Day 3 - WOW!

Polebridge, Montana.  A small dot on the map and insignificant to most but if you come to GNP, you just gotta go!

We awoke to another cool morning of less than 50 degrees.   The day was beautiful and we know now what they mean when they say that Montana is Big Sky Country.  Check out the pictures and you'll want to go!

The road to Polebridge was a mixture of gravel and pavement.  More gravel than anything and lots of potholes to boot.  The jeep took all that in stride with no issues although the shiney red jeep in the first pictures is not so shinny now.    We passed Hell Roaring Creek as it fed the Flathead River a real treat to see as we drove along.

 We traveled along, what the locals refer to as the "Outside" road.  On the map it is called the North Fork Road.  The mountain range that parallels the road is the Livingston range.

29 miles later we arrived at the "Exit" for Polebridge.  A slight bear to the right and we were there!

Life is pretty laid back in Polebridge.  There are about three buildings there, notice I said "about", besides the Polebridge Mercantile and The Northern Lights Saloon. The third building is their outhouse! The big draw for most people to Polebridge is the baked goods at the store.  YUM!  The Huckleberry fritter was pretty dang good. 58 miles round trip for the best baked goods ever!

As we returned on the Outside road, we made a left about halfway back and drove on the Camas road inside the park.  You have probably noticed the burnt out trees by now.  A fire in 2003 did a lot of damage but the new growth is catching up now.  That fire was named - The Robert Fire.  On one ridge close to us, it burned 7000 acres in 4 hours.

We had lunch back at Apgar and arranged a photo-shoot for Tammy's mom back in TN via the GNP Webcam.  We will post a schedule for the other opportunities coming your way soon.

We hiked to Avalanche Lake today and we're so glad we did.  A beautiful walk in the moist woods.  Seen some horrific damage from a recent avalanche, big ponderosa pines snapped like twigs.  The trees were all laid in a downward direction across the gorge while the trees on our side were laying in a "up the hill" direction.  We were told that the trees down on the upward side of the hill came down due to the rush of wind from the avalanche, not the snow! What a power show that must have been!

Our destination was Avalanche Lake.  While we were there, Tammy spotted a mountain goat high on a rock ledge.  Too far for the camera, but not too far for the binoculars.  A few minutes later, a second mountain goat appeared!  The views were stunning and here are a few pictures to enjoy.  Bears had been spotted at the lake earlier but we did not see them.

We had a full day, our souls are full and it seems that there is no more room.  But tomorrow will be here and the work by the hand of God will be constantly burned into our minds and heart.   Here are a few more pictures of the Avalanche Creek on it's way to McDonald Creek.

All for now - Sleep well 

Jim & Tam