Montana and Idaho

Proper battery charging is critical to operating RV systems 

We enjoyed our stay in Yellowstone taking our time to see all the things we wanted to see at a leisurely pace.  The trick was to go in early about 7am or late after 5pm to avoid most of the crowds. Camping in a big RV in the park was challenging and without an electrical hook-up, we relied on our generator, solar, and batteries. We began having a problem charging the batteries causing us to run the generator more often.  Even then, they just were not charging up.  Since the batteries are 5 years old, my first thought was I needed to replace them.  We left the park and were able to return to Yellowstone Holiday RV Park for one night. There was a mobile mechanic who lived in the park and I discussed it with him.  He had a better circuit tester than I do and determined that the inverter was indeed producing a charge, but that charge was not getting to the batteries. After a bit of discussion, we found that the main wiring connection from the batteries to the inverter was just loose enough that in cold weather they were not making contact.  We cranked down hard on the hex bolt connections and soon were back in business with full charge.

The next day we headed north to Montana and stayed for a few days at a couple roadside campgrounds long enough to meet our timeline for reservation near Glacier National Park.  It was from one of these parks that we explored Garnet Ghost town and returned along the “steep and scary” back way off the mountain.  We found the ghost town well preserved and not sure the web reviews of the back way off the mountain were accurate as it was just a dirt road.  

Ruwana Knives Bonner, MT

We did go through a tiny town of Bonner, MT.  My dad once gave me a hunting knife that has “R.H. Ruwana Bonner, MT” stamped on the side. Sure enough, we found the little shop and R.H. Ruwana’s grandson is still making knives there.  He was about my age and I told him how much we had appreciated the craftsmanship of this knife.  

We continued north along the eastern shore of Flathead Lake to our campground in West Glacier.  Once set-up, we took the Jeep to the east side of the park near Two Medicine Lake.  We hiked to the top of Aster Park Overlook and were rewarded with long views of the lake and surrounding mountains.  On the way back we stopped to cool off near the falls and even saw a moose in a pond. Throughout glacier there are many early 1900’s resort lodges.  These structures have stood the test of time and are magnificent with their huge timber structures.  

The next day we drove the Going to the Sun Road in the Jeep.  It is a tight and twisty road not suitable for vehicles larger than a pick-up truck.  The views are spectacular although haze from forest fires made it less than optimum for us.

 We stopped along the way for a picnic and met a couple who volunteers in the park as animal guides.  Basically, they look for animals and direct traffic to prevent “Bear Jams” and try to keep people from doing stupid stuff near wild animals.  We saw three grizzly bears near the roadside while talking with them.  

We picked out a couple trails and took the same strategy as in Yellowstone to avoid the crowds.  We entered the park about 5pm and by the time we got to Logan Pass visitor’s Center, the crowds were thinned out.  We took a nice sunset hike to Hidden Lake. We were excited to finally see some mountain goats that had eluded us so far in our journeys through the Tetons and Yellowstone.   Hidden Lake was beautiful an well worth the hike.  

Of course, when we departed, this elusive creature was parading proudly alongside a parking lot. All that hiking and here he is strutting his stuff close enough to touch.

Avalanche Lake is one of the most popular hiking trails and we hit that one early arriving at 7am to get a parking spot.  Adjacent to one of the park campgrounds, many people go right from their campsite to the trail.  Winding up past scenic water falls and magnificent timbers, Avalanche lake rests about 3 miles in and has a beach along the northwest shore.  Many people stop here, but Pattie and I hiked another .7 miles around the lake to the southeast shore where about a dozen people were lingering about admiring the crystal clear lake and reflections of the mountains.  It was about then I noticed a couple from Ohio that had passed us earlier facing the woods with their bear spray at the ready and walking backward toward the lake. I told Pattie there must be a bear and started heading their way with my bear spray and camera.  Soon the big sow grizzly and three cubs emerged from the edge of the woods and began moving to the north shore as the couple from Ohio moved south toward us.  

We hiked back to where the crowd was getting larger at the northeast end of the lake and waited.  We had seen the sow climb on top of a beaver hut and paw at it greatly upsetting the beaver who swam into the lake and started slapping his tail on the water.  She was heading up the north side of the lake.  Soon Pattie spotted bushes moving just across the lake from the crowd. We told them about the bear and soon everyone was at the waters edge getting glimpses of the bears and taking pictures.  We made our exit and headed back to the Jeep.  

On another day, we drove up North Fork Road to Polebridge and on to Bowman Lake.  It was a long gravel road and that came very close to the Canadian border.  We had a picnic on the peaceful shores of Bowman Lake as a large Mule Deer Buck walked around paying us no attention.  

Bowman Lake

One afternoon we joined a Glacier Guide group for whitewater rafting on the Northfork Flathead River. Our guide was Zack and he made the trip interesting and educational.  We survived and celebrated with a couple burritos that were as big as my head from Wandering Gringo Café.

Our time in and around Glacier National Park was filled with breathtaking views, animal encounters, and some good exercise.  Next, we headed to Farragut State Park, Idaho and camped in Gilmore Campground.  The state park is on the shores of Lake Pend Oreille.  Now if you want to know some interesting US history, look up this lake.  In short, after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, the Navy decided it needed a place to train sailors far enough away from the Pacific Coast that the Japanese would not be able to attack it.  They built a massive training facility where Farragut State Park now sits. The 45-mile long and 1500 foot deep lake was used for submarine training and acoustic research is still performed there.  We learned the history of the lake and base from some old friends who are volunteering as interpretive hosts there. Keith and Brenda have been full-time RVers for about 14 years nad gave us some great ideas for volunteer work and places to visit. It was great to see them again.

Great visit with fellow full-time RV friends

We had a engine malfunction light on the Jeep, so we stopped for a couple nights near Coeur d’Alene, Idaho to get it repaired.  It was my birthday and the repair shop dropped us off at a local spa where I was able to get a massage and Pattie got a pedicure.  We topped the day off with stone oven pizza and strawberry cake ice cream. The Jeep was fixed and we departed headed for Washington and Oregon.  

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