Glacier National Park is a beautiful place! After spending the night in Great Falls, MT (night of May 31) we got a nice lunch at a Montana based pizza chain. I was feeling pretty sick from my cold. The waitress we had was new on the job, but immediately she picked up I wasn’t feeling well and got me some hot tea. It was a nice gesture and she was very fun and friendly. The hot tea definitely helped me feel better too. From there we headed north to Glacier National Park. The weather was cold and overcast, a far cry from the sunny and mid-80’s of the day before.
When we got to the park it was about 45 degrees and dark grey. Brian and I were feeling a bit skeptical about camping in those conditions. Spring definitely hasn’t fully set in this far north just yet. We drove around for awhile. A lot of the park isn’t fully open yet, unfortunately. We hiked a couple of short trails and decided to get some dinner and see what the local motels were charging. We got to a place that seemed like it would be really cheap. It had no TV, no internet, no phone, no nothing. Just a bed and a shower. Looked like one of those old motels you see all over the place in southern MD along Route 301. We were thinking this place couldn’t be more than $50. Instead, it was $80 cash, or just under $100 on credit. We decided to camp in the park instead for a measly $10. We built a nice fire and it was fine. The cold weather wasn’t a bother.
We woke up the next morning to bright, sunny skies! A huge improvement from the day before. We headed over to the other parts of the park that were still open and hiked 2 more trails. Glacier National Park is definitely one of the more beautiful places on earth. I wish the entire park was open but they hadn’t completely cleared the pass from snow and there was some road construction on the main road of the park, Going to the Sun Highway.
Since we finished the park early due to half of it being closed, we decided to position ourselves for an easy day of driving to Spokane and ended up in Missoula, MT. The first place we tried to hotel in was a Days Inn. The guy at the front desk looked to be in street clothes and was wearing a baseball cap. Didn’t seem very professional. He told us the rates and said there were nicer hotels for cheaper a few miles up the road. He definitely sounded like he didn’t like his job. We took his advice and went to another place we found. And what a good thing we did. This place was just built a couple months ago and has a hotel room bigger than most apartments I’ve seen. This place is NICE! $79 was a special rate and I can’t believe how nice this place is.
So, tomorrow I will be staying in Spokane, WA and Brian will be flying to his home in Cali. From there I will continue the trip solo once again.
It’s already June. It feels like it has been a long time since I started this trip, but still it feels like it has gone quickly. I’ve done a lot and seen a lot. I admit to feeling a bit homesick, but everyday I see something new and awesome. I am still having a blast, but I miss the people back home. It was great to have Brian be able to join me for a week and a half and has definitely made the trip a lot more fun. It’s always good having someone to talk to.
My cold is a lot better today. I think it’ll be completely gone in a day or two. Well, I should go to bed now. It’s already late, even in this timezone.