The wind finally stopped this morning. With all this rain and wind, my tent and car
both got a good cleaning. No mosquitoes
too, they were smart to avoid the rain and wind. The birds are singing again, which means the
weather is sunny. I got up at 5am. The tent required cleaning from a collection
of water that gathered underneath and a bit of dirt around the edges. This made the tent take down twice as
long. That’s how it is, otherwise I’d be
getting water and mud into other parts of the tent. Packing up took an hour. Somehow tea took another forty minutes. The drive to Apgar Campground via Two
Medicine Lake and Goat Lick took 2 hours and 40 minutes. This short drive put me in massive fatigue.
When I pulled to the gate, a grandfather, an elder in
skin and bones, did not shake, took my credit card for a new annual pass for
national parks. I perked up here. As I pulled into Apgar Village for the
campground, I proceeded with what I saw and ignored everyone else’s good
experience and advice. I just saw the
area where my site would be and chose #A59 across from the restroom. A loop is on the left towards the lake. My driveway can fit six Honda Accords. The tent area is standard national park size,
so is the picnic table and the fire pit.
The water spout is in front of my site.
The bugs refused to get off my tent this morning so they are all here on
this side of the park. I was worried
they wouldn’t survive the packing and the car ride but they did.
I watched my neighbor Everet use the water pump spout to
learn how to control it. It is not meant
for a cup, a bucket is more like it. A
young teenager runs around the campground in loops, what a good idea. People ride their bikes here. Lots of people packing out and lots hammers
hammering away in setting up. It’s going
to be a busy weekend. Lots of people
drove up in a car to get a site for their family and friends who will be coming
up this weekend.
Everet is from Cincinnati Ohio and loves Rocky Mountain
National Park who recommends I take a train in Colorado one day. He saw me trying to move the picnic table off
the tent platform, the only spot not on a slant on this particular site. Everet is in his late 80’s and he came to
offer help in aiding me on moving the picnic table. But I didn’t want to trouble his aging body
so I told him I liked it as is. I moved
it after he left. I slide it off the
platform.
The tent set up didn’t take too long. I swept the inside where there was a
collection of dirt. I hope the wet part
of the tent will dry and not mold. I put
food on the dash of the car for solar heating.
It’s all cooked just freezing cold.
It’s like an RV show here. People are rolling out their fancy mobile
homes on wheels. My site is perfect, the
bus stops two sites over behind me. The
ranger said the bus will start running tomorrow. No wash sink here and the restroom is full of
rust. No shower facilities here
either.
I met the campground host John who stood there greeting
people and he had mountain eyes. We
chatted for awhile he was very nice, warm helpful, held his own space really
well. John told me about Fish Lake
Campground, how the campground host there is very militant and monopolizes the
campground for Fish Lake campers only.
That those hosts are on sensitive grounds for stepping on so many
people’s toes for chewing out other campground hosts for sending people that
way for showers. John vented and stated
it all as a matter of fact that supervisors pay attention to such things and
that they won’t be here for long. Affirming
how the staff here is to help people.
They hope people come in one way and leave better than how they arrived,
transformed. The staff is here to assist
people in that process and not make people unwelcomed or don’t want to come
back. John had integrity and is a good
steward, guardian that the park called in.
I felt safe in his jurisdiction.
I recognize his sound. I sing it
the same. He was strong like a rock,
like earth, not moving, just there.
I went to both Apgar Visitor Center, and Lake McDonald
Lodge. The restroom at the Lodge where
there was hot water for the sink. I
stepped onto the deck of the lodge to look at the lake.
I then drove straight to Avalanche Lake Trail and Trail of Cedars where all traffic stops because it was the end of road access blocked by snow. The trail of cedars smelled wonderful. The trees were beautiful and had an air of lightness around them. The sun flashed in and out. The moss covered the floor bed. The trail had planks. I like planks, the grounds are protected this way and so are the tree roots. The cedar trees and cottonwood trees have shallow roots, they cling onto the stony mountain. I had fun looking at trees, barks, needles, branches, and roots.
I then drove straight to Avalanche Lake Trail and Trail of Cedars where all traffic stops because it was the end of road access blocked by snow. The trail of cedars smelled wonderful. The trees were beautiful and had an air of lightness around them. The sun flashed in and out. The moss covered the floor bed. The trail had planks. I like planks, the grounds are protected this way and so are the tree roots. The cedar trees and cottonwood trees have shallow roots, they cling onto the stony mountain. I had fun looking at trees, barks, needles, branches, and roots.
I continued up Avalanche Lake Trail and saw a sign,
“trail partly closed due to flood damage”.
I proceeded anyways to get a workout.
The trail was magnificent. “Lord
of Rings” came to mind and Gandalf the Grey, “You shall not pass” came to
mind. The running cascade and waterfall
were so pretty in light matcha tea color.
It was so clean and clear, it looked delicious. I put my hands in to feel the water. This was my dunk for the day. Others put their feet into the water. I found the river to be super healing.
I had fun getting my photos taken. I felt so light and happy, I skipped and
hopped. At the east side of this park I
felt like running. If it wasn’t for my
injured ankle I’d do split leaps, cheer jumps.
I also photographed other people for them, couples and families. I had fun.
I am happy and grateful.
The overflow parking was the Avalanche Creek Campground
Loop A. I parked at A153. After my hike I snacked in the car and saw a
deer swing by my car from the back to the front counter clockwise, then
disappeared into the woods. What a
pleasant surprise. It was a very playful
deer going here and there.
I proceeded towards Lake McDonald and pulled over at the
various pullouts to look at the river, waterfalls, cascades. I drove into Sprague Campground and found it
to be very small loop. One side faces
the lake other the road traffic. I
pulled over the lakeshore access and ate most the cinnamon roll. I sat on the fallen tree and listened to the
high tide roll in. The water is a
beautiful green blue color. I had fun,
what a treat.
Then I stopped at the Apgar Village and walked around the
shops. I came across a man looking at
huckleberry shelf. We started talking
about huckleberry. He said they pulled
over on the way in to pay twenty dollars for a giant huckleberry pie. The shop is on i93 next to a cherry
stand. The woman closes shop at
3pm. That when I see a windmill, I am to turn
right. I hope that means right my
direction on the way out.
I stopped at Fish Creek Campground. It’s quite a ways away from everything even
though it’s two miles away from here. I
wanted to see the sites. There was a
super long line to check in at the kiosk.
I decided it was alright to skip showers and be nature clean.
I felt so tired I just wanted to skip dinner. I made it back to camp at 6pm. Everet along with other campers had their
fire going. I decided to duck away from
all the campfires. The camps felt quiet
in a packed campground. The reason is
that each campsite has plenty of space allocated for privacy and nature. I had told Everet earlier today that I wanted
to sit at a campfire and now tonight I didn’t want to. He made a nice campfire and I did now show
up. I did not find his wife feeling warm
towards me and I felt it was best to not intrude into their vacation. This life, Everet and I are 45 years apart,
yet we conversed like we were great spiritual friends of the past. It was a beautiful delightful reunion.
