April 19 – 24th Magrath AB to Bozeman MT – A long haul.

Magrath was the last stop in Alberta. It seemed like a sensible plan to stop closer to Coutts, with the next site booked not too far over the border….just in case…!!!

Covered Wagon RV in Magrath was a recommendation from Vladimir and Irina, the other airstream we met at Spring Hill in Calgary. It is a very well-appointed little campground, sunk down in with lots of big trees so well sheltered from winds. A spotlessly clean place. Whilst sitting in the evening an Osprey landed on the post beside us, and a whole bunch of deer danced past us….

We stopped for a couple of days which gave us the chance to hike through Galt Canal Park in Magrath.

April 21st. Time to pull out and cross to the US at Coutts. It turned out to be a very easy, drama free crossing. Sweetgrass and northern Montana is even flatter than Alberta…..it a big empty space with some cows, lots of deer and a gently undulating grassland landscape.

Lewis and Clark RV resort was the target in Shelby, MT….super nice owner. lovely spot.. (Clean, hot showers..!! )

On Saturday we had a wander through the town of Shelby. It is like a movie set. A zombie movie with almost no humans around……very oldy worldy western main street.

Cut Bank is the next town west.. A 24 minute drive that feels much longer cos its pretty much in a straight line….with the occasional corner and even more occasional tree. Another little movie set gem of a town.

Cut Bank Creek Brewery …stopped and bought stainless steel growlers. Perfectly unbreakable for the trailer. Very nice beer & very nice people.

We were close enough to Glacier National Park that a hike was in order. The first of our US National Parks.

April 22nd

About an hour and 20 minute drive west from Shelby. We entered the park from East Glacier village…having picked the trail as the most likely to be accessible. (Its still a bit early in the year. )

The rail line actually goes through Glacier village…turns out you an get of the Amtrak train pretty much at the hotel. Glacier village is a handful of what used to be tourist stores (derelict souvenir stores.) and seasonal cabins.

We found the trailhead and set off…..through mostly snow……

The first few kms were just a couple of inches of reasonably firm snow and fairly easy going. We started out with some impressive mountain views…and I got a video call in to my mother…who was suitably impressed by the snow and the view.

There were hopes from someone in the party that the snow would be melted further up. No such luck.

At about the 3 km mark we hit the edge of the park. By this point we were following not footprint tracks but x country ski tracks…..and the snow got a little deeper…..just enough to make it a bit more of a slog up the trail. It was a bright sunny day, and most of the trail we followed was through trees. Making for a sheltered hike but limited photo ops.

At the 5 km mark it was getting a bit tougher and it was looking like we had at least another couple of kms through ever deepening snow to get to a view point. We pushed a little further cos it looked like there might be a gap through the trees……and then decided to turn around.

It immediately became clear why it had been such hard going……not only were we crunching through snow…..but we had been pushing up a significant grade. It did not look like it on the way up….it was such a steady up.

There were moose tracks crossing the trail in a couple of places…..and some bear prints of the grizzly variety. Shockingly big…with long pointy fingernails.. 😮..!!

April 24th

Back on the road again….the first stop for the day was at Great Falls to check out the Lewis And Clark Interpretive Centre. (and the purchase of my National Park annual pass…woo hoo..!!)

As we entered Great Falls…all of a sudden the traffic was redirected away from the google route. (Cell and LTE coverage in Montana is spotty at best…so there was a bit of a panic getting google re-attached. But we got there in the end.

A great little visitor centre…and convenient stop to eat our sammiches.

Pulling out and south on the Montana I-15 …lots more big sky, big horizon of undulating grassland. There were lots and lots of deer grazing. Probably no more than anywhere else…but you can always see them cos there is no cover…anywhere….!!

It started to get a little greener on the hillsides.

An unexpected change in terrain brought us in to the Adel range. A volcanic range of mountains, very different to the Rockies and their counterparts.

We screeched to a halt in a roadside turnout to gape at the view…!!!

There we could see a path and some stairs leading up the rocks….so of course we had to go investigate….

Amazing….

The road travels down the west side of the Missouri river (a Lewis and Clark thing…)

The highway passes Helena, the capital city of Montana……If you wonder how rural Montana is…Helena says it all…….Montana does not really do urban……It feels like a slightly bigger town……Its no wonder the people from this state are so laid back.

Bozeman is another experience. It takes a couple of days to figure out where all the businesses are….the buildings are all…almost residential style….nothing concrete. Even the gas stations have no neon, or lit signs…and the signs are not allowed to be higher than the building itself…..it gives the place a very understated feel.

Bozeman Hot Springs……feeding my new found addiction to natural hot springs.