Inspiration: LA to Yellowstone to Glacier- 09.09.14
Almost a week into our adventure to go explore Alberta, Canada… and first time curled up in a hotel (now in Calgary!) to catch up and give you a proper update. As the last post told you, Bucky, Shawn, and I are adventuring north in the NOTFZJ80. A mix of remote roof top tent camping and hotels as we work our way around. Here’s the update from LA blowing through Las Vegas and Salt Lake City heading up into Yellowstone, around Montana, into Glacier as we got ready to cross the border to Canada into Waterton as our first Alberta stop. Here’s a peek at everything from what we saw on the road to the magical sites in national parks to roadside bison, sunsets, pasties (and cocktail pasties!), google map detours that turn into off road courses to get around highway closures, dozens of miles of dirt roads to get to the perfect camp spot by a lake, unexpected little towns, ridiculously good huckleberry pancakes and pie, and one of the most epic drives i have yet to experience (Going-to-the-sun Road!)… ready to get the quick version of the last few days? To the next page!
Getting into Cedar City, UT at sunset…
Centro Pizzeria - now our second time stopping here, it’s still delicious! And the patio with one table is a perfect dog-friendly spot to imbibe and relax… as Bucky stands guard.
Driving up to Yellowstone…
These snow/trail machines looked fun!
Little NOTFZJ80, big sky… Montana!
Yellowstone’s thermal pools bubbling away at sunset…
While I only got a teaser of what Yellowstone has to offer - sunset was stunning!
And roadside bison make it even more incredible… though Bucky didn’t seem to be a fan. They brought out a low grumble from him.
Cruising through Yellowstone…
Another roadside bison at dusk…
… who then decided to cross the road right in front of us!
Most of the drive, Bucky was like this. Fixated. Fascinated. Sniffing away. Or curled up asleep.
When in Butte, Montana - we had to go try Joe’s Pasty Shop! Good stuff… since 1947! And if you’re interested, the owner is ready to retire and has a sign up wanting to sell the business!
… the best part? They even make COCKTAIL PASTIES! Somewhere between a char siu bao, a pigs in a blanket, and a mini cream puff.
Downtown Butte views… Headframe Spirits Distillery, which i wish we had time to pop into - next time!… Bucky’s ears flapping in the wind… and finally getting some MUD on the NOTFZJ80.
When we were done exploring Butte, we tried to get back on the highway but a chunk of it was closed. A little exploring and following google maps lead us to quite the off road detour!
How could i not take a picture of this enormous steer?
Heading into Glacier - Shawn picked out a remote camp site out at Bowman Lake… it lead us in an unmanned entrance and down 25 miles of dirt/gravel road. As we read up on things - you can see how Bucky felt about “Bear Country”.
Crossing a cute bridge…
Part way in the dirt roads you come across the little community of Polebridge! (Where DUST is a four letter road - so slow it on down.)
Finally we got to the amazing camp site at Bowman Lake - and wow.
Bucky couldn’t resist that Glacier water…
Sunset was otherworldly…
CLICK TO VIEW LARGER!
Here’s our camp setup in the woods!
Cruising around we found cows popping out on the highway… popped into Carolyn’s Cafe in Hungry Horse, MT - her huckleberry pancakes and biscuits and gravy were delicious… also grab a piece of huckleberry pie! We took our pie and headed to the famous Going-To-The-Sun Road.
Going-To-The-Sun Road. How did i not drive this sooner? It’s such an incredible drive… can only imagine how it must feel top down in a convertible on a lovely day.
Lots of “weeping walls” and waterfalls…
I told you - we brought the pie on the drive and stopped for a treat with the views!
The northern top of Glacier National Park flows into Waterton National Park on the Canadian side where we were headed next.
Pit stop before crossing the border landed us in a motel in Browning, MT… where we found this funky espresso teepee!
So that’s the first part… on the Canada next!
p.s.
Biggest surprise/lifesaver along this route - when not camping/needing a last minute Bucky-friendly place to stay - we stayed at two La Quinta Inns & Suites and they were consistently surpassing my expectations. So kind to both weary travelers and our dog - and the accommodations were perfect between camping when in smaller towns/cities. For Bucky’s first hotel experiences, he seemed into it - everything from getting to jump between two queen beds and getting his own queen bed to seeing how a big ice machine in action… and of course the front desk treats.
