Day 60 - Going To The Early Morning Sun

Trip Start May 19, 2008
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Trip End Nov 08, 2008


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Where I stayed
Choteau City Campground
(Choteau hotels)

Flag of United States  , Montana,
Thursday, July 17, 2008

We were packed up and on the road for 7.15 am which was beautiful as the sun was just coming up. It became quite obvious, quite quickly, that quite a few other people had had the same idea, as by the time we reached the roadworks quite a queue had formed to pass through the section under repair. The road was completed in 1933 and as it is very well used and puts up with some very harsh climatic conditions it is quite understandable that these repairs are necessary.

The road takes you through some wonderful scenery and past some amazing sights. Snow capped peaks, waterfalls, snow bridges by the side of the road, views of glacial hanging valleys......it's just absolutely stunning. The highest point on the road is at Logan's Pass at 6646 ft and this is also where we crossed the Continental Divide. After a brief look around the visitor centre it was all downhill from here, so to speak, but certainly not in terms of the scenery!

We stopped off at a couple of points on our descent, firstly to photograph the Jackson Glacier and then to take a short 2 mile hike through woodland to the St Mary Falls. A few miles further on we came to the St Mary Lake and followed the northern shoreline for about another 10 miles all the way to the park's exit on the eastern side at St Mary.

Once out of the park we immediately entered the Blackfeet Indian Reservation and the scenery changed quite dramatically over a relatively small distance. Firstly passing through a huge expanse of fire-devastated forest, then rolling hills of lush meadows and finally vast plains of grassland and ranches.

We stopped briefly in the town of Browning for lunch, supplies and fuel and then headed south through more plains and ranch land before arriving in the small town of Choteau mid-afternoon. After checking out our campground we drove back into town, to the library which offered free wi-fi access. And what a nice library. Sofas, armchairs, reading lamps, friendly staff and excellent facilities. So while Neil read about Native American Indians Mel uploaded some blog and checked the e-mail. While we were there we heard another air-raid type siren. Apparently this one is used to alert the locals to an outbreak of fire.

Our campground is very basic but perfectly adequate in a nice setting in a sort of park. The only thing that lets it down are the mosquitoes, loads of them.

Miles travelled: 138

Total miles travelled: 4202

Days on road: 40

States visited: 8

National Parks visited: 7
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