My Grand COVID Cross-Country Adventure (GC3A) Part IV
Meet me in Montana
The more the merrier
When I first posted my blog, a friend in Flagstaff, Arizona texted me. Jo had been planning to take her newly purchased camper van (aptly named Van-Go) to see family in Maryland. Montana was a mere 20-hour detour. As she put it, What’s a 20 hours between friends?! This is COVID. People would do crazier things for hugs.
Sunday Morning, Ariel and I hopped in her Outback (my third and final Outback chariot of the GC3A) in Sandpoint to meet Jo in Montana. We followed Lake Pend Orielle as it opened into the Clark Fork River and guided us to Missoula.
When we stopped at a gas station, the sign on the door read “DUE TO GOV BULLOCK’S DIRECTIVE, MASKS ARE REQUIRED.” Was this a joke? It occurs to me that not everyone spent a year of their life around sarcastic Brits, and knows bollocks is British slang for bullshit. But the people in that gas station seemed to — not one wore a mask, not even the little old lady behind the counter scooping huckleberry ice cream. A quick google search back in the car revealed, the Governor is indeed Steve Bullock! (Apparently he even ran for President. And, he is running for Senate right now! You can donate here to help Bullock to flip the Senate.)
Anyways, about an hour outside of Missoula we passed a wildfire just outside of Arlee, Montana. This was a relatively small fire, but was a reminder that over a million acres had already burned in California, and the largest fires were still only 50–60% contained. The further I got from home, the more I wondered when I would be able to return to clean California air.
In Missoula, we found Jo relaxing in the backyard with her dog Lizzie. The four of us spent the rest of the day laying in the grass and grilling burgers. On Monday, we met up with a friend who had recently moved to Missoula to hike Mount Sentinel. In the evening, we ordered in some Brazilian food and outdoor distanced dined together. It was so lovely to have new and old friends breaking bread together, specifically gluten-free Brazilian cheese puffs.
Glacier and around
On Tuesday, we drove up north a few hours towards Glacier National Park. I drove Van-Go and managed to only hit a few curbs. (That thing is long!) Ariel forged ahead and secured that last first-come-first-serve campsite at Emery Bay Campground in Flathead National Forest.
We arrived around lunchtime with a half-baked plan to trek into Glacier for the afternoon. Once we caught sight of Hungry Horse Reservoir, we decided to just sit back and enjoy the view from our campground. We took a couple dips in the chilly water, and even someone scored a beer from local boaters who assured us they don’t hate all Californians!
Wednesday was our one and only day in Glacier National Park. We decided to make the most of it with a 12-mile through-hike on the Highline trail. The hike follows the Continental Divide and basically has nonstop breathtaking views. We had a little trouble getting out of the campsite in the AM (OK, mostly me), and it was a bit of a trek through the park, so we didn’t hit the trail until 1pm. When we got to the trailhead, we realized Ariel and Jo’s sandwiches and the bear spray were in the van at the finishing point. But Jo was able to finagle some extra provisions from a few hikers. We got through all 12 miles with several rounds of 20 questions to keep the bears away and even daylight to spare!
We caught a gorgeous sunset from Going to the Sun Road on the way to our campsite at Fish Creek Campground. Back at the campsite, we cooked another delicious steak dinner out of Van-Go’s fancy kitchen setup. It was our last night together, and we made one last campfire going to mark the end of our Montana meetup. The next morning Jo would begin her sprint to Maryland, Ariel would return to Sandpoint, and I would board an Amtrak for an overnight train to Chicago.
This story is Part IV in My Grand COVID Cross Country Adventure, for Part III click here. For Part V, click here.
