Goodbye Montana, Hello California

Sunday, September 20 was my last day working at Whitefish Lake State Park. It was a bittersweet kind of day – glad I don’t have to clean bathrooms any more, but I will miss the great fun I had at the lake. I took one last picture of the lake – the level has considerably dropped from when I arrived.

The people I worked with were fun – I probably laughed more with these people than I have in a long time. Working with Ron was fun. Cecil, Larry, Grace, Tommy and Dave were interesting to talk to and to have some weird conversations with. I will miss them. Do I want to go back? Yes, as long as I don’t have a train running over my head every couple of hours!

On Tuesday, September 22, I left Whitefish Lake State Park for my trip to California. I went down 93 until I got to 28 and took that to St. Regis to join up with I90 into Washington (Spokane). I was glad I was going that direction, since I-90 in my direction was a lot more down than up. I couldn’t even imagine going uphill because there was a long stretch of downhill on my side that would have stressed my poor truck to no end going the other direction.

Just before Coeur d’Alene, the sky filled with smoke. It tasted like smoke and irritated my eyes. After a half hour or so, the smoke went away.

I stopped at a small “RV park” near Sprague (south of Spokane) and spent the night there. It was an open field with water and electrical hookups. The bathroom was inside the building and closed around 8:00 pm or so. No TV signal and no dump available. Oh well, the hash browns were freshly grated and tasted great.

I left early in the morning and made it to John Day, OR, where I camped at the Grant County Fairgrounds.  Full hookups and an available bathroom.

Oh, BTW, did I mention that neither site had internet? I was having internet withdrawal symptoms for a while.

Thursday night, I made it to Klamath Falls after deciding not to continue on 395. I went through Bend and made it to Klamath Falls early enough to relax. There was internet, but intermittent.

I decided to stay a few days in Red Bluff, CA to visit Lassen Volcanic National Park. I was last here in the winter of 1977 with a group of cross-country skiers. We spent the weekend in a small motel and skied through Bumpass Hell and some other areas. Previously, a boyfriend and I drove through the day the road opened (May 31). The snow drifts on the road were 5 feet high!

So I went to Lassen after arriving fairly early (around 11:30 am) and drove to a sulfur pot alongside the road. It was really stinky! The hillside had some other holes farting out their sulfur smells. Not a pleasant way to explore, having to hold your breath!

After I leave here, I’m not sure what I will be doing, but I’m thinking a trip to the coast would restore my spirit like just about nothing else would. Right now it is hot and smoky in Red Bluff, so I think I need the change. It depends on what I might have to do to find a job!

Last Days in Glacier National Park

On August 27, I went up to Logan Pass on the shuttle and hiked the Hidden Lake boardwalk/trail to the Hidden Lake overlook. It was extremely smoky and hard on the lungs. The boardwalk’s steps were very uncomfortable, since they were too high. Going up was bad enough. Coming back down was even worse!

Once I got to the overlook, there wasn’t a lot to see because of the smoke. There is actually a lake down there underneath the smoke.

There were a lot of little creeks and waterfalls towards the top of the trail before the overlook.

On September 3, I took the shuttle to Logan Pass to hike the Highline Trail (at least a small part of it), but it was raining at the top, so I rode the shuttle down to St. Mary’s past all the burned areas. Saw some Big Horns at Logan Pass.

When we got back to the top from St. Mary’s everyone had to wait to get the shuttle going down to Avalanche Creek. It was a sultry 39 degrees, and I was woefully underdressed in shorts and a light jacket. I took some pictures at Lake McDonald looking up toward the Garden Wall.

On September 9, I drove up to Logan Pass where some white stuff had accumulated alongside the road and on the Highline Trail. The shuttle had stopped running after Labor Day, so I had to drive.

On the way down the Going To The Sun road, a mother and baby mountain goat were alongside the road. There was a crowd of people, like papparazi taking pictures of every move they made. The baby looked like it might have an injury, and it didn’t seem particularly willing to join mom who was up higher. Eventually, they went back the way they came and disappeared.

Then, I went on a Ranger-led hike to John’s Lake, past the falls and back to the trailhead. It was an informative, easy hike on a relatively cool day. Saw an interesting tree shape on the hike.

Made what I thought was going to be my last trip to Glacier to take photos of Lake McDonald just before sunset. The trees were on fire. The sky was full of big fluffy clouds, so it was gorgeous.

On September 16, I drove to Thompson Falls State Park and ate lunch near the river. It was a quiet area, but a train runs nearby and managed to blow its horn for a long time. The trees in Thompson Falls (the town) were absolutely gorgeous.

On September 17, I made my last trip to Glacier. I got close to McDonald Creek falls and enjoyed the wonderful environment. I will miss Glacier.

Just a note

I've been trying for many days to enter another entry, but the internet connection has been bad to non-existent since I left Montana. So, I have two entries to make, but until I find a more stable internet, I don't know when that will happen though.