When we called about a month ago to modify a reservation we were told that the judge in the St. Mary KOA bankruptcy case had issued an injuction allowing the KOA to operate this summer.
Orin - I would agree with all yor points. We went later in 2023 than in recent years (mid-August instead of the week that ends July and begins August).
I noticed how much more mature the flowers were in mid-August in 2023 than they were a couple weeks earlier in 2021 and 2022.
August 20 Drive to Great Falls and Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center Mike and I had a 5:45 am flight out of Great Falls the next morning. The group decided to leave for Great Falls after breakfast so we would have time to visit the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center. Divide Mountain from the St. ...
August 19 Scenic Point This was another pleasant day but as we drove to Two Medicine there was some haze in the sky. However, we did not notice a smoke smell. The car told us the temperature was 46 degrees when we started on the trail. The breeze made hiking a bit chilly as we started up the switchb...
August 18 Grinnell Glacier (Part 2) When we reached the top of the moraine and started walking towards the glacier this bighorn sheep was grazing near the trail. His appeared to be used to people as he took his time crossing the trail ahead of us. Bighorn Sheep F-22 BIghorn Sheep.JPG Grinnell Glacie...
August 18 Grinnell Glacier (Part 1) We drove to Many Glacier, parked in the Many Glacier Hotel lot and started the hike to Grinnell Glacier. The cooler temperature along with a breeze coming down the valley made hiking very pleasant. Grinnell Point and Swiftcurrent Lake F-1 Grinnell Point & ...
August 17 – Drive to St. Mary – Our Tourist Day This was our day to move to the East Side – from the West Glacier KOA to the St. Mary KOA. We had breakfast, packed the cars and left the West Glacier KOA. The sky was very hazy and we could smell smoke in the air. We used our Going to the Sun Road pas...
The forest service road to the Camp Misery parking area was very dusty but otherwise decent. There were mild potholes that would be mudholes if there had been recent rain. We were in a Toyota Camry and were fine.
Orin - the Lake McDonald Campsite had no shade. It may have been a much nicer site before the fire. The Park Service was in the process of doing some work at the site and the trail through the site had recently been paved. Lyman - I was surprised too. On the way up I told Mike about the great view o...
August 16 – Lake McDonald – North Shore Trail We had planned to hike to Huckleberry Mountain Lookout this day but we were too worn out from hiking in the heat the previous two days to try another hike with considerable elevation change. We looked for something on the west side without a lot of eleva...
August 15 – Mt. Aeneas – Jewel Basin A friend who lives near Bigfork invited us to visit her and hike in the Jewel Basin in the Flathead National Forest. We met at her house and then drove about six miles up a Forest Service road to the Camp Misery parking area. From there we hiked the trails to Mou...
teapot57 - We could see that Lake McDonald was there through the trees but certainly not the view that the NPS webcam shows. The view had changed significantly from what it was in 2009. But trees do grow taller.
The food at Packer's Roost was good - it was burgers and sandwiches.
August 14 - Part 2 - Johns Lake and McDonald Creek After the Apgar Lookout hike we drove to Lake McDonald Lodge to meet the rest of our group. Then we hiked the John’s Lake trail and along McDonald Creek. Lake McDonald Lodge and a Red Bus B-23 Red Bus.JPG John’s Lake B-27 John's Lake.JPG The Trail g...
August 14 - Apgar Lookout Mike and I hiked to Apgar Lookout while the rest of the group took a Red Bus tour from lake McDonald Lodge. I had not been on the Apgar Lookout trail since 2009. Portions of this area burned in the Robert Fire of 2003. Looking back down the Apgar Lookout Trail B-1 Apgar Loo...