(Late July – mid August) From Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, we wound our way east and north to Coram, Montana, for a two-week stay near Glacier National Park. Our route took us through lovely mountain country and past scenic Flathead Lake – an otherwise gorgeous drive marred at times by heavy smoke from forest fires burning somewhere to the south and west. While in Coram we stayed at the North American RV Park, a nice private park within just a short drive to the west entrance of Glacier National Park. The park made a great base for exploring the area and we enjoyed our stay there, although this was not the quietest campground – the park receives a lot of road noise from busy highway US-2 and a nearby railroad.

Glacier National Park

Our Travel Itinerary – Montana Part II – 2017

During our stay we took scenic drives on the Going to the Sun Road through Glacier National Park, as well as along highway US-2 to East Glacier and Two Medicine Lake park entrance.

As expected, the scenery through the park was spectacular, although often partially obscured by smoke and haze from fires in Canada or elsewhere in the west. At times, the air quality was very bad and you could smell the smoke strongly.

We especially enjoyed the views from the Going to the Sun Road – lovely glacial Lake McDonald, rushing white water rivers and waterfalls, deep glacier carved valleys and jagged mountain peaks, winding cliff-side road and tunnels. Spectacular!

Along the way, we could see a few scattered snow fields and small remnants of alpine glaciers, as well as the larger Jackson Glacier. It saddened us to learn that most of the small alpine glaciers are expected to have completely melted by end of 2018 – the latest victims of ongoing human induced climate change.

Also evident during our drives was just how popular this park is with visitors – traffic along the Going to the Sun Road was quite heavy and throngs of visitors crowded the scenic turnouts, parking lots and picnic areas. The eastern Two Medicine Lake unit of the park was much less crowded, making for a more pleasant visit. It has been said the we are loving our national parks and monuments to death – after having experienced GNP during peak of summer vacation season, I believe it!

(We learned that just after we left Coram a devastating forest fire burned through the area south of Lake McDonald, forcing closure of the Going to the Sun Road and torching a historical and much-loved back-country chalet.)

Micro-brews, Huckleberries, and Hungry Horse Reservoir

Other highlights of our stay at Coram include day-trips and picnics at the Hungry Horse Dam & Reservoir, lunch and micro-brews at the Great Northern Brewing Company in Whitefish, as well as visiting shops and roadside stands for fresh huckleberries, jams and pies. We especially enjoyed trips out to Hungry Horse Reservoir as this lake was much less visited than nearby Glacier National Park. Jasmine & Pepper enjoyed swimming and chasing after balls in the lake. We even got to see a nest of fledgling eaglets trying out their wings.

Moving On – Great Falls, Hardin and the Little Bighorn Battlefield

Seemingly before we knew it, our time at Coram was up and we moved on down the road toward Casper, Wyoming, where we planned to view the total solar eclipse. Following highway US-2 eastward, we shortly left the mountains behind and entered the wide open spaces and rolling plains of eastern Montana. Taking our time we stopped at the KOA campgrounds in Great Falls and Hardin, Montana, for three-night and seven-night stays, respectively.

Travel went well, except for a minor incident at the Great Falls KOA. This campground has a newly developed section with large spacious sites and an older section with tight spaces and mature landscaping. Unfortunately, our assigned site in the old section was not really suitable for a rig of our size. We had a difficult time getting our rig into the site, and an even worse time getting out of the site, what with narrow lanes, railroad ties and rock planters constricting the site and encroaching trees and shrubbery. Leaving the site, we had no choice but to run over several railroad ties and a low-hanging branch snagged and tore our rubber roof. Rats! If we ever visit this park again, we will be sure to ask for a site in the new section.

A highlight of our stay at the Hardin KOA was a visit to nearby Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument and to Custer National Cemetery. The battlefield is best known as the site of Custer’s Last Stand. At this battlefield on June 25 and 26 of 1876, 263 soldiers, including Lt. Col. George A. Custer and U.S. Army attached personnel, died fighting several thousand Lakota, and Cheyenne warriors. We found it fascinating to visit this hallowed battlefield, to see the memorials to the fallen and to reflect on the history of the period.

That’s all for now. Safe travels and enjoy the journey!