GOING-TO-THE-SUN ROAD

9/18

     Praise be! Today Going-to-the-Sun Road is open!! Here on the east side of the park, the day is warmer and brighter than yesterday. Our plans are to go on to Yellowstone tomorrow, so we have no time to lose. So off we go, with a lot of other people as well, who were usually filling up the pull-outs to take pictures at the same time as we.  Not a phenomenom we have encountered much on this trip. ( Sure glad we didn't come in the summer! ) We stopped to take some photos of places we had been yesterday when it was gray-- the sky today was a vivid blue. ( for awhile.)

When we got up to Jackson Glacier, it was shrouded in clouds and not visible at all, so we were glad we had taken our photos yesterday.

    By the time we had gotten to the top of the mountain where road work was being done, the clouds that had been hanging around began thicken,and soon it was raining.

Nonetheless, the clouds frequently would thin and pull apart in places so that we could see the huge green bowl of the glacial cirque, the steep drop-offs from the narrow road's edge, the winding river below and the long, long waterfalls on the other side.

 This road can be a hold-your-breath journey, as in some places, there is no guard rail. However, we definitely could see the recovery dollars at work here; masons putting up low stone walls as a barrier on the cliff edge, and workers widening and repairing the road in places. It's been a huge undertaking that's been going on all summer. Major work is done from 9 PM-7 AM, and there would then be delays of about 5 hours, should one choose to go over the road at that time.( But, who would?)

   The journey to Apgar Village, almost at the end, took about 2 ½ hours, from the time we entered the park at St. Mary's.  Coming off the road, the lower mountains are textured with various shades of greens, golds and oranges from the aspens, while the pointed Engleman spruce, lodge pole pine and Douglas fir (which stand straight and very tall ) contribute a cool deep green. In Apgar Village we stopped in at Eddie's and had a huge buffalo burger, half of which we brought home for supper-- some good!! The trip back took us only about 1 ½ hours this time, and by late afternoon, the clouds had pretty much shrouded all the views. The line of cars going back was sparse, and we could go along at a greater rate of speed ( 40!!) until we got back to the east side where the weather was much better. We like it here- it's seems much more open than the west side. The west side gets much more moisture than the east, encouraging this forest growth. On the east side there are desiccating winds ( we can attest to that!) and the land is more open.

   Before coming back to the camper we stopped in to have a glass ( or three!!) with some folks I had met in the morning, Gil and Jeanne, and their dog Oliver Twist ( part hound and a Dickens of a dog!) The Freys have a Casita, an 18 ft camper that is outfitted quite nicely with all the amenities. It's room enough for two people to sit on the queen size bed and two people in the padded chairs in the dinette. And that's plenty of room for 4 people to sit and sip wine and chat. Cozy and intimate. Oliver is usually in the camper with them as well. Bill's head touches the ceiling of the camper, but Gil and Jeanne are not as tall as we are.

If you think that sounds  crowded-- and it's not for them- imagine the camper that moved in beside us yesterday. (blocking off our view of the lake) This is a 26 foot long camper with no slide-outs. It contains 5 children ranging in ages from 2-11 or so. And of course, Mom and Dad.  From Northfield, MA, they're on a 3-week journey to national parks and other sights. The kids are being home-schooled, and what a great opportunity for them all, to have a traveling classroom and access first-hand to this awesome country.!( Still in all, I think I would call it crowded-- but they do not.) At night you can hear the shrieks of laughter coming from inside- we think they're having a grand time! We may be older, but we are having a grand time, too!

    Xian has had a difficult time, though. It may be a schedule disruption coupled with his dislike of traveling like this. On some days he frantically barks every time we stop, whether we get out of the truck or not, and he needs to go out sometimes three times a night. Bill has much more patience than I do. But, we would not think of leaving him at home, so that's just the way it is. We try to wear him out as much as possible with the ball. MANY people travel with their dogs, as you might have guessed!.