Plan B

We went to bed with a plan to head south towards the Tetons and possibly a trip into Yellowstone. When we awoke, the smoke and haze was evident (there was ash on our outdoor chairs) and the forecast was for it to continue all weekend. Paul, who had pondered various routing at 2 am, was ready with a new plan. It was a good one but just to be sure, we actually called ahead and made campground reservations.

We then headed NORTH. It was a pretty drive with some haze and in a short while we saw the Mission Range in the distance. We followed it for the rest of the drive
and then came to Flathead Lake. It is a huge body of water... 27 mi long and 15 mi wide. It is a natural lake, slightly larger than Lake Tahoe. We followed the lake until
we approached Glacier National Park. Our campground, the West Glacier KOA, is beautiful. Only 2 miles from the Park entrance, it has every amenity , including a restaurant, pool, hot tubs and flowers everywhere. We chose a premium site and it was worth every penny. It has a table for 6 with large umbrella and a shiny new gas grill. It is paved and has a firepit with benches. I've decided that I am going to live here for the rest of the season (it closes in 2 weeks ) !
It was a beautiful warm day and while the driver took a nap, I continued my read of "A River Runs Through It". A neighbor came over to remark on our very large MH. She and her husband are in a small rental RV and are from the UK. They are used to small caravans and she was fascinated by all the large and varied types here. After the driver's nap, I gave her a quick tour and she called it 'palatial', which compared to small British vans, I guess it is.

Altho tempted to just sit and enjoy the ambiance of our site, we opted to drive over to the Lake McDonald Lodge in the Park....a short few miles. We have the Golden Eagle senior pass for which we paid $10 several years ago. It is the best bargain ever and gets us into all Federal parks and landmarks. It is no longer sold according to the website. Anyway, it saved us about $25 as we passed thru the entrance.

The Lodge is typical of national park lodges altho I think this one is a bit smaller than some. The flowers in hanging baskets and window boxes and pots were magnificent. Paul came to Glacier several times with his father and siblings and camped in tents and hiked many of the trails. He remembers thinking that only really rich people stayed and ate here. About 15 years ago, we passed through here late in the season and they had a room available and we stayed and ate here. Which proves that his theory of only the rich allowed in was very wrong.
We sat out in the lovely warm air with some wine and watched the launch come in from a tour of the lake. It's all reminiscent of bygone years when trains brought the tourists in and the lake tours and Red Bus were the way to see the Park.

If you go to Disney's Wilderness Lodge, you will see that they patterned it after these romantic turn of the century lodges , down to the very detail.
Reluctantly, we headed back to our home- away- from -home as the sun was setting over
the lake and fired up the shiny grill for some salmon and chicken.....and enough for leftovers. Or, if you had joined us we'd have had plenty to share. Later, as the almost full moon rose over the mountain, our British neighbors joined us around a blazing campfire.......(note to self, get smores.)

Today we will head out for more exploring and I will use the real camera. The iPhone works very well much of the time and is so handy but I can do better with scenery and distant shots with the Canon.

It is 45 degrees this morning but will get into the 80's. The tent campgrounds are full and I feel guilty waking up to hot coffee and an electric fireplace when they are wearing wool and using an outhouse. I remember tent camping and while it had its appeal (I won't go into detail on that aspect), it isn't fun to change a soggy diaper or find a tree for a little boy in the middle of the cold night. Nor to hear strange sounds and the imagination takes hold and suddenly bears are about to attack and herds of deer are going to run amok. Maybe getting old has it's benefits after all..............