USA: Montana – Big Mountains and Sky

By: MJ + PJ

They don’t call this big sky country for nothing! However this only applies to the eastern region where they don’t seem to have… trees. We spent most of our time in Glacier National Park, where we had our first significant experience with being too wet.

After crossing the border from Canada late in the afternoon, we headed towards Whitefish where we figured we’d be able to get some kind of accommodation. It was too late in the day to shoot for a campsite in Glacier NP. Seeing numerous towns mapped on the 93 HWY, we blasted through Eureka thinking we would fuel up the car along the road. The bad news is that there are no towns along that road, only localities, and so if you want to fuel up your vehicle, do it early. The good news is that we didn’t bring the 2 gallon fuel container to only get carted around the country. We were optimistically rolling on the fumes of the tank for a few miles before we decided to avoid the inevitable. The last time this occurred was in 2017 rolling into Cody WY on fumes (but without spare fuel) on our way to Yellowstone NP.

It was about 6:30pm when we arrived at the Super Walmart in Kalispell as we clearly needed an oil change and new front tyres etc. Turns out they were not authorized as an auto service center at their location and the closest one was located in Great Falls, WY, on the other side of Glacier NP. Car maintenance = delayed. Seeing as our accommodation options were decreasing, mostly rapidly, we attempted a long shot chance to use Couchsurfing. Just as we were about to drive to investigate options at a KOA we received a reply from the targeted Couchsurfing hosts who happened to have no-one there that evening. Yes, they are that busy with couch surfers and we know why!

Fast forward a few hours and we have had a gem of an evening with our hosts in a quirky but homey location which was one of a kind and a great start to our Couchsurfing experiences.

The next day we headed to Glacier NP early to seek a campsite at Avalanche Campground. Our hosts the night before had given us the low down on how to see Glacier NP, and encouraged us to get coffee at the Montana Coffee Traders on the way there. Continuing the good vibe and success since averting an empty fuel tank the day before, we secured a good campsite and started to explore Glacier NP. We headed up Going-to-the-Sun Road slowly to take photos, drop in at the Visitor center at Logan Pass, and then work out what to do over the next day or so. Then we drove back to our camp area to take a 3 hour (total) hike up to Avalanche Lake which has the trailhead at the campground.

The next morning we attempted to see Hidden Lake. We hiked over icy snow to reach our lookout destination, but couldn’t see it. It was shrouded in fog, which explains everything. This was our first and maybe only snowstorm and icy snow summer hike, but it was certainly fun! We then headed east to St Mary Lake area to hike to several waterfalls. MJ dropped PJ and AJ off by the lake while he circled like a starving raven to obtain a parking spot. After 30 minutes he obtained one and the hiked off down the trail to catch them. It turns out the dusty hooves of a donkey caravan had erased an arrow PJ had carved on the dirt path as a cue to direction. All this meant was that MJ saw two falls twice and one fall not at all, as he was on his way back when everyone crossed paths. It was time for the long drive back over the pass to the campsite with the encroaching rain. This is where and when we got too wet. We sat in the car for a while, which seemed appropriate.

It was an early start, and it was going to be a long 4th of July. Packing up a soaked tent the next morning, we headed in relative solitude up Going-to-the-Sun Road for a third time as the dawn broke. We caught some amazing views as we drove, including clouds spilling over Logan Pass into the south eastern valley. We headed to Great Falls, the name being an oxymoron at best in the therapy world. There we stopped to get some supplies, have the car checked over, and dry out the tent. We also met an auto staff guy named Michael Jackson, which was kind of weird. 

Then we encountered the big sky region of Montana. For hours we drove under that big sky. About 6 to be exact, before we crossed the border into North Dakota. We exited Montana at sundown, having left predawn, so literally spent the whole day driving across most of the state. Montana had provided us with a memorable first encounter with memories of great people, interesting places, and an amazing National Park.