Glad to be Back in the Lower 48 (Saturday, September 5, 2009) Radium Hot Springs is definitely a resort town, with lots to see and do, but we were anxious to begin our drive down to the Lower 48. We passed through Fairmont Hot Springs, and were surprised to find it was less developed; however, the whole valley from Radium Hot Springs south some 40 miles is a resort complex with numerous condos, golf courses, lakes, etc. The countryside began to change considerably as we drove south towards Montana. Our border crossing went without fanfare, with a 5-minute wait, a couple of questions, and a “Welcome Home!” from the customs agent. We were so glad to be back in the Lower 48 that we almost stopped to get out and kiss the ground—there’s no place like home. We stopped at one of the first gasoline stations across the border, in Eureka, MT, and filled up with $2.789 per gallon gasoline, having driven all the way from Jasper, AB, on one tank.

Driving through Whitefish and Columbia Falls, we arrived in Hungry Horse about mid-afternoon. After setting up, I immediately tried the former Alltel, now Verizon, broadband “air” card in the router, and it worked great.

After I checked email, we drove back to Columbia Falls, washed the car, and then drove the Going to the Sun Highway in Glacier National Park. As we began our ascent, we noticed a couple of cars stopped on the road, and sure enough, a young black bear was in the creek, cooling his “heels”. He was obviously suffering from “discomfort.” Going to the Sun Highway had quite a bit of construction going on, causing traffic to be extraordinarily slow. We opted not to stop at Logan Pass, and drove to St. Mary’s Visitor Center. It began raining, and heavy rain and nightfall caught us on our way via US Highway 2 west back to Hungry Horse.
We “chilled” the next morning, unable to get excited about hiking or photographing Glacier National Park. It is one of our favorites, but after Canada and Alaska, the mountains didn’t seem as big and the waterfalls appeared a bit smaller. We did drive the Going to the Sun Highway to Logan Pass with an intent to hike a short trail, but it was spitting rain, the clouds were low, and we just couldn’t get up for it.

On Labor Day, Kay washed clothes, and we again intended to do some short hikes on the west side of Glacier National Park, but after getting within sight of the entrance station, I realized I had forgotten the National Park Pass; we turned around, and returned towards the motorhome, not wanting to make the 45-minute drive again. We took a side road to find Hungry Horse Dam, and drove by several saloons, but no dam. Giving up, we both read and relaxed the remainder of the day, eager for the next morning to arrive to get the motorhome front end checked out at the Ronan, MT, Ford dealer about 90 miles south.

Kay’s Take I did go into Hungry Horse and bought some Huckleberry pie and tasted some huckleberry fudge. I also bought some Flathead cherries which were quite sweet. I had no idea they grew cherries in Montana, but they do around Flathead Lake. Miles and miles of cherry orchards! Oh, yes, I AM getting better with my acrophobia. The drive on the Going to the Sun Road was much more tolerable than the first time I came.

Our Recommendations for Hungry Horse, MT With several national forests and Glacier National Park within a few minutes, there are a myriad of outdoor activities available. Glacier National Park, in particular, is one of our favorites. However, after a couple of months in Alaska and western Canada, we were desensitized to all the area’s beauty.

Campground Mountain Meadows RV Park and Campground was a welcome relief from those gravel parking lots in Canada and Alaska, though we once again had a downhill-sloping site. All the sites were surrounded by trees, and had water, electric, and sewer. Wi-fi was available, but we didn’t use it. A coin-operated laundry was available, and the bathrooms and showers were clean. Also, there’s a small lake on site that is stocked with rainbow trout, and customers may fish without a fishing license.

Driving Statistics
Beginning Mileage: 17,172.0
Beginning Time: 7:00 AM Mountain DST
Ending Mileage: 17, 392.2
Ending Time: 2:00 PM Mountain DST
TOTAL MILEAGE FOR THE DAY: 220.2
CUMULATIVE MILEAGE: 8,000.1