactly where the fires were and weren’t in good communication with the Fire Service personnel. Very reassuring.
We enjoyed the day allowing Paddington to get in a swim, play ball, and generally enchant the campground. Nancy laid out her maps, charts, and computer to plot and plan our route for the next few days. Fran caught up on her blog.
We left Logan the next morning and did a hop, skip, and jump to Lakeside MT on the Flathead Lake, about an hour or so away. This was to be a motel stop with a lake view and a chance to do laundry and take a shower. We had made reservations and carefully asked many questions to assure that we had the right accommodations, laundry was convenient, we had an accessible shower facility, and there was parking for our rig without disconnecting the truck.
We pulled into our designated stopping place, the Edgewater RV Resort and Motel, and immediately began to suspect sometime amiss. As Fran spoke with the Manager, also named Fran, to check in, it became evident that our assigned room did not have a lake view, and the only parking for our rig was across the road from our motel room. And, oh yes, the laundry facility was also across the road in the RV Park. The Manager asked innocently why we just didn’t stay in our trailer? After some discussion between Nancy and Fran and Fran and the Manager, we decided to do just that albeit far from our usual standards. However, we found a pull-through site with all provided hook-ups including cable TV (our first); and the site was directly across from the laundry room and the accessible shower. The Manager concluded our conversation by saying she thought our choice was “very wise”. Hmmmmm……
We completed our laundry, took a shower (with minimal hot water in a less-than-clean facility), and took a
walk (scooter/walk), which helped us determine that the motel room we had been assigned was indeed, best avoided. The next morning we negotiated a late check out and took care of a few more chores including catching up on route planning and writing.
We then moved on to Lake Mary Ronan State Park in MT, which proved to be a real delight. We had a wonderful camp site with a lightly filtered view of the 
lake. There was a boat ramp that allowed Paddington more swim/ball time in the water. It was a small, quiet and elegant campground.
Our chosen route out of Montana to Idaho (Hywy 12) was closed due to a massive forest fire and we were without any cell service or internet. We checked in with the Camp Hosts about the road and the fire, but they knew very little. However, they were very responsive and offered their landline should we need to call anyone to verify road conditions. The next morning, they came by our camp and let us know they had called the Fire Service and the road was open, but they were not sure what delays might be incurred. They reminded us of the usual 511 road condition call number when we had cell service. We decided to chance it, reluctantly leaving our beautiful site, and headed up into the Bitter Root Mountains and into Idaho.