I am blogging from the Crystal Inn, Great Falls, Montana on our return journey. WiFi is available in our rooms, and there is an internet cafe, and stations in the lobby.
We have had an excellent long weekend. Since my last very telegraphic post we woke up early the next morning faced with this dilemma: since our truck had died on us, and we had elected to roadtrip in a smaller vehicle, we could not car camp- not for any extended period without going bonkers. I had booked motels ahead of time (because this was, after all a holiday weekend,) but I had left 2 nights free – the plan was to car camp in the Park.
Now we were without this option.
What to do?
Over July 4th long weekend forget about getting a motel room anywhere on less than 24 hours notice. It will not happen especially when you try and book in chain motels. That is when Kevin suggested we try the "Mom and Pop" Motels. He remembered coming across a website devoted solely to the "Mom and Pop" and "independents". It lists Mom and Pop Motels for all states. Here is the link for Montana.
Kevin compiled a wish list of towns close to Glacier that would be good to use as our base camp. We were extremely lucky. My first call landed us 3 nights in the Glacier Highland Motel in West Glacier. That meant a change of plan: I had to call and cancel a prebooked room in Great Falls, and then we had to change our route so that we would end up in West Glacier, rather than East of the Park.
We were very glad that we did.
We left Casper WY and drove like maniacs to get to West Glacier by approximately 11pm. Exhausted, we fell into bed and slept like logs. Our Motel, although pricey (everything over July 4th around the Park is pricey!) was clean and comfortable. It was superbly placed for entry into the park. I recommend using West Glacier as a base camp if accomodation is unavailable in the Park. But over a holiday weekend the Motels and campgrounds become full very quickly. It pays to book in advance. (Even if it means only booking 12 hours in advance.)
This was our first trip to Glacier National Park. It will not be our last. I will post when I get home on all our highlights, and recommendations. One thing is for certain – we loved the west side of the park. Very lush. The Eastern side is drier, and a lot like Colorado. We know we would go back. We would explore more the Western side near the town of Poleridge, and the Swiftcurrent area (north eastern.)
We plan to leave early tomorrow morning for our return tirp home – approx 755 miles.
Blogging to resume on my return….
