Return to Glacier National Park

We are on our way (back) to Glacier National Park. We leave the RV Park at 6.45am! We hope to see more wildlife; after our bear sightings yesterday who knows what we might see early in the morning.

We drive almost 2 hours, crossing the Continental Divide at Marias Pass. We enter Glacier National Park at East Glacier. It is definitely time for breakfast! We stop at a cafe. I have french toast stuffed with huckleberries. Trevor has an omelette. I find espresso coffee. Now about that wildlife ...??

We visit Two Medicine Lake in the southeastern section of the Park.It is very picturesque. The steep south face of Rising Wolf  Mountain towers above the lake. The Two Medicine Store on the shores of the lake is a National Historic Landmark.

We hike to the Twin Falls and take a Nature Trail - no wildlife.

In winter, water not only comes through the rocks but also tumbles over the top of the rocks.

Even in summer they look spectacular.

A Black Cottonwood tree

We are told we just missed a bear sighting!






We return to Kalispel in the afternoon. On the way we visit Bigfork, where the Swan River flows into Flathead Lake. Named 'One of the 100 Best Small Art Towns' in the nation, Bigfork  is noted for its numerous galleries and Bigfork Summer Playhouse.

We leave Kalispel on Monday 19 August. The rental car has been returned and we are back on the road.
Not certain where we will end up today; no real plan. We may cross 2 state lines - Idaho and Washington.

We take Highway 2 west; a scenic route. It is a great drive; lots of lakes with trees coming right down to the water line. Postcard stuff.  Small towns dot the highway. So many properties are littered with old vehicles and machinery. This must be the place where old cars come to die.

At 11.30 we run into road works. We have a fairly lengthy wait and are then escorted through.

A few miles east of the Idaho state line we park up and hike to the Kootenai Falls on the Kootenai River. A spectacular place and a great way to break up a day of driving.

We cross the Idaho state line and a time zone. We are now on Pacific Time.




North Idaho is known as the Panhandle. It is more Washington than Idaho, a fact born out by the time zone. The Panhandle observes Pacific Time whilst the rest of the state to the south observes Mountain Time.

The Panhandle is isolated from southern Idaho by distance and the east/west mountain ranges which divide the state. Spokane, Washington is the commercial and transportation centre for the region.




At Bonners Ferry we head south on Hwy 95. We run into some strong, gusty winds - not good for driving. Once through Sandpoint and Priest River we cross the Washington state line. The highway takes us beside Lake Pend Oreille - a pretty drive.












We spend the night at the Newport/Little Diamond KOA.