Welcome to our
Web site!
Here are descriptions and pictures of the places we've been in 2002.
For fellow King of the Road owners, we'll be in Amana, Iowa
for the National King on the Road Rally from
Sept. 28, 2002 to
October 6, 2002.
Contact us at:
Kathy & Ron Goodman
Last updated 08/29/2002
On the Road in Montana
| Billings (July 16, 2002) Deer Lodge (July 17, 2002) Kalispell (July 18 - 19, 2002) Columbia Falls (July 20 - 21, 2002) West Glacier (July 22 - 28, 2002) Libby (July 29 - August 11) Libby (August 13 - September 2) |
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| Our Collin County Travelers friends we met in Billings, MT. | |
Billings, Montana
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Click this thumbnail to see a larger picture, and then click the Back button to return to this topic. |
| We were unable to meet up with our friends
from our old camping group, the Collin County Travelers, because they
were on the west side of Yellowstone. However, they got stuck in
Billings, Montana waiting for one couple’s radiator to be fixed.
So, we drove about 100 miles north from Cody, Wyoming and spent the
night with them. The Billings KOA rates were more expensive than the
Yellowstone area. Can't figure out why, but the only other park in
Billings was about the same rate. We thoroughly enjoyed visiting with our friends and hated to see them head back to Texas the next morning. |
Deer Lodge, Montana
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| We arrived at Deer Lodge about 1:30 p.m. The Indian Creek RV
Park & Campground was a nice park, but not a pretty place.
This time, we wanted something convenient to the highway and wanted to
visit the local attractions. The management was friendly and helpful. It
was hot in Deer Lodge and all were suffering because they're not used to
it. We weren't happy to have the heat – we had hoped to escape
the heat by going north, but we weren't overwhelmed by it.
Montana is beautiful. After we set up, we toured the Grant-Kohrs
Ranch and the old Montana State prison that was in operation from 1871
till 1979. It was interesting, the ranch was in great condition
and showed what life was like in 1800 (for the well-to-do anyway).
There was much more to see and we'll come back again, but we were on our
way to Glacier National Park. |
Kalispell, Montana
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The 18th was our anniversary. What a great way to celebrate – with a big adventure. We sure are lucky to have this opportunity to see all these beautiful places. The drive from Deer Lodge to Kalispell was beautiful. We went through nicely rounded hills covered with green grass and pine trees. In a few places rocky pieces of mountain jutted out of the ground. That was part of the Rocky Mountains. It was quite a climb to get to Flathead Lake and that area was quite populated with people who were in a hurry. Summer people, just like us, only they might own one of those nice places down by Flathead Lake. What a fantastic place to have a summer home – except for the traffic. After setting up at Glacier Pines RV Park, we drove out toward Glacier National Park to find an RV park to stay in a couple more days. Glacier Pines RV Park was full this weekend because of an antique show, so we could only stay Thursday and Friday. We found a motel in Columbia Falls that had some RV spots with full hookups and the spots were flat. It was called Glacier Mountain Shadows Resort. So, we had a spot for Saturday and Sunday nights. However, they didn't even offer a modem hookup. I had a big job coming and needed to find a place with a phone. (back to top) |
 The West road into Glacier National Park. (Ron's photo) Click this thumbnail to see a larger picture, and then click the Back button to return to this topic. |
Columbia Falls, Montana
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 Going to the Sun Highway--narrow road |
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The mountain road was not nearly as wide as we would have preferred and the edge of the road had a short rock wall along most of it. (Although, we shouldn't complain, it took them 20 years to build the road and they finished in 1932.) The traffic was steady and the pull offs couldn’t hold many vehicles. Fortunately, most people didn’t tarry long so we could pull off and take pictures at most spots. Water from melting snow was running off the sides of the mountain in many places. At one point, there is so much water coming off the side and through the rocks that it is called the Weeping Wall and the traffic nearest the mountain gets sprinkled as it passes. The park has several lakes and the two largest are Lake McDonald and St. Mary Lake. Both are quite long and extremely deep.We heard that the road was opened later than usual this year because of snowfall in June. The workers had cleared the road when an avalanche roared across the highway. We saw what was left of the avalanche just past the Weeping Wall. The remains of several snapped and twisted trees could be seen in the melting snow. |
 St. Mary's Lake in Glacier. Click this thumbnail to see a larger picture, and then click the Back button to return to this topic. |
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The vegetation was thick and deep green nearly to the tops of the peaks, which were more than 8,000 ft. Along the roadway, one could imagine it were a tropical climate with all that lush greenery, if it weren’t for the cool breeze. Near the summit, we saw a couple of sheep grazing, but there was no room to park. Then, the parking lot at the Logan’s Pass Visitor’s Center was full, so we couldn’t stop. So, we continued to the east entrance of the park, which is just past St. Mary’s Lake. As you round a curve and see the lake, it is a deep jewel green at the near end and a deep velvety blue at the other. The colors are so vivid. At the lake, we stopped to take pictures and I walked through a field of assorted wildflowers – wild roses, prairie lupine – a color riot. The Garden of Eden comes to mind. On Sunday, the weather changed, it was a cool day with a nice breeze. For the first time in weeks, we didn’t need to run the air conditioner. The air smelled so clear and clean. We drove out to the Hungry Horse Dam and Recreation area. It was another beautiful area. In areas, the roadsides were thick with wildflowers. |
 Wildflowers next to St. Mary's Lake Click this thumbnail to see a larger picture, and then click the Back button to return to this topic. |